Biomedical subjects

M J Vergara

Publications and source records attributed to M J Vergara.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2002

Multiple sclerosis and human herpesvirus 6.

BACKGROUND: A possible but as yet unproven relationship has been proposed between the onset or persistence of multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms and herpesviruses, including, most recently, human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6). A study was conducted to investigate the presence of HHV-6 DNA and the synthesis of antibodies against HHV-6, cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with MS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PCR and ELISA were used to detect HHV-6 DNA and specific antibodies against HHV-6, CMV and EBV in 211 samples (139 sera and 72 CSF). There were three groups of samples: group I, paired samples of serum and CSF from 41 MS patients; group II, paired samples of serum and CSF from 31 patients with neurological diseases other than MS (OND); group III, 67 serum samples from 27 different MS patients undergoing serologic follow-up. RESULTS: No HHV-6 DNA was found in any sample. Group I sera showed elevated anti-HHV-6 IgG and IgA levels. In group II, anti-CMV IgG was detected in one CSF sample and anti-HHV-6 IgM in one serum sample. Group III sera showed high concentrations of anti-HHV-6 IgG, IgA and IgM. CONCLUSION: Given the clinical implications of the presence of antibodies against HHV-6 in MS patients, a viral reactivation cannot be excluded as an environmental factor.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Clinical utility of a competitive ELISA to detect antibodies against Treponema pallidum.

Screening for Treponema pallidum infection is carried out on a large human population. To reduce costs, fewer tests which still offer adequate sensitivity and specificity could be performed. We studied the reliability of a novel indirect ELISA method to test for this infection. Several panels of sera were used that corresponded to 40 primary infections (group 1), 13 recurrences (group 2), 348 latent infections (group 3), 5 samples with anticardiolipin antibodies (group 4), 15 samples from patients with Lyme borreliosis (group 5), and 400 samples from blood donors and healthy pregnant women (group 6). The ELISA showed a global sensitivity and specificity of 100 and 99.5%, respectively. Our evaluation shows that Enzygnost Syphilis is a sensitive, specific, and simple test to screen for this infection.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Comparison of several ELISA tests for detecting the presence of IgG and IgM against herpes simplex viruses.

Four enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays designated test 1 (ETI-HSVK-G 1/2); test 2 (ETI-HSVK-M 1/2); test 3 (ETI-HSVK-G 2), and test 4 (BioElisa HSV2 IgG) were studied to evaluate different stages of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection. Samples (50 sera and 14 cerebrospinal fluid) were included in four groups. Group 1 consisted of samples from patients with primary HSV infections; group 2 comprised samples from patients with recurrent HSV infections; group 3 were samples nonreactive to HSV; and group 4 were samples from patients with infections by other herpes viruses (4a, chickenpox; 4b, herpes zoster; and 4c, infectious mononucleosis by Epstein-Barr virus). The percentages of agreement between tests 1 and 2 were 100 and 72.1%, respectively. The total diagnostic values of tests 1 and 2 were: 100 and 50% sensitivity, respectively; and 100 and 89% specificity, respectively. Few positive results for HSV-2 infection were found, and so, tests 3 and 4 were not evaluated. The results of tests 3 and 4 for a chickenpox patient, and a herpes zoster patient were not in agreement.

Antibodies, Viral↗

PubMed1999

Clinical reliability of IgG, IgA, and IgM antibodies in detecting Epstein-Barr virus at different stages of infection with a commercial nonrecombinant polyantigenic ELISA.

We studied the diagnostic reliability of a modification of the Enzygnost EBV test (Behringwerke, Germany) for the detection of IgG, IgA, and IgM antibodies (Abs) in the diagnosis of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) disease. One hundred and twenty-three serum samples were studied: 14 asymptomatic subjects without EBV infection, 48 patients with primary infection, 46 subjects with past EBV infection (11 patients with other acute infections), 8 patients without EBV infection but with other viral infection, and 7 patients with probable acute clonal stimulation of B lymphocytes caused by different microorganisms. Enzygnost EBV is based on an ELISA test with a pool of viral antigens. In our series the reliability of IgM for the diagnosis of recent primary EBV infection was: sensitivity 100%, specificity 95%, positive predictive value 90.5%, and negative predictive value 100%. The IgG detection with Enzygnost was: sensitivity 98%, specificity 100%, positive predictive value 100%, and negative predictive value 91.7%. Only two subjects had positive IgA. The Enzygnost test is an efficient method for the diagnosis of EBV infection although a few IgM false positives can occur.

Antibodies, Viral↗