Search

India, Sept. 16 -- In the heart of Dar es Salaam's bustling Kariakoo district, a familiar lunchtime routine unfolded. As crowds gathered, the scent of sizzling chicken and crispy chips [...]

Lentiviral vectors (LVVs) offer numerous advantages for production of adoptive cell therapies. Integration of LVV genetic material into host-cell DNA enables stable and long-term expression of the therapeutic gene in [...]

Byline: Shilpa. Das, Somasheila. Murthy, Tapas. Padhi, Himansu. Behera, Saumya. Jakati, Savitri. Sharma, Sujata. Das Atypical mycobacteria or non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are a group of acid-fast bacteria that are pathogenic [...]

Treatment of bacterial infections with bacteriophages (phages)--viruses that enter bacterial cells and rapidly multiply, quickly rupturing the cells and destroying the bacteria--has been known to be effective since the early [...]

India, Nov. 24 -- Public awareness campaigns related to the prudent use of antimicrobial agents can reduce the misuse of antimicrobials in animals Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) remains a major public [...]

Although the existence of the meibomian glands (MGs) was first recognized in 200 ad by Galen, (1) their obstructive pathology was only first mentioned in 1977 by McCulley and Sciallis [...]

Background and objectives: Plasmid-mediated high level resistance to tetracycline in Neisseria gonorrhoeae has become a therapeutic problem in many parts of the world. Simple, fast and accurate screening tests are required to enable rapid detection. Goal of the study: To evaluate screening tests for high-level tetracycline resistance for their ability to predict the presence of the tetM determinant in Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Study design: Strains considered to exhibit plasmid-mediated (90) and chromosomal resistance (19) to tetracycline were used to compare the screening tests, growth on tetracycline agar, disc testing, MIC and plasmid content, with confirmation by hybridization to the tetM probe. A polymerase chain reaction to amplify tetM in N. gonorrhoeae was also evaluated. Results: All strains defined as presumptive TRNG by the screening tests hybridized with the tetM probe. None of the low-leve] resistant strains were positive in the screening tests or hybridized with the probe. In addition, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on whole bacterial cells detected tetM in all TRNG tested. Restriction enzyme digests of the PCR product gave three patterns suggesting genetic diversity within the tetM determinant of N. gonorrhoeae. Conclusion: Simple screening tests were found to be reliable predictors of TRNG. tetM was detected by PCR in all strains tested and exhibited some genetic variation that may be of use for epidemiological typing., Simple screening tests may be an effective method for evaluating Neisseria (N.) gonorrhoeae for resistance to the antibiotic tetracycline. Drug-resistant bacteria possess enzymes that are capable of deactivating specific drugs. Researchers compared different screening tests used to evaluate strains of N. gonorrhea for tetracycline resistance. The tetM gene for tetracycline resistance was found in all the strains identified as tetracycline-resistant by the screening tests. The tetM gene is transmitted from one bacterium to another on a small piece of circular DNA called a plasmid. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an effective method for detecting the tetM gene in tetracycline-resistant N. gonorrhoeae.

Background and Objectives: Infertility after murine chlamydial salpingitis can be prevented by tetracycline treatment given before or at the time of infection. This study evaluates the efficacy and timing of tetracycline treatment and anti-inflammatory agents in the prevention of inflammation and subsequent infertility. Study Design: The left ovarian bursae and uterine horns were inoculated with the mouse pneumonitis strain of Chlamydia trachomatis. Mice were mated 54 days after inoculation. Results: Infected mice treated with tetracycline beginning 2 days after infection showed mild inflammation and no significant reduction in fertility. However, when tetracycline treatment was delayed until 5 days after infection, a moderate degree of inflammation and a significant reduction in fertility P, No additional treatment benefit is gained from the use of anti-inflammatories in conjunction with antibiotics in the treatment of chlamydia-induced salpingitis in mice. Chlamydia is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in humans and can result in female infertility when secondary infections of the Fallopian tubes, such as salpingitis, occur. Mice infected with Chlamydia trachomatis experienced a higher cure rate when antibiotic tetracycline treatment was started within two days of infection. When antibiotic therapy was started five days after infection there was less risk of infertility than if no treatment was given but more than if treatment had started earlier. The use of anti-inflammatory ibuprofen, prostaglandin E and hydrocortisone drugs alone produced no cure and led to infertility. The use of anti-inflammatories in combination with antibiotics had no effect on treatment success rate. More research will have to be done to determine the optimal time to begin treatment of women.

Background and Objectives: We recently reported the first isolation of a tetracycline-resistant Chlamydia trachomatis strain in Toulouse from a woman treated with tetracycline. To characterize this isolate, its in vitro susceptibility was compared with those of 34 other C. trachomatis isolates recovered in Toulouse. Study Design: The susceptibilities of C. trachomatis strains were determined in terms of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) using McCoy cells in 96-well microdilution plates, with an inoculum of 5.103 to 1.[10.sup.4] inclusion-forming units/mi. The antimicrobial agents tested were tetracycline, azithromycin, erythromycin, ofloxacin, and pristinamycin. Results: No difference was observed between the MICs and MBCs except for the tetracycline. Tetracycline-resistant strain MIC and MBC were [is greater than] 64 [micro]/ml, although [is less than] 1% of the bacterial population showed resistance. For the other isolates, the MIC of tetracycline was [is less than or equal to]] 0.25 [micro]g/ml. The antibiotics other than tetracycline were active in vitro against all strains. Conclusions: These results show that the tetracycline resistance observed in Toulouse differs from the 'heterotypic resistance' described previously in the United States in multiresistant C. trachomatis isolates. They confirm that the resistance be observed may be a new phenomenon., A strain of Chlamydia trachomatis that is resistant to tetracycline is reported. It was isolated from a French woman who was treated for chlamydia with tetracycline, the usual treatment, and claimed to be compliant with the treatment. Laboratory research revealed that the organism was resistant to tetracycline but susceptible to azithromycin, erythromycin, ofloxacin, and pristinamycin. Thirty-four other chlamydia isolates found in Toulouse patients were susceptible to all that antibiotics.

DALLAS -- In tick-borne disease, think "doxycycline," advises Dr. Donald B. Middleton. As luck would have it, doxycycline at 100 mg b.i.d. is effective against each of the "big three" [...]

Neisseria gonorrhoeae (N. gonorrhoeae) is the most frequently reported class of sexually transmitted bacteria in the US. The disease caused by N. gonorrhoeae is treated with antibiotic drug therapy. Some strains of bacteria can over time change their genetic structure and become resistant to previously effective antibiotic treatments. Tetracycline, the antibiotic treatment of choice for N. gonorrhoeae, is not effective against a newly emerged tetracycline-resistant N. gonorrhoeae (TRNG). It is suggested that the increased use of tetracycline in the treatment of Chlamydia, another sexually transmitted bacterial infection, may be responsible for the development of this tetracycline-resistant strain of gonorrhea. In New York City the number of patients treated with tetracycline has increased by 32 percent between 1983 and 1987. To determine whether increased tetracycline use is associated with the development of TRNG, 547 patients testing positive for N.gonorrhea were evaluated. TRNG was detected in 51 women (9 percent). Women who used tetracycline within the previous one to five months were two times more likely to have a tetracycline-resistant strain of gonorrhea. It is suggested that the current recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control regarding tetracycline in the treatment of suspected Chlamydia infections be revised.

ORLANDO, FLA. -- Adding doxycydine to conventional methotrexate treatment for early rheumatoid arthritis provided substantial clinical benefit at minimal expense in a 2-year double-blind study, Dr. James R. O'Dell said [...]