الفهرس 
Immunological BackgroundOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 83 |  |  |
| | | from | 83 | | |
Abstract
Abstract
Study of the relation between serum levels of long acting penicillin and the inflammatory markers: C-Reactive Protein and Interleukin-6 in patients with chronic rheumatic heart disease
Ahmad Mahmoud Yousef Mohammad, Osama Abdel Aziz Rifaie, Mohamed Atef Hamza, Sameh Attia Amin
Cardiology department, Faculty of medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Corresponding author: ahmadyousoff@yahoo.com
(Ahmad Mahmoud Yousef Mohammad)
Background
Rheumatic heart disease refers to the functional and structural changes of the heart muscle and valves affected by rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever has a marked tendency to recur leading to high risk of chronic heart lesions or worsening lesions in patients with previous rheumatic heart disease.
C-reactive protein (CRP) and inflammatory cytokines, as TNFa, IL-8 and IL-6, may play a pathogenic role in rheumatic fever and there levels indicate the activity of the disease.
Efficacy of long acting penicillin for secondary prevention of rheumatic fever has not been widely studied.
Objectives
Our study is a prospective cross-sectional controlled study that aims to study the relation between serum levels of long acting penicillin and the inflammatory markers, CRP and IL-6, in patients with chronic rheumatic heart disease.
Methods
Eighty patients from rheumatic heart disease patients coming to Ain Shams university hospitals’ outpatient clinic for rheumatic fever prophylaxis by regular long acting penicillin administration were subjected to the study. Patients were divided into to 2 groups: group A ; 70 patients with rheumatic heart disease already on prophylactic long acting penicillin, and group B; 10 patients with rheumatic heart disease who have not started prophylactic long acting penicillin yet in addition to group C; control group of 10 healthy individuals not known to have rheumatic heart disease.
Venous blood samples were drawn under aseptic conditions, centrifuged and 2 ml serum were collected and were stored at minus 20ºC for ELISA at El-Demerdash hospital immunology laboratory. All the serum samples were analyzed for long acting penicillin, CRP and IL-6 at Ain-Shams University Clinical Pathology Department using ELISA techniques using ELISA kit for Benzathine Benzylpenicillin, High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein ELISA Test Kit and Human Interleukin-6 ELISA Kit.
Conclusion
Study results emphasize the importance of long acting penicillin in secondary prevention of chronic rheumatic heart disease.
Results showed a strong negative relation between long acting penicillin and the rheumatic inflammatory mediators; CRP and IL-6. Also the study results emphasized that chronic rheumatic heart disease is an inflammatory process mediated with some mediators as CRP and IL-6.
More large studies need to be done to prove the rule of long acting penicillin in secondary prevention of chronic rheumatic heart disease and to study the nature of the CRHD as an inflammatory process that may need more control with anti-inflammatory therapies.