The role of immune system in control of the influenza pandemic

Virusi gripe su jednolončani RNA virusi koji pripadaju porodici Orthomyxoviridae. Postoje 3 tipa virusa: A, B i C, koji se razlikuju po virulenciji i genomskoj strukturi. Mutacijom gena dvaju površinskih proteina virusa influence, hemaglutinina i neuraminidaze, nastaju antigenske promjene na površini virusne čestice. Zahvaljujući tim promjenama, zaštitna uloga imunosustava može postati neadekvatna ako se virus influence izmijeni u tolikoj mjeri da sadrži antigene na koje osoba nema razvijenu niti humoralnu niti staničnu imunost. Težina kliničke slike u gripi ovisit će tada o sposobnosti virusa influence da zaobiđe ili inhibira različite imunološke mehanizme kojima je cilj eliminacija virusa iz organizma. Upravo sposobnost promjene antigenskih determinanti otežava razvoj cjepiva dovoljno sličnom epidemijskom odnosno pandemijskom soju virusa gripe. U ovom radu raspravit će se uloga imunološkog sustava u obrani organizma od virusa influence s posebnim osvrtom na dosadašnje spoznaje o imunološkoj reakciji u ljudi inficiranih mogućim pandemijskim virusom H5N1.Influenza virus is a single-stranded RNA virus of Orthomyxoviridae family. The 3 types of influenza virus, A, B and C, differ in virulence and genomic structure. Frequent mutations in viral surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, result in the changes of antigenic determinants. As a consequence, protective role of immune system becomes inadequate if the changes of influenza virus are significant and accompanied with lack of existing humoral and cellular immunity in an infected individual. The severity of clinical presentation will depend on the capacity of influenza virus to evade or to inhibit different immunologic mechanism, which aim to eliminate the virus from the body. The frequent changes of influenza antigens also hamper the timely development of vaccine as a most important measure to protect from potential influenza epidemics or pandemics. In this paper we discuss the role of immune system in protection from influenza infection with special emphasis on the known findings of immune response in H5N1-infected individuals

Migraine headaches among university students using id migraine test as a screening tool

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Migraine is a significant health problem, especially for the young people, due to its frequency and accompanying morbidity, causing disability and loss of performance. In this study, our aim was to determine the prevalence of migraine headaches among university students in Edirne, a Turkish city.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this cross-sectional and descriptive study, study population was composed of students registered to Trakya University in the academic year of 2008-2009. Out of these, 3694 of them accepted to participate. Participants who had two or more headaches in the last 3 months formed the headache group. Afterwards, two preliminary questions were applied to the headache group and participants with at least one affirmative response were asked to perform the validated ID-Migraine™ test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age of 3694 students participated in the study was 19.23 ± 1.84 (17-39 years), with adolescents:adult ratio being 2.5:1. 1613 students (43.7%) did have at least two headaches in the last three months. Migraine-type headache was detected in 266 subjects (7.2%) based on the ID-Migraine™ test. Of the migraine group, 72 were male (27.1%) and 194 were female (72.9%). There was no significant difference in migraine prevalence between adolescent and adult age groups.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>With a prevalence similar to adults, primary care physicians should be aware of the probability of migraine headaches in university students in order to maintain a successful school performance.</p

Seroprevalence of Taenia solium infections in Croatian patients presenting with epilepsy

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, while neurocysticercosis caused by Taenia solium infection of the central nervous system currently represents the leading cause of secondary epilepsy in Central and South America, East and South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. As a result of increased migration from these endemic regions, neurocysticercosis and subsequent epilepsy are becoming a growing public health problem in developed countries as well. In order to determine the prevalence of T. solium infection in patients with epilepsy in Croatia, a retrospective serological study was conducted. A total of 770 serum samples were tested for the presence of T. solium IgG antibodies using a commercial qualitative enzyme immunoassay. The Western blot technique was used as a confirmatory test for the diagnosis. The overall seroprevalence rate of T. solium infection in patients with clinically proven epilepsy was 1.5%. Although the results have shown that infection with this tapeworm is rare in Croatia, this study hopes to increase awareness about the importance of preventive measures and benefits of accurate and timely diagnosis. Intervention measures for infection control are crucial, namely sanitation improvement, control of domestic pig-breeding, detailed meat inspection, detection and treatment of tapeworm carriers, hand washing and health education

Seroepidemiology of Hepatitis E in Selected Population Groups in Croatia: A Prospective Pilot Study

Hepatitis E has become an emerging infection in many European countries. We analysed the prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in selected population groups in Croatia. Overall HEV IgG seropositivity was 5.6%, while 1.9% participants showed IgM antibodies suggestive of recent infection. No IgM-positive sample was positive for HEV RNA. HEV IgG antibodies were most prevalent in alcohol abusers (8.9%) and war veterans (8.6%), compared with 6.1% among injecting drug users and 2.7% in healthcare professionals. No individual with high-risk sexual behaviour tested HEV seropositive. HEV IgG positivity increased significantly with age from 1.8% to 2.3% in individuals younger than 40 years to 11.3% in individuals older than 50 years (P = 0.023). The mean age of HEV-positive participants was significantly higher than that of HEV-negative participants (50.9 ± 11.8 years versus 41.2 ± 11.8 years, P = 0.008). Seroprevalence rates were significantly higher in residents of suburban and rural areas compared with residents of urban areas (14.5% versus 2.5%, P = 0.003). Additionally, an increasing prevalence of HEV IgG antibodies was observed from 1.8% in participants living in families with two household members to 12.1% in those living with more than four members (P = 0.046). Gender, marital status, educational level, sexual orientation, source of drinking water, history of blood transfusions, surgical procedures, tattooing and travelling were not associated with HEV seroprevalence. Logistic regression showed that living in suburban/rural areas was the main risk factor for HEV seropositivity (OR = 6.67; 95%CI = 1.89-25.0; AOR = 7.14, 95%CI = 1.89-25.0)