Ibrahim Aly

Diagnostic efficacy of monoclonal antibody based sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of Fasciola gigantica excretory/secretory antigens in both serum and stool

BackgroundThis research was carried out to develop a reliable monoclonal antibody (MoAb)-based sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the diagnosis of active Fasciola gigantica infection in both serum and stool for comparative purposes.MethodsFrom a panel of MoAbs raised against F. gigantica excretory/secretory antigens (ES Ags), a pair (12B/11D/3F and 10A/9D/10G) was chosen due to its high reactivity and strict specificity to F. gigantica antigen by indirect ELISA.ResultsThe two MoAbs were of the IgG1 and IgG2a subclasses, respectively. Using SDS-PAGE and EITB, the selected MoAbs recognized 83, 64, 45 and 26 kDa bands of ES Ags. The lower detection limit of ELISA assay was 3 ng/ml. In stool, the sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic efficacy of ELISA was 96%, 98.2 and 97.1%; while in serum they were 94%, 94.6% and 94.3%, respectively. Moreover, a positive correlation was found between ova count in stool of F. gigantica infected patients and the OD readings of ELISA in both stool and serum samples (r = 0.730, p < 0.01 and r = 0.608; p < 0.01, respectively).ConclusionsThese data showed that the use of MoAb-based sandwich ELISA for the detection of F. gigantica coproantigens in stool specimens was superior to serum samples; it provides a highly efficient, non-invasive technique for the diagnosis of active F. gigantica infection.

Immunological and parasitological parameters after treatment with dexamethasone in murine Schistosoma mansoni

This work aimed to evaluate the effect of diphenyl dimethyl bicarboxylate (DDB) and dexamethasone alone and in combination with praziquantel on various parasitological, immunological and pathological parameters reflecting disease severity and morbidity in murine schistosomiasis. DDB and dexamethasone had no effect on worm burden but altered tissue egg distribution. This indicates that, under the schedule used, neither drug interfered with the development of adult worms or oviposition, but both can modulate liver pathology. Dexamethasone resulted in a greater reduction in granuloma size than did DDB. Dexamethasone-treated mice also showed lower levels of serum gamma interferon (IFN-γ), interleukin-12 (IL-12) and IL-4, together with higher IL-10 levels, than infected untreated control animals. These data suggest that dexamethasone is a convenient and promising coadjuvant agent that results in decreased morbidity in murine schistosomiasis.

Advantages of bioconjugated silica-coated nanoparticles as an innovative diagnosis for human toxoplasmosis

Nanotechnology is a promising arena for generating new applications in Medicine. To successfully functionalised nanoparticles for a given biomedical application, a wide range of chemical, physical and biological factors have to be taken into account. Silica-coated nanoparticles, (SiO2NP) exhibit substantial diagnostic activity owing to their large surface to volume ratios and crystallographic surface structure. This work aimed to evaluate the advantage of bioconjugation of SiO2NP with PAb against Toxoplasma lyzate antigen (TLA) as an innovative diagnostic method for human toxoplasmosis. This cross-sectional study included 120 individuals, divided into Group I: 70 patients suspected for Toxoplasma gondii based on the presence of clinical manifestation. Group II: 30 patients harboring other parasites than T. gondii Group III: 20 apparently healthy individuals free from toxoplasmosis and other parasitic infections served as negative control. Detection of circulating Toxoplasma antigen was performed by Sandwich ELISA and Nano-sandwich ELISA on sera and pooled urine of human samples. Using Sandwich ELISA, 10 out of 70 suspected Toxoplasma-infected human serum samples showed false negative and 8 out of 30 of other parasites groups were false positive giving 85.7% sensitivity and 84.0% specificity, while the sensitivity and specificity were 78.6% and 70% respectively in urine samples. Using Nano-Sandwich ELISA, 7 out of 70 suspected Toxoplasma-infected human samples showed false negative results and the sensitivity of the assay was 90.0%, while 4 out of 30 of other parasites groups were false positive giving 92.0% specificity, while the sensitivity and specificity were 82.6% and 80% respectively in urine samples. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that loading SiO2 nanoparticles with pAb increased the sensitivity and specificity of Nano-sandwich ELISA for detection of T.gondii antigens in serum and urine samples, thus active (early) and light infections could be easily detected.

Evaluation of Fasciola gigantica Metacercarial Antigens for Early Diagnosis of Fascioliasis in Sheep

