RESUMEN
UNLABELLED: Reactivity and titers of autoantibodies vary during the course of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), and some autoantibodies have been associated with disease activity and adverse outcomes after treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the autoantibody behavior in AIH and its significance as predictors of biochemical and histological remission. A total of 117 patients with AIH (mean age 18.6 [4-69] years) were evaluated and tested for autoantibodies at disease onset and successively (mean 3.2 [2-6] times) after a mean follow-up evaluation of 70 [20-185] months. Antismooth muscle (ASMA), antiliver kidney microsome type 1 (anti-LKM1), antiliver cytosol type 1 (anti-LC1), antimitochondrial, antinuclear (ANA), and antiactin antibodies (AAA) were determined at disease onset and 379 other times during the follow-up evaluation through indirect immunofluorescence in rodent tissues, HEp-2 cells, and human fibroblasts. Anti-SLA/LP were assessed 45 times in the follow-up evaluation of 19 patients using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Upon admission, AIH types 1 and 2 were observed in 95 and 17 patients, respectively. Five subjects had AIH with anti-SLA/LP as the sole markers. Patients initially negative for AAA did not develop these antibodies thereafter. ANA were detected de novo in six and three subjects with AIH types 1 and 2, respectively. After treatment, only ASMA (>1:80) and AAA (>1:40) were significantly associated with biochemical (76.9% and 79.8%) and histological features (100% and 100%) of disease activity (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: With the exception of ANA, the autoantibody profile does not markedly vary in the course of AIH. The persistence of high titers of ASMA and/or AAA in patients with AIH is associated with disease activity.
Asunto(s)
Actinas/inmunología , Anticuerpos Antiidiotipos/sangre , Hepatitis Autoinmune/diagnóstico , Músculo Liso/inmunología , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Biomarcadores/sangre , Niño , Preescolar , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Hepatitis Autoinmune/metabolismo , Hepatitis Autoinmune/fisiopatología , Humanos , Hígado/enzimología , Hígado/fisiopatología , Estudios Longitudinales , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Pronóstico , Índice de Severidad de la Enfermedad , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Celiac disease is a permanent enteropathy caused by the ingestion of gluten, which leads to an immunemediated inflammation of the small intestine mucosa. The prevalence of celiac disease varies among different nations and ethnic backgrounds, and its diversity is determined by genetic and environmental factors. São Paulo city is one of the largest cities in the world, with a vast population and an important history of internal migratory flow from other Brazilian regions, as well as immigration from other, primarily European, countries, resulting in significant miscegenation. The aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of adults with undiagnosed celiac disease among blood donors of São Paulo by collecting information on the ancestry of the population studied. METHODS: The prevalence of celiac disease was assessed by screening for positive IgA transglutaminase and IgA endomysium antibodies in 4,000 donors (volunteers) in the Fundação Pró-Sangue Blood Center of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. The antibody-positive subjects were asked to undergo a small bowel biopsy. RESULTS: Of the 4,000 subjects, twenty-four had positive tests, although both antibody tests were not always concordant. For example, ten subjects were positive for IgA tissue transglutaminase only. In twenty-one positive patients, duodenal biopsies were performed, and the diagnosis of celiac disease was confirmed in fourteen patients (Marsh criteria modified by Oberhuber). In this group, 67% claimed to have European ancestry, mainly from Italy, Portugal and Spain. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of celiac disease is at least 1:286 among supposedly healthy blood bank volunteers in São Paulo, Brazil.
