| 1. |
- Lagerqvist, Carina, et al.
(författare)
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Antigliadin immunoglobulin A best in finding celiac disease in children younger than 18 months of age
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition - JPGN. - 0277-2116 .- 1536-4801. ; 47:4, s. 428-35
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: The aim was to investigate age-dependent serum levels and occurrence of elevated celiac disease (CD)-related antibodies in young children, to define the optimal serological procedure when selecting for small intestinal biopsy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Included were 428 children with biopsy verified CD (median age 16 months; range 7.5 months-14 years) and 216 controls (median age 2.7 years; range 8.5 months-14.6 years). Immunoglobulin (Ig) A antibodies against gliadin (AGA-IgA), tissue transglutaminase (tTG-IgA), and endomysium (EMA-IgA) were analysed. RESULTS: Increased serum AGA-IgA levels were found in 411 of 428 CD cases, tTG-IgA in 385 of 428, and EMA-IgA in 383 of 428. In the control group, 11 of 216 had increased levels of AGA-IgA, 5 of 216 of tTG-IgA, and 8 of 216 of EMA-IgA. In CD children younger than 18 months, elevated AGA-IgA occurred in 97% and elevated tTG-IgA and EMA-IgA were found in 83% of the cases. Conversely, in CD children older than 18 months, elevated AGA-IgA occurred in 94%, and elevated tTG-IgA and EMA-IgA were found in 99% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: In children older than 18 months, both tTG-IgA and EMA-IgA are sufficiently accurate to be used as a single antibody marker, whereas a large proportion of younger children with CD lack these antibodies. Therefore, when selecting children for small intestinal biopsy, the detection of a combination of AGA-IgA and tTG-IgA is optimal for identifying untreated CD in children younger than 18 months.
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| 2. |
- Abdeldaim, Guma M. K., et al.
(författare)
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Detection of Haemophilus influenzae in respiratory secretions from pneumonia patients by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction
- 2009
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Ingår i: Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease. - : Elsevier. - 0732-8893 .- 1879-0070. ; 64:4, s. 366-373
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on the omp P6 gene was developed to detect Haemophilus influenzae. Its specificity was determined by analysis of 29 strains of 11 different Haemophilus spp. and was compared with PCR assays having other target genes: rnpB, 16S rRNA, and bexA. The method was evaluated on nasopharyngeal aspirates from 166 adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia. When 104 DNA copies/mL was used as cutoff limit for the method, P6 PCR had a sensitivity of 97.5% and a specificity of 96.0% compared with the culture. Of 20 culture-negative but P6 PCR-positive cases, 18 were confirmed by fucK PCR as H. influenzae. Five (5.9%) of 84 nasopharyngeal aspirates from adult controls tested PCR positive. We conclude that the P6 real-time PCR is both sensitive and specific for identification of H. influenzae in respiratory secretions. Quantification facilitates discrimination between disease-causing H. influenzae strains and commensal colonization.
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| 3. |
- Abdeldaim, Guma M. K., et al.
(författare)
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Toward a quantitative DNA-based definition of pneumococcal pneumonia : a comparison of Streptococcus pneumoniae target genes, with special reference to the Spn9802 fragment
- 2008
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Ingår i: Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease. - : Elsevier BV. - 0732-8893 .- 1879-0070. ; 60:2, s. 143-150
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The current shift from phenotypically toward genotypically based microbial diagnosis is not unproblematic. A novel quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay based on the Spn9802 DNA fragment was therefore developed for detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Out of 44 bacterial species, only S. pneumoniae and Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae were positive in Spn9802 PCR. In an evaluation on nasopharyngeal aspirates from 166 patients with community-acquired pneumonia, the assay was positive in 49 of 50 culture-positive cases. Of 19 culture-negative but Spn9802 PCR-positive cases, 12 were confirmed as S. pneumoniae by rnpB sequence analysis. With an expanded reference standard, including culture and rnpB sequencing, Spn9802 had a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 98%. A cutoff for clinically significant positivity was 10(4) DNA copies/mL, giving 71% sensitivity and 100% specificity. In conclusion, Spn9802 real-time PCR is highly sensitive and specific. The quantification it provides enables differentiation between pneumococcal pathogenicity and commensalism.
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| 4. |
- Almroth, Gabriel, et al.
