Serum rheumatoid factor (RF) is important in the diagnosis and prognosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical characteristics and treatment patterns of RA according to the presence of RF in Korean patients. A retrospective analysis was performed on the records of 109 patients who were followed for at least 2 years, among 230 RA patients who visited ...

BACKGROUND Cryptococcal infection occurs in HIV-seropositive patients and is associated with high mortality. However, limited information is available on the prevalence and outcomes of cryptococcal antigenemia among hospitalized HIV-seropositive patients in sub-Saharan Africa. OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of and risk factors for cryptococcal antigenemia among HIV-seropositive patien...

BACKGROUND Very little is known about concordance of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection markers among couples. Through a cross-sectional study, we sought to determine the correlation of T. gondii infection in a sample of 119 heterosexual couples in Durango State, Mexico. METHODS Participants were examined for the presence of anti-T. gondii IgG and IgM antibodies using enzyme-linked immun...

Toxoplasmosis is a life-threatening disease in neotropical primates. The aim of the present study was to determine frequency antibodies Toxoplasma gondii primates from São Paulo state (SP), Brazil. modified agglutination test (MAT, cut-off: 25) used 49 upon or after their admission Associação Mata Ciliar (Jundiaí, SP, Brazil). Eight animals (16.3%) were seropositive. genus Sapajus had highest a...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between seropositivity to Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and the following factors: (i) type of household (rural vs. urban), (ii) use of acaricides (type and seasonality/duration), and (iii) history of tick bite (season). Blood samples were collected from all the dogs in the household and dog owners were survey...

This was a retrospective study of patients having Gnathostoma antibody testing at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Bangkok during 2000-2005 to investigate predictive factors for Gnathostoma seropositivity in patients attending the Gnathostomiasis Clinic. Out of 849 patients tested, 531 (62.5%) were Gnathostoma seropositive. The median absolute eosinophil counts were 464 (0-16,796) and 326.5 ...

Neuropsychological and immunological parameters were studied in 36 AIDS patients with early disease and without clinical, laboratory, and neuroradiological signs of CNS impairment, and also in 33 asymptomatic HIV seropositive subjects. Many AIDS patients performed abnormally on timed psychomotor tasks, tasks involving sequencing and "set-shifting", and memory tasks stressing attention, learning...

Levels of neopterin and alpha and beta interleukin-1 (IL-1) in sera of normal controls, asymptomatic intravenous drug abusers, homosexuals, and patients with lymphadenopathy or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome were measured. Neopterin levels were elevated in the sera of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seronegative intravenous drug abusers and homosexuals, as well as in the sera of HIV-sero...