Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E De Mayo.
We studied the prevalence and incidence of anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies in 350 patients during 15 months and looked for some risk factors. We found a significant correlation between anti-HCV positivity and length of dialysis treatment and treatment in more than one center. We propose some prophylactic rules.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) encephalitis in immunologically normal patients is rarely reported in the literature. CMV infection was diagnosed by viral DNA probe techniques on CSF cells in a 32-year-old, immunologically normal male presenting with a severe clinical picture due to encephalitis. Administration of ganciclovir was followed by an immediate improvement in the patient's condition. More sensitive techniques for CMV detection could allow to discover more cases of CMV encephalitis in non-immunocompromised patients than previously recognized.
Research has been carried out to determine the prevalence of toxoplasma infection in 1176 women of fertile age in Florence and province for 1984 so as to calculate expected congenital foetal risk of toxoplasmosis. Prevalence proved to be 22% in women aged from 15 to 20 and 60% in the 41-45 group, with an average annual sero-conversion rate of 1.5%. As pregnancy lasts 9 months, this rate is cut by 1/4, namely it drops from 1.5% to 1.125%. Transmission of the infection from mother to foetus occurs in about 1/3 of cases. 9256 pregnancies were reported in Florence and province. The expectation was therefore 104 primary infections and 35 infected newborns of whom 11-12 clinically diagnosable at birth. The estimated rate of toxoplasmosis in pregnancy is therefore 11% for Florence and foetal infection is about 4%. Two-thirds of the newborns with toxoplasma infection are asymptomatic but, if left untreated, they may develop serious neurological and behavioural sequelae. It is therefore necessary to learn the immune state with respect to toxoplasma for all fertile women before pregnancy and study negative findings during gestation.
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We report the use of the line immunoelectroosmophoresis (LIEOP), a modification of the immunoelectroosmophoresis (IEOP), for the serodiagnosis of rotavirus infection, in comparison with the complement fixation test. We tested 17 paired and 29 single sera from hospitalized children affected by acute gastroenteritis; rotavirus had been searched in the stools both by electron microscopy and IEOP. The LIEOP showed seroconversion in all the 11 cases with positive stools and also in 5 out of 5 patients whose stool sample had been negative. Either we had not been able to detect the virus, or there was an intervening (nosocomial) rotavirus infection. All sera which were reactive by complement fixation with bovine rotavirus were also reactive by LIEOP. Some of the sera which reacted by LIEOP, both with the homologous and the heterologous antigen, were negative by complement fixation.