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Monitoring Disease Activity (monitoring + disease_activity)
Selected AbstractsDetection of pemphigus desmoglein 1 and desmoglein 3 autoantibodies and pemphigoid BP180 autoantibodies in saliva and comparison with serum valuesEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORAL SCIENCES, Issue 5 2006Dimitrios Andreadis Although there is much literature on the detection of pemphigus and pemphigoid autoantibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in serum, nothing is known about their presence in saliva. The aim of this study was to evaluate the salivary levels of these autoantibodies in pemphigus and pemphigoid patients. Autoantibodies against desmoglein3, desmoglein1, and BP180 were assayed, by ELISA, in serum and saliva samples of patients and healthy controls. The titres of autoantibodies against Dsg1/3 found in both serum and saliva of pemphigus patients showed a statistically significant correlation, suggesting that saliva may be a useful biological material for diagnostic purposes, in monitoring disease activity, as well as for the early detection of relapses. By contrast, the titres of autoantibodies against BP180 in the serum and saliva of bullous pemphigoid patients were not statistically related, and further study of the usefulness of the BP180 ELISA for saliva in this disease is needed. In addition, based on our results, the BP180 ELISA with a recombinant NC16a epitope failed to detect the autoantibodies against BP180 in the serum and saliva of mucous membrane pemphigoid patients. [source] Active Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis can be specifically diagnosed and monitored based on the biostructure of the fecal floraINFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES, Issue 2 2008Alexander Swidsinski MD Abstract Background: The intestinal microflora is important in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The impact of its spatial organization on health and disease is unknown. Methods: We investigated sections of paraffin-embedded punched fecal cylinders. Fluctuations in spatial distribution of 11 bacterial groups were monitored in healthy subjects (n = 32), patients with IBD (n = 204), and other gastrointestinal diseases (n = 186) using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Results: The microbial structure differed in patients with Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), and healthy and disease controls. The profiles of CD and UC were distinctly opposite in 6 of 11 FISH probes used. Most prominent were a depletion of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (Fprau<1 × 109/mL) with a normal leukocyte count in CD and a massive increase of leukocytes in the fecal-mucus transition zone (>30 leukocytes/104,m2) with high Fprau in patients with UC. These 2 features alone enabled the recognition of active CD (Crohn's Disease Activity Index [CDAI] >150) or UC (Clinical Activity Index [CAI] >3) with 79%/80% sensitivity and 98%/100% specificity. The mismatch in the sensitivity was mainly due to overlap between single IBD entities, and the specificity was exclusively due to the similarity of Crohn's and celiac disease. When inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients were pooled the sensitivity was 100% for severe disease, 84% for moderate activity, 72% for IBD with ,12 months remission, and 24% for IBD with >12 months remission. Conclusions: The fecal flora is highly structured and spatially organized. Diagnosing IBD and monitoring disease activity can be performed based on analysis of punched fecal cylinders independent from the patient's complaints. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2007) [source] Matrix metalloproteinase-9: a novel biomarker for monitoring disease activity in patients with chronic urticaria patients?ALLERGY, Issue 4 2009S. Altrichter Background:, Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, an enzyme that contributes to inflammatory responses and subsequent tissue remodelling, has recently been suggested to be a good biomarker for monitoring disease activity in patients with chronic urticaria (CU). Here, we assessed whether total MMP-9 and/or active MMP-9 plasma levels are increased and correlated to disease activity in patients with CU. Methods:, Total MMP-9 and active MMP-9 plasma levels were determined by ELISA in 70 CU patients and control subjects (patients with psoriasis and healthy controls). CU activity was measured using weekly and daily composite symptom scores (urticaria activity score) calculated from the number of wheals and the intensity of pruritus. Results:, Significantly increased levels of total and active MMP-9 were detected in patients with CU as compared to healthy controls. Interestingly, patients with psoriasis also had clearly elevated plasma levels of total and active MMP-9, indicating that MMP-9 plasma levels do not specifically reflect CU activity. Most notably, total and active MMP-9 levels were not correlated with disease activity in CU or psoriasis patients. Conclusion:, Plasma MMP-9 is not a good CU biomarker and should not be used for assessing the efficacy of treatment in CU patients or their spontaneous changes in disease activity. [source] Effects of etanercept on urine neopterin levels in patients with psoriasis in a controlled, open-label studyTHE JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2009Erol KOC ABSTRACT Neopterin is an immunological marker of cellular immune activation. Etanercept is a tumor necrosis factor-, (TNF-,) antagonist that decreases excessive levels of TNF-, associated with inflammatory disease down to physiological levels. The objective of this study was to investigate urine neopterin levels in psoriatic patients treated with etanercept, to study the effect of etanercept as a TNF-, blocker on urine neopterin levels. Urine neopterin levels and urine neopterin/creatinine ratios were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography in 22 patients with psoriasis before and after treatment with etanercept. Results were compared with a group of 20 healthy volunteers, and 20 patients with inflammatory skin diseases as control groups. Urine neopterin levels, neopterin/creatinine ratios and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores were evaluated at baseline, and the 12th and 24th week after treatment. Urine neopterin levels were significantly elevated in the psoriatic group compared with control and inflammatory skin diseases groups (P < 0.05). Urine neopterin levels were significantly reduced after etanercept treatment. Statistically we did not find any correlation between neopterin levels and PASI scores. Our findings indicate that urine neopterin concentrations may reflect the disease activity in psoriasis, and may be used as a marker for monitoring disease activity and response to treatment with etanercept in psoriatic patients. [source] Erythrocyte C3d and C4d for monitoring disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosusARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 3 2010Amy H. Kao Objective Disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is typically monitored by measuring serum C3 and C4. However, these proteins have limited utility as lupus biomarkers, because they are substrates rather than products of complement activation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of measuring the erythrocyte-bound complement activation products, erythrocyte-bound C3d (E-C3d) and E-C4d, compared with that of serum C3 and C4 for monitoring disease activity in patients with SLE. Methods The levels of E-C3d and E-C4d were measured by flow cytometry in 157 patients with SLE, 290 patients with other diseases, and 256 healthy individuals. The patients with SLE were followed up longitudinally. Disease activity was measured at each visit, using the validated Systemic Lupus Activity Measure (SLAM) and the Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus: National Assessment (SELENA) version of the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI). Results At baseline, patients with SLE had higher median levels of E-C3d and E-C4d (P < 0.0001) in addition to higher within-patient and between-patient variability in both E-C3d and E-C4d when compared with the 2 non-SLE groups. In a longitudinal analysis of patients with SLE, E-C3d, E-C4d, serum C3, and anti,double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibodies were each significantly associated with the SLAM and SELENA,SLEDAI. In a multivariable analysis, E-C4d remained significantly associated with these SLE activity measures after adjusting for serum C3, C4, and anti-dsDNA antibodies; however, E-C3d was associated with the SLAM but not with the SELENA,SLEDAI. Conclusion Determining the levels of the erythrocyte-bound complement activation products, especially E-C4d, is an informative measure of SLE disease activity as compared with assessing serum C4 levels and should be considered for monitoring disease activity in patients with SLE. [source] | ||||||||||