Asunto(s)
Donantes de Sangre/estadística & datos numéricos , Enfermedad Celíaca/epidemiología , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Bancos de Sangre , Brasil/epidemiología , Enfermedad Celíaca/etnología , Ciudades/epidemiología , Métodos Epidemiológicos , Femenino , Humanos , Inmunoglobulina A/sangre , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Grupos Raciales/estadística & datos numéricos , Transglutaminasas/sangre , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Celiac disease is a permanent enteropathy caused by the ingestion of gluten, which leads to an immunemediated inflammation of the small intestine mucosa. The prevalence of celiac disease varies among different nations and ethnic backgrounds, and its diversity is determined by genetic and environmental factors. São Paulo city is one of the largest cities in the world, with a vast population and an important history of internal migratory flow from other Brazilian regions, as well as immigration from other, primarily European, countries, resulting in significant miscegenation. The aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of adults with undiagnosed celiac disease among blood donors of São Paulo by collecting information on the ancestry of the population studied. METHODS: The prevalence of celiac disease was assessed by screening for positive IgA transglutaminase and IgA endomysium antibodies in 4,000 donors (volunteers) in the Fundação Pró-Sangue Blood Center of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. The antibody-positive subjects were asked to undergo a small bowel biopsy. RESULTS: Of the 4,000 subjects, twenty-four had positive tests, although both antibody tests were not always concordant. For example, ten subjects were positive for IgA tissue transglutaminase only. In twenty-one positive patients, duodenal biopsies were performed, and the diagnosis of celiac disease was confirmed in fourteen patients (Marsh criteria modified by Oberhuber). In this group, 67% claimed to have European ancestry, mainly from Italy, Portugal and Spain. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of celiac disease is at least 1:286 among supposedly healthy blood bank volunteers in São Paulo, Brazil.
Asunto(s)
Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Adulto Joven , Donantes de Sangre/estadística & datos numéricos , Enfermedad Celíaca/epidemiología , Bancos de Sangre , Brasil/epidemiología , Enfermedad Celíaca/etnología , Ciudades/epidemiología , Grupos Raciales/estadística & datos numéricos , Métodos Epidemiológicos , Inmunoglobulina A/sangre , Transglutaminasas/sangreRESUMEN
Non-organ-specific autoantibodies (NOSA) are well-recognized diagnostic markers of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), but can also be observed in patients with viral hepatitis as well as in healthy subjects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of NOSA in subjects living in a rural community in Brazil and to correlate their occurrence with the presence of liver disease. Seven hundred twenty-five apparently healthy subjects were randomly selected for assessment of antinuclear (ANA), anti-smooth muscle (SMA), antimitochondrial (AMA), anti-liver/kidney microsome type 1, and anti-liver cytosol type 1 antibodies. Subjects with those NOSA were evaluated for the presence of AIH, PBC, and viral hepatitis. Reactivities for all NOSA, SMA, ANA, and AMA were detected, respectively, in 14, 10, 4, and 0.1% of subjects, with a mean titer of 1:40. NOSA-positive subjects were significantly older and more frequently females. No correlation was observed between the occurrence of NOSA and PBC, AIH, or viral hepatitis. The prevalence of NOSA in Brazilians was 14%. They were usually low titer. NOSA were more frequently observed in females and older subjects and their presence was not correlated with the presence of AIH, PBC, or viral hepatitis.
Asunto(s)
Autoanticuerpos/inmunología , Hepatitis Autoinmune/inmunología , Hepatitis Viral Humana/inmunología , Cirrosis Hepática Biliar/inmunología , Población Rural/estadística & datos numéricos , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Anticuerpos Antinucleares/inmunología , Brasil/epidemiología , Niño , Preescolar , Femenino , Técnica del Anticuerpo Fluorescente Indirecta , Hepatitis Autoinmune/diagnóstico , Hepatitis Autoinmune/epidemiología , Hepatitis Viral Humana/diagnóstico , Hepatitis Viral Humana/epidemiología , Humanos , Lactante , Cirrosis Hepática Biliar/diagnóstico , Cirrosis Hepática Biliar/epidemiología , Masculino , Mitocondrias/inmunología , Músculo Liso/inmunología , Prevalencia , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
AIM: To determine the prevalence of celiac disease in a group of volunteer blood donors at a blood bank in the city of Curitiba, Brazil through detection of the serum marker immunoglobulin A (IgA) antitransglutaminase antibody. METHODS: Blood samples collected from 2086 healthy subjects at the Paraná State Center for Hematology and Hemotherapy in Curitiba were submitted to ELISA testing for the IgA antitransglutaminase antibody. Positive samples received IgA antiendomysium antibody test through indirect immunofluorescence using human umbilical cord as substrate. Subsequently, patients who were positive on both tests underwent small bowel (distal duodenum) biopsy. RESULTS: Six subjects, four males and two females, tested positive for the two serum markers. Five of the six were submitted to intestinal biopsy (one declined the procedure). Biopsy results revealed changes in the distal duodenum mucosa (three classified as Marsh IIIb lesions and two as Marsh II lesions). Most donors diagnosed having celiac disease presented multiple symptoms (gastrointestinal tract complaints). One donor reported having a family history of celiac disease (in a niece). CONCLUSION: Among apparently healthy blood donors, the prevalence of biopsy-confirmed celiac disease was approximately 1:417, similar to that seen in European countries.
