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Recipients of autologous haemopoietic stem-cell transplants (auto-HSCT) have an increased risk of herpes zoster and herpes zoster-related complications. The aim of this study was to establish the efficacy and safety of an inactivated varicella zoster vaccine for the prevention of herpes zoster after auto-HSCT.

ABSTRACTNeither breakpoints (BPs) nor epidemiological cutoff values (ECVs) have been established for Candidaspp. with anidulafungin, caspofungin, and micafungin when using the Sensititre YeastOne (SYO) broth dilution colorimetric method. In addition, reference caspofungin MICs have so far proven to be unreliable. Candidaspecies wild-type (WT) MIC distributions (for microorganisms in a species/drug combination with no detectable phenotypic resistance) were established for 6,007 Candida albicans, 186 C. dubliniensis, 3,188 C. glabratacomplex, 119 C. guilliermondii, 493 C. krusei, 205 C. lusitaniae, 3,136 C. parapsilosiscomplex, and 1,016 C. tropicalisisolates. SYO MIC data gathered from 38 laboratories in Australia, Canada, Europe, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States were pooled to statistically define SYO ECVs. ECVs for anidulafungin, caspofungin, and micafungin encompassing ≥97.5% of the statistically modeled population were, respectively, 0.12, 0.25, and 0.06 μg/ml for C. albicans, 0.12, 0.25, and 0.03 μg/ml for C. glabratacomplex, 4, 2, and 4 μg/ml for C. parapsilosiscomplex, 0.5, 0.25, and 0.06 μg/ml for C. tropicalis, 0.25, 1, and 0.25 μg/ml for C. krusei, 0.25, 1, and 0.12 μg/ml for C. lusitaniae, 4, 2, and 2 μg/ml for C. guilliermondii, and 0.25, 0.25, and 0.12 μg/ml for C. dubliniensis. Species-specific SYO ECVs for anidulafungin, caspofungin, and micafungin correctly classified 72 (88.9%), 74 (91.4%), 76 (93.8%), respectively, of 81 Candidaisolates with identified fksmutations. SYO ECVs may aid in detecting non-WT isolates with reduced susceptibility to anidulafungin, micafungin, and especially caspofungin, since testing the susceptibilities of Candidaspp. to caspofungin by reference methodologies is not recommended.

ABSTRACTWith increasing clinical emergence of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens and the paucity of new agents to combat these infections, colistin (administered as its inactive prodrug colistin methanesulfonate [CMS]) has reemerged as a treatment option, especially for critically ill patients. There has been a dearth of pharmacokinetic (PK) data available to guide dosing in critically ill patients, including those on renal replacement therapy. In an ongoing study to develop a population PK model for CMS and colistin, 105 patients have been studied to date; these included 12 patients on hemodialysis and 4 on continuous renal replacement therapy. For patients not on renal replacement, there was a wide variance in creatinine clearance, ranging from 3 to 169 ml/min/1.73 m2. Each patient was treated with a physician-selected CMS dosage regimen, and 8 blood samples for PK analysis were collected across a dosage interval on day 3 or 4 of therapy. A linear PK model with two compartments for CMS and one compartment for formed colistin best described the data. Covariates included creatinine clearance on the total clearance of CMS and colistin, as well as body weight on the central volume of CMS. Model-fitted parameter estimates were used to derive suggested loading and maintenance dosing regimens for various categories of patients, including those on hemodialysis and continuous renal replacement. Based on our current understanding of colistin PK and pharmacodynamic relationships, colistin may best be used as part of a highly active combination, especially for patients with moderate to good renal function and/or for organisms with MICs of ≥1.0 mg/liter.

A retrovirus which encodes ß-galactosidase was used to infect embryonic rat striatal cells before grafting these cells into the lesioned adult rat striatum. Examination of the grafts after long term survival (8 months) revealed that a few small and large cells expressed large amounts of bacterial ß-galactosidase activity. The larger diameter cells were identified as neurones by their size, shape and presence of neuronal processes. The identity of the small diameter cell types was not established.

