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Query: UMLS:C0014118 (endocarditis)
 15,629 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Mild mitral valve prolapse, hypoglycemia, irritable colon, and premenstrual syndrome are examples of anatomico-physiologic phenomena that largely overlap with normal. Such "overlap syndromes" become labeled disease entities by the medical community through a process called medicalization. This report uses mitral valve prolapse (MVP) to exemplify the effects of medicalization on patients, physicians, and society. Ascertainment bias and insufficient controlled clinical studies have led to the description of a clinical entity replete with false associations (e.g., mitral valve prolapse syndrome) and overly pessimistic prognostication (e.g., risk of sudden death or endocarditis), leading to clinical overreaction, overtreatment, and unnecessary induction of disability. Though some physical complications may be prevented by recognizing severe MVP, there is substantial risk of iatrogenic harm by attributing complex symptoms and illness behavior to mild MVP, which is probably a normal variant. A three-dimensional analysis of illness experience is presented that may be of use in conceptualizing the clinical approach to overlap syndromes such as mild MVP. Conservative criteria for the diagnosis of significant MVP have been developed at the National Institutes of Health. Treatment of patients with mild MVP must emphasize that it is a normal variant without serious consequences. Because the risks of overmedicalization are so substantial, the impact of diagnostic labels on individual patients and society must be analyzed continually.
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PMID:The medicalization of normal variants: the case of mitral valve prolapse. 337 94

Two Bartonella strains from blood of two wild rats (Rattus norvegicus) living in a rural environment were isolated. These strains were distinct from all previously known Bartonella species based on phenotypic and genotypic characteristics. This new species is distinguished by its trypsin-like activity, the absence of the ability to hydrolyse proline and tributyrin, its 16S rRNA and citrate synthase gene sequences and by whole-DNA hybridization data. This new species, for which the name Bartonella tribocorum sp. nov. is proposed, seems to be genetically related to Bartonella elizabethae, an agent isolated in a case of human endocarditis. The type strain of Bartonella tribocorum sp. nov. is IBS 506T (CIP 105476T).
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PMID:Bartonella tribocorum sp. nov., a new Bartonella species isolated from the blood of wild rats. 982 34

Intestinal microflora can be considered as a ''dynamic system'' that actively interacts with the intestinal epithelium and the local immune system. It synthesizes antimicrobial substances (bacteriocins), vitamins (PP, B1, B6, B12), it produces a major intestinal nutrient (butyric acid) and interacts in a competitive fashion with the pathogens. Lactobacilli concentration (Gram+, Gram variable, facultative anaerobes) is generally decreased in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients. This syndrome has, until recently been considered to be ''functional'', whereas, in fact, it may result from previous enteritis (in up to 31% of patients), featuring a persistent low-grade intestinal inflammation and a reduction in interleukin-10 (IL-10) concentration. Some Lactobacilli strains (e.g. L. paracasei subsp. paracasei) in vitro lead to normalisation of the hypercontractility of the smooth muscle cells. A growing body of clinical findings indicates that some ''genetically stable'' strains of Lactobacilli may be useful in the treatment, even long term, of IBS, and reduce the postoperative infection rate, especially in critically ill patients (orthotopic liver transplant, severe pancreatitis). However, some Lactobacilli, ''not genetically stable'', used in the treatment of neutropenic patients during chemotherapy and in pediatric patients submitted to gastrojejunostomy, have been reported to lead to bacteremia and endocarditis. These effects may be due to transfer of bacteria and genetic material. Therefore, the confirmed genetic stability and the fact that no antibiotic resistance occurs are fundamental requisites for the use of Lactobacilli in certain disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, such as, for instance, IBS. In conclusion, ''genetically stable'' Lactobacilli (L. paracasei subsp. Paracasei F19) have recently become available, representing an exiting new field in clinical studies and for treatment purposes, offering guarantees of safety also for long-term use. Careful personalized evaluation, as always in medical practice, is necessary in order to gain further insight into, and to validate with additional studies, the role of ''genetically stable'' Lactobacilli in the treatment of IBS.
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PMID:New insights into Lactobacillus and functional intestinal disorders. 1861 77

Enterococci belong to the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and they are of importance in foods due to their involvement in food spoilage and fermentations, as well as their utilisation as probiotics in humans and slaughter animals. However, they are also important nosocomial pathogens that cause bacteraemia, endocarditis and other infections. Some strains are resistant to many antibiotics and possess virulence factors such as adhesins, invasins, pili and haemolysin. The role of enterococci in disease has raised questions on their safety for use in foods or as probiotics. Studies on the incidence of virulence traits among enterococcal strains isolated from food showed that some can harbour virulence traits, but it is also thought that virulence is not the result of the presence of specific virulence determinants alone, but is rather a more intricate process. Specific genetic lineages of hospital-adapted strains have emerged, such as E. faecium clonal complex (CC) 17 and E. faecalis CC2, CC9, CC28 and CC40, which are high risk enterococcal clonal complexes. These are characterised by the presence of antibiotic resistance determinants and/or virulence factors, often located on pathogenicity islands or plasmids. Mobile genetic elements thus are considered to play a major role in the establishment of problematic lineages. Although enterococci occur in high numbers in certain types of fermented cheeses and sausages, they are not deliberately added as starter cultures. Some E. faecium and E. faecalis strains are used as probiotics and are ingested in high numbers, generally in the form of pharmaceutical preparations. Such probiotics are administered to treat diarrhoea, antibiotic-associated diarrhoea or irritable bowel syndrome, to lower cholesterol levels or to improve host immunity. In animals, enterococcal probiotics are mainly used to treat or prevent diarrhoea, for immune stimulation or to improve growth. From a food microbiological point of view, the safety of the bacteria used as probiotics must be assured, and data on the major strains in use so far indicate that they are safe. The advantage of use of probiotics in slaughter animals, from a food microbiological point of view, lies in the reduction of zoonotic pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract of animals which prevents the transmission of these pathogens via food. The use of enterococcal probiotics should, in view of the development of problematic lineages and the potential for gene transfer in the gastrointestinal tract of both humans and animals, be carefully monitored, and the advantages of using these and new strains should be considered in a well contemplated risk/benefit analysis.
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PMID:Enterococci as probiotics and their implications in food safety. 2196 67

Involvement of the heart is infrequently seen in irritable bowel syndrome (IBD). We present a case of severe acute infective endocarditis diagnosed as ulcerative colitis in further workup.
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PMID:Infective Endocarditis Presented as a Right Atrium Mass in a Patient with Ulcerative Colitis. 2609 Feb 39