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Query: UMLS:C0009450 (infectious diseases)
 83,438 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

For ten years, a 25-year-old immune-competent man experienced a progressive disseminated infection with the saprophytic soil fungus, Curvularia lunata, following presumptive cutaneous inoculation while playing football. Deep, soft tissue abscesses, pulmonary suppuration, paravertebral abscess, and cerebral abscess all followed leg ulcers from neglected abrasions. The patient's delay in obtaining treatment was partially responsible for the paravertebral-mediastinal-pleural-cutaneous fistula that resulted. The importance of prompt and aggressive surgical drainage procedures is clear. Infection was arrested only by surgery. The fungus was inhibited by miconazole nitrate and amphotericin B but it developed resistance to flucytosine. Miconazole appeared to cause resolution of the cerebral abscess. Amphotericin B (1 mg/kg/day) clearly was beneficial but only after effective drainage procedures were done. The patient refused to continue amphotericin B after 5.4 g had been given in two treatments. He became bedridden one year later from back pain that was caused by recurrent disease.
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PMID:Disseminated Curvularia lunata infection in a football player. 57 62

There is much concern about the role of nitrate in the formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds. There has been renewed interest in the endogenous formation of nitrate arising as a host response to infection. This study was designed to investigate whether the large increases in nitrate excretion rate reported (6-15-fold) for certain infectious diseases is also a feature of systemic influenza infections. Volunteers were challenged either with an attenuated strain of influenza A virus or with saline; and excreted nitrate was measured in subsequent 24-h urine samples. Both with and without adjustment for potential confounding by dietary and other factors, it was clear that neither mild nor moderate influenza A virus infection resulted in substantial endogenous nitrate biosynthesis since all the variation in urinary nitrate excretion observed was within the range of normal daily fluctuations. It remains possible that a stronger and more consistent nitrate excretion response might be observed in other infectious illnesses with greater systemic disturbance.
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PMID:Significant endogenous synthesis of nitrate does not appear to be a feature of influenza A virus infection. 130 69

We examined the value of the dipstick test for detecting pyuria and bacteriuria in the diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI). The dipstick esterase test could be quickly assessed and could easily detect leukocyte esterase in the urine. This was well correlated with the conventional sedimentation method. The dipstick nitrate reduction method for detecting bacteriuria, however, was not well correlated with the urine culture method. These findings suggested that the dipstick esterase test was a useful method for detecting pyuria in the diagnosis of UTI, but not the dipstick nitrate reduction method. Catheter-associated UTI is the most difficult category of UTI to treat and control. One of the reasons for this is the formation of biofilm around the indwelling catheter. We attempted to evaluate the effect of catheter exchange just before treatment of catheter-associated UTI with either 300 or 600 mg/day of levofloxacin, one of the newer quinolones. However, we are unable to find any apparent effect on the drug's efficacy.
Infection 1992
PMID:The dipstick test in the diagnosis of UTI and the effect of pretreatment catheter exchange in catheter-associated UTI. 149 Jul 42

The interaction between Rhizobium lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and white clover roots was examined. The Limulus lysate assay indicated that Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii (hereafter called R. trifolii) released LPS into the external root environment of slide cultures. Immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy showed that purified LPS from R. trifolii 0403 bound rapidly to root hair tips and infiltrated across the root hair wall. Infection thread formation in root hairs was promoted by preinoculation treatment of roots with R. trifolii LPS at a low dose (up to 5 micrograms per plant) but inhibited at a higher dose. This biological activity of LPS was restricted to the region of the root present at the time of exposure to LPS, higher with LPS from cells in the early stationary phase than in the mid-exponential phase, incubation time dependent, incapable of reversing inhibition of infection by NO3- or NH4+, and conserved among serologically distinct LPSs from several wild-type R. trifolii strains (0403, 2S-2, and ANU843). In contrast, infections were not increased by preinoculation treatment of roots with LPSs from R. leguminosarum bv. viciae strain 300, R. meliloti 102F28, or members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. Most infection threads developed successfully in root hairs pretreated with R. trifolii LPS, whereas many infections aborted near their origins and accumulated brown deposits if pretreated with LPS from R. meliloti 102F28. LPS from R. leguminosarum 300 also caused most infection threads to abort. Other specific responses of root hairs to infection-stimulating LPS from R. trifolii included acceleration of cytoplasmic streaming and production of novel proteins. Combined gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance analyses indicated that biologically active LPS from R. trifolii 0403 in the early stationary phase had less fucose but more 2-O-methylfucose, quinovosamine, 3,6-dideoxy-3-(methylamino)galactose, and noncarbohydrate substituents (O-methyl, N-methyl, and acetyl groups) on glycosyl components than did inactive LPS in the mid-exponential phase. We conclude that LPS-root hair interactions trigger metabolic events that have a significant impact on successful development of infection threads in this Rhizobium-legume symbiosis.
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PMID:Rhizobium lipopolysaccharide modulates infection thread development in white clover root hairs. 188 17

