Serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels in children affected with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

Background and objective: Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is the most abundant antibody isotype in the human body, considering its presence on the mucosal surfaces, in addition to the amount circulating in the bloodstream. Serum IgA levels can be variably altered in several pathological settings. However, very few studies specifically investigated serum IgA in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). In the present study, we specifically assessed serum IgA levels in our cohort of patients affected with JIA. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, serum IgA levels were measured in patients with JIA (and age-matched controls) and analyzed according to age class. The correlation of serum IgA levels with hematological, inflammatory, and disease activity parameters was assessed. Results: No significant difference in the frequency of low IgA levels (according to the definition of complete and partial IgA deficiency) was observed between JIA patients and controls, overall. This pediatric study population showed a progressive increase of total serum IgA concentrations with age, as expected; however, in JIA patients aged 10-17 years, total IgA serum levels resulted to be significantly higher than in age-matched control subjects. No clear correlation between IgA levels and the examined inflammatory, hematological, and disease activity parameters was observed in JIA patients, except for the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in oligoarticular JIA patients: here, serum IgA levels showed a positive and moderate covariation with ESR, which was also observed for disease activity (JADAS-10) in selected oJIA patients without biological therapy. Conclusions: In our cohort of JIA patients, total serum IgA levels were not reduced and were actually increased in adolescents compared to controls. Larger studies are needed to confirm this finding, which cannot be certainly explained based on the available data in this study, even though JIA disease control and/or chronic inflammation may be implicated to some extent.

Reliability of the Multiplex CytoBead CeliAK Immunoassay to Assess Anti-tTG IgA for Celiac Disease Screening.

Background and Objective: The diagnosis of Celiac Disease (CD) is first based on the positivity for specific serological markers. The CytoBead CeliAK immunoassay simultaneously measures antibodies (IgA) directed to tissue transglutaminase (tTG), endomysium (EMA), and deamidated gliadin (DG), in addition to providing a control for total IgA levels. The aim of this study is to assess the reliability of this multiplex assay to detect anti-tTG IgA positive patients, compared with a conventional single-parameter enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Methods: Serum samples from 149 pediatric patients were assessed by both CytoBead CeliAK immunoassay and ELISA, in order to evaluate their concordance for the measurement of anti-tTG IgA. Results: The measurement of anti-tTG IgA by CytoBead CeliAK immunoassay basically showed a complete concordance rate with the conventional and single-parameter ELISA, according to the respective cutoff values (3 U/ml and 10 U/ml). Conclusions: Our comparative analysis demonstrates a substantial equivalency between multiplex CytoBead CeliAK assay and the single-parameter conventional ELISA to assess anti-tTG IgA antibody in the context of the screening for CD in children. Importantly, CytoBead CeliAK assay could present some preanalytic, analytic, and economic advantages.

Controversias entre la infección por Helicobacter pylori y la epidemiología del cáncer gástrico / Helicobacter pylori infection and the epidemiology of gastric malignancy

Se cree que la infección por Helicobacter pylori se asocia con la aparición de cáncer gástrico. De hecho, varios estudios han postulado, probado y supuestamente demostrado esta asociación. Desafortunadamente, muchos de estos estudios han arrojado resultados contradictorios. Al parecer, en algunas ocasiones existe una asociación sólida, pero en otras oportunidades no queda claro si esto es así. Al menos el 50% de todos los estudios destinados a demostrar esta asociación han observado una asociación negativa entre esta bacteria y el cáncer gástrico. Incluso aquellos que han logrado resultados con asociación positiva no son reproducibles, lo que sugiere una falta de congruencia. Por otra parte, los datos epidemiológicos son insuficientes para demostrar la causalidad por sí mismos. Tan es así que los experimentos que se han realizado en animales para establecer un vínculo claro entre la infección y el cáncer gástrico no han sido muy exitosos. Por ende, en la actualidad, Helicobacter pylori no parece tener una asociación de tipo ôcausa y efectoö con el cáncer gástrico. Creemos que la clasificación de este patógeno por la AIIC en 1994 dentro del grupo de los carcinógenos humanos del grupo 1 fue prematura, y que se justifica realizar una reclasificación de esta bacteria en una categoría más apropiada, debido a la falta de pruebas firmes. (AU)

Controversias entre la infección por Helicobacter pylori y la epidemiología del cáncer gástrico / Helicobacter pylori infection and the epidemiology of gastric malignancy

Se cree que la infección por Helicobacter pylori se asocia con la aparición de cáncer gástrico. De hecho, varios estudios han postulado, probado y supuestamente demostrado esta asociación. Desafortunadamente, muchos de estos estudios han arrojado resultados contradictorios. Al parecer, en algunas ocasiones existe una asociación sólida, pero en otras oportunidades no queda claro si esto es así. Al menos el 50% de todos los estudios destinados a demostrar esta asociación han observado una asociación negativa entre esta bacteria y el cáncer gástrico. Incluso aquellos que han logrado resultados con asociación positiva no son reproducibles, lo que sugiere una falta de congruencia. Por otra parte, los datos epidemiológicos son insuficientes para demostrar la causalidad por sí mismos. Tan es así que los experimentos que se han realizado en animales para establecer un vínculo claro entre la infección y el cáncer gástrico no han sido muy exitosos. Por ende, en la actualidad, Helicobacter pylori no parece tener una asociación de tipo “causa y efecto” con el cáncer gástrico. Creemos que la clasificación de este patógeno por la AIIC en 1994 dentro del grupo de los carcinógenos humanos del grupo 1 fue prematura, y que se justifica realizar una reclasificación de esta bacteria en una categoría más apropiada, debido a la falta de pruebas firmes.

Nasal rhinosporidiosis.

Rhinosporidiosis is a rare chronic granulomatous infection caused by Rhinosporidium seeberi. It affects mainly the mucosa of the nose, nasopharynx, palate, conjunctiva and the urethra. A seven-year-old girl presented with intranasal polypoid growth with recurrent nose bleeding for one year. Excision biopsy was done, and the tissue was subjected to routine histological processing and stained with hematoxylin and eosin stains with additional mucicarmine special stain. Variable-sized sporangia containing magenta-colored spores and capsule were observed. We hereby present a rare infective disease diagnosed nine years after the first reported case in our center.

Hepatic histopathological findings in HIV patients at postmortem in Jos university teaching hospital, Nigeria.

Multi-organ involvement by opportunistic infections and neoplasms is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in people living with HIV/AIDS. We determined the spectrum/frequency of hepatic histopathological lesions in a prospective study of postmortem liver biopsies from 100 patients (50 females and 50 males, age range 18-55 years) who died from HIV/AIDS in Jos university teaching hospital, Nigeria. The majority of the patients, 65 (65%), had clinical tuberculosis. Granulomatous hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, non-specific reactive hepatitis (NSRH) and steatosis were the commonest hepatic histopathologic lesions occurring in 34, 20,15 and 12% of patients, respectively. Seven (7%) had normal histological features. This study shows that the liver is affected in HIV/AIDS as reported elsewhere in the world. Therefore, liver biopsy in HIV patients may be helpful in the management of these patients.