Search

A ten-year retrospective study was conducted in 4 women in labor and 23 surgical patients with congenital clotting factor deficiency. Appropriate use of replacement therapy and good cooperation between biologists, anesthesiologists, and surgeons are essential to ensure a favorable outcome.

During the summer 1994, six cases of airport malaria occurred in France, near the Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport. Due to Plasmodium falciparum, all cases underwent rapid and severe deterioration, and in one case, the patient died. The role of laboratory tests is essential to establish the diagnosis of persons who have never resided in the endemic malaria areas and follow up with the patients already under treatment to detect possible complications.

The immunological test: latex agglutination, counter immuno-electrophoresis, ELISA, and immunoperoxydase test, have been applied on the serodiagnosis of african sleeping sickness, and have been compared with each other, with special reference to the cross-reactions in parasitic diseases and hyperglobulinemia. In addition to malaria and leishmaniasis well known interferences, this study gives clear indication of the importance of false positive reactions in active toxoplasma infection. Any how, the serodiagnostic can be worked out from the analysis of responses to various specific antigens, which are always more positive with the homologous antigen.

There are alterations in the proteins synthesized during different stages of development of Schistosoma mansoni. The protein profiles at different stages were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. When stained by Coomassie blue, no significant differences were seen in protein profiles derived from cultured schistosomula from Days 0 to 6 and from adults. Newly synthesized proteins were detected by [35S]methionine incorporation. There were only a few differences in the protein profiles of schistosomula from Days 1 to 6 and from adults. Profiles derived from Day 0 schistosomula showed striking differences. Only a few proteins appear to be synthesized on Day 0 under these conditions. Schistosomula on Day 0 synthesized several minor proteins as well as a major protein of approximately 69,000 Da. This protein was immunoprecipitated by rabbit antiserum against bovine uncoating adenosine triphosphatase which recognizes the constitutive and induced 70,000 Da heat shock proteins in a wide variety of eukaryotic cells. More significant differences were observed when the newly synthesized proteins were analyzed by two dimensional gel electrophoresis. The profiles of newly synthesized proteins showed a specific repertoire of expression during the early stages of development in the parasite. A shift in temperature and medium during transformation from aquarium water to isotonic medium may initiate the synthesis of heat shock protein in these parasites.

The preparation of a soluble antigen from african trypanosomes is described below. It is important to observe the following steps: --minimal dose of the phytohemagglutinin must be placed in rapid contact with the trypanosomes; --the standard speed of the different centrifugations must be strictly observed; --a thorough washing of the trypanosomes must be carried out to eliminate the hetero-antigens, but caution should be excercised, as over washing is harmful to the Trypanosomes.

In human african trypanosomiasis, the quantitative studies of specific immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM) complement fixing antibody, and multivariate analysis methods (discriminant analysis allocation of cases with a Jacknife procedure) enable to assert the immunological profiles evolution through the different stages of the disease.

The enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the serodiagnosis of human african trypanosomiasis is described, comparatively with the immunoperoxidase technique using blood streamforms of Trypanosoma brucei as antigen. Practical aspects for measuring the amount of antibody in serum samples from infected rabbits and from patients with african sleeping sickness are discussed. ELISA does offer important advantages over the other method used namely: -- quantitative estimates are possible, -- it bends itself readily to large scale series, owing the fact that it can be fully automatic. These qualities will be turned to full account when the different classes of antibodies present in trypanosomiasis suffers can be examined by means of specific antigenic fractions.

Comparative studies were carried out on serums from rabbits inoculated with several Trypanosoma strains and 50 serums from sleeping sickness cases. The techniques used were antigen-antibody reaction in gel according to Ouchterlony, and electrosynerese for which directions are outlined. Electrosynerese has been shown to be a much faster and more sensitive method of detecting precipitating antibodies in trypanosomiasis.

Indirect immunoperoxydase method is compared with indirect immunofluorescence using immunized animal and human sera, and negative control sera. The obtained results show a good statisticly established concord and allow to propose the indirect immunoperoxydase method being used in the biological diagnostic of african Trypanosomiasis because its easy carrying out and its examin with an ordinary microscope.

The estimation of blood orosomucoid, haptoglobin, C-reactive protein and immunoglobulins levels, has enable us to prove a specific proteic profile in the human african trypanosomiasis, as compared with other that of parasitic diseases, and with an healthy african reference group. Data processing informatique by principal components analysis, provide a valuable pool for epidemiological surveys.