We prospectively studied 52 consecutive patients who were treated by early tangential excision and grafting following thermal injury. The usefulness of two topical antimicrobial agents--0.5% silver nitrate (Ag) and neomycin (1 gm/liter) plus bacitracin (50,000 units/liter) (NB)--was compared with the effectiveness of Ringer's lactate (RL) for prevention of autogenous skin-graft loss due to infection. Graft loss of 10 percent or more occurred in 17 patients (33 percent)--due to infection in 16. Skin-graft loss was a minor problem in patients with less than 20 percent total body surface area (TBSA) burn (Ag: 0 of 6, NB: 1 of 6, RL: 1 of 5). The use of either antimicrobial (Ag or NB) resulted in less graft loss (1 of 14) than RL (4 of 6; p less than 0.05) in the 20 to 40 percent TBSA burn group. Large burns (greater than 40 percent) had a very high incidence of at least 10 percent graft loss (67 percent) regardless of treatment. Infection in the area of graft loss was caused by antibiotic-resistant organisms or yeast in 50 percent of the Ringer's lactate group and the entire neomycin plus bacitracin group. No graft infections were caused by resistant organisms or yeast in the silver nitrate group. This study demonstrates that topical antimicrobial agents reduce infection-related skin-graft loss in patients with medium-sized (20 to 40 percent TBSA) burns and that neomycin plus bacitracin is associated with rapid emergence of drug-resistant organisms whereas silver nitrate is not.
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PMID:A randomized prospective study of topical antimicrobial agents on skin grafts after thermal injury. 224 46

Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites were quiescent in mouse peritoneal fluid or in K2SO4 buffer at pH 8.2. They became consistently motile when K+ was replaced by other monovalent or divalent cations at a constant pH (pH = 8.2). They also became motile when Cl- was substituted for SO4(2-). Nitrate or SCN-, can also be substituted for Cl- to a certain extent. Tachyzoites showed independent movement for more than 15 min in KCl, and for about 5 min in the other buffers at pH 8.2 after which they were exhausted and stopped. These tachyzoites could not then be further stimulated to motility by renewal of the suspension buffer. Infection of monolayer cells was demonstrated only with parasites which were motile during inoculation. The highest infectivity was thus obtained either with freshly collected tachyzoites or with those preincubated in K2SO4 buffer for 30 min at 37 degrees C at alkaline pH and thus not yet exhausted for motility. Approximately 34 to 38% of these latter organisms were seen to enter cells when they were inoculated into cultures immediately after being resuspended in MEM for 30 min at 37 degrees C. Conversely, those whose motility had been exhausted by the preincubation in buffers other than K2SO4, pH 8.2 could not enter monolayer cells. Additionally, parasites were unable to enter cells when inoculated into cultures in K2SO4 buffer at alkaline pH; instead they remained quiescent on the surface of the monolayer cells, suggesting that Toxoplasma enters the host cells by active invasion.
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PMID:Effect of extracellular ions on motility and cell entry in Toxoplasma gondii. 231 89

