Improving the Detection of Active Tuberculosis in Accident and Emergency Departments
Latent TuberculosisActive TuberculosisTuberculosis (TB) control remains a public health challenge. Many people in the UK do not have a general practitioner (GP) registration and their only interaction with the NHS is via Accident and Emergency (A&E) Departments of hospitals. This is often the case for those in hard to reach groups, who are also those often at highest risk of TB. This study seeks to assess whether A&E Departments are effective sites for the identification and onward management of TB, both in its latent and active forms.
Micro RNA as Prediction and/or Prognostic Markers of IRIS in TB-HIV Co-infected Patients
HIV InfectionTuberculosis InfectionThe role of miRNAs in HIV disease is yet to be completely defined. Host miRNAs target certain HIV genes, thus can affect HIV replication and participate in viral control. miRNAs can also block HIV production through disruption of Gag assembly on cell membranes. miRNA expression can characterize HIV disease phenotype, as has been shown in HIV elite controllers who have a well-defined miRNA expression profile. However, the studies of miRNA in acute infection and co-infections like tuberculosis are lacking. The investigators showed that during immune reconstitution syndrome (IRIS) in HIV/TB coinfected patients, innate immune response play a role as through NK cell degranulation, therefore testing for this could be used as a predictive marker of IRIS. One of the limitations of miRNA detection is the technique, which is time-consuming, and needs laboratories that are specialized and equipped for molecular biology techniques. In contrast, flow cytometry has been developed in routine labs and has well-standardized techniques. For the routine detection of miRNA, flow cytometry could be the best way to perform high throughput screening for clinical applications. Flow cytometry is a simple and effective way to evaluate miRNAs expression. In this project the investigators propose to evaluate, using flow cytometry, whether circulating miRNA pattern might be applicable as potential biomarkers in prediction and prognosis of IRIS in HIV/TB co-infected patients. The investigators propose to study the miRNA expression profile in a cohort of patients with a HIV infection and Tuberculosis and correlate it with their clinical evolution. As controls, the investigators propose to analyze expression of miRNAs in healthy controls as well as TB and HIV mono-infected patients. AIMS OF THE PROPOSAL Identify miRNA expression profile as potential novel predictive and prognostic biomarkers for IRIS. Identify the miRNA expression profile in HIV patients, in TB patients and in HIV/TB co-infected patients.
The Effect of Latent Tuberculosis Infection on the Pregnancy Outcome of IVF-ET
InfertilityTuberculosisThis study evaluate the effect of latent infection of tuberculosis on the pregnancy outcome of IVF-ET in infertile patients with radiographic lesions suggesting old healed tuberculosis
Screening for Latent Tuberculosis in Healthcare Workers With Quantiferon-Gold Assay: A Cost-Effectiveness...
Latent Tuberculosis InfectionThe ministry of health in Israel requires all health-care workers to undergo screening for latent Tuberculosis infection (LTBI) prior to starting work. This is based on the Mantoux skin test, which is notoriously unreliable. In recent years, more specific and sensitive tests based on interferon-gamma secretion to TB antigens have come to market, and most current evidence shows that many mantoux positive persons do not have LTBI. Quantiferon-GOLD is one of these assays. In this prospective study, we will draw blood for the Quantiferon-GOLD assay in parallel to conventional testing, and perform a cost-effectiveness analysis of the cost of the investigation and treatment of LTBI in health-care workers. We hypothesize that in spite of the cost of screening healthcare workers with Quantiferon-GOLD tests, the reduction in need for LTBI treatment and associated costs will render the test cost-effective.
Comparing Consistency of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus and QuantiFERON-TB Gold for Latent Tuberculosis...
Patients on DialysisIn patients receiving long term dialysis, using new generation of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus can have less result variability in inter-experiment and serial follow up in comparing with QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-tube.
Clinical Analysis of Safety in Latent Tuberculosis Infection Prophylaxis Treatment
Adverse Reaction to Drug3HPThe treatment of latent TB with 3HP is an important issue for the prevention of active TB. However, significant proportion of subjects receiving 3HP had adverse reaction. The main purpose of this observation study is to identify subjects who have higher risk to develop adverse reaction. Clinical characteristics and biomarker will be used to predict adverse reaction.
Cytometric Immunodiagnostics of Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI)
LTBIBCG Vaccination Reaction1 moreTB-reactive immune cells will be tested in a multiparametric flow cytometry to distinguish an immune response for antigens of Mycobacterium spp. in TB disease/latent infection or a reaction after BCG vaccine.
Study of Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI) by High Resolution Scanner
TuberculosisIt is traditionally considered that someone with a positive tuberculin skin test (TST) (and/or positive result in Cell Interferon-Gamma Release Assay (TIGRA), depending on the different countries' guidelines) is infected but not ill when the absence of lesions is demonstrated in a thorax X-Ray assay. Even though, the experiences described in literature using cows and pigs as animal models for the study of LTBI demonstrate the presence of this kind of lesion in the animals, even too small to be detected by X-Ray assay, which would suggest they also could happen in human LTBI. Nowadays, the High Resolution Scanners (HR TC) offer the possibility of detecting any lesion approximately 1 mm in diameter, so the investigators plan to use this technique to screen people already infected by M. tuberculosis (but not ill, following the Diagnosis Standard Guidelines). Additional pathological analysis of resected and post-mortem tissues will provide lesion-based profiles of humans infected with tuberculosis.
Demonstration of the Dynamic Hypothesis of Latent Tuberculosis Infection
Latent Tuberculosis InfectionIt is traditionally considered that the development of Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI) is due to the M. tuberculosis ability to develop a dormancy state within well-structured lesions (granulomas), which can remain in the lung of the host even for life. A new original hypothesis has been developed in the Experimental Tuberculosis Unit based on scientific evidence that take into account the idea that a lesion cannot be held forever, because the host tends to remove any lesion in order to rebuild the original parenchyma, in a healing process. Even if M. tuberculosis can remain in a dormant/non-replicating state for a long period, this is an important but not sufficient factor to explain the LTBI. The Dynamic Hypothesis tries to explain the existence of LTBI in spite of the healing process that could remove it by a constant reinfection of the host's tissue. While the "Static" view defends the induction of active TB after the reactivation of the bacilli from and old lesion; while the "Dynamic" view wants to demonstrate that there is a constant induction of new granulomas. In case one of these new lesions takes place in the upper lobe privileged zone, the possibility to induce a cavity would appear, developing an active Tuberculosis (TB).
Prevalence of Latent Tuberculosis in High Risk Children
Latent Tuberculosisidentify the prevalence of latent tuberculosis (according to new guideline ;NICE tuberculosis) among these high risk groups of children and notify ministry of health