Relationship between antibodies to Toxocara and the disability of the human ankylosing spondylitis

Abstract

There are only few studies reported in the literature of patients with spondyloarthropathies associated with Toxocara infection. Thus, the aim of this work was to investigate the relationship between antibodies to Toxocara and the disability of the human Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). Thirty-six AS patients (14 female and 22 male) participated during the study period and all were residents from Mexico City. Evaluations included physician and patient self-assessment Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) to define the joint limitation of the spine. Blood tests included the identification of Human Leukocyte Antigen B27 (HLA-B27), Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR), levels of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and levels of antibodies to Toxocara canis and Ascaris lumbricoides. Seventy seven serum samples of healthy donors were used as control group. Seropositivity for T. canis was detected in 25% of patients with AS and 1/36 was positive for antibodies to Ascaris while, 2/77 were positive for Toxocara and 1/77 for Ascaris in the control group. A correlation between antibodies to Toxocara and the presence of AS was observed (p=0.0005432; Mid-P exact, two tails); the levels of antibodies to Toxocara were not associated with the HLA-B-57 antigen neither with the disability caused by the AS, although the 74% of AS patients had high values of BASFI (6.4±1.5) with normal levels of CRP and ESR. In addition, no significant difference was observed between the AS patients and control group in the seropositivity for Ascaris (p = 0.64). These results suggest a minor role for toxocariosis in the AS limited joint in Mexican population, however further studies are needed to determine the role of Toxocara in the AS prognosis.