rheumatic fever/carbohydrate

An immunogenetic study of the response to streptococcal carbohydrate antigen of the cell wall was carried out on members of 15 multiplex families each having more than one sib affected with rheumatic heart disease. They comprised 30 parents and 61 sibs (32 with rheumatic disease and 29 without).

One hundred consecutive cases of 'first attack' of acute rheumatic fever were studied. There were 52 males and 48 females, constituting 1.12% of total hospital admissions. Nearly 10% of children were below the age of 5 years, stressing the early onset of rheumatic fever in tropics. Only 47% gave a

The association of class I and II HLA antigens with rheumatic fever and its manifestations was examined in 72 patients, including 48 blacks and 24 Caucasians. No significant association was found between class I antigens and rheumatic fever. In contrast, HLA-DR2 and HLA-DR4 phenotypes were

Evidence of a local immunologic response to recent pharyngeal infection with group A streptococci was sought in 23 patients with acute rheumatic fever. Salivas from these patients were examined and compared with salivas from control subjects. As assayed, both IgG and IgA values ranged between 8 and

The role of streptococcal infections in initiating the diverse clinical and pathological manifestations of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease is considered in relation to the multiple cross-reactive relations of group A Streptococcus and tissue antigens. Autoantibodies to the following

Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus) causes rheumatic fever (RF) which later progresses towards rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in the susceptible individuals. RF and RHD both contribute towards increasing global burden of disease, especially in developing countries. RHD is one of the most

The etiology of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is believed to involve an immunological response to group A streptococcal antigens. Antibodies to group A carbohydrate (A-CHO) have been reported in ARF and rheumatic heart disease patients. As N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) units form the major

The generation of oxygen free radicals by peripheral blood monocytes and neutrophils of patients with rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease has been studied using luminol enhanced chemiluminescence technique. Five groups of patients; acute rheumatic fever, recurrence of rheumatic activity,

The enzyme NADPH oxidase is involved in the production of oxygen free radicals. We measured its activity in neutrophils and monocytes obtained from patients with acute rheumatic fever, chronic rheumatic heart disease, acute streptococcal pharyngitis and normal controls. Follow up studies were made

We describe the measurement by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of antibody to group A Streptococcus C carbohydrate in immunized rabbits and human sera, with trypsin-pronase-treated group A streptococcal whole cells used as the antigen. The optimal concentration of the enzyme-treated whole cells

The specificity of the persistence of antibody to the streptococcal group A carbohydrate for mitral valve disease induced by rheumatic fever was examined. Levels of the antibody were determined in serum samples of 30 patients with rheumatic mitral insufficiency, 30 patients with mitral valve