Discussion Efalizumab is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody used for chronic plaque psoriasis refractory to other systemic treatments (methotrexate, ciclosporin, PUVA therapy). The most frequent efalizumab side effects are influenza syndrome, infections, pruritus and arthritis [1–4] . Malignancies are not increased in patients treated with efalizumab [5] . A study of the clinical trial...

Serum samples, 100 in the total number, were collected from different laboratories in Tehran, Iran and tested for anti-Toxoplasma specific IgG and IgM antibodies using indirect immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT). Using the IgG (chronic) and IgM (acute) positive samples, the IgG avidity test was performed by ELISA in duplicate rows of 96-well microtiter plates. One row was washed with 6 M ur...

Congenital toxoplasmosis is associated with important morbidity and mortality. Since vertical transmission of Toxoplasma gondii can occur in acute cases, antenatal screening for recent infections is vital. Accurate determination of acute toxoplasmosis requires a combination of immunoassays, usually not routinely applied for screening purposes. This study evaluated the anti-T. gondii (IgG+IgM)/I...

Toxoplasma gondii causes severe fetal disease during acute infection in pregnant women, thus demanding early diagnosis for effective treatment and fetus preservation. Fetal tests are inefficient and risky, and diagnosis is based on maternal IgM serology, which had weak screening ability due to increased sensitivity, with alternative IgG avidity tests. Here, we performed ELISA and avidity assays...

  Introduction : Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is able to go into latency and is the most common cause of congenital infections in humans. Its clinical manifestations range from asymptomatic forms to severe fetal damage, and in rare cases, fetal death due to abortion. This prospective cross-sectional study was designed to determine the seroprevalence of HCMV infection in pregnant women attending...

BACKGROUND Little is known about the epidemiology and the prognostic factors of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) following primary infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV-GBS). METHODS We prospectively followed up 506 patients with cases of GBS who were admitted to our center from 1996 through 2006. We diagnosed 63 (12.4%) CMV-GBS cases by immunoglobulin (Ig) M detection and IgG avidity. Plasma CMV ...

A total of 52 serum samples from patients with symptoms suggestive of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) infection and positive IgM and/or IgG antibodies were tested for IgG avidity. Acute/recent TBEV infection was confirmed by low/borderline avidity index (AI) in 94.8% IgM positive/IgG positive samples, while in 5.2% high AI was found indicating persisting IgM antibodies. Majority of IgM neg...

To assess the problem of CMV infection in pregnant women in Sohag community and to determine the risk of congenital CMV infection. The study was performed on 900 pregnant women residing in Sohag, during the period from June, 2006 till January 2010. Detection of CMV antibodies (IgM and IgG) was carried out using microparticle enzyme immunoassay. Women proved positive (+ve) for CMV IgM or IgG ant...

In the present study, anti-Leishmania immunoglobulin G (IgG) avidity was used to estimate the approximate time of disease manifestation. Significant differences (P < 0.0001) were found between the levels of anti-rKE-16 IgG avidity in leishmaniasis patients with recent and chronic diseases. More than 76% of patients with an illness duration of less than 6 months had avidity of less than 70%, 94%...

Sera from 20 cases of toxoplasmic lymphadenopathy were examined by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay toxoplasma IgG avidity (ELISA) at two laboratories. The results obtained were largely in agreement and showed that sera from patients with acute infection had low avidity IgG (30% or less), whereas sera from patients with chronic infection had high avidity IgG (40% or more). It is suggested t...