Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
|---|
| clostridium difficile toxin b activates the egf receptor and the erk/map kinase pathway in human colonocytes. | clostridium difficile toxin b (txb) mediates acute inflammatory diarrhea characterized by neutrophil infiltration and intestinal mucosal injury. in a xenograft animal model, txb was shown to induce interleukin (il)-8 gene expression in human colonic epithelium. however, the precise mechanisms of this txb response are unknown. the aim of this study was to investigate the txb-mediated proinflammatory pathway in colonocytes. | 2005 | 15825081 |
| clostridium difficile infection among health care workers receiving antibiotic therapy. | 2005 | 15825055 | |
| subtyping of clostridium difficile polymerase chain reaction (pcr) ribotype 001 by repetitive extragenic palindromic pcr genomic fingerprinting. | fifty isolates of the most common uk strain of clostridium difficile [polymerase chain reaction (pcr) ribotype 001] were analysed by three pcr-based typing methods in order to determine genomic diversity within this strain that may form the basis of a subtyping method. the three methods used were repetitive extragenic palindromic elements (rep), conserved repetitive dna elements (box), and enterobacterial repetitive pcr intergenic consensus sequences (eric). the performance of each typing method ... | 2005 | 15823658 |
| tylosin-responsive chronic diarrhea in dogs. | fourteen dogs had shown chronic or intermittent diarrhea for more than 1 year. diarrhea had been successfully treated with tylosin for at least 6 months but recurred when treatment was withdrawn on at least 2 occasions. tylosin-responsive diarrhea (trd) affects typically middle-aged, large-breed dogs and clinical signs indicate that trd affects both the small and large intestine. treatment with tylosin eliminated diarrhea in all dogs within 3 days and in most dogs within 24 hours. tylosin admini ... | 2005 | 15822561 |
| inhibition of clostridium difficile toxin a-induced colitis in rats by apaza. | a new compound, apaza, consisting of a molecule of 5-aminosalicylic acid linked to one molecule of 4-aminophenylacetic acid by an azo bond, was testedfor its ability to inhibit acute colitis in rats caused by clostridium difficile toxin a. when administered chronically for 5 days in drinking water, apaza significantly inhibited toxin a-induced myeloperoxidase activity, luminal fluid accumulation, and structural damage to the colon at doses of from 1 to 100 mg/kg x day. for comparison, sulfasalaz ... | 2005 | 15810644 |
| serotonin-induced regulation of the actin network for learning-related synaptic growth requires cdc42, n-wasp, and pak in aplysia sensory neurons. | application of clostridium difficile toxin b, an inhibitor of the rho family of gtpases, at the aplysia sensory to motor neuron synapse blocks long-term facilitation and the associated growth of new sensory neuron varicosities induced by repeated pulses of serotonin (5-ht). we have isolated cdnas encoding aplysia rho, rac, and cdc42 and found that rho and rac had no effect but that overexpression in sensory neurons of a dominant-negative mutant of apcdc42 or the crib domains of its downstream ef ... | 2005 | 15797550 |
| a large outbreak of clostridium difficile-associated disease with an unexpected proportion of deaths and colectomies at a teaching hospital following increased fluoroquinolone use. | fluoroquinolones have not been frequently implicated as a cause of clostridium difficile outbreaks. nosocomial c. difficile infections increased from 2.7 to 6.8 cases per 1000 discharges (p < .001). during the first 2 years of the outbreak, there were 253 nosocomial c. difficile infections; of these, 26 resulted in colectomy and 18 resulted in death. we conducted an investigation of a large c. difficile outbreak in our hospital to identify risk factors and characterize the outbreak. | 2005 | 15796280 |
| recurrent clostridium difficile colitis. | clostridium difficile is the most common cause of nosocomial infectious diarrhea that is usually treated adequately with standard treatment of metronidazole or vancomycin. relapse or recurrent infection can occur in certain patients and this can be very difficult to treat. | 2004 | 15793316 |
| clostridium difficile: an update. | clostridium difficile causes a spectrum of diarrheal illness with the potential for major medical consequences. although most cases respond quickly to treatment, c. difficile colitis may be severe and life threatening. recurrent disease represents a particularly challenging problem. | 2004 | 15793312 |
| "collateral damage": antibiotics and the risk of clostridium difficile infection. | patients undergoing orthopedic surgery are at increased risk for infection, and antimicrobial use continues to be required. antimicrobial selection, however, is an important consideration given the increasing incidence and severity of c. difficile infection described in the literature. when choosing antimicrobials for prophylaxis and treatment, evaluate patients for risk factors that may predispose them to c. difficile infection. patients receiving multiple antibiotics or broad-spectrum antibiot ... | 2005 | 15790086 |
| infectious enteritis after intestinal transplantation: incidence, timing, and outcome. | the study reviews the incidence, timing, and outcome of infectious enteritis (ie) after intestinal transplantation (itx). | 2005 | 15785377 |
| ramoplanin: a lipoglycodepsipeptide antibiotic. | to review the pharmacology, antimicrobial activity, pharmacokinetics, clinical applications, and safety of ramoplanin, a lipoglycodepsipeptide antibiotic. | 2005 | 15784805 |
| clostridium difficile: a questionnaire survey of laboratory practice in england, wales, and northern ireland. | since january 2004, the incidence of clostridium difficile associated disease (cdad) has been monitored by a systematic, national, laboratory surveillance system. this system incorporates the recommendations of a body of experts, the national clostridium difficile standards group, which was convened in 2002 to advise the department of health (doh). the recommendations of the group were informed by a questionnaire survey of current practice, and the results of that survey have been used to assess ... | 2004 | 15779799 |
