title: Detection of serum neopterin for early assessment of dengue virus infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Neopterin is generated and released in increased amounts by macrophages upon activation by interferon-gamma during Th1-type immune response. The potential usefulness of neopterin in early prognostic information of dengue virus infection was investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Neopterin concentrations were determined in serum samples from 110 dengue fever (DF) patients. The neopterin levels were compared with those in 50 measles and 40 influenza patients; 155 healthy blood donors served as controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In acute sera of DF patients mean neopterin concentration was 48.2 nmol/L, which was higher than that in patients with measles (mean: 36.3 nmol/L) and influenza (18.8 nmol/L) and in healthy controls (6.7 nmol/L; P<0.001). In the patients with confirmed DF, an early neopterin elevation was detected already at the first day after the onset of symptoms and rose to a maximum level of 54.3 nmol/L 4 days after the onset. Higher increase of neopterin level in DF patients was associated with longer duration of fever and thus predicted the clinical course of the disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neopterin concentrations were found significantly higher in DF patients compared with healthy controls and also with other viral infections (P<0.001) and may allow early assessment of the severity of DF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Cangel P Y
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Junet W Y
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Kai-Yuan
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Duan-Hua
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Biao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Di
authors.forename: Hui-Fang
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Man-Fai
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bergmann
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lehmann
authors.forename: Yong-Mei
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.forename: George W H
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Cautherley
authors.forename: Dietmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Renneberg
authors.forename: Bo-Jian
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003715:Dengue / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008457:Measles / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D019798:Neopterin / Q000097:blood*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D019798:Neopterin