Browsing by Author "Rašković, Sanvila (6602461528)"

Aim. To test the discriminative metric properties and specificity of the Serbian version of the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) for assessment of the quality of life in asthma patients. Method. We studied 100 atopic and 60 nonatopic adult asthma patients with different disease severity, who were consecutively recruited from the outpatient and inpatient departments of the Institute of Allergology and Immunology, University Center of Serbia, between March 2000 and June 2002. After linguistic validation, AQLQ was administered, as well as Paykel's scale of stressful life events. Tests of statistical significance and General Linear Model were used to explore the correlation between characteristics of patients, disease, and environment, and AQLQ scores. Reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated by determining its internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Results. A more severe form of the disease (F = 16.05; p < 0.001), life in rural disease areas (t = -2.67; p = 0.008) and changes in weather conditions (t= 3.05; p= 0.003) were significantly associated with worse overall quality of life of the tested asthma patients. Older patients had poorer quality of life in domains of activity limitation (B = -0.024; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.036 to -0. 011; p < 0.001) and exposure to environmental stimuli (B = -0.022; 95% CI, -0.039 to -0.006; p = 0.008). Higher values of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1 , % predicted) were correlated with better quality of life in overall (B = 0.017; 95% CI, 0.009-0.025; p < 0.001) and other questionnaire domains, except in domain of environmental stimuli. Poorer overall quality of life was recorded in atopic patients sensitive to house dust mites (t = 2,60; p = 0.011). Form (atopic and nonatopic) and duration of disease, as well as stressful life events were not significantly related to asthmatic patients' quality of life. The Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.72 to 0.93. Conclusion. Disease severity, place of residence, weather conditions, age, and FEV 1 (% predicted) were significantly related to quality of life in our patients. The Serbian version of AQLQ was highly reliable.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the presence and the intensity of humoral immunity to melanoma-associated antigens: tyrosinase and melanin, in patients with melanoma, in persons with vitiligo and in control healthy people.Methods: The study involved 63 patients with melanoma and 19 persons with vitiligo. Control group consisted up to 41 healthy volunteers. Mushroom tyrosinase and synthetic melanin were used as the antigens.Results: ELISA test showed significantly (p < 0.0000004 and p < 0.04) lower levels of IgM anti-tyrosinase autoantibodies, in melanoma and vitiligo patients respectively, compared to controls.Although there was no significant difference between the levels of IgA anti-melanin autoantibodies in melanoma or vitiligo patients in comparison with controls, the enhanced concentrations of anti-melanin IgA autoantibodies were preferentially found in melanoma patients with metastatic disease. Significantly high percentage in the Fc alphaRI (CD89) positive cells was determined in melanoma patients (p < 0.002 and p < 0.008) in comparison to that found in healthy people or in patients with vitiligo, in the already mentioned order, pointing that IgA dependent cellular cytotoxicity is not important for the immune action against melanoma, even more that it is included in some immune suppression.Levels of IgG autoantibodies to mentioned antigens in melanoma patients although low were not significantly lower from controls. These findings analyzed together with the statistically significant low percentage of FcgammaRIII, (CD16) positive immunocompetent cells (p < 0.0007 and p < 0.003), which was found in patients with melanoma compared with healthy or vitiligo people respectively, and statistically significant low percentage of (CD16 + CD56+) natural killer (NK) cells (p < 0.005) found in melanoma patients in comparison to healthy controls pointed to the low probability for anti-melanoma IgG mediated, antibody mediated cellular cytotoxicity, (ADCC) and NK cytotoxicity. Moreover the ratio of the percentages of granulocytes and percentage of lymphocytes was statistically higher in patients with melanoma in relation to healthy people as well as to people with vitiligo (p < 0.0007 and p < 0.05 respectively).Conclusion: Autoantibodies to tyrosinase and to melanin which are found even in healthy people, point that consummation of edible mushrooms that carry the antigen tyrosinase and melanin, could influence the humoral anti-melanoma immune response.Levels of different immunoglobulin classes of anti-melanin and anti-tyrosinase antibodies varied depending on the presence and the stage of studied diseases. Besides, the statistically enhanced ratio of the percentages of granulocytes and percentage of lymphocytes, together with statistically decreased percentage of NK cells is found in analyzed melanoma patients. © 2012 D{stroke}ord{stroke}ić et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Objective: Calreticulin is a multicompartmental protein which regulates many important cellular responses. