title: Serum level of soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha as a predictor of treatment response in brucellosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Iran is one of the endemic regions with high prevalence of brucellosis. Several serological markers for diagnosis and response to treatment are available. Serum level of Soluble Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha (SIL-2Ralpha) is a new marker to assess response to therapy and clinical relapse of brucellosis. This study intends to investigate the serum levels of SIL-2Ralpha before and after treatment, to evaluate this marker for patients responding to treatment of brucellosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study is an analytical cross-sectional study. Forty patients who had clinical signs of brucellosis and serological tests confirmed the disease have been treated with standard antibiotics for 6 weeks. 2ME and SIL-2Ralpha levels were measured before and after treatment and these values were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 40 patients, 27 patients (67.5%) had improvement in symptoms and 13 patients (32.5%) had no symptoms after treatment. In Comparing serum levels of SIL-2Ralpha and 2ME before and after treatment, decreasing of both markers after treatment was significant (p < 0.001). In patients with false positive for 2ME, SIL-2Ralpha in 57% of patients had a reduction, but in patients with false negative for 2ME, SIL-2Ralpha in only 28% of patients increased.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Not only is Serum level of SIL-2Ralpha useful for predicting response to treatment of brucellosis, but also in cases of false positive of 2ME can be helpful.
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis and Paediatric Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Manije
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kahbazi
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Resident, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamidreza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rezapour
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Resident, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Farshad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jafari
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis and Paediatric Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arjomandzadegan
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis and Paediatric Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Masume
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sofian
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis and Paediatric Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Nader
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zarinfar
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis and Paediatric Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sarmadiayan
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis and Paediatric Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Amir Reza
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Najmi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000097:blood*; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit