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T Santantonio

Publications and source records attributed to T Santantonio.

67 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Monophasic and polyphasic pattern of alanine aminotransferase in acute non-A, non-B hepatitis. Clinical and prognostic implications.

One-hundred-and-two out of 788 consecutive patients (12.9%) hospitalized for an attack of acute hepatitis fulfilled criteria for non-A, non-B (NANB) hepatitis, and were followed prospectively for 8 to 70 months. Forty-one out of 97 patients showed a monophasic pattern of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and all recovered completely. In contrast, 22 of 56 (39.2%) subjects with a polyphasic pattern of ALT exhibited persistent hypertransaminasemia for more than 14-18 months, and all of them developed chronic hepatitis. Thus, a polyphasic pattern of ALT seems to characterize one of two forms of NANB hepatitis, more frequently associated with parenteral exposure, absence of jaundice and a high tendency for the development of chronic hepatitis. This suggests distinct immunopathogenetic mechanisms from two unrelated NANB agents. Benign, non-progressive chronic persistent hepatitis is the prevalent form of chronic sequela of NANB hepatitis observed in our patients. Although many of these patients show a tendency to spontaneous remission of the disease, there is the possibility in some of a deterioration of inflammatory activity of the liver that has need of immunosuppressive therapy.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1985

Serum binding activity for human albumin polymers in acute and chronic virus hepatitis.

We considered the serum binding activity for human albumin polymerized with glutaraldehyde in 346 serum samples of 205 subjects with acute and chronic type A, B and non-A, non-B virus hepatitis. We showed that the binding activity for pHSA in the control groups did not have a titer higher than 2(-6). All sera from patients with HAV and HBV acute infection showed a high binding titer that returned to below the threshold in the former after the peak of hepatocytolysis, and in the latter after the seroconversion of HBsAg to anti-HBs. In the subjects who became HBsAg chronic carriers after the acute episode of HBV infection, the pHSA binding activity showed a decrement of the titer in relation to the seroconversion of HBeAg to anti-HBe. Furthermore, 92% of HBsAg chronic carriers who were HBeAg positive had a high titer of pHSA binding, while only 14.3% of the anti-HBe positives showed a high titer. Acute and chronic hepatitis non-A, non-B virus showed a pHSA binding titer similar to that of the control group. The results indicate that the non-A, non-B virus does not seem to be correlated to pHSA or related factors.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1984

[Evaluation of an immunoenzyme test (ELISA) for the determination of an Ag/Ab system correlated to non-A, non-B post-transfusion hepatitis].

An ELISA for the detection of a Ag/Ab system related to non-A, non-B post-transfusion hepatitis (NANB-PTH) has been developed. A convalescent serum from a patient suffering, 14 month before, of NANB-PTH was used both as capture and detector antibody in a "sandwich" type immunoassay to detect an Ag (Ag-NANB). A "blocking" immunoassay was used, in the same test, to detect the corresponding antibody (Ab-NANB). All patients with NANB-PTH were positive, alternately, for Ag-NANB or Ab-NANB. The Ag was found in the acute phase sera of 3 out of 22 cases of NANB-PTH (13,6%), but in none of 29 acute hepatitis type B,26 acute hepatitis type A,14 NANB sporadic hepatitis, 5 infectious mononucleosis and 8 healthy subjects. 2/3 Ag-NANB positive subjects became chronic carriers of this Ag, whereas the third seroconverted for Ab-NANB after the first two months of their disease. Furthermore, a significant increase of the Ab-NANB titer was observed in the convalescent phase of the disease in 18/20 NANB-PTH. As expected, a relatively high prevalence for Ab-NANB was found in the other groups of patients, suggesting the high diffusion of the agent, but none of these subjects showed a progressive increase of the antibody titer during the course of their disease.

Antigens, Viral↗
PubMed1984

[Immunoenzyme determination of IgA specific anti-HAV in the serological diagnosis of hepatitis A].

A capture enzyme immuno assay for the detection in the serum of specific IgA antibodies to HAV is described. A total of 203 sera from patients and controls were tested. IgA anti-HAV were present only in sera from patients with recent hepatitis A. 23 patients were followed prospectively and IgA anti-HAV were at detectable levels for at least six months after the onset. The detection of IgA anti-HAV is proposed as an important test to differentiate hepatitis A with persistent hypertransaminasemia from non-A, non-B patients.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1983

[Evaluation of free and IgG-bound components of e antigen (HBeAg) in acute virus B hepatitis].