| clostridium difficile--associated diarrhea. | clostridium difficile infection is responsible for approximately 3 million cases of diarrhea and colitis annually in the united states. the mortality rate is 1 to 2.5 percent. early diagnosis and prompt aggressive treatment are critical in managing c. difficile-associated diarrhea. major predisposing factors for symptomatic c. difficile colitis include antibiotic therapy; advanced age; multiple, severe underlying diseases; and a faulty immune response to c. difficile toxins. the most common conf ... | 2005 | 15768622 |
| clostridium difficile toxin a regulates inducible cyclooxygenase-2 and prostaglandin e2 synthesis in colonocytes via reactive oxygen species and activation of p38 mapk. | clostridium difficile toxin a induces acute colitis with neutrophil infiltration and up-regulation of numerous pro-inflammatory mediators, but the contribution of cyclooxygenase-2 (cox-2) induction in this infection is unknown. we report here that toxin a induces expression of cox-2 and secretion of prostaglandin e2 (pge2) in a dose- and time-dependent manner in cultured ncm460 human colonocytes and in human intestinal xenografts. this induction was blocked by sb203580, a p38 mapk inhibitor, whi ... | 2005 | 15767259 |
| [probiotics--an alternative for antibiotics?]. | the condition and function of gastrointestinal (gi) tract are essential to our well being. probiotics are defined as the microbial food supplements, which beneficially affect the host by improving its intestinal microbial balance. probiotics are the functional food ingredients. they are used therapeutically to improve lactose tolerance and to prevent diarrhoea (especially viral diarrhoea in infants, antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea and traveler's diarrh ... | 2004 | 15765768 |
| clostridium difficile toxoid vaccine in recurrent c. difficile-associated diarrhea. | recurrent c difficile -associated diarrhea (cdad) is associated with a lack of protective immunity to c difficile toxins. a parenteral c difficile vaccine containing toxoid a and toxoid b was reported previously to be safe and immunogenic in healthy volunteers. our aim was to examine whether the vaccine is also well tolerated and immunogenic in patients with recurrent cdad. | 2005 | 15765411 |
| regulation of h2o2 generation in thyroid cells does not involve rac1 activation. | the h2o2 generating system of the thyrocyte and the o2- generating system of macrophages and leukocytes present numerous functional analogies. the main constituent enzymes belong to the nadph oxidase (nox) family (duox/thox for the thyroid and nox2 /gp91phox for the leukocytes and macrophages), and in both cell types, h2o2 generation is activated by the intracellular generation of ca2+ and diacylglycerol signals. nevertheless, although the controls involved in these two systems are similar, thei ... | 2005 | 15762196 |
| molecular mechanisms in uterine epithelium during trophoblast binding: the role of small gtpase rhoa in human uterine ishikawa cells. | background: embryo implantation requires that uterine epithelium develops competence to bind trophoblast to its apical (free) poles. this essential element of uterine receptivity seems to depend on a destabilisation of the apico-basal polarity of endometrial epithelium. accordingly, a reorganisation of the actin cytoskeleton regulated by the small gtpase rhoa plays an important role in human uterine epithelial rl95-2 cells for binding of human trophoblastoid jar cells. we now obtained new insigh ... | 2005 | 15757515 |
| clostridium difficile causing acute renal failure: case presentation and review. | clostridium difficile infection is primarily a nosocomial infection but asymptomatic carriers of clostridium difficile can be found in up to 5% of the general population. ampicillin, cephalosporins and clindamycin are the antibiotics that are most frequently associated with clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea or colitis. little is known about acute renal failure as a consequence of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea. | 2005 | 15754415 |
| clarification of article on clostridium difficile--associated colitis. | 2005 | 15751556 | |
| comparison of wild type with recombinant clostridium difficile toxin a. | toxins a and b from clostridium difficile are single-chain proteins of 308,000 and 270,000 da, respectively. they possess transferase activity to monoglucosylate proteins of the rho gtpase family whereby rho, rac, and cdc42 are the canonical substrates. for application of these toxins as specific rho gtpase inhibitors the highest possible purity is of crucial interest. we, therefore, expressed recombinant his-tagged toxin a using the bacillus megaterium expression system. specific antisera raise ... | 2005 | 15748809 |
| ca2+-dependent regulation of rho gtpases triggers turning of nerve growth cones. | cytoplasmic ca2+ elevation and changes in rho gtpase activity are both known to mediate axon guidance by extracellular factors, but the causal relationship between these two events has been unclear. here we show that direct elevation of cytoplasmic ca2+ by extracellular application of a low concentration of ryanodine, which activated ca2+ release from intracellular stores, upregulated cdc42/rac, but downregulated rhoa, in cultured cerebellar granule cells and human embryonic kidney 293t cells. c ... | 2005 | 15745960 |
| saccharomyces boulardii in the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in children: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. | co-treatment with saccharomyces boulardii appears to lower the risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in adults receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics. | 2005 | 15740542 |
