[Dosage of the antibody antigliadin in first degree relatives of celiac patients]

Celiac disease is a permanent gluten intolerance followed by a variety of symptoms and damage to the enterocite. Forty families of celiac patients were investigated in the period of March 1992 through March 1993. The aim of the study was to utilize a dosage of serum antigliadin antibody (IgA and IgG) as screening method to stablish the frequency of celiac disease in siblings of carriers of the disease and diagnose it in first degree relatives of those patients. The 121 relatives who agreed to take part on the study were submitted to an inquire, evaluation of nutritional status and collecting 3 ml of venous blood for dosage of antigliadin antibody class IgA and IgG. Positive sorology was obtained in seven subjects and a biopsy could be obtained in five. One mother presented a pathologic anatomical picture of celiac disease representing sibling frequency of 0.8% in the group of relatives studied.

[Prevalence of cryptosporidiosis in diarrheic syndrome in HIV positive patients]

During the period February 1987-June 1988, we examined 542 stool samples of 271 HIV positive patients both with and without full-blown AIDS. One hundred patients with either acute or chronic diarrhea and 180 patients without diarrhea were studied. The stool samples were examined for the presence of Cryptosporidium sp., other protozoa, helmints, and pathogenic enterobacteria. We found a prevalence of 14.3% of Cryptosporidium sp. in patients with full-blown disease and diarrhea. We encountered no Cryptosporidium sp. among asymptomatic patients. The occurrence of diarrhea was significantly associated with a CD4/CD8 ratio lower than 0.4, with the finding of Cryptosporidium sp. in the stools, being a CDC group IV, and with a positive stool culture for pathogenic enterobacteria. The diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium sp. could not be distinguished, on clinical grounds, from diarrhea caused by other etiologic agents.