Background: Although a large body of evidence exists on the effect of long-term exercise training program on pulmonary function, much less attention has been dedicated to investigating the acute effect of short-term exercise program on improving the ventilatory function. Objective: The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of short term high intensity aerobic exercise on lung function in adults to start first step in establishing an evidence based exercise program designed for chest patients who can only be supervised in short term hospitalization phase. Methods: A pre-post test study design was carried out on thirty healthy men students with their mean age 21.7 ± 1.26 who were enrolled in this study. Every student performed a 20-minute high-intensity monitored stationary arm Ergometer exercise and ventilatory function tests was performed in order to measure forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume at the end of the first second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio and peak expiratory flow rate PEFR before and after the exercise. Results: The result showed significant increase in the mean value of FEV1, and a non-significant difference in the mean values of (FVC), FEV1/FVC and PEFR. Conclusion: A single high intensity arm Ergometer exercise sitting has a significant effect on improving forced expiratory volume in the normal adult.3 Abstract: Immunological techniques have been developed over years using different Fasciola antigens for diagnosis of fascioliasis and as to replace the parasitological techniques which are time consuming and usually lack sensitivity and reproducibility. In this study, Fasciola gigantica purified metacercarial antigen was early detected in sera of infected sheep using both sandwich and Dot-ELISA in order to evaluate the efficacy of purified metacercarial antigen performance in diagnosing early fascioliasis. This work was conducted on 150 sheep blood samples which were classified according to their parasitological manifestation into 110 sera infected with fascioliasis, 20 infected with other different parasites and 20 healthy control sera. The sensitivity and specificity of sandwich ELISA compared to those of the Dot-ELISA were 92.7% and 93.7% versus 95.5% and 97.5%, respectively. On the other hand, the parasitological examination recorded 68.6% sensitivity and 100% specificity. The purified F. gigantica metaceraial antigens have shown a powerful antigencity for early immune-diagnosis of fascioliasis in both ELISA techniques, however, Dot- ELISA was trouble-free, more sensitive, greater specific and affordable as well as feasible test; the features recommended for any technique to be used in detecting the light infection, particularly, at the early stages that precede the onset of parasite eggs.Several factors may contribute to the rising of water-pipe smoking. Objectives: Several factors may contribute to the rising of water pipe smoking. The objectives of our study were to determine the prevalence, individual and social factors of water pipe smoking among undergraduate medical students of King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive/analytical study was done among a representative sample of 408 male and female undergraduate medical students. A simple random sampling method was used to select the participants. Aself-administered questionnaire was constructed based on the National Youth Tobacco Survey in the United States. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the data. Results: The prevalence of water-pipe smoking among medical students was 11.8% for males and 2% for females. Factors associated with water pipe smoking were water pipe smoking among siblings (OR=6.6; 95% CI = 2.3 – 18.2),parents (OR=4.6; 95% CI = 1.7 – 12.0), and closefriend (OR=65.7; 95% CI = 8.8 – 490.0). The odds of water pipe smoking among the 5th year students were five times higher (OR = 5.5; 95% CI = 1.4 – 24.6) compared to other years. Students whose parents were widowed had 4.2-fold (95% CI = 1.213.7) odds of water pipe smoking compared to students with full families. Conclusion: Social determinants, such as water pipe smoking among siblings, parents and close friends, as well as individual factors such as years of a study and parental marital status were associated with water pipe smoking among undergraduate medical students. Our finding can potentially improve tobacco control programs in Saudi Arabia and decrease the prevalence of water pipe smoking among students.M tourism has transformed from a cottage industry to a sector experiencing tremendous growth and becoming a focus area for governments regionally.As the coming rise in domestic demand brings strong growth and stability to the health care industry, further expansion into the world market through medical tourism represents an untapped resource that could take the sector to a new level. However, medical tourism is a highly competitive market and the emirate is working to establish itself within a crowded field – namely from South East Asia cities, who are accelerating their push into solidify their position as hubs for medical tourism.The key to entering and establishing a foothold will be from promoting existing strengths and reaching patients across different mediums, on both a continuous basis and during the time of decision making.”Objectives: to assess the Prevalence of anxiety and depression among secondary school students and to compare male and female group Methods: This is an observational cross section study using The sampling technique followed stratified convenient sampling and data was collected using self-administered questionnaires (Arabic version of the symptom revised SCL 90- R). Data was collected from 331 secondary school students between 15 and 18 years old from both genders after raking an informed consent Results: Results show 25.7% of the students had anxiety, On comparing boys and girls,23 boys (10.1%) had anxiety, while 62 (59.6%) of the girls had anxiety. In depression 28.4% is the Prevalence of depression in both genders, on comparing boys and girls, 34 male students (14.9%), while 60 female students (57.7%) had depressive symptoms with strong significance when comparing boys to girls Conclusion: This study analyzed the importance of mental health assessment and follow-up in secondary school students, especially girls. However, further assessment for other co – factors such as socioeconomic differences should be considered.Methods: Using a previously validated questionnaire that comprises 38 questions to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practices towards blood donation, 469 Saudi adults who attended different shopping malls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were interviewed. Based on calculated scores, level of knowledge and attitude of our study cohort were categorized into different groups. Multiple regression analyses were used to identify significant predictors of blood donation.Procedure: A sample of 250 postmenopausal women ranging in age between 45 to 80 years was selected by purposive sampling from various parts of north India (Haryana, Punjab, and Chandigarh). Anthropometric parameters (height, weight), physiological variables (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate), hypertension (as per JNC VII criteria) and bone mineral density (using dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry at lumbar spine L1-L4) of all the participants were recorded. Findings indicated that 40.4% women were identified with hypertension, out of which 12.8% had normal bone mineral density, 16.4% and 11.2% were osteopenic and osteoporotic respectively.