Abstract: The present study characterizes expression of calbindin D28 K (CB-D28 K) and parvalbumin (PV) in ventral forebrain (VFB) grafts placed in the neocortex of adult rats bearing quisqualic acid lesions to the nucleus basalis magnocellularis. Three to nine months after transplantation surgery, rats were killed for in situ hybridization with probes to CB-D28K or PV and for immunohistochemistry with antibodies to CB-D28K or PV. In addition, an antibody to choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) was used to characterize the cholinergic component in the graft and an antibody to tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) to explore catecholaminergic innervation of the graft. Quantitative analysis of CB-D28K and PV messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) was based on counts of silver grains generated by emulsion autoradiography. Cells expressing CB-D28K mRNA were significantly larger than such cells in the adult VFB and the mean number of silver grains per cell was significantly greater than to such cells in the adult VFB. The level of CB-D28K mRNA expression as calculated by ratio of silver grains per unit area was also significantly increased. Quantification of PV mRNA showed no significant differences between the cells in the graft and in the adult VFB. In order to begin to interpret these findings, a comparison was made with such cells in the VFB of developing rats. Brain sections were sampled from embryonic day 17 and postnatal days 1, 5, 12, 19 and adult (6–12 months of age). Cells expressing CB-D28K mRNA were detected in ventral forebrain from postnatal day 5 and cells expressing PV mRNA were detected in ventral forebrain from postnatal day 19. In the course of normal development of the ventral forebrain, no CB-D28K cells were found that were as large or expressed such high levels of CB-D28K mRNA as observed in the grafts. We conclude that changes in grafted cells expressing CB-D28K do not reflect an arrest of developmental processes. TH immunohistochemistry revealed lack of catecholaminergic innervation of the graft, whereas adult mediolateral septal cells that express CB-D28K receive such innervation in addition to other neurotransmitter inputs. Imbalance in neurotransmitter inputs to grafted cells expressing CB-D28K is discussed as a possible factor in their increased size and gene expression.

The predisposing factors linked to drug involvement may be different for various types of youth, although the outcome is the same. In this sense a bimodal curve of drug involvement would indicate two types of highly involved youth: on the one hand, those from high social status families where low parental control implies a tendency to seek involvement with their peers and solve their personal adjustment problems within the peer group. On the other hand, those from the lower social strata for whom low parental control also implies association with outside peer groups as an alternative to shaky and diffuse families and lack of involvement in school life. This study on the cannabis involvement of 776 boys and girls (aged 14-18), drawn from eight schools, is an attempt to identify and describe these polar types of drug-involved youth in more detail.

Two regimens for transformation have been devised for the phage group 2 strains UT0002-19 and UT0017 of Staphylococcus aureus. Strain UT0002-19 produces exfoliative toxin, which is responsible for the clinical manifestations of the staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome, whereas strain UT0017 does not produce exfoliative toxin. A large pool of antibiotic-resistant and auxotrophic mutants from strains UT0002-19 and UT0017 were isolated by using (i) antibiotic gradient plates, (ii) trimethoprim selection, and (iii) nitrosoguanidine mutagenesis, which sometimes was coupled by enrichment with penicillin or methicillin. Transformation frequencies of genetic markers in mutant strains ranged from 10(-6) to 10(-8). Three genetic linkage groups were identified on the strain UT0017 chromosome. The first linkage group was thy-4-lys-5-trp-21-thr-4, the second was pyr-26-nov-9-his-3, and the third consisted of ilv-9 and pen-1, a genetic determinant for beta-lactamase synthesis. Two linkage groups were detected on the strain UT0002-19 CHROMOSOMe. The first was defined as thy-1-lys-5-trp-3-thr-4-ala-8, whereas the second consisted of nov-9 and his-3 markers. A chromosomal locus that controlled synthesis of exfoliative toxin could not be mapped.

Enhancement of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated neurotransmission by glycine (Gly) administration may represent a novel pharmacological strategy in schizophrenia. Given the involvement of NMDA receptors in plasticity and excitatory processes, the present study explores effects of Gly on brain cell morphology. Adult rats were randomized to receive, for 2 wk, no dietary supplementation or supplementation with 0.8 or 3.2 g/kg per day Gly. Glial cell morphology was examined using antibodies to glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and to microglial complement receptor 3 (CR3). Cresyl violet was used for general cellular staining. No evidence of neuronal or microglial pathology was found. Although astrocyte proliferation was not evident in Gly-treated rats, GFAP-like immunoreactivity was dose-dependently increased in the hippocampus (p<0.01), whereas in cerebellum, a dose dependent decrease in density of astocytic fibres was demonstrated (p<0.01). These findings demonstrate for the first time that in vivo administration of high dose Gly may induce brain morphology changes.