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether the intensity and location of calreticulin overexpression in tumor cells are related to the elevated humoral immunity to calreticulin in patients with benign or malignant breast disease. Methods: This study involved 27 patients with benign and 58 patients with malignant breast tumors before surgical resection and 38 healthy volunteers. Cytoplasmatic or membranous calreticulin overexpression in malignant or benign cells in paraffin-embedded tissues was determined using immunohistochemistry. Levels of the serum anti-calreticulin autoantibodies were detected by ELISA. Results: Statistically significant differences between serum levels of IgA of anti-calreticulin antibodies in controls and patients with breast tumors, and between controls and patients with nonmalignant breast diseases were found, but no statistically significant differences were found between levels of serum IgG anti-calreticulin antibodies. Humoral immunity to calreticulin developed against cytoplasmatic and co-localized membranous calreticulin was not correlated to the intensity of its overexpression and was present even in the absence of its membranous localization. Conclusions: The degree of calreticulin overexpression in lobular breast carcinoma is lower than in ductal breast carcinoma. Elevated concentrations of anti-calreticulin IgA antibodies were present more frequently in patients with metastasis in locoregional lymph nodes in comparison to anti-calreticulin IgG antibodies. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Objective: Calreticulin is a multicompartmental protein which regulates many important cellular responses. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether the intensity and location of calreticulin overexpression in tumor cells are related to the elevated humoral immunity to calreticulin in patients with benign or malignant breast disease. Methods: This study involved 27 patients with benign and 58 patients with malignant breast tumors before surgical resection and 38 healthy volunteers. Cytoplasmatic or membranous calreticulin overexpression in malignant or benign cells in paraffin-embedded tissues was determined using immunohistochemistry. Levels of the serum anti-calreticulin autoantibodies were detected by ELISA. Results: Statistically significant differences between serum levels of IgA of anti-calreticulin antibodies in controls and patients with breast tumors, and between controls and patients with nonmalignant breast diseases were found, but no statistically significant differences were found between levels of serum IgG anti-calreticulin antibodies. Humoral immunity to calreticulin developed against cytoplasmatic and co-localized membranous calreticulin was not correlated to the intensity of its overexpression and was present even in the absence of its membranous localization. Conclusions: The degree of calreticulin overexpression in lobular breast carcinoma is lower than in ductal breast carcinoma. Elevated concentrations of anti-calreticulin IgA antibodies were present more frequently in patients with metastasis in locoregional lymph nodes in comparison to anti-calreticulin IgG antibodies. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Introduction. Wegeners’s granulomatosis is a disease characterized by granulomatous inflammation of the upper and/or lower respiratory tract, glomerulonephritis with varying degrees of small vessel vasculitis and classic anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (c-ANCA) findings. The treatment uses different modalities of immunosuppressive therapy which does not always lead to remission. We presented the efficacy of biological therapy in a patient with refractory form of the Wegeners’s granulomatosis. Case report. A 23-years-old patient, was treated in August, 2011 at the Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology and Maxillofacial Surgery of the Clinical Center of Serbia because of suppurative otitis media, resulting twice in mastoidectomy. On the day 7 after the surgery, hemoptysis and fever occurred. Considering lung x-ray that showed presence of the round soft-tissue changes on both sides, nonspecific inflammatory syndrome in laboratory analysis and positive c-ANCA (1 : 160) with high titers the antibodies to the proteinase 3 (anti-PR 3), Wegener's granulomatosis was diagnosed. Due to the fact that administration of glucocorticoids, cyclophosphamide and immunomodulatory dose of immunoglobulin did not lead to clinical remission, it was decided to apply rituximab. After its application clinical remission occurred and it lasted fifteen months. Conclusion. Application of biologic therapy might be successful in the treatment of patients with severe form of refractory granulomatosis with polyangiitis. © 2018, Inst. Sci. inf., Univ. Defence in Belgrade. All rights reserved.