(författare)
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Increased Prevalence of Anti-Gliadin IgA-Antibodies with Aberrant Duodenal Histopathological Findings in Patients with IgA-Nephropathy and Related Disorders
- 2006
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Ingår i: Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences. - : Uppsala Medical Society. - 0300-9734 .- 2000-1967. ; 111:3, s. 339-352
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Antibodies present in coeliac disease may occur in IgA-nephropathy. This raises the question of food intolerance in the disease. Evidence for a true correlation between the two disorders has however been scarce.Design: Sera from 89 patients with IgA-nephropathy and 13 other patients with IgA deposits in the glomeruli of kidney biopsies were analysed for IgA-antibodies to gliadin, endomysium and tissue transglutaminase (92/102 patients).Results: Eleven out of 89 (12.4%) of the patients with IgA-nephropathy and five of the 13 others (38%) had elevated titres of IgA-antibodies to gliadin but, in all cases but one, normal IgA-antibodies to endomysium. Patients with IgA-nephropathy and elevated IgA-antibodies to gliadin had elevated total serum IgA more frequently than patients who had not (p<0.01). Two patients with IgA-nephropathy and one with Hennoch Schönlein's purpura had elevated IgA-antibodies to tissue transglutaminase.Small bowel biopsy in 7 out of 11 IgA-antibodies to gliadin positive patients with IgA-nephropathy was pathologic in three cases (two with Marsh I). One patient with chronic glomerulnephritis also had Marsh I.Conclusions: We found no increased frequency of verified coeliac disease in 89 patients with IgA-nephropathy. Two patients with IgA-nephropathy and one patient with chronic glomerulonephritis with IgA deposits in the kidney biopsy had a Marsh I histopathology. The findings suggest a possible link of celiac disease to IgA-nephropathy and a role for antibodies to food antigens in this disorder.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Eliasson, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Kinetics of the immune response associated with tularemia : comparison of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, a tube agglutination test, and a novel whole-blood lymphocyte stimulation test
- 2008
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Ingår i: Clinical and Vaccine Immunology. - 1556-6811 .- 1556-679X. ; 15:8, s. 1238-1243
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have developed and evaluated a novel and simplified whole-blood lymphocyte stimulation assay that focuses on the measurement of gamma interferon after 24 h of stimulation with whole-cell tularemia antigen and a tularemia enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on highly purified lipopolysaccharide antigen. Comparison of the kinetics of the two assays and those of the traditional tube agglutination test shows that the cellular immune response can be detected earlier by the lymphocyte stimulation assay. This test already shows a high proportion of positive results during the first week after the onset of the disease, may be applicable in everyday laboratory practice, and has the potential of changing routine diagnostics for tularemia. The new ELISA has a high sensitivity and becomes positive to a high degree during the second week of disease.
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| 7. |
- Hedberg, Sara Thulin, et al.
(författare)
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Antibiotic susceptibility and characteristics of Neisseria meningitidis isolates from the African meningitis belt, 2000 to 2006 : phenotypic and genotypic perspectives
- 2009
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Ingår i: Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. - 0066-4804 .- 1098-6596. ; 53:4, s. 1561-1566
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Up-to-date information regarding the antibiotic susceptibility of Neisseria meningitidis strains from African countries is highly limited. Our aim was to comprehensively describe the antibiotic susceptibilities of a selection of N. meningitidis isolates recovered between 2000 and 2006 from 18 African countries, mainly those within the meningitis belt. Susceptibilities to 11 antibiotics were determined using Etest for 137 N. meningitidis isolates (stringently selected from 693 available isolates). The isolates were also characterized by serogrouping, multilocus sequence typing, genosubtyping, and penA allele identification. All N. meningitidis isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol, and ciprofloxacin. No isolate produced beta-lactamase. Only three isolates (2%) displayed reduced susceptibility to penicillin G. The two isolates with the highest penicillin G MICs were the only isolates showing reduced susceptibility to ampicillin and cefuroxime. One of these isolates was also resistant to penicillin V. One percent of isolates displayed reduced susceptibility to rifampin, while 52% of the isolates were resistant to tetracycline, 74% were resistant to erythromycin, and 94% were resistant to sulfadiazine. The MICs of rifampin and tetracycline seemed to be associated with the serogroup of the isolates. In total, 18 sequence types (STs), 10 genosubtypes, and 8 different penA alleles were identified; the most common were ST-7, P1.20,9,35-1, and penA4, respectively. A high level of correlation was found between ST, genosubtype, and penA allele. In conclusion, N. meningitidis isolates from the African meningitis belt remain highly susceptible to the antibiotics used. Regarding beta-lactam antibiotics, rare isolates showed a reduced susceptibility to penicillins, but the expanded-spectrum cephalosporins are not affected at present.
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| 8. |
- Hedberg, Sara Thulin, et al.
(författare)
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Combined real-time PCR and pyrosequencing strategy for objective, sensitive, specific, and high throughput identification of reduced susceptibility to penicillins in Neisseria meningitidis
- 2008
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Ingår i: Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. - Washington, DC : American Society for Microbiology. - 0066-4804 .- 1098-6596. ; 52:2, s. 753-756
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A segment of penA in Neisseria meningitidis strains (n = 127), including two nucleotide sites closely associated to reduced susceptibility to penicillins, was amplified and pyrosequenced. All results were in concordance with Sanger sequencing, and a high correlation between alterations in the two Pen(i)-specific sites and reduced susceptibility to penicillins was identified.
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