| [application of gas chromatography to identification of clostridium difficile]. | with chromatograph produced in our country, the gas chromatograms of fatty acid metabolites of five strains of clostridium difficile isolated from stool of patients with tumor and one strain for control were compared and analysed by using stainless steel chromatographic column, 15% modified polyethylene glycol stationary phase nitrogen carriergas 140 degrees c column temperature and 190 degrees c detector temperature. the chromatograms of the isolated strains and the control strain were found to ... | 1997 | 15739360 |
| quebec puts up 20 million dollars for c. difficile fight. | 2005 | 15738479 | |
| [the study of the pro-nucleating activity of bacteria identified in cholesterol gallstones in model bile systems]. | to explore the relationship of bacteria identified in cholesterol gallstones and gallstone formation. | 2004 | 15733482 |
| monocytes are highly sensitive to clostridium difficile toxin a-induced apoptotic and nonapoptotic cell death. | in this study we investigated the in vitro responses of peripheral blood mononuclear preparations and purified monocytes to clostridium difficile toxin a. in contrast to the responses of t and b cells, exposure to toxin a led to a rapid loss of monocytes in a time- and dose-dependent fashion (the majority of cells were lost within 24 h of exposure to >100 ng of toxin per ml). transmission electron microscopy, flow cytometry, and fluorescence microscopy after propidium iodide and hoechst staining ... | 2005 | 15731062 |
| in vitro activity of ramoplanin against clostridium difficile, including strains with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin or with resistance to metronidazole. | we evaluated the in vitro activity of ramoplanin, an antimicrobial compound that inhibits cell wall synthesis by acting at the level of lipid intermediate formation, against clostridium difficile. we included strains with reduced susceptibilities to vancomycin (vancomycin-intermediate [van(i)] strains) or with resistance to metronidazole (mtz(r)), in order to assess the potential utility of ramoplanin for the treatment of c. difficile-associated diarrhea. we tested the activity of ramoplanin aga ... | 2005 | 15728918 |
| structural characterization of the cell wall binding domains of clostridium difficile toxins a and b; evidence that ca2+ plays a role in toxin a cell surface association. | clostridium difficile (c.difficile) is a nosocomially acquired intestinal bacillus which can cause chronic diarrhea and life-threatening colitis. the pathogenic effects of the bacillus are mediated by the release of two toxins, a and b. the c-terminal portions of both toxins are composed of 20 and 30 residue repeats known as cell wall binding (cwb) domains. we have cloned and expressed the cwb-domains of toxins a and b and several truncated cwb-domain constructs to investigate their structure an ... | 2005 | 15713474 |
| treating c. difficile. | 2005 | 15710921 | |
| treating c. difficile. | 2005 | 15710916 | |
| failure of dietary oligofructose to prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. | oligofructose is metabolized by bifidobacteria, increasing their numbers in the colon. high bifidobacteria concentrations are important in providing 'colonization resistance' against pathogenic bacteria. | 2005 | 15709999 |
| probiotics and prebiotics in gastrointestinal disorders. | this review summarizes the clinical efficacy of probiotics and prebiotics in gastrointestinal disorders and examines the mechanisms of action related to their therapeutic effect. | 2004 | 15703637 |
| isolation of non-toxigenic strains of clostridium difficile from cases of diarrhea among patients hospitalized in hematology/oncology ward. | clostridium difficile has become the most common cause of hospital acquired diarrhea after antibiotic treatment. the aim of this study was to determine the frequency of c. difficile associated diarrhea among hematology/oncology ward patients and to characterize isolated strains. twenty three toxigenic and thirteen non-toxigenic strains were detected among fecal isolates. antibiotic susceptibility testing to erythromycin and clindamycin demonstrated a high degree of resistance (mic > 256 ug/ml) t ... | 2004 | 15702921 |
| etiology of diarrhea in pediatric outpatient settings. | the frequency with which bacteria cause diarrhea evaluated in ambulatory settings is often unknown. we attempted to determine the microbiologic etiology of diarrhea in a private pediatric practice (site a) and a clinic serving largely immigrant children (site b) and to establish guidelines for bacterial culture. | 2005 | 15702043 |
| prebiotic effect of fructo-oligosaccharide supplemented term infant formula at two concentrations compared with unsupplemented formula and human milk. | human milk components, including oligosaccharides, affect the gastrointestinal flora of infants. previous studies in adults have demonstrated that fructo-oligosaccharides increase potentially beneficial fecal bacteria, including bifidobacteria. the purpose of this study was to determine the prebiotic effect of infant formula supplemented with fructo-oligosaccharides. | 2005 | 15699689 |
| three surveillance strategies for vancomycin-resistant enterococci in hospitalized patients: detection of colonization efficiency and a cost-effectiveness model. | to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and detection sensitivity associated with three active surveillance strategies for the identification of patients harboring vancomycin-resistant enterococci (vre) to determine which is the most medically and economically useful. | 2005 | 15693407 |
| isolation and characterization of temperate bacteriophages of clostridium difficile. | the lack of information on bacteriophages of clostridium difficile prompted this study. three of 56 clinical c. difficile isolates yielded double-stranded dna phages phic2, phic5, phic6, and phic8 upon induction. superinfection and dna analyses revealed relatedness between the phages, while partial sequencing of phic2 showed nucleotide homology to the sequenced c. difficile strain cd630. | 2005 | 15691969 |
| clinical inquiries. what are effective therapies for clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea? | 2005 | 15689297 | |
| probiotic therapy of intestinal inflammation and infections. | the author presents evidence published during the past year regarding treatment of clinical and experimental intestinal inflammation and infections by probiotic agents. | 2005 | 15687884 |
| transcription activation of a uv-inducible clostridium perfringens bacteriocin gene by a novel sigma factor. | expression of the plasmid-encoded clostridium perfringens gene for bacteriocin bcn5 was shown to depend in vivo and in vitro on the activity of uvia protein. uvia, also plasmid-encoded, proved to be an rna polymerase sigma factor and was also partly autoregulatory. the uvia gene has two promoters; one provided a uvia-independent, basal level of gene expression while the stronger, uvia-dependent promoter was only utilized after the cell experienced dna damage. as a result, bcn5 synthesis is induc ... | 2005 | 15686564 |
| [what is so difficult ... with c. difficile?]. | 2005 | 15686207 | |
| the relationship between hospital infection surveillance and control activities and antibiotic-resistant pathogen rates. | antibiotic-resistant pathogen rates are rising in canada and the united states with significant health and economic costs. the examination of the relationship of surveillance and control activities in hospitals with rates of nosocomial methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa), clostridium difficile -associated diarrhea (cdad), and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (vre) may identify strategies for controlling this growing problem. | 2005 | 15685127 |
| strains and toxins of clostridium. | 2005 | 15684103 | |
| pseudomembranous colitis in children. | this review presents the microbiology, management and prevention of pseudomembranous colitis (pmc) in children. pmc is commonly associated with prior antibiotic exposure and hospitalization. it is caused almost exclusively by toxins produced by clostridium difficile. the clinical spectrum of this disease may range from a mild, non-specific diarrhea to severe colitis with toxic megacolon, perforation, and death. pmc may affect all age groups, although a lower incidence has been noted in children. ... | 2005 | 15683418 |
| [bacteremia due to clostridium difficile]. | we describe a case of bacteremia due to clostridium difficile, which was successfully treated by intravenous vancomycin. a 69-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of third degree burn injuries. she was treated with cefazolin for two weeks followed with flomoxef for one week before the operation (debridement and grafting of skin). on the third postoperative day high fever (temperature 40 degrees c), abdominal pain and severe watery diarrhea developed. antibiotic-associated colitis ... | 2004 | 15678979 |
| antibiotic treatment for clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in adults. | clostridium difficile (c. difficile) is recognized as a frequent cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and colitis. | 2005 | 15674956 |
| bovine antibody-enriched whey to aid in the prevention of a relapse of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea: preclinical and preliminary clinical data. | in a pilot study, the feasibility of immune whey protein concentrate (40%; immune wpc-40) to aid the prevention of relapse of clostridium difficile diarrhoea was evaluated. immune wpc-40 was made from milk after immunization of holstein-frisian cows with c. difficile-inactivated toxins and killed whole-cell c. difficile. immune wpc-40 contained a high concentration of specific siga antibodies, and was effective in neutralizing the cytotoxic effect of c. difficile toxins in cell assays in vitro. ... | 2005 | 15673517 |
| immunological properties of surface proteins of clostridium difficile. | sera from patients with clostridium difficile-associated disease (cdad) and sera from a control group were analysed by an elisa to detect antibodies directed against four surface proteins and toxins a and b of c. difficile. the surface proteins were the flagellar cap protein flid, the flagellin flic, the adhesin cwp66 divided into two domains, cwp66-nterminal and cwp66-cterminal, and the fibronectin-binding protein fbp68. for each antigen, antibody levels in the cdad patient group and in the con ... | 2005 | 15673516 |
| laboratory diagnosis of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea: a plea for culture. | a routine protocol for diagnosing clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (cdad) based on both faecal-cytotoxin detection and toxigenic culture was adopted by the microbiology laboratory of the st luc-ucl university hospital in brussels in 1997. a toxigenic culture is a faecal culture followed, in the case of positivity, by a direct immunoassay on colonies to detect toxin a production. the results obtained over the past 7 years in the hospital are reviewed here. a total of 10,552 diarrhoeal s ... | 2005 | 15673515 |
| clinical features of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea due to binary toxin (actin-specific adp-ribosyltransferase)-producing strains. | toxins a and b are known to be the primary virulence factors of clostridium difficile. other potential virulence factors have been identified such as binary toxin (actin-specific adp-ribosyltransferase toxin, or cdt). a retrospective case-control study was performed in order to identify clinical features and risk factors of c. difficile-associated diarrhoea due to binary toxin-producing strains. each case (a patient with diarrhoea due to binary toxin-producing strain) was compared with two contr ... | 2005 | 15673514 |
