An Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was standardised to detect the presence of tubercule antigen in cerebrospinal fluids from patients with meningitis. CSF samples from clinically suspected cases of tuberculous meningitis, culture proven pyogenic meningitis and non-bacterial aseptic central nervous system (CNS) disorders were tested by ELISA to demonstrate its potential utility for routine diagnostic purpose. Tubercule antigen was detected in 73% cases of tuberculous meningitis and was absent in pyogenic and other non-bacterial CNS disorder cases. The test appears to be a promising approach for a definitive diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis.
We evaluate the triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) dye reduction test for quicker diagnosis of urinary tract infections for its sensitivity and reliability to detect significant bacteriuria. Of the 1400 urine samples tested 780 (55.7%) had significant bacteriuria. TTC dye test was positive in 678 (86.9%) of those with significant bacteriuria thereby showing its usefulness. The test is simple and cheap and can be carried out in field situations.
55 cases of autoimmune haemolytic anaemia with positive direct Coombs’ test were investigated for the nature of autoantibodies. The studies involved characterization of the autoantibodies on the basis of their thermal amplitude, serological specificity, nature of immunoglobulin and light chain specificity. The findings showed that the autoantibodies could be classified as cold autoantibody (18 cases), warm autoantibody (5 cases) and biphasic autoantibody which reacted at 37 °C as well as at 6 °C (32 cases). Further classification of these cases was made on the basis of antibody specificity to blood groups, immunoglobulin type in relation to the optimum temperature of their reaction.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.