Soluble (free) and insoluble (IgG-bound) hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) activities in 1,33 M ammonium sulfate solution was evaluated serially in sera from 12 patients with acute type B hepatitis followed up to 60 days. In three cases preclinical sera were available. In patients who showed clinical and biochemical resolution of hepatitis within 60 days, HBeAg free was the prevalent form of circulating HBeAg during the incubation period of disease, then gradually shifting to the IgG-bound form at the onset of jaundice. Finally HBeAg-bound was no longer demonstrable, followed by detection of anti-HBe antibody. On the contrary, in all patients with unresolved hepatitis both HBeAg-free and HBeAg-bound were detected with prevalence of HBeAg-free ratio. These data suggest a striking correlation between synthesis of HBeAg and HBV replication and may indicate that HBeAg-free and IgG-bound ratio reflects the stage and prognosis of acute HBV infection.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1983

Chronic viral hepatitis in thalassemic liver disease. A long-term study in patients with acute hepatitis with nontransfusion-dependent thalassemia minor.

To evaluate the effective role of hepatitis viruses in thalassemic (Th) liver disease, we carried out a long-term study in 42 subjects with nontransfusion-dependent Th minor hospitalized for an episode of acute viral hepatitis. 10 patients had serologic evidence of hepatitis A, 23 of hepatitis B and 9 of hepatitis non-A, non-B. In the follow-up chronic hepatitis was detected histologically in 5/23 patients with hepatitis B and 5/9 with hepatitis non-A, non-B. All hepatitis A patients recovered completely. The prevalence in 7 out of 10 patients with chronic hepatitis of piecemeal necrosis and of inflammatory changes over hepatic siderosis and fibrosis evidenced a determinant role of chronic viral infection in the development of liver damage in these patients. Thus, heterozygous nontransfusion-dependent Th patients seem to have a high risk of developing a chronic inflammatory liver disease especially after an episode of non-A, non-B hepatitis. Therefore, in our geographical area, chronic hepatitis of viral origin should be taken into account, among other pathogenetic factors, in many cases of cryptogenic thalassemic liver disease.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1982

[Radioimmunological determination of HAV and anti-HAV IgA in the feces of patients with acute type-A hepatitis].

58 fecal specimens from 14 patients (10 hepatitis A, 2 hepatitis B and 2 infectious mononucleosis) were tested for the hepatitis A virus (HAV) and IgA anti-HAV by micro-solid-phase-radioimmunoassay. Only patients with hepatitis A were positive for HAV and/or IgA anti-HAV. In the first days of the disease we found HAV in the feces of 4 patients but it was never present after the sixth day. In all hepatitis A we found IgA anti-HAV in at least one fecal specimen and the titer of the antibodies increased in most cases during the course of the disease. The duration and the peak of the IgA response in the feces were strongly similar to other enterovirus infections. Some methodologic improvement both for HAV and IgA anti-HAV detection are suggested.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

[Surface antigen (HBsAg) and core antibody (anti-HBc) in chronic uremia during periodic hemodialysis treatment of hepatitis B patients. Correlation with viral replication markers (HBeAg and DNA polymerase activity)].

Sera of thirty-five hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive hemodialysis patients and fifty-three asymptomatic HBsAg chronic carrier were studied to assess the relationship between markers of virus activity (hepatitis B e antigen and core-associated DNA polymerase activity) and titers of HBsAg and of antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc). All sera were tested by solid-phase radioimmunoassay methods. HBeAg was detected in 20 (51%) hemodialysis patients and in 14 (26%) asymptomatic carriers, whereas DNA P activity was present in sera of 21 (60%) and 17 (32%) respectively. The highest titers of HBsAg and anti-HBc expressed as P/N ratio between positive and negative controls, were detected in the majority of hemodialysis patients, whereas asymptomatic carriers showed low titers of these markers. These data suggest that in HBsAg positive hemodialysis patients a more active viral replication occurs and further underline the difference between these patients and other categories of HBsAg carriers in terms of infectivity.

Carrier State↗
PubMed1980

[Serologic diagnosis of acute hepatitis A. Refinement and evaluation of 3 methods of determining specific anti-HAV IgM].

