Effect of Depth of Centrifuged Synovial Fluid on Leukocyte Esterase Test for Periprosthetic Joint Infection.

Centrifugation of aspirated synovial fluid before leukocytes esterase (LE) testing for diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) may make blood tinged specimens interpretable. We aimed to establish the proper sampling depth of centrifuged specimens for LE testing as one diagnostic criterion and also AS-D chloroacetate esterase (CAE) staining testing as an adjunctive tool. A definite PJI knee joint group and an aseptic primary total knee arthroplasty control group were studied quasi-experimentally (N = 46).

Role of FcgammaRI (CD64) in erythrocyte elimination and its up-regulation in thalassaemia.

To examine any role of the high affinity Fcgamma class I receptor (FcgammaRI) (CD64) in erythrocyte elimination by mononuclear phagocytes (MP) in thalassaemia (thal), we investigated the in vitro interaction of beta-thalassaemic erythrocytes with monocytes (Mo) whose FcgammaR expression had been modulated by cytokines. Treatment of Mo with interferon (IFN)-gamma or interleukin (IL)-10 which up-regulate FcgammaRI, caused a dose-dependent increase in binding of beta-thalassaemic erythrocytes, whereas stimulation with IL-4 which down-regulates the receptor, reduced this interaction, in a dose-dependent manner, to that of normal erythrocytes. Binding of thalassaemic erythrocytes by IFN-gamma or IL-10-treated Mo was inhibited by FcgammaRI-specific reagents.

Genotypic, immunophenotypic and clinical features of Thai patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria.

Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) is an acquired haematological disorder characterized by complement-mediated haemolytic anaemia caused by deficiency of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored proteins. Somatic mutation of an X-linked gene, PIG-A, is responsible for the defect in biosynthesis of GPI-anchor. It appears that frequency of PNH differs geographically, and seems to be more frequent in some Asian countries, such as Thailand and China.

Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1, and interferon-gamma in beta(o)-thalassemia/HbE and their clinical significance.

Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha), and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) were estimated by conventional ELISA kits in 60, 42, and 58 Thai patients, respectively, with beta(o)-thalassemia HbE and found to be above the normal range in 13%, 21%, and 33% of the patients, respectively. Using high-sensitivity ELISA systems, an additional 10 beta(o)-thal/HbE patients were compared with 9 controls for concentrations of circulating TNF-alpha and IL-1beta, and 9 and 5 patients, respectively, but only 1 and none of the controls, respectively, showed values above the normal ranges. In patients with abnormally high IFN-gamma levels, basal hemoglobin values were significantly lower than in those with normal levels of the cytokine (mean +/- SEM: 6.

Relation of haemolytic anaemia and erythrocyte-bound IgG in alpha- and beta-thalassaemic syndromes.

There has been evidence that IgG-mediated phagocytosis plays some part in destruction of erythroid cells and subsequent anaemia in thalassaemia. In this study using direct immunofluorescence and flow cytometry, erythrocyte-bound IgG was studied in 53 and 33 beta-thal/Hb E and Hb H patients, respectively. The mean percentages of IgG-positive erythrocytes in both nonsplenectomized (4.