BACKGROUND Currently, there is no effective intervention for a primary cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy. METHODS We studied pregnant women with a primary CMV infection. The therapy group comprised women whose amniotic fluid contained either CMV or CMV DNA and who were offered intravenous CMV hyperimmune globulin at a dose of 200 U per kilogram of maternal weight. A prevention ...

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in young children. We have previously shown that CD8+ T cell responses to CMV pp65 or IE1 protein were readily detectable in children with congenital or postnatal CMV infection. Here, we have further characterized the evolution of the peptide specificity of these responses in 7 infants<6 months of age at the ...

18 IgG avidity tests are used to discriminate acute from chronic infections. There are few 19 reports on the IgG avidity profile of patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL). This study 20 investigated the anti-Leishmania IgG avidity in patients with classic VL (n=10), patients 21 showing clinical cure after treatment (n=18), and asymptomatic subjects with at least one 22 positive Leishmania te...

Objective: To evaluate avidity of IgG anti-b2-glycoprotein I antibodies (anti-b2-GPI) in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in relation to thrombosis, and to demonstrate a possible affinity maturation of IgG anti-b2-GPI during the disease course. Methods: 64 sera from 32 patients (18 with primary or secondary APS, 14 with SLE without APS) and th...

BACKGROUND Toxoplasmosis is well known as an important infection in pregnant women. Although many serologic methods are available, diagnosis of early Toxoplasmosis may be extremely difficult. OBJECTIVE To detect the Toxoplasma IgG antibodies developed at the early stage of infection in pregnant women. METHODS 225 pregnant women, who were in the 2nd to 4th month of their pregnancy, enrolled ...

IgG avidity tests are used to discriminate acute from chronic infections. There are few reports on the IgG avidity profile of patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL). This study investigated the anti-Leishmania IgG avidity in patients with classic VL (n = 10), patients showing clinical cure after treatment (n = 18), and asymptomatic subjects with at least one positive Leishmania test (n = 20)...

Objective: To evaluate avidity of IgG anti-b2-glycoprotein I antibodies (anti-b2-GPI) in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in relation to thrombosis, and to demonstrate a possible affinity maturation of IgG anti-b2-GPI during the disease course. Methods: 64 sera from 32 patients (18 with primary or secondary APS, 14 with SLE without APS) and th...

Background Beta-thalassemia patients receive blood products from blood transfusion centers repeatedly. Blood transfusion can transmit Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Toxoplasma gondii. The aim of this study was serological evaluation of these two infectious agents in thalassemia patients. Materials and Methods In a cross-sectional study, the enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing was pe...

We assessed the performance of the ARCHITECT Toxo IgG, IgM, and IgG Avidity assays against corresponding assays on AxSYM and Vidas using 730 sera from pregnant women. The ARCHITECT Toxo IgG and IgM assays showed a relative sensitivity of 97.5% and 89.9% and a relative specificity of 99.1% and 99.8%, respectively. If IgM sensitivity is calculated only for sera drawn less than 4 months after infe...

The aim of the present study was to compare serological tests (Rose Bengal [RB]; standard agglutination test [SAT]; enzyme immunoassay [EIA] for detection of IgM, IgA, and IgG; and 2-mercaptoethanol [2-ME] test) that are routinely used in patients prediagnosed with different clinical types of brucellosis (acute, subacute, or chronic), and to evaluate the results of the IgG avidity test. Ninety-...