Search results for "bacterial infections and mycoses"
showing 10 items of 295 documents
Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato detected in the blood of Norwegian patients with erythema migrans
2017
The most common tick-borne human disease in Norway is Lyme borreliosis. Ticks in Norway also harbour less known disease-causing agents such as Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Borrelia miyamotoi and Rickettsia helvetica. However, human infections caused by these pathogens have never been described in Norway. The main aims of the study were to evaluate the contribution of several tick-borne bacterial agents, other than Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, to zoonotic diseases in Norway and to determine their clinical pictures. Blood samples from 70 symptomatic tick-bitten adults from the Agder counties in southern Norway were screened for seven tick-borne pathogens by using a commercial multi…
Impact of antiretroviral and tuberculosis therapies on CD4 + and CD8 + HIV/M. tuberculosis-specific T-cell in co-infected subjects
2018
Abstract Background Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection is a risk factor for tuberculosis (TB). Antiretroviral therapy (ART) changed HIV clinical management but it is still unclear how pre-existing HIV/Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells are restored. Aim to evaluate the impact of ART and TB therapies on the functional and phenotypic profile of Mtb-specific antigen-response of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells in prospectively enrolled HIV-TB co-infected patients. Methods ART-naive HIV-infected patients, with or without active TB or latent TB infection (LTBI), were enrolled before and after starting ART and TB therapies. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) wer…
Topical azithromycin for the prevention of Lyme borreliosis: a randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 efficacy trial
2017
Summary Background Lyme borreliosis develops in 1–5% of individuals bitten by ticks, but with a diagnostic gap affecting up to 30% of patients, a broadly applicable pharmacological prevention strategy is needed. Topical azithromycin effectively eradicated Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato from the skin in preclinical studies. We assessed its efficacy in human beings. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial done in 28 study sites in Germany and Austria, adults were equally assigned to receive topical 10% azithromycin or placebo twice daily for 3 consecutive days, within 72 h of a tick bite being confirmed. Randomisation numbers, which were stratified by …
Procalcitonin levels in candidemia versus bacteremia: a systematic review
2019
Background Procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker used to assess systemic inflammation, infection, and sepsis and to optimize antimicrobial therapies. Its role in the in the differential diagnosis between candidemia and bacteremia is unclear. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the current evidence about PCT values for differentiating candidemia from bacteremia. Methods PubMed and EMBASE were searched for studies reporting data on the diagnostic performance of serum PCT levels in intensive care unit (ICU) or non-ICU adult patients with candidemia, in comparison to patients with bacteremia. Results We included 16 studies for a total of 45.079 patients and 785 cases of candidemia. …
Pleasant music as a countermeasure against visually induced motion sickness.
2013
Visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) is a well-known side-effect in virtual environments or simulators. However, effective behavioral countermeasures against VIMS are still sparse. In this study, we tested whether music can reduce the severity of VIMS. Ninety-three volunteers were immersed in an approximately 14-minute-long video taken during a bicycle ride. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups, either including relaxing music, neutral music, stressful music, or no music. Sickness scores were collected using the Fast Motion Sickness Scale and the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire. Results showed an overall trend for relaxing music to reduce the severity o…
A nationwide survey of hereditary angioedema due to C1 inhibitor deficiency in Italy
2014
Introduction Hereditary angioedema due to C1-inhibitor deficiency (C1-INH-HAE type I) or dysfunction (C1-INH-HAE type II) is a rare disease characterized by recurrent episodes of edema with an estimated frequency of 1:50,000 in the global population without racial or gender differences. In this study we present the results of a nationwide survey of C1-INH-HAE patients referring to 17 Italian centers, the Italian network for C1-INH-HAE, ITACA. Methods Italian patients diagnosed with C1-INH-HAE from 1973 to 2013 were included in the study. Diagnosis of C1-INH-HAE was based on family and/or personal history of recurrent angioedema without urticaria and on antigenic and/or functional C1-INH def…
Accuracy of two plasma antibody tests and faecal antigen test for non-invasive detection of H. pylori in middle-aged Caucasian general population sam…
2018
The aim of the study was to assess the accuracy of two plasma Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) antibody test-systems and a stool antigen test (SAT) system in a general population sample in Latvia.Blood and faecal samples were analysed in healthy individuals (40-64 years), referred for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy according to pilot study protocol within a population-based study investigating gastric cancer prevention strategies (GISTAR pilot study). Antibodies to H. pylori were assessed in plasma by latex-agglutination test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). H. pylori antigen in faecal samples was detected by a monoclonal enzyme immunoassay-based SAT. Histological assessment …
vacA genotypes in oral cavity and Helicobacter pylori seropositivity among adults without dyspepsia.
2010
Objective: The aims of this research were to determine the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori and its vacA genotypes in oral cavity in persons without dyspepsia and to establish the association between the presence of H. pylori in oral cavity and oral hygiene. The seroprevalence of anti-H. pylori antibodies and its associated factors were analyzed too. Study design: For the study, 200 adults without dyspepsia symptoms were selected. Dental plaque and saliva samples from each subject were obtained. H. pylori detection in oral samples was carried out by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and for vacA genotyping a semi-nested and nested PCR was used. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) w…
Granzyme A as a potential biomarker of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and disease
2015
Cytotoxic molecules such as granulysin, perforin and granzymes produced by cytolytic T cells directly contribute to immune defense against tuberculosis (TB). In search for novel TB biomarkers, we have evaluated the levels of granzyme A in plasma obtained from QuantiFERON-TB Gold In tube (QFT-IT) assays from patients with active TB disease and subjects with latent TB infection (LTBI).Granzyme A serum levels in TB patients were significantly lower than values found in LTBI subjects even after subtraction of the unstimulated levels from the antigen-stimulated responses. The receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve analysis comparing TB patients and LTBI groups, showed that at a cut-off va…
Micafungin versus liposomal amphotericin B for candidaemia and invasive candidosis: a phase III randomised double-blind trial
2007
Summary Background Invasive candidosis is increasingly prevalent in seriously ill patients. Our aim was to compare micafungin with liposomal amphotericin B for the treatment of adult patients with candidaemia or invasive candidosis. Methods We did a double-blind, randomised, multinational non-inferiority study to compare micafungin (100 mg/day) with liposomal amphotericin B (3 mg/kg per day) as first-line treatment of candidaemia and invasive candidosis. The primary endpoint was treatment success, defined as both a clinical and a mycological response at the end of treatment. Primary analyses were done on a per-protocol basis. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00106…