Publications by authors named "M Angeles Jimenez-Fuentes"
Article Synopsis
- Diagnosing infections caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is complex, and this study evaluates a new immunological assay (NTM-IGRA) using specific antigens from glycopeptidolipids (GPLs).
- The study tested this assay on 99 pediatric patients, including those with confirmed NTM infections and controls without lymphadenitis, finding that samples from NTM-confirmed patients reacted significantly more to GPLs than those with unknown infections or other causes.
- Results suggest that the NTM-IGRA could effectively identify NTM infections in children, potentially improving diagnosis and reducing misdiagnosis and unnecessary treatments.
Background: Current blood-based diagnostic tools for TB are insufficient to properly characterize the distinct stages of TB, from the latent infection (LTBI) to its active form (aTB); nor can they assess treatment efficacy. Several immune cell biomarkers have been proposed as potential candidates for the development of improved diagnostic tools.
Objective: To compare the capacity of CD27, HLA-DR, CD38 and Ki-67 markers to characterize LTBI, active TB and patients who ended treatment and resolved TB.
Little is known about whether second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure affects tuberculosis (TB). Here, we investigate the association of cigarette smoke exposure with active TB and latent TB infection (LTBI) in children, analyzing Interferon-Gamma Release Assays' (IGRAs) performance and cytokine immune responses. A total of 616 children from contact-tracing studies were included and classified regarding their smoking habits [unexposed, SHS, or smokers].
View Article and Find Full Text PDF