Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0021051 (immunodeficiency)
 71,517 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The files of 45 human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients with ocular toxoplasmosis were reviewed, with a median follow-up of eight months. The condition was unilateral in 37 of the 45 patients (82%) and was bilateral in eight (18%). Inflammation of the anterior chamber and the vitreous was present in 32 of 53 eyes (60%) and 38 of 53 eyes (72%), respectively. Cytomegalovirus retinitis developed during the follow-up period in nine patients (20%). Cerebral toxoplasmosis was concurrently diagnosed with the ocular toxoplasmosis in 13 patients (29%). The efficacy of the combination of pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine or clindamycin was assessed in 42 patients for the induction therapy and in 38 patients for the maintenance therapy. Induction therapy was always effective within a median period of six weeks. During maintenance treatment, the 24-month relapse rates were 0.20 and 0.18 for the 50-mg/day and 25-mg/day dosage of pyrimethamine, respectively. The overall 12-month survival rate was 0.72. Our results suggested that ocular toxoplasmosis has a better ocular prognosis than cytomegalovirus retinitis, but that it requires appropriate treatment because life-threatening cerebral involvement is often associated.
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PMID:Ocular toxoplasmosis in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. 132 40

This report describes a series of 15 patients who presented with masses in the tail of the parotid gland which proved at biopsy to be benign hyperplastic lymphadenopathy similar to lymphoepithelial hyperplasia. There were 11 male and 4 female patients. All had a history of intravenous drug use. Ten patients complained of pain. Six patients had smaller masses on the contralateral side of the gland, whereas seven patients had minor axillary adenopathy. Needle aspiration was performed in 12 patients; although not conclusively diagnostic, it ruled out primary salivary tumors. Thick purulent material was aspirated in five patients. All 15 patients underwent parotid exploration. It was apparent after raising the flap that the disease was related to intraparotid and periparotid lymph nodes. Lymphadenopathy in the jugular region, which was not appreciated preoperatively, was also noted in all patients. Each patient underwent exposure of the main trunk of the facial nerve and limited superficial parotidectomy. The postoperative course in each patient was uneventful and no patient had a facial nerve deficit. Cerebral toxoplasmosis developed in one patient who died 3 months after surgery; AIDS developed in one other patient. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) titers were not performed routinely because none of the patients came for regular follow-up. None of these patients demonstrated lymphoma at the time of this procedure. Parotid lymphadenopathy, which occurs primarily in intravenous drug users, appears to be an early manifestation of pre-AIDS or AIDS-related complex. If patients have no other sizable lymphadenopathy for biopsy, we advocate exploration of the parotid region and excision of periparotid and intraparotid lymph nodes.
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PMID:Is parotid lymphadenopathy a new disease or part of AIDS? 230 25

Oral infection of athymic nude and immunocompetent Lewis rats with Toxoplasma gondii induced a chronic nonlethal encephalitis. The histopathological pattern of Toxoplasma encephalitis was significantly different in both groups of animals and there were substantially larger numbers of Toxoplasma cysts in the brains of athymic rats. Combined immunohistochemical and flow cytometric analyses of intracerebral leukocytes identified alpha beta TCR+ CD4+ and CD8+ T cells; macrophages, and natural killer cells as inflammatory cell populations in immunocompetent rats, whereas in athymic rats natural killer cells, macrophages, and gamma delta TCR+ CD8+ CD3+ T cells contributed to the intracerebral inflammatory infiltrates. These findings not only point to a major participation of alpha beta TCR+ T cells to the intracerebral immune response, but also indicate that they are not essential to prevent the development of a lethal Toxoplasma encephalitis. In addition, microglia were strongly activated in both strains with simultaneous up-regulation of major histocompatibility complex class I and II antigens and CD4. Activation of microglia was most prominent in athymic rats, demonstrating that immunodeficiency does not preclude an up-regulation of these molecules including the human immunodeficiency virus receptor CD4 on microglial cells.
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PMID:Different subsets of T cells in conjunction with natural killer cells, macrophages, and activated microglia participate in the intracerebral immune response to Toxoplasma gondii in athymic nude and immunocompetent rats. 771 65

