Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0026918 (Mycobacterium)
 52,428 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The schoolchildren in three regions of Miyako Islands, Okinawa Prefecture, were surveyed annually, from 1978 to 1984, by using the fluorescent leprosy antibody absorption (FLA-ABS) test and the lepromin reaction with the Dharmendra's antigen, for detecting the individuals at high risk of leprosy and for evaluating predictive value of these immunological tests. Constant potency of these tests was confirmed by the percentage of positive reactions among the children in the first grade of elementary schools (5 or 6 years old) surveyed from 1980 to 1984. A temporal rise or drop of the percentages during this period seemed to associate with the yearly reported number of new leprosy cases in each region. Among 1,168 schoolchildren tested with FLA-ABS once or twice or more, the percentage of positive reactions was significantly higher in the children with the enlargement of peripheral nerve without sensory loss than in those without this signs and symptoms. The longer the duration of this signs and symptoms, the higher the percentage of positive FLA-ABS tests. Lepromin test did not show any significant correlation with this signs and symptoms. A concordant persistence or change between the FLA-ABS tests and neural signs or symptoms was observed in 133 out of 331 children examined twice or more. Discordant changes in the remaining were mainly attributed to a conversion to seronegativity before the disappearance of neural signs and symptoms. Changes of FLA-ABS and lepromin reactivities between the initial and final tests suggested a spontaneous cure of subclinical infection with Mycobacterium leprae among the children who were FLA-ABS positive but lepromin negative at the initial test and therefore considered to be a group at high risk of leprosy. Although neural signs and symptoms were found in the majority of these children, none of them so far developed overt symptom of the disease. Based on these findings, predictive value of FLA-ABS test together with lepromin was discussed.
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PMID:Immuno-epidemiological studies on subclinical infection in leprosy. III. Yearly observations and follow-up studies of schoolchildren by using FLA-ABS and lepromin tests. 182 97

For the purpose of understanding subclinical infection with Mycobacterium leprae among the inhabitants in an endemic area, 3,547 schoolchildren and 1,487 adults in several regions of Okinawa were surveyed by using clinical examinations and immunological tests, i.e. the fluorescent leprosy antibody absorption (FLA-ABS) test and the lepromin test using Dharmendra's antigen, during a period from 1978 to 1984. The enlargement of peripheral nerves, especially that of lateral or bilateral auricular and/or ulnar nerves, without loss of sensation was found in 8.4% of the schoolchildren and in 9% of the adults. A frequency of these signs and symptoms was significantly higher in male than in female and tended to increase with age. The percentage of positive reactions in FLA-ABS tests for schoolchildren and adults was 21.8 and 22.5, respectively, the values suggesting a minimum frequency of subclinical infection with M. leprae among these inhabitants. The percentage of positive FLA-ABS tests was significantly higher in those with neural signs and symptoms than in those without. Such a correlation was not found in the lepromin test. Ill-defined depigmentation of the skin without loss of sensation was found in a few percentage of both schoolchildren and adults. However, this sings and symptoms did not correlate with the FLA-ABS test nor with the lepromin test. A history of tuberculin test and BCG vaccination in the schoolchildren seemed to influence the lepromin-reactivity. Among 770 schoolchildren tested with both FLA-ABS and lepromin, 70 (9.1%) were the FLA-ABS positive but lepromin non-positive responders. Neural signs and symptoms were found in 31 of these children.
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PMID:Immuno-epidemiological studies on subclinical infection in leprosy. I. Clinical and immunological findings in schoolchildren and adults in Okinawa. 213 35

A 6-year prospective study of 79 household contacts of leprosy cases was made in order to correlate the development of the disease with their specific T-cell immunity, measured by the Mitsuda test, and levels of anti-Mycobacterium leprae antibodies determined in three consecutive observations with the FLA-ABS test. Overall in the contacts, 71.7% were Mitsuda positive and 93.6% showed seropositivity, without regard to their age, sex, or leprosy type of their index case. Households were divided into lower-risk and higher-risk groups according to either the paucibacillary or multibacillary character of their index case. The lower-risk group consisted of 19 contacts of 2 tuberculoid (TT) and 5 indeterminate cases. The higher-risk group was made up of 60 household contacts of 18 active lepromatous (LL) cases. All but two contacts in the former group had a positive Mitsuda reaction; the most common antibody titer was 1:160, with a tendency to stabilize or decrease over time. In the two Mitsuda-negative contacts, increased antibody levels were observed. In the higher-risk group, 61.6% were Mitsuda positive and showed a humoral profile similar to those Mitsuda positive in the lower-risk group. In most of the Mitsuda-negative LL contacts, the antibody levels remained constant or progressively increased, suggesting a high probability of active subclinical infection. This assumption was partially supported by the finding of a new borderline lepromatous (BL) leprosy case in the Mitsuda-negative LL contact group. Nevertheless, the contribution of the close and extensive contact with a multibacilliferous case as a risk factor was difficult to evaluate because of the small size of the sample studied.
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PMID:Prospective immunological follow-up in household contacts of Mexican leprosy patients. 228 Jan 15

