D. Lilli

Occult hepatitis C virus infection in type II mixed cryoglobulinaemia

Summary. Mixed cryoglobulinaemia, when not secondary to other well‐defined immunological disorders, is commonly associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, a minority of cases lack evidence of HCV infection and are, therefore, defined as ‘true essential’ mixed cryoglobulinaemias. We thoroughly investigated three such patients to determine the aetiology of this disorder.

Detection of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in dialysis patients.

Dialysis patients are at risk for infection by a variety of blood-borne agents trasmitted within dialysis units.The development of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening test prompted many studies on the prevalence of anti-HCV among dialysis patients.The authors have evaluated the prevalence of anti-HCV in 405 hemodialysis patients both by Elisa screening and 4-RIBA test system with a follow-up of two years.The study showed a difference in the incidence of antibodies to HCV by year. In 1990, 15.2% were positive with an increase to 20.8% in 1991. There was an increase of 5% in dialysis patients and only 1.9% in the personnel working in the dialysis ward.Another control group of volunteers did not show any positivity. In addition, the correlations of the antibodies against HCV with markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and history of transfusion were evaluated.These findings suggest that the patients found to be positive should be dialyzed on separate machines and special precautions must be undertaken to reduce the risk of transmission.

Porphyria cutanea tarda and hepatitis G and C virus infection

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Isolation of mycoplasma species from infertile patients: An epidemiological contribution

SummaryIn this study the presence of Mycoplasma species in patients suffering from infertility was examined. 41 women and 37 men were examined, including 31 couples, and ten single women and six single men. Samples of vaginal and cervical mucus were taken from each woman, and samples of seminal fluid from each man. Identification and typing of the organisms were performed on the basis of microscopic and cultural characteristics and inhibition of growth by specific antibodies. Out of the 78 patients examined, 35 harboured Mycoplasma, either as Ureaplasma urealyticum or Mycoplasma hominis. Further investigation is needed to determine the clinical significance of these findings.ZusammenfassungDas Vorkommen von Mycoplasma-Spezies in Patienten, die an Sterilität leiden, und zwar 41 Frauen und 37 Männer (31 Paare, 16 Einzelpersonen) wurde untersucht. Es wurden bei jeder Frau Proben von Vaginal- und Zervikalschleim und bei jedem Mann Seminalflüssigkeit abgenommen. Die Identifizierung und Typisierung der Organismen ist aufgrund mikroskopischer und kultureller Eigenschaften sowie Wachstumshemmungen durch Antikörper vorgenommen worden. Von den 78 untersuchten Patienten wiesen 35 Mycoplasma (entweder Ureaplasma urealyticum oder Mycoplasma hominis) auf. Weitere Forschung ist nötig, um feststellen zu können, ob diese Befunde klinische Bedeutung haben.

Evaluation of indeterminate sera for hepatitis C virus by assays using synthetic peptides

The development of new immunodiagnostic systems to study antibodies anti-HCV based on the use of synthetic peptides are potentially very important in the evaluation of indeterminate samples. We have compared two immunodiagnostic tests, the 3-RIBA and LIA-HCV test system, to examine the samples rated as indeterminate by the 2-RIBA test. The results showed that the specificity of the new tests has improved, in fact 29/40 of the indeterminate samples studied became positive with both tests. However, the 3-RIBA test showed higher sensitivity, since two samples negative by LIA-HCV, were positive with this system.