Isoelectric focusing of proteins in ultrathin polyacrylamide gel (0.4 mm), followed by direct immunofixation with monospecific antisera and silver nitrate staining, is a highly specific, sensitive and simple method for the detection of oligoclonal IgG in unconcentrated CSF samples. The ultrathin polyacrylamide gels have several advantages, i.e. significantly smaller amounts of reagents are required, and thinner gel can be more efficiently cooled, resulting in higher resolution and shorter running, washing, staining and destaining times. Direct immunofixation in the gel, a time-saving and simple step, increases the sensitivity and specificity of the method. We reduced the samples to 5-10 microliters. For the present method, the optimal concentration of IgG was 0.025-0.030 g/l. It is possible to detect oligoclonal IgG bands at an IgG concentration corresponding to the applied amount of 80-100 ng. In our testing of this method, oligoclonal bands in CSF specimens were clearly demonstrated in 33 (97%) out of 34 patients with definite multiple sclerosis, in 16 (42%) out of 38 patients with infectious diseases of the central nervous system and in 11 (18%) out of 58 patients with other neurological disorders. The method appears to be a useful alternative for the demonstration of oligoclonal IgG bands in unconcentrated CSF samples, and can be recommended for use in the CSF laboratory routine.
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PMID:Detection of IgG oligoclonal bands in unconcentrated CSF by isoelectric focusing in ultrathin polyacrylamide gel, direct antiserum immunofixation and silver nitrate staining. 247 60

In 254 patients of a ward for infectious diseases the authors demonstrated that inflammatory diseases are frequently accompanied by an increase in nitrate content of the blood, urine and saliva. This effect is especially evident in gastrointestinal disorders. Correlations of nitrate with indicators of the inflammatory process are, if at all, very weak. The endogenous synthesis of nitrate may be of importance for the total nitrate load to the organism especially in children or patients with long-lasting inflammatory disease.
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PMID:[Nitrate and nitrite content of the saliva, urine, blood and cerebrospinal fluid in patients at an infection clinic]. 274 64

Anomalous nodulation of Trifolium subterraneum (subterranean clover) roots by Rhizobium leguminosarum 1020 was examined as a model of modified host-specificity in a Rhizobium-legume symbiosis. Consistent with previous reports, these nodules (i) appeared most often at sites of secondary root emergence, (ii) were ineffective in nitrogen fixation and (iii) were as numerous as nodules formed by an effective Rhizobium trifolii strain. R. leguminosarum 1020, grown on agar plates or in the clover root environment, did not bind the white clover lectin, trifoliin A. This strain did not attach in high numbers, and did not induce shepherd's crooks or infection threads, in subterranean clover root hairs. However, R. leguminosarum 1020 did cause branching, moderate curling and other deformations of root hairs. The bacteria probably entered the clover root through breaks in the epidermis at sites of lateral root emergence. The anomalous nodulation was inhibited by nitrate. Only trace amounts of leghaemoglobin were detected in the nodules by Western blot analysis. The nodules were of the meristematic type and initially contained well-developed infection, bacteroid and senescent zones. Infection threads were readily found in the infection zone of the nodule. However, the bacteroid-containing tissue senesced more rapidly than in the effective symbiosis between subterranean clover and R. trifolii 0403. This anomalous nodulation of subterranean clover by R. leguminosarum 1020 suggests a naturally-occurring alternative route of infection that allows Rhizobium to enlarge its host range.
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PMID:Characterization of the anomalous infection and nodulation of subterranean clover roots by Rhizobium leguminosarum 1020. 383 Dec 34

To demonstrate oligoclonal IgG bands (I) in unconcentrated cerebrospinal fluid, we used isoelectric focusing in agarose followed by protein transfer to cellulose nitrate membrane, double-antibody peroxidase labeling, and avidin-biotin amplification. I can be reliably seen after isoelectric focusing of 5-microL specimens containing 125 ng of IgG (25 mg/L). Thus the technique is more sensitive than others (e.g., silver staining) and more reliable than radioimmunofixation. When we used this technique with fluids from 62 patients with multiple sclerosis and infectious disease of the central nervous system, 84% displayed I, a percentage not increased when the same specimens were concentrated to 3.5 g of IgG per liter, examined by agarose isoelectric focusing, and stained with Coomassie Blue. Results for 53 patients with tension headache and psychoneurosis were all negative. By obviating the need to concentrate samples of cerebrospinal fluid the present method is a useful, sensitive alternative for demonstrating I.
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PMID:Improved detection of oligoclonal IgG in cerebrospinal fluid by isoelectric focusing in agarose, double-antibody peroxidase labeling, and avidin-biotin amplification. 637


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