The epidemiological surveillance for leprosy must include several clinical and laboratory procedures. The FLA-ABS test of Abe could be a useful tool for this purpose because it allows the demonstration of an effective contact with Mycobacterium leprae. In order to establish the specificity, sensitivity, and predictability of the FLA-ABS test under Mexican conditions, we studied sera collected from six groups of individuals: 60 healthy donors from a nonendemic area, 57 cases hospitalized for conditions other than infectious diseases from a general hospital in a nonendemic area, 72 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis, 26 healthy individuals from an endemic area, 100 patients with polar lepromatous leprosy (LLp), and 123 household contacts of patients with LLp. The FLA-ABS test was negative with sera from the first four groups. Strong positive reactions were found in all LLp patients except one; the false-negative results could be attributed to successful treatment and a long-standing cure in this patient. Analysis of these results shows 100% specificity, 99% sensitivity, and predictability values of the test of 100% for positive results and 99% for negative ones. In addition, none of the 20 randomly selected sera from LLp patients were positive with crossreacting mycobacteria. Because 87.8% of the household contacts were positive in the absence of clinical manifestations of leprosy, it is possible to conclude that a positive result by itself is not enough to establish an early diagnosis of the disease, especially among inhabitants of endemic areas.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Sensitivity and specificity of the FLA-ABS test for leprosy in Mexican populations. 329 74

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used with soluble antigens of Mycobacterium leprae. All blood samples collected from the earlobes of 109 leprosy patients and 100 healthy controls (from a non-endemic area of leprosy) were absorbed with M. vaccae, BCG, cardiolipin, and lecithin according to the technology of the FLA-ABS test before being tested in the ELISA. The results (at a 1:200 blood dilution) showed that antibody activity gradually increased from TT to LL (mean OD values: TT = 0.43, BT = 0.62, BB = 0.72, BL = 0.84, LL = 0.89), and the rates of positive reactions were 100% in all classifications of patients except TT (66.6%). Antibody activity in the controls was less pronounced than in leprosy patients, their mean OD value being only 0.15. We suggest that the ELISA is highly sensitive and specific for the determination of anti-M. leprae antibodies, and is useful for clinical serodiagnosis and for the study of subclinical infections in leprosy.
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PMID:Determination of antibodies in dried blood from earlobes of leprosy patients by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay--a preliminary report. 391 Jul 46

The technics of immunodiffusion and the fluorescent leprosy antibody absorption (FLA-ABS) test were used to determine the levels of immunoglobulins and their antibody activities against Mycobacterium leprae in the serum and the saliva collected from a total of 110 patients with leprosy (50 lepromatous, 24 borderline, and 36 tuberculoid). The average levels of serum IgG, IgM, and IgA were not significantly different among these patients. In saliva, however, IgM was detected in only two cases with lepromatous leprosy and three tuberculoid cases. Salivary IgG and IgA levels and their ratios to those in the sera were not significantly different according to the classification of leprosy. The percentages of positive FLA-ABS tests in the sera and saliva were compared by using fluorescent antibodies specific for IgG, IgM, and IgA, respectively. The results indicated that M. leprae-specific antibodies in the serum were mainly found in IgG and IgM and, less frequently, in IgA. IgG antibodies were found more frequently in lepromatous and borderline patients than in tuberculoid cases. On the other hand, salivary IgA antibodies against M. leprae were found in a significant number of specimens; whereas IgG and IgM antibodies were scarcely found. However, the percentage of positive FLA-ABS tests caused by salivary IgA antibodies was higher in the patients with tuberculoid or borderline leprosy than in those with lepromatous leprosy. A significant number of patients with tuberculoid or borderline leprosy secreted M. leprae-specific IgA antibodies into saliva without detection of circulating IgA antibodies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Salivary immunoglobulins and antibody activities in leprosy. 654 Dec 2

A comparative assessment of three serological methods for leprosy diagnosis (the fluorescent leprosy antibody absorption [FLA-ABS] test, the Mycobacterium leprae soluble-extract enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA], and the M. leprae particle agglutination [MLPA] test) was carried out. The objective was to identify their performance in clinical and epidemiological diagnosis of leprosy. The study group included 45 lepromatous leprosy patients under treatment. Specificity was > 95% for all three assays, and sensitivity was 95, 58, and 74% for the FLA-ABS test, the MLPA test, and the ELISA, respectively. The only cross-reactivity for M. tuberculosis-infected patients was with the soluble-extract ELISA. Although the FLA-ABS test displayed the highest specificity and sensitivity values, it can only be used in well-developed laboratories, and the patient's clinical and epidemiological background must be considered when results are interpreted because the test remains positive after therapeutic success and could be positive for some household contacts. The MLPA test is easier to perform and interpret, and it is adequate for small laboratories and epidemiological studies intended to detect active untreated or irregularly treated leprosy cases. Therefore, the FLA-ABS and MLPA tests are complementary, and both should be used for serodiagnosis of leprosy.
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PMID:Comparative assessment of the leprosy antibody absorption test, Mycobacterium leprae extract enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and gelatin particle agglutination test for serodiagnosis of lepromatous leprosy. 850 Dec 38