Autopsy or biopsy findings in 10 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive persons from Bangalore, India, revealed a wide spectrum of pathological changes. Patients' mean age was 33.4 years and the mean duration between symptom onset and death was 27.13 days. Nine patients had evidence of neuro-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and 8 of them succumbed to various opportunistic infections. Histologic examination showed diffuse cryptococcal meningitis in 5 cases; 2 cases showed disseminated systemic cryptococcosis. Pulmonary tuberculosis was present in 3 patients. Despite no signs of associated neurotuberculosis in any patient, 4 autopsied and 1 biopsied case showed evidence of systemic tuberculosis. Toxoplasma encephalitis was present in 2 cases; observed in this series was the first case, in India, of co-existent toxoplasma and acanthamoeba. Other bacterial infections such as meningococcal meningitis and psudomonas septicemia were found in 3 cases; pneumocystis carinii pneumonia was present in 1 case. Evidence of early HIV leukoencephalopathy was observed in the only asymptomatic HIV-positive individual (who died in a traffic accident). AIDS-associated bacterial infections caused by organisms other than Mycobacterium tuberculosis are often underdiagnosed and should be considered in developing countries. In cases of cryptococcal and tuberculosis meningitis or multiple parasitic infections, patients should be screened for associated HIV infection.
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PMID:Pathological lesions in HIV positive patients. 775 Oct 41

We reviewed the histological features of untreated toxoplasmosis in 18 cases with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), eight of which were surgical biopsies and 10 of which were autopsy specimens. The results were compared according to the clinical status of the patient at the time the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis was made (early-onset v late-onset AIDS) and according to the source of the specimen (surgical biopsy specimen v autopsy specimen). Cerebral toxoplasmosis was the AIDS-defining illness in half of the cases (six surgical biopsy specimens and three autopsy specimens). Inflammation in these cases was moderate in 44% and severe in 56%. Fibrous capsules were found in five cases. Lymphocytes and plasma cells were more prominent than neutrophils. Cerebral toxoplasmosis developed in or was part of the terminal AIDS illness in the remaining nine cases (two surgical biopsy specimens and seven autopsy specimens). In this group inflammation was sparse in 44%, moderate in 55%, and severe in only 11%. Fibrous capsules were usually absent and neutrophils were the predominant cell type. Comparisons between surgical biopsy specimens and autopsy specimens showed moderate to severe inflammation and frequent fibrous encapsulation in all of the former specimens but only in those autopsy specimens in which toxoplasmosis was the initial manifestation of AIDS. Thus, this study demonstrates varied neuropathological patterns of untreated cerebral toxoplasmosis in patients with AIDS and correlates the inflammatory response in the brain with the clinical stage of the patient's human immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV) infection. Inflammation and fibrous encapsulation were common only in patients with early-onset AIDS in whom cerebral toxoplasmosis was the first manifestation of the illness. This study highlights important differences between the histology of this infection at surgical biopsy and at autopsy, and stresses the need to consider toxoplasma as a potential cause of encapsulated brain abscesses.
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PMID:Histopathology of cerebral toxoplasmosis in human immunodeficiency virus infection: a comparison between patients with early-onset and late-onset acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. 792 15

We report 78 cases of toxoplasmosis diagnosed between 1987 and 1992, from an autopsy study of 205 patients infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Of the 78 patients 22 were females (28%) and 56 males (72%). Risk factors were as follows: intravenous drug addiction (44 cases, 56%), homosexuality or bisexuality (18 cases; 36%) and multiple blood transfusions (6 cases). Cerebral toxoplasmosis (CT) was diagnosed in 73 cases (93%) and was characterized by abscesses (59 cases), diffuse encephalitic lesions (8 cases), isolated cysts without inflammation (3 cases) and hemispheric involvement with ventricular hemorrhage (3 cases). Cerebral involvement were isolated (55/78 cases; 70%) or associated with multi-visceral diffusion (18/78 cases; 23%). Isolated extracerebral localization was observed in 5 cases. The most frequent extracerebral sites were: cardiac (21 cases), pulmonary (14 cases) and pancreatic (7 cases). Immunohistochemical study with anti Toxoplasma gondii antibodies allowed to a diagnosis of extracerebral localization in 8 cases. Ultrastructural features of Toxoplasma gondii were studied on post mortem myocardial samples (2 cases) open lung biopsy (1 case) and bladder biopsy specimen (1 case). Antemortem diagnosis of cerebral toxoplasmosis was performed on CT-scan in 59/73 (80%). Antemortem diagnosis of extracerebral toxoplasmosis was performed or suspected in 8/23 cases (34%): by isolation of trophozoites in bronchoalveolar lavage (2 cases), on an open lung biopsy (1 case) and on a bladder biopsy specimen (1 case), and by clinical and echocardiographic data (4 cases). Anti-toxoplasmic serology allowed to the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in 12/78 cases (15%) by showing high levels of IgG in the serum.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[Toxoplasmosis in AIDS patients. Pathoclinical study of 78 cases]. 828 Feb 96

Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in blood by means of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) may facilitate the diagnosis and follow-up of cerebral toxoplasmosis in patients with AIDS. We evaluated this approach with seven patients with tissue culture-proven parasitemia, 14 patients with presumptive cerebral toxoplasmosis, and 17 healthy human immunodeficiency virus-positive controls. Each sample of blood was assayed on three different occasions by a PCR assay based on detection of the gene encoding the P30 surface protein. A positive PCR diagnosis required positivity in at least two of the three PCR tests. None of the controls had a positive PCR diagnosis, but six of the seven patients with parasitemia did. Cerebral toxoplasmosis was confirmed in 13 of the 14 patients with a presumptive diagnosis; diagnosis by PCR was positive before treatment for 9 of these 13 patients, whereas tissue culture was positive for only 1 patient. During treatment, blood samples were taken from 14 patients at regular intervals until day 12. PCR diagnosis became negative on ethidium-stained gels, but persistent signals were observed after hybridization, in some cases, for up to 12 days after initiation of therapy. PCR on venous blood could thus be a sensitive and noninvasive method for the diagnosis of cerebral and disseminated toxoplasmosis in AIDS patients and could be a potential tool for monitoring the effects of treatment.
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PMID:Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in venous blood from AIDS patients by polymerase chain reaction. 834 65

Cerebral toxoplasmosis is the most common cause of focal brain disease in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. A 24-year-old human immunodeficiency virus-infected woman with two previous episodes of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia presented with diarrhea and fever. Despite antibiotic treatment, septic shock developed, and she died 3 weeks after the symptoms began. Histologic and histochemical studies revealed an anergic toxoplasmosis with dissemination in all examined organs. There were multiple foci of toxoplasmic cysts and free tachyzoites, sometimes with minute areas of necrosis, but no inflammatory reaction at all. Since effective treatment of toxoplasmosis is available, the occurrence of this rare form of toxoplasmosis should be kept in mind.
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PMID:Anergic disseminated toxoplasmosis in a patient with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. 848 47

Neurological complications are frequent in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). They are caused by neural structures being affected by the virus itself, and/or the development of opportunist infections and neoplasias secondary to the immunodepression. Cerebral toxoplasmosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) encephalopathy are the commonest encephalopathic disorders seen in these patients. Primary cerebral lymphoma, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), tuberculosis, etc. are less common. Computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) are the most suitable techniques for diagnosis and follow-up of cerebral involvement in patients with AIDS. Although MR is more sensitive for the detection of lesions, particularly those in the white matter, CT is still the most widely used technique since its more readily available. Also it needs less cooperation from the patient. Although on some occasions combination of both techniques may suggest the aetiology of the lesion, these techniques are non-specific.
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PMID:[Diagnosis by imaging of the brain affected by AIDS]. 906 82

Toxoplasma encephalitis in immunocompromised patients results from reactivation of previously acquired (latent) infection. The aim of the study is to assess the antigenaemia and antibody response to Toxoplasma gondii in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients to determine the best marker for early diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in such patients. Indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of IgG, IgM and IgA anti-toxoplasma antibodies and double-sandwich ELISA for toxoplasma antigen is carried out in serum samples collected from 100 HIV seropositive patients and 75 controls. Toxoplasma-specific IgG, IgM and IgA antibody response and antigenaemia were detected in 12%, 6%, 7% and 14% of HIV-infected patients, respectively. On retrospective analysis of 14 patients with antigenaemia only one had central nervous system (CNS) symptoms attributable to toxoplasma infection. In this patient, the CD4+ cell count was below 50/microL and none of the specific immunoglobulin isotype responses could be detected. The patient showed clinical improvement following specific chemotherapy for toxoplasmosis. In 25 HIV-negative and anti-toxoplasma IgG antibody-positive controls, IgM was detected in two (8%), IgA in five (20%) and antigenaemia in 10 (40%), while 50 HIV seronegative healthy controls were negative for both antigen and antibody responses. The study indicates that detection of toxoplasma antigen in addition to IgG antibody response may prove to be a useful indicator in the early diagnosis of reactivated toxoplasmosis in HIV/AIDS patients.
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PMID:Antigenaemia and antibody response to Toxoplasma gondii in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. 1581 7


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