Asunto(s)
Enfermedad Celíaca/epidemiología , Enfermedad Celíaca/genética , Población Blanca/genética , Adulto , Biopsia , Brasil/epidemiología , Brasil/etnología , Enfermedad Celíaca/etnología , Conducta Alimentaria/etnología , Femenino , Predisposición Genética a la Enfermedad/epidemiología , Predisposición Genética a la Enfermedad/etnología , Predisposición Genética a la Enfermedad/genética , Humanos , Inmunoglobulina A/sangre , Mucosa Intestinal/enzimología , Mucosa Intestinal/patología , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Transglutaminasas/inmunología , Población Urbana , Población Blanca/etnologíaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) might be complicated by osteoporosis, whose etiology remains unknown but seems to be multifactorial. Prevalence rates of 30% to 60% for distal renal tubular acidosis (DRTA) have been reported in PBC patients, generally as incomplete DRTA. Although it is undisputed that a reduced bone mineral density (BMD) is the expected outcome among patients who have been suffering from longstanding chronic metabolic acidosis, it is unclear if incomplete DRTA is also associated with metabolic bone disease in PBC patients. The present study was undertaken to compare the BMD of PBC patients with and without DRTA. METHODS: The BMD of 23 PBC patients (11 with DRTA and 12 without), all with normal clearance of creatinine, was assessed by dual energy radiograph absorptiometry. The diagnosis of DRTA was made if the urine pH was above 5.4 in all samples after the oral acid overload, showing tubular inability to acidify urine in the presence of test-induced systemic metabolic acidosis. RESULTS: Densitometric signs of osteoporosis were found in 82% of DRTA cases and in 83% of patients without DRTA (difference not significant). There were no significant differences in BMD measurement, T and Z scores of patients with and without DRTA. CONCLUSIONS: The present study could not support a correlation between the presence of DRTA and the bone loss observed in PBC patients.
Asunto(s)
Densidad Ósea , Enfermedades Óseas/complicaciones , Cirrosis Hepática Biliar/complicaciones , Acidosis Tubular Renal/complicaciones , Femenino , Humanos , Persona de Mediana EdadRESUMEN
Presently, the schistosomiasis mansoni with low worm burden is frequent, thus immunologic assays of interest for the field diagnosis of Schistosoma mansoni light infections were evaluated here. Assays not assessed before (group I) and those requiring better validation (group II) for the screening of light infections were included in this study. In the group I, the immunofluorescence assays for the detection of IgM antibodies to worm antigens (IgM IFAw) and IgG antibodies to egg antigens (IgG IFAe) gave high levels of sensitivity, specificity, efficiency and predictive value of positive. However, the immunoenzymatic assays for the detection of IgM antibodies to worm antigens (IgM ELISAw) and to egg antigens (IgM ELISAe) had lower levels than the former assays. The assays from the group II designed mostly for the detection of IgG antibodies to same parasite antigens showed good diagnostic performance. The data obtained here contributed to evidenciate at least three category of immunoassays, and we concluded that those from the category I are suitable for seroepidemiologic purposes by keeping their diagnostic features unchanged even varying significantly the intensity of S. mansoni infection.