A solid phase radioimmunoassay (RIA) procedure was developed and three methods for detection of IgM specific antibody to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV IgM) were compared: triple antibody method, 2-MercaptoEthanol (2-ME) for IgM cleavage and Staphylococcal A Protein (StAP) for IgG absorption. Specificity and sensitivity of the tests were checked for evaluating acute and convalescent sera from 40 patients with serologically (seroconversion) diagnosed hepatitis A and 64 sera from patients with various acute viral diseases or with high titre of rheumatoid factor (RF). Specimens to be assayed for anti-HAV IgM were pretreated with 2-ME or StAP and tested by RIa using 125I labelled anti-HAV IgG. Triple antibody method showed to be more sensitive than other two methods giving false positive result in only one serum containing high levels of monoclonal RF. No significant difference in sensitivity and specificity was found between 2-ME and StAP procedure, but these methods were able to detect anti-HAV IgM for only two weeks after the onset of the disease, whereas triple antibody method gave positive results for at last seven weeks.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Circulating immune complexes in HBsAg-positive and HBsAg-negative chronic liver diseases.

Circulating immune complexes (CIC) were investigated by the fluid-phase C1q-binding test in serum samples from 131 subjects with various clinical types of HBsAg-positive and HBsAg-negative chronic hepatitis diagnosed on both clinical and laboratory criteria, including liver biopsy; serum samples from 28 asymptomatic HBsAg carriers and 75 healthy controls were also examined. The results of these findings were correlated with the liver damage and the clinical course of the disease. CIC were detected in all categories of chronic hepatitis with a significant prevalence only in patients with liver cirrhosis. No correlation was found between the levels of CIC, the presence of circulating HBsAg, and active inflammation or necrosis in any of the different types of chronic hepatitis. In contrast, a highly significant correlation was found between the prevalence of CIC and a more severe prognosis in patients with CAH and liver cirrhosis. The findings suggest that the presence of CIC is not specific for a given type of chronic liver disease and that they do not play any role in the pathogenesis of liver damage. The correlation observed between the presence of CIC and an unfavourable course of chronic liver disease suggests that CIC may modify the host's immune defence mechanisms.

Antigen-Antibody Complex↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Detection of hepatitis B virus DNA in serum by spot hybridization technique: sensitivity and specificity of radiolabeled and biotin-labeled probes.

The detection of serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in 32 chronic HBsAg carriers was performed by spot hybridization technique using both biotinylated and radiolabeled probes, in order to compare their specificity and sensitivity. Our results show that both assays are specific since neither evidence of cross-hybridization between HBV DNA and sera from patients with chronic non-A, non-B (NANB) hepatitis was found, nor HBV DNA was detected both in patients with chronic anti-HBs/anti-HBc-positive hepatitis and in patients negative for all HBV markers. An agreement between the two assays was observed in 94% of the tested sera. Even though in 5 serum samples (6%) low levels of HBV DNA (0.1-1 pg/100 microliter) remained undetected using the biotin-labeled probe, the lower detection limit of the two assays (0.1 pg of HBV DNA) was the same using purified Dane particles as control. This study indicates that the enzymatic detection of HBV DNA is suitable for routine and rapid monitoring of HBV replication in both HBeAg- and anti-HBe-positive patients, as well as for a semiquantitative analysis of serum HBV DNA.

Biotin↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Liver graft infection by HBV S-gene mutants in transplant patients receiving long-term HBIg prophylaxis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: HBV reinfection of transplant livers occurs frequently even in the presence of high doses of anti-HBs immunoglobulins. We analyzed, retrospectively, whether and which type of S-gene variants were selected by long-term polyclonal anti-HBs (HBIg) treatment leading to reinfection of patients transplanted because of chronic HBs-positive end-stage liver disease. METHODOLOGY: The preS2/S gene of the viral genomes obtained from sera before transplantation and during HBV reinfection was amplified by PCR and directly sequenced. RESULTS: According to transaminase and HBV DNA hybridization analysis, 3/18 (17%) liver transplant patients had HBV and hepatitis recurrence during anti-HBs therapy. A HBV S-gene mutant containing a G to A nucleotide mutation at position 587, converting Glycine to Arginine (G145A), was identified in all three patients as the dominant population at reinfection but not pre-transplantation. Contrary to the S-gene, no consistent nucleotide changes were found in the pre-S2 region of HBV genomes when comparing the reinfection and pre-transplantation samples. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that long-term polyclonal anti-HBs immunoprophylaxis selected the most commonly described G145R S-gene escape HBV variant which became the dominant virus population and was responsible for graft infection. Therefore, immunoglobulins with high affinity for the G145R HBs variant should be included in HBIg to prevent recurrent HBV infection in transplant patients.

Adult↗