Diagnosis of respiratory syncytial virus infection in children: comparison of viral antigen detection and serology.

Direct detection of viral antigen in nasopharyngeal secretion by radioimmunoassay was compared with serology by IgG antibody enzyme immunoassay for diagnostic efficacy in 77 children with clinically suspected respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections. Antigen detection gave a positive diagnosis in 26 of 33 (79%) children in whom RSV infection was diagnosed by any of the two methods. The diagnostic efficacy of antigen detection was dependent upon the interval after onset at which specimens were collected; 88% of specimens taken during the first 5 days and 50% of specimens taken 6-10 days after onset of illness were positive.

Viral diagnoses using the rapid immunofluorescence technique and epidemiological implications of acute respiratory infections among children in different European countries.

From November 1978 to October 1981, a total of 7716 specimens of nasopharyngeal secretions were examined by the rapid immunofluorescence technique to determine the frequency of infections caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza virus A, and parainfluenza viruses 1 and 3. The tests were carried out in six different virus laboratories located in Newcastle upon Tyne (England), Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Turku (Finland), and Vienna; laboratories in Lisbon and Paris participated in the study for shorter periods. The specimens were collected from infants and children less than 6 years of age who had been admitted to hospital with an acute respiratory infection.

Solid-phase enzyme-immunoassay for the detection of herpes simplex virus antigens in clinical specimens.

An indirect solid-phase enzyme-immunoassay (EIA) for the detection of herpes simplex virus (HSV) antigens in clinical specimens was developed. Rabbits and guinea pigs were hyperimmunized with highly purified nucleocapsids of HSV type 1. Microtitre plates were coated with 0.

Novel test for rapid viral diagnosis: detection of adenovirus in nasopharyngeal mucus aspirates by means of nucleic-acid sandwich hybridisation.

Nucleic-acid sandwich hybridisation detected adenovirus in nasopharyngeal aspirates from children with acute respiratory infections within 20 h. The differentiation between subgroups of adenovirus (B and C) and the lack of false positives indicated the specificity of the method. The reference test was detection of an adenovirus protein (hexon) by means of radioimmunoassay.

Need for measles revaccination in adolescents: correlation with birth date prior to 1972.

Measles hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody titers of less than 1:4 were significantly (P less than 0.05) more prevalent among subjects born from 1962 through 1971 and vaccinated with a single dose of live measles virus vaccine at 12 months of age (14.5%) than among subjects born during the same years but vaccinated at 13 months or older (2.

Antibodies to measles virus in ankylosing spondylitis.

IgG antibodies to measles virus were measured by a solid-phase radio-immunoassay in serum specimens from 31 patients with confirmed ankylosing spondylitis (AS), from 8 patients with symptoms and signs resembling AS and from 39 patients hospitalized for various non-rheumatological disorders. The patients with AS and without iritis/uveitis had a 4-fold increased amount of measles antibodies in their serum specimens compared with the control patients (p less than 0.01).

Nitroglycerin ointment effective for seven hours in severe angina pectoris.

The efficacy and tolerability of nitroglycerin (NTG) ointment were studied in 80 male patients with severe angina pectoris. Two symptom-limited exercise tests were performed on successive days after application of an ointment containing 15 mg NTG or a placebo (P) ointment. The patients were assigned to 4 groups.

Coxsackie B virus antibodies in myocardial infarction.

Evidence for the association between Coxsackie B virus infections and myocardial infarction was studied in a prospective follow-up examination. Using the micro neutralization test, 9 (15%) of 59 patients with acute myocardial infarction and 1 (2.6%) of 38 control patients showed a fourfold, or higher, antibody increase in paired serum samples against Coxsackie B1-5 viruses.

Clinical evaluation of radioimmunoassay of nasopharyngeal secretions and serology for diagnosis of viral infections in children hospitalized for respiratory infections.

Viral diagnosis was performed using radioimmunoassay (RIA) for virus antigen in nasopharyngeal secretions (NPS) and complement-fixation (CF) tests of paired sera from specimens of 90 children hospitalized for acute respiratory infection. Major respiratory viruses sought for by both methods (adenoviruses, influenza A and B viruses, parainfluenza virus type 3, respiratory syncytial virus) were detected in 40 (44%) of the patients; 15% of the diagnoses were made by NPS-RIA alone. Serologic diagnosis of other viral infections was confirmed in six additional cases.

Time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay: a new test for rubella antibodies.

A new solid-phase immunoassay, time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay (TR-FIA), for rubella antibody was developed. The test used polystyrene beads coated with rubella antigen as the solid phase and a chelate of the rare earth metal europium as fluorescent label. A fast light pulse from a xenon flash lamp was used to excite the label, and after a 400-mus delay time the emission fluorescence was measured for 500-mus at 1-ms intervals during a total counting time of 1 s.

Chlamydia trachomatis and herpes simplex virus IgA antibodies in cervical secretions of patients with cervical atypia.

The association of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) with malignant or premalignant changes in the cervix uteri was studied by determining immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies in the cervical secretions of 28 women with inflammatory, 28 with dysplastic, 7 with malignant changes of the uterine cervix, and 26 healthy controls. In cervical secretions IgA antibodies to CT were found in 24 of 35 (69%) patients with malignant or premalignant changes, in 11 of 28 (39%) with cervicitis and in 3 of 26 (12%) controls. IgA antibodies to HSV were found in 10 of 35 (28%) patients with malignant atypic or dysplasia but in none of the women with cervicitis or the controls.

