Detection of hepatitis B virus DNA by polymerase chain reaction in plasma of volunteer blood donors negative for hepatitis B surface antigen

Article Abstract:

Patients who receive blood transfusions are at risk for developing diseases that are transmitted in blood. Screening blood donors has greatly reduced the incidence of blood transfusion-related disease. Blood samples from donors are routinely screened for the presence of Hepatitis B virus (HBV), which accounts for approximately 10 percent of all hepatitis cases caused by blood transfusions. The conventional method of screening donor blood samples, called radioimmunoassay, involves looking for the presence of HBV infection (HBV antigen) and antibodies that would be produced if there was an infection. Recently, a new technique has been developed that is more sensitive than radioimmunoassay. It allows very small amounts of DNA (genetic material) to be detected in a tissue sample. This technique, called polymerase chain reaction (PCR), can be used to screen blood samples for the presence of virus DNA. The PCR was used to screen blood samples from 206 donors for the presence of HBV, and was compared with the results of conventional screening tests. Results from the conventional methods indicated that all 206 blood samples were negative for HBV infection. When the PCR method was used, 9 of the 206 blood samples tested positive for HBV infection (contained HBV DNA). In other words, PCR demonstrated that 4 percent of the 206 blood samples contained HBV, even though all of the samples tested negative for HBV when the radioimmunoassay was used. The current methods used for screening blood samples are still more practical, in terms of time and money, than the PCR method. However, more sensitive methods for screening donor blood samples should be developed, since radioimmunoassay does not identify all infected blood samples. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Methods, Identification and classification, Polymerase chain reaction, Medical screening, Health screening, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis B virus

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Antigenemia in the diagnosis and monitoring of active cytomegalovirus infection after liver transplantation

Article Abstract:

Infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common type of infection in patients receiving liver transplants. It is estimated that 20 to 60 percent of all liver transplant recipients develop CMV infections. Treatment with acyclovir or hyperimmune globulin and testing the organ donor for CMV infection have been shown to prevent or reduce the severity of CMV infections in liver transplant patients. Since CMV infection is associated with serious illness in these patients, it is important to diagnose the infection as early as possible. During the early stages of infection, the white blood cells contain special proteins, called antigens, that are made by the virus. By testing for the presence of these antigens in the blood (antigenemia), it may be possible to diagnose CMV infection. To assess this theory, 45 liver transplant patients were tested. Blood samples were collected on a weekly basis and tested for CMV antigenemia. Twenty of the patients developed symptoms of CMV infection, and blood samples from 13 of these patients showed that they had antigenemia. The patients who had the most severe infections had the highest levels of CMV antigen in their blood. These findings indicate that testing blood samples for the presence of CMV antigens is an effective means of diagnosing CMV infection in liver transplant patients. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Measurement, Liver, Liver transplantation, Transplantation of organs, tissues, etc., Organ transplantation, Tissue transplantation, Transplantation, Viral antigens

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Use of a quantitative cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigenemia test in evaluating HIV+ patients with and without CMV disease

Article Abstract:

A newly developed cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigenemia test can speed up the diagnosis of CMV infection in HIV-positive patients. The diagnosis of CMV infection usually relies on culturing blood cells, but this technique is slow and time-consuming. Researchers took blood samples from 22 HIV-infected patients and mixed them with monoclonal antibodies to a CMV protein and a fluorescent chemical that stains CMV-infected cells yellow-green. Eleven of the patients had documented CMV infection and 11 did not. All 11 of the patients with CMV infection documented by culture had a positive test and had 48 CMV-infected cells or more per 200,000 cells. Seven of the 11 patients without documented CMV infection tested negative. All seven did not develop CMV for at least 158 days or longer. Of the four who tested positive, all had fewer than 15 CMV-infected cells per 200,000 cells. Two of these patients eventually developed CMV retinitis.

HIV infection, HIV infections

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