| coexistence of multiple pcr-ribotype strains of clostridium difficile in faecal samples limits epidemiological studies. | clostridium difficile is an important cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. the simultaneous presence of different strains in individual faecal samples has not yet been established, but is important for epidemiological studies. recurrences of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (cdad) are observed in 15-20 % of patients and have been reported as relapses or reinfections with a new strain. in a period of 1 year, 28 faecal samples from 23 patients with a first episode of cdad were colle ... | 2005 | 15673513 |
| typing by sequencing the slpa gene of clostridium difficile strains causing multiple outbreaks in japan. | previous reports have documented that a surface layer protein (slpa) varies among clostridium difficile isolates. the typing system by sequencing the variable region of the slpa gene was applied to typing c. difficile strains belonging to one pcr ribotype, type smz, which has been identified as frequently causing outbreaks in japan. the pcr ribotype smz strains recovered from patients at different hospitals in japan were examined. among 10 type smz strains tested, three subtypes, smz-1, -2 and - ... | 2005 | 15673512 |
| pcr ribotyping of clostridium difficile isolates originating from human and animal sources. | molecular typing of clostridium difficile isolates from animals and humans may be useful for evaluation of the possibility for interspecies transmission. the objective of this study was to evaluate c. difficile isolates from domestic animals and humans using pcr ribotyping. isolates were also tested using pcr for the presence of genes encoding toxins a and b. one hundred and thirty-three isolates of c. difficile from dogs (n = 92), horses (n = 21) and humans (n = 20), plus one each from a cat an ... | 2005 | 15673511 |
| toxigenic status of clostridium difficile in a large spanish teaching hospital. | the aim of this study was to evaluate the toxigenic status of circulating strains of clostridium difficile in a large teaching hospital. overall 220 isolates were studied of which 199 (90.5 %) produced both large clostridial toxins detected by conventional methods. ten more strains (4.5 %) had toxin a and b genes detectable by pcr. eleven (5.0 %) variant strains (a- b+) were detected among the isolates studied and 10 strains (4.5 %) had the binary toxin genes (cdta and cdtb). | 2005 | 15673510 |
| an improved protocol for pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing of clostridium difficile. | pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (pfge) is the 'gold standard' technique for bacterial typing and has proved to be discriminatory and reproducible for typing clostridium difficile. nevertheless, a high proportion of strains are non-typable by this technique due to the degradation of the dna during the process. the introduction of several modifications in the pfge standard procedure increased typability from 40% (90 isolates) to 100% (220 isolates) while maintaining the high degree of discriminat ... | 2005 | 15673509 |
| prevalence and characteristics of bacteria and host factors in an outbreak situation of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. | antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (aad) represents a clinical entity leading to prolonged hospital stays and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and results in additional costs. the aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and characteristics of different bacteria in stools of patients with aad. the reliability of diagnostic procedures under routine conditions was evaluated. host factors were also analysed. from june 2002 to april 2003 89 cases of diarrhoea were reported at a hospi ... | 2005 | 15673508 |
| detection of binary-toxin genes (cdta and cdtb) among clostridium difficile strains isolated from patients with c. difficile-associated diarrhoea (cdad) in poland. | clostridium difficile a+ b+ and a- b+ strains isolated from stool samples of patients with c. difficile-associated diarrhoea (cdad) were selected from the university hospital warsaw collection. the binary-toxin genes cdta and cdtb were detected by pcr in five of the 41 a+ b+ strains tested, but in none of the 17 a- b+ strains tested, giving 8.6 % prevalence (5/58) of binary-toxin-positive strains. all of the strains that were positive for binary-toxin genes were grouped into toxinotype iv, sugge ... | 2005 | 15673507 |
| generation of an erythromycin-sensitive derivative of clostridium difficile strain 630 (630deltaerm) and demonstration that the conjugative transposon tn916deltae enters the genome of this strain at multiple sites. | erythromycin resistance in clostridium difficile strain 630 is conferred by a genetic element termed tn5398 which contains two erm(b) genes: erm1(b) and erm2(b). an erythromycin-sensitive derivative of strain 630 (designated 630deltaerm) was generated by spontaneous mutation after continuous subculture for 30 days. this strain had lost the erm2(b) gene from within tn5398 but retained erm1(b). however, the strain could revert to erythromycin resistance at a frequency of 2.79 x 10(-8), although it ... | 2005 | 15673506 |
| effect of phage infection on toxin production by clostridium difficile. | infection with clostridium difficile and subsequent production of toxins a and b may result in c. difficile-associated diarrhoea and pseudomembranous colitis in hospital patients. the effect of four temperate phages, obtained by induction of clinical c. difficile isolates, on toxin production by c. difficile was determined. none of these phages converted a lysogenized non-toxigenic c. difficile strain to toxin production. one of the accessory toxin genes, tcde, was detected in three phages, phic ... | 2005 | 15673505 |
