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S Tripi

Publications and source records attributed to S Tripi.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

[Counterimmunoelectrophoresis on cellulose acetate membrane with a commercial lyophilized antigen in diagnosis of human hydatidosis].

A very simplified method of crossed over electrophoresis (CIEP) was employed with a lyophilized commercially produced antigen (previously submitted to several freezing and thawing) and cellulose acetate membrane, for the diagnosis of human hydatidosis. Results are as follows: active hydatidosis (surgically confirmed): number of sera tested 35; positive 32 (91%). Sera of patients with parasitic and non parasitic illnesses (especially malignancies of liver and lung) did not show any precipitin lines. The pattern of immunoprecipitation is characteristically in the form of an "upper lip" or a thick and undulating "streak". The very thin arcs of precipitation which are occurring in some control sera, are to be considered negative. These results indicate that with regard to the rule of the "three S" (specificity, sensitivity and simplicity) the method appears sufficiently satisfactory.

Antibody Formation↗

Prospective study on thyroid autoimmunity and dysfunction related to chronic hepatitis C and interferon therapy.

This study was designed to assess patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) for the presence of thyroid autoimmunity and dysfunction, to evaluate the risk of thyroid disorders associated with interferon (IFN) therapy, and to survey the outcome of possible treatment-related thyroid injury. Out of 104 consecutive untreated patients (30 women and 74 men; mean age, 52.7 years), 8 (7.7%) were found seropositive for thyroid autoantibodies (ThyAb), whereas seropositivity in healthy controls was 1/98 (1.3%). The relative increase in risk of developing thyroid autoimmunity associated with CHC was 760% (95% CI, 220-1300%). No patients had abnormalities of thyroid function tests, but on IFN treatment, 3/3 patients showed a rapid over-range rise in circulating thyrotropin, which returned to normal after therapy discontinuation. In the other 5 seropositive patients who refused treatment, thyroid function remained normal. Out of the 58 initially seronegative patients who consented to IFN treatment, 9 (15.5%) developed thyroid autoimmunity. Seven of them (77.7%) had thyroid dysfunction: hypothyroidism in 4 cases, transient thyrotoxicosis in 2 cases. The last patient developed TSH-receptor antibodies and Graves' disease, requiring methimazole therapy. Thyroid function recovered in the former 6 cases following IFN discontinuation. In the 28 initially seronegative patients who refused IFN and participated in a preliminary tauroursodeoxycholic acid trial, antithyroglobulin antibodies alone appeared in one case, but no thyroid dysfunction was observed. The relative risk of thyroid autoimmune disorder associated with IFN therapy was 342% (28-636%). The patients with CHC were unlikely to develop thyroid dysfunction in the absence of IFN therapy, in spite of being ThyAb seropositive. Moreover, a considerable proportion of seronegative patients, when IFN-treated, developed thyroid autoimmunity and then thyroid dysfunction. Both in seropositive and seronegative patients immediate IFN discontinuation normalized thyroid function and hormone replacement therapy was not necessary.

Adult↗

[Serum zinc concentration and antibody response to hepatitis B vaccine in hemodialysis patients].

The serum zinc concentration seems unlikely to be an important factor influencing immune response to hepatitis B vaccination in hemodialysis patients, on the basis of the following results: the absence of statistically significant differences in serum zinc concentrations between patients with absence of post-vaccine seroconversion or non protective seroconversion and patients with excellent seroconversion (anti-HBs concentrations over 124.6 mUI/ml); the association of protective antibody responses in 50% of non responders after an additional dose of HBV vaccine, without preliminary corrections of zinc balance.

Adult↗

[Maternal-fetal transmission of infection with hepatitis B virus: evaluation of viral markers in maternal and fetal biological materials and relation with the vaccine response].

From July 1984 to September 1987, 981 women at third trimester of pregnancy were screened for HBsAg. 26 women were identified as being HBsAg carrier. The study of HBV markers and anti-HBV antibodies was conducted on these women and their offspring to evaluate the presence of intrauterine infection, and the newborns response to passive active immunization in relationship to their markers status during pregnancy. HBsAg, HBeAg, anti-HBe and anti-HBc were assayed on the plasma drawn form the mother, on the amniotic fluid drawn by transabdominal amniocentesis and on funicolar blood samples drawn immediately after delivery. IgM anti-HBc were assayed on amniotic and funicolar samples. HBsAg, anti-Hbc and anti-Hbe were present in 42.8%, 100% and 50% of amniotic samples; whereas the percentage of the same markers in funicolar samples were 50% for HBsAg and 100% for anti-HBc and anti-HBe. In no amniotic or funicolar samples were IgM anti-HBc antibodies present. Anti-HBs, anti-HBc and anti-HBe were assayed on the newborns at 2, 16, 12, 18 months to evaluate the response to immunization. Response to passive-active immunization was protective in all newborns independently from their antigenic status during intrauterine life. Anti-HBc antibodies were cleared within 18 months from delivery, while anti-HBs got a protective title within 6 months from delivery, persisting in 88.8% of cases at 18 months.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Carrier State↗

[Incidence of anti-HCV positivity in a Sicilian population with liver diseases].

The discovery of virus C as an etiological agent of chronic liver disease (CLD) has modified previously-held concepts concerning the etiology of this disease. In a study of 581 consecutive patients with CLD, we confirmed that virus C was the sole agent responsible for it in 64.2% of all cases. Moreover, virus C was characteristically associated with virus B, alcohol consumption, and autoimmunity. When the various CLD were separated into subgroups, i.e., chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH), chronic active hepatitis (CAH), and liver cirrhosis (LC), virus C continued to be the main etiological agent, varying from 60.5% to 68.3%: this suggested constant evolution from milder to more severe forms of liver disease. Virus B alone was found less frequently, probably thanks to the virtual elimination of post-transfusion hepatitis B and the anti-B virus vaccination which is now widely administered. Frequency was 15.2% in the CPH group but lower in the LC and CAH groups (7.4% and 6.3% respectively), suggesting that evolution from the milder to the more severe forms of liver disease may not occur. Finally, we confirmed a statistically significant difference in mean age between hepatitis C virus positive men and women (p < 0.0001): in men, frequency was higher in the 20- to 50-year-old group; in women it was higher in the 50+year-old group.

Adult↗