Type-specific detection of parainfluenza viruses by enzyme-immunoassay and radioimmunoassay in nasopharyngeal specimens of patients with acute respiratory disease.

A four-year solid phase enzyme-immunoassay (EIA) and radioimmunoassay (RIA) techniques were applied for the type-specific detection of parainfluenza type 1, 2 and 3 virus antigens in sonicated nasopharyngeal specimens of patients with acute respiratory disease. Guinea-pig antiviral immunoglobulins as the secondary antibodies, and horseradish peroxidase-labelled swine anti-rabbit immunoglobulins (EIA), or 125I-labelled sheep anti-rabbit IgG (RIA) as the indicator antibodies. A total of 174 nasopharyngeal specimens collected by mucus extractor were tested, and the results were compared with those obtained by a routinely used immunofluorescence (IF) technique.

Herpes simplex encephalitis: A serological follow-up study. Synthesis of herpes simplex virus immunoglobulin M, A, and G antibodies and development of oligoclonal immunoglobulin G in the central nervous system.

A solid-phase radioimmunoassay method was used for the detection of herpes simplex virus (HSV) immunoglobulin M (IgM), IgA, and IgG antibodies within the central nervous system in 11 patients with acute HSV encephalitis. Serial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum specimens were sampled during the observation periods, extending up to 43 months after onset. The clinical diagnosis of HSV encephalitis was confirmed demonstrating virus or virus antigen in the central nervous system in four patients and with significant HSV antibodies in CSF in all the patients.

Rotavirus, adenovirus, and non-viral enteropathogens in diarrhoea.

The aetiology of rotavirus and adenovirus in acute gastroenteritis was studied in a prospective series that comprised 283 children admitted consecutively with diarrhoea during a 1-year period. Rotavirus was associated in 49% of the cases by solid-phase radioimmunoassay and electron microscopical examination of stool specimens, or by serology. Adenovirus was detected by radioimmunoassay in the stool specimens of 29 (11%) patients, including 8 cases of possible dual infection with rotavirus.

Detection of respiratory syncytial, parainfluenza type 2, and adenovirus antigens by radioimmunoassay and enzyme immunoassay on nasopharyngeal specimens from children with acute respiratory disease.

Four-layer antispecies radioimmunoassay (RIA) and enzyme immunoassay (EIA) procedures were developed for the detection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), parainfluenza type 2 virus, and adenovirus antigens in nasopharyngeal specimens from children hospitalized for acute respiratory disease. Polystyrene beads (RIA) or flat-bottomed polystyrene microtiter plates (EIA) were used as the solid phases, guinea pig anti-virus immunoglobulins were used as the captive antibodies, rabbit anti-virus immunoglobulins were used as the secondary antibodies, and 125I-labeled sheep anti-rabbit (RIA) or horseradish peroxidase-labeled swine anti-rabbit (EIA) immunoglobulins were used as the indicator antibodies. A comparison of the EIAs and RIAs with routinely used immunofluorescence (IF) techniques was made with 164 nasopharyngeal specimens collected from children with acute respiratory disease.

Detection of influenza A virus by radioimmunoassay and enzyme-immunoassay from nasopharyngeal specimens.

Four-layer (indirect) radioimmunoassay (RIA) and enzyme-immunoassay (EIA) techniques were developed for the detection of influenza A and B virus in the sonicated nasopharyngeal specimens from patients hospitalized for acute respiratory infection. Polystyrene beads (RIA) or polystyrene microtiter plates (EIA) were used as the solid-phase, guinea pig antivirus immunoglobulins as the catching antibodies, rabbit antivirus immunoglobulins as the secondary antibodies, and 125I-labeled sheep antirabbit (RIA) or horseradish peroxidase conjugated swine antirabbit (EIA) immunoglobulins as the detector antibodies. A comparison of the developed RIAs and EIAs with the immunofluorescence (IF) method was made with 41 influenza A IF-positive and 150 influenza A IF-negative specimens.

Solid-phase radioimmunoassay of serum IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies to cytomegalovirus.

A radioimmunoassay (RIA) using polystyrene beads as the solid phase for cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigen and iodinated immunosorbent purified anti-human IgG, IgM, and IgA as indicator antibodies was developed for the detection of immunoglobulin class-specific antibodies to CMV. An antigen prepared from extracellular virus was essential for reliable results, and a preparation ultracentrifuged and sonicated twice was better than a crude antigen. The optimal antigen gave low cpm values with a negative reference serum, resulting in cpm ratios of 10 or higher between early convalescent phase serum and negative reference serum.

Herpesviruses and parkinsonism. Herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, and cytomegalovirus antibodies in serum and CSF.

Antibodies against herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2 and cytomegalovirus (CMV) were assayed with a microindirect hemagglutination (IHA) test in the serum of 67 pairs of patients with Parkinson's disease and controls. Cerebrospinal fluid from 30 pairs was assayed. All patient and control serum was tested with a radioimmunoassay (RIA) for antibodies against HSV type 1 subunit antigens.

Four-layer radioimmunoassay for detection of adenovirus in stool.

A four-layer antispecies radioimmunoassay (RIA) was developed for the detection of adenovirus in stool specimens. Polystyrene beads were used as the solid phase, anti-adenovirus guinea pig immunoglobulin (1 microgram per bead) was used as the primary antibody, anti-adenovirus rabbit immunoglobulin (16 micrograms/ml) was used as the secondary antibody, and 125I-labeled sheep anti-rabbit immunoglobulin was used as the indicator antibody. A highly purified, crystallized adenovirus type 2 hexon antigen was used as the immunizing antigen for the production of hyperimmune sera.