| quorum sensing in clostridium difficile: analysis of a luxs-type signalling system. | the increasing incidence of clostridium difficile-associated disease, and the problems associated with its control, highlight the need for additional countermeasures. the attenuation of virulence through the blockade of bacterial cell-to-cell communication (quorum sensing) is one potential therapeutic target. preliminary studies have shown that c. difficile produces at least one potential signalling molecule. through the molecule's ability to induce bioluminescence in a vibrio harveyi luxs repor ... | 2005 | 15673504 |
| revised nomenclature of clostridium difficile toxins and associated genes. | several different nomenclatures have been applied to the clostridium difficile toxins and their associated genes. this paper summarizes the new nomenclature that has been agreed to by the research groups currently active in the field. the revised nomenclature includes c. difficile toxins and other related large clostridial toxins produced by clostridium sordellii and clostridium novyi, and corresponding toxin genes, as well as toxin production types of c. difficile strains. | 2005 | 15673503 |
| alternative treatments for clostridium difficile disease: what really works? | vancomycin and metronidazole have been used for treating clostridium difficile-associated disease (cdad) for the past 25 years, but approximately 20 % of patients develop recurrent disease. the increasing incidence of nosocomial outbreaks, cases of recurrent cdad and other complications (toxic megacolon, ileus, sepsis) has fuelled the search for different types of treatments. as the understanding of the pathogenesis of this disease has matured, newer treatment strategies that take advantage of t ... | 2005 | 15673502 |
| quantification of bifidobacterium spp., escherichia coli and clostridium difficile in faecal samples of breast-fed and formula-fed infants by real-time pcr. | to determine the influence of either exclusive breast-feeding or formula feeding on both composition and quantity of the gut microbiota in infants, we have developed real-time, quantitative pcr assays for the detection of bifidobacterium spp. and clostridium difficile. furthermore, we have monitored the prevalence and counts of escherichia coli by applying a previously described real-time pcr assay. we found all 100 infants tested to be colonized by bifidobacterium spp. the bifidobacterial count ... | 2005 | 15668012 |
| steroid-refractory ulcerative colitis treated with corticosteroids, metronidazole and vancomycin: a case report. | increasing evidence elucidating the pathogenic mechanisms of ulcerative colitis (uc) has accumulated and the disease is widely assumed to be the consequence of genetic susceptibility and an abnormal immune response to commensal bacteria. however evidence regarding an infectious etiology in uc remains elusive. | 2005 | 15667650 |
| analysis of the fecal microbiota of irritable bowel syndrome patients and healthy controls with real-time pcr. | the gut microbiota may contribute to the onset and maintenance of irritable bowel syndrome (ibs). in this study, the microbiotas of patients suffering from ibs were compared with a control group devoid of gastrointestinal (gi) symptoms. | 2005 | 15667495 |
| a hospital outbreak of clostridium difficile disease associated with isolates carrying binary toxin genes. | the binary toxin genes cdt and cdtb have been detected in approximately 5% of clostridium difficile strains. severe c. difficile disease (cdd) may be associated with strains that carry the binary toxin genes. | 2004 | 15655746 |
| 2-hydroxyisocaproyl-coa dehydratase and its activator from clostridium difficile. | the hadbc and hadi genes from clostridium difficile were functionally expressed in escherichia coli and shown to encode the novel 2-hydroxyisocaproyl-coa dehydratase hadbc and its activator hadi. the activated enzyme catalyses the dehydration of (r)-2-hydroxyisocaproyl-coa to isocaprenoyl-coa in the pathway of leucine fermentation. the extremely oxygen-sensitive homodimeric activator as well as the heterodimeric dehydratase, contain iron and inorganic sulfur; besides varying amounts of zinc, oth ... | 2005 | 15654892 |
| cytomegalovirus and clostridium difficile co-infection in severe ulcero-hemorrhagic colitis during induction chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. | here we describe the first case of a biopsy-proven cytomegalovirus ulcero-hemorrhagic colitis, associated with clostridium difficile co-infection, occurring during standard induction chemotherapy for common b cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. we discuss the case and focalize clinical management and diagnostic issues arising from it. | 2005 | 15653455 |
| 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme a reductase inhibitors attenuate beta-amyloid-induced microglial inflammatory responses. | alzheimer's disease (ad) is characterized by extracellular deposits of fibrillar beta-amyloid (abeta) in the brain, a fulminant microglial-mediated inflammatory reaction, and neuronal death. the use of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme a reductase inhibitors (statins) is associated with a reduced risk of ad, which has been attributed to the cholesterol-lowering actions of these drugs. statins have been reported recently to have anti-inflammatory actions in addition to their classic lipid-lower ... | 2005 | 15647473 |
| "keeping each patient safe": quality safety teaching/learning packets. | background: university of pittsburgh medical center (upmc) mckeesport developed a tool, the upmc mckeesport quality safety teaching/learning packet, to provide physicians, nurses, and therapists with a common language to address complex safety issues. teaching/learning packets were developed to "keep each patient safe": by calling for help early; from falls and confusion; and from hospital-acquired infections (http://mckeesport.upmc.com/keepingpatientssafe.htm). teaching/learning packets: in jul ... | 2004 | 15646100 |
| clonal spread of a clostridium difficile strain with a complete set of toxin a, toxin b, and binary toxin genes among polish patients with clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea. | clinically relevant clostridium difficile strains usually produce toxins a and b. some c. difficile strains can produce an additional binary toxin. we report clonality among five strains carrying all toxin genes from polish patients with c. difficile-associated diarrhea. in another strain, possible recombination between binary toxin genes is documented. | 2005 | 15635019 |
| characterization of the cleavage site and function of resulting cleavage fragments after limited proteolysis of clostridium difficile toxin b (tcdb) by host cells. | clostridium difficile toxin b (tcdb) is a single-stranded protein consisting of a c-terminal domain responsible for binding to the host cell membrane, a middle part involved in internalization, and the n-terminal catalytic (toxic) part. this study shows that tcdb is processed by a single proteolytic step which cleaves tcdb(10463) between leu(543) and gly(544) and the naturally occurring variant tcdb(8864) between leu(544) and gly(545). the cleavage occurs at neutral ph and is catalysed by a peps ... | 2005 | 15632438 |
| peptide antibiotic and actin-binding protein as mixed-type inhibitors of clostridium difficile cdt toxin activities. | cdt from clostridium difficile is an adp-ribosyltransferase that causes rapid actin disaggregation and cell death. for efficient catalysis, cdt required specific divalent cations and binding by nad which can be substituted by atp but not adp. increasing isolation of cdt-producing strains prompted our search for antagonists like the anti-c. difficile agents bacitracin and vancomycin which were effective cdt inhibitors. other cdt transferase and glycohydrolase inhibitors with consistently low ic50 ... | 2005 | 15629471 |
| nurses and the control of infectious disease. understanding epidemiology and disease transmission is vital to nursing care. | epidemiology examines the distribution and source of a disease in a population. understanding epidemiology and disease transmission is vital to nursing care. infectious disease transmission requires three components: an agent (virus, bacterium, parasite or other microbe), a vulnerable host and a conducive environment. disease spread can occur through direct contact or via indirect methods (airborne droplets, vectors, fomites, water or food). intervention can occur by attacking the agent (e.g., u ... | 2004 | 15623008 |
| [risk factors for nosocomial clostridium difficile diarrhoea in an infectious and tropical diseases department]. | foreword: clostridium difficile associated diarrhea (cdad) accounts for 25% of all cases of diarrhea occurring in hospital. infectious diseases departments are considered as presenting with an important risk of cdad because of the large quantity of antibiotics used. objectives and method: the authors made a prospective study in the first 6 months of 2001, in order to identify the risk factors of cdad in their department. one hundred and fifty-two patients hospitalized for at least 6 days were in ... | 2004 | 15620015 |
| interaction of bismuth subsalicylate with fruit juices, ascorbic acid, and thiol-containing substrates to produce soluble bismuth products active against clostridium difficile. | bismuth subsalicylate (bss), the active ingredient of pepto-bismol, has been used for many years to treat various disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. using mass spectrometry and the agar dilution method, we determined that insoluble bss interacts with certain dietary components and organic substrates to produce water-soluble products with activity against clostridium difficile. | 2005 | 15616328 |
| comparative in vitro activities of xrp 2868, pristinamycin, quinupristin-dalfopristin, vancomycin, daptomycin, linezolid, clarithromycin, telithromycin, clindamycin, and ampicillin against anaerobic gram-positive species, actinomycetes, and lactobacilli. | a comparative study of the in vitro activities of xrp 2868, a new oral streptogramin, against 266 anaerobic gram-positive clinical isolates using the agar dilution method showed that the xrp 2868 mics for 95% (254 of 266) of isolates were < or =0.5 microg/ml. xrp 2868 mics for only two strains, one being clostridium clostridioforme (mic, 16 microg/ml) and the other being clostridium difficile (mic, 32 microg/ml), were >2 microg/ml. depending on its pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, xrp 2868 ... | 2005 | 15616322 |
| kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus modulates microtubule dynamics via rhoa-gtp-diaphanous 2 signaling and utilizes the dynein motors to deliver its dna to the nucleus. | human herpesvirus 8 (hhv-8; also called kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus), which is implicated in the pathogenesis of kaposi's sarcoma (ks) and lymphoproliferative disorders, infects a variety of target cells both in vivo and in vitro. hhv-8 binds to several in vitro target cells via cell surface heparan sulfate and utilizes the alpha3beta1 integrin as one of its entry receptors. interactions with cell surface molecules induce the activation of host cell signaling cascades and cytoskeleta ... | 2005 | 15613346 |
| inhibitory effects of various micro-organisms on the growth of helicobacter pylori. | to examine the in vitro influence of various bacteria species on helicobacter pylori (hp) growth. | 2005 | 15613007 |
| probiotics and gastrointestinal diseases. | there is increasing evidence indicating health benefits by consumption of foods containing microorganisms, i.e. probiotics. a number of clinical trials have been performed to evaluate the effects in the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms or by disturbances in the normal microflora. gastrointestinal infections caused by helicobacter pylori, traveller's diarrhoea, rotavirus diarrhoea, antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (aad) and clostridium diffi ... | 2005 | 15606379 |
| clostridium difficile-associated colitis. | to review the basic microbiology, pathogenesis of disease, and diagnosis of the nosocomial pathogen clostridium difficile and to examine therapies recommended by the canadian task force on preventive health care. quality of evidence medline: was searched using mesh headings. controlled trials for therapy were sought, but case-control studies and observational reviews were included. | 2004 | 15597970 |
| saccharomyces cerevisiae fungemia in an elderly patient with clostridium difficile colitis. | saccharomyces boulardii is widely used as a probiotic compound and is generally thought to be safe. we report one case of fungemia caused by saccharomyces cerevisiae occurring in an elderly patient treated orally with s. boulardii in association with vancomycin for clostridium difficile colitis. we do not recommend administering this viable yeast particularly in debilited patient with active colitis. | 2004 | 15597730 |
| a new periparturient disease in eastern europe, clostridium difficile causes postparturient sow losses. | postparturient sow losses caused by clostridium difficile have not been reported in the veterinary literature. recently in croatia, in a large outdoor production unit with suboptimal environmental conditions, a sudden increase in postparturient sow mortality was diagnosed. after postpartal application of enrofloxacine to postparturient mastitis metritis agalactia (mma) suffering sows, diarrhea, respiratory distress, and mortality of these sows were recorded. while 13% of mma suffering and treate ... | 2005 | 15589270 |
| inhibitory effects of mevastatin and a geranylgeranyl transferase i inhibitor (ggti-2166) on mononuclear osteoclast formation induced by receptor activator of nf kappa b ligand (rankl) or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (tnf-alpha). | we have previously reported that the statin mevastatin (compactin) reversibly inhibits the fusion of trap-positive mononuclear preosteoclasts (pocs) into multinucleated osteoclasts and disrupts the actin ring in mature osteoclasts through the inhibition of protein prenylation. protein geranylgeranylation, specifically, is known to be required for poc fusion and for the function and survival of mature osteoclasts. however, it has not been determined whether protein geranylgeranylation is involved ... | 2005 | 15588717 |
| multiplex pcr targeting tpi (triose phosphate isomerase), tcda (toxin a), and tcdb (toxin b) genes for toxigenic culture of clostridium difficile. | a multiplex pcr toxigenic culture approach was designed for simultaneous identification and toxigenic type characterization of clostridium difficile isolates. three pairs of primers were designed for the amplification of (i) a species-specific internal fragment of the tpi (triose phosphate isomerase) gene, (ii) an internal fragment of the tcdb (toxin b) gene, and (iii) an internal fragment of the tcda (toxin a) gene allowing distinction between toxin a-positive, toxin b-positive (a+b+) strains a ... | 2004 | 15583303 |
| the laparoscopic repair of suprapubic ventral hernias. | the complexity of dissection and the close proximity of the hernia to bony, vascular, nerve, and urinary structures make the laparoscopic repair of suprapubic hernias (lrsph) a formidable operation. we performed a prospective evaluation of the outcomes of patients undergoing lrsph. | 2004 | 15580440 |
| clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea: risk factors, diagnostic methods, and treatment. | clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad) has become the most common cause of infectious diarrhea acquired in the hospital, with an estimated 3 million annual cases and an annual cost of $1 billion. risk factors for cdad include antibiotic use (especially ampicillin, clindamycin, and cephalosporins), advanced age, and gastrointestinal surgery. specific diagnosis of cdad is made with an enzyme immunoassay to detect toxins a and b. metronidazole remains the initial treatment of choice, with ... | 2004 | 15580153 |
| clostridium difficile: causes and interventions. | human infection with clostridium difficile can take many forms. it can exist in many patients who are relatively well or who have symptoms similar to irritable bowel syndrome. it can also infect the patient in the acute care facility. these patients typically have received antibiotics for more than 3 days and begin to experience foul-smelling, watery stools within a few days of initiation of antibiotic coverage. good hand washing and environmental cleanliness remain the primary ways of preventin ... | 2004 | 15571943 |
| [a case of pseudomembranous enterocolitis caused by methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus]. | a 47-year-old woman was hospitalized because of urinary-tract infection. she was treated with antibiotics for 6 days. however, severe watery diarrhea and pyrexia developed 6 days after stopping administration of antibiotics. stool, throat and blood cultures were positive for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) and negative for clostridium difficile di toxin. in spite of administration of vcm, she died of septic shock. at autopsy, macroscopic observation revealed a pseudomembrane i ... | 2004 | 15560381 |
| ["in vitro" activity of ten antimicrobial agents against anaerobic bacteria. a collaborative study, 1999-2002]. | the antimicrobial activity of ampicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam, cefoxitin, ceftriaxone, imipenem, piperacillin, piperacillin-tazobactam, clindamycin, metronidazole, and azitromycin was assesed against 166 strains of anaerobic bacteria recovered from eight hospitals in buenos aires. the strains studied were bacteroides fragilis group (65), fusobacterium spp. (26), prevotella spp. (21), porphyromonas spp. (10), clostridium difficile (10), other clostridia (12), and gram-positive cocci (22). the mi ... | 2004 | 15559195 |
| leukemoid reactions complicating colitis due to clostridium difficile. | we sought to describe the characteristics of patients who had clostridium difficile colitