Tuberculosis serum proteins

In AL amyloidosis, amyloid is formed from degradation products of the X or k light chains that deposit most frequently in the extracellular matrix of the kidney and the heart but also may deposit in the tongue. In other types of amyloidosis, the amyloid arises from other proteins and deposits in a characteristic organ. For example, the amyloid associated with chronic inflammatory conditions, such as tuberculosis or rheumatoid arthritis, is derived from an acute phase serum protein called serum amyloid Athat is produced by the liver in response to inflammation. It deposits most frequently in the kidney, and cardiac involvement is rare. 

Electrophoretic Fractionation of the Serum Proteins in Tuberculosis and Sarcoidosis ... 

Serum protein fractionations have been employed widely as an aid in the differentiation of sarcoidosis from tuberculosis. Seibert and collab-oraters (317), for example, point to a significant increase in the mean total protein concentration in sarcoidosis as contrasted with mean total protein concentrations within normal limits in pulmonary tuberculosis, and believe that a helpful differentiation can be made on this basis in most cases. Marked hyperglobulinemia with hyperproteinemia does occur... 

Clinical improvement, especially the disappearance of fever or defervescence, is the best parameter to judge the response to therapy. However, clinical improvement can be difficult to monitor objectively in critically ill patients with multi-system disease. Also, clinical improvement can be very slow for certain infections, e.g. tuberculosis. The peripheral blood leukocyte count including the presence of early stages in leucocyte differention and the level of serum C-Reactive Protein (CRP, an acute phase protein) are parameters that can be sequentially determined to monitor improvement. For monitoring the effect of treatment of chronic infections such as endocarditis or osteomyelitis, weekly determination of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate has been proven useful. 

Infliximab has been related to adverse effects such as infusion reactions, serum sickness, sepsis, and reactivation of tuberculosis. Infusion reactions and serum sickness relate to the immune response to foreign protein. Patients often develop anti-infliximab antibodies with multiple infusions. Serum sickness has occurred in patients who received infliximab doses separated by a long period of time. Sepsis and tuberculosis may occur because of the inhibition of TNF-protective mechanisms. 

---