| Summary: | Introduction. Cryoglobulins are single or mixed immunoglobulins that are
subject to reversible precipitation at low temperatures. Objective. The aims
of this paper were: 1. Comparison of cryoglobulin positive (CP),
cryoglobulin negative (CN) heroin addicts and the control group (CG) in
terms of serum immunoglobulins IgG, IgA and IgM and complement components C3
and C4; 2. Comparison of CP and CN heroin addicts in terms of rheumatoid
factor (RF) and circulating immune complexes (CIC); 3. Assessment of
clinical manifestations in CP heroin addicts. Methods. This is a comparative
study of cases (outpatients) treated at the University Clinic of Toxicology
in Skopje over 3.5 years, from January 2009 to June 2012. In this study 140
heroin addicts without HbsAg were examined, seronegative for HCV and HIV
infections. They were divided into 2 groups: 70 CP and 70 CN heroin addicts.
A previously designed self-administered questionnaire was used as a data
source on participants. All heroin addicts underwent the following analyses:
urea and creatinine in serum; creatinine in urine; proteinuria; 24-hour
proteinuria; IgM, IgG, IgA, C3, C4 ; RF; CIC; creatinine clearance; ECG;
toxicological analyses for opioids in a urine sample; cryoglobulins. In
addition to these 2 groups, IgG, IgA, IgM, C3 and C4 were also examined in
70 healthy subjects (CG). Results. The study showed that there was no
statistically significant difference between CP, CN heroin addicts and CG
regarding the concentration of IgA, IgG, IgM, C3 and C4, and between CP and
CN regarding the concentration of CIC. There was significant difference
between CP and CN regarding the concentration of RF. The following
conditions were significantly more frequently manifested in CP than in CN
heroin addicts: arthralgia, Raynaud’s phenomenon, respiratory difficulties,
neurological disorders, manifested skin changes, hematuria, 24-hour
proteinuria levels, and decreased renal clearance. Conclusion. There were no
differences in concentrations of IgG, IgA, IgM, C3, C4 and CIC, while there
was a difference in concentration of RF between CP and CN heroin addicts.
Clinical manifestations (arthralgias, Raynaud’s phenomenon, respiratory,
neurologic, renal disorders and skin changes) were more common in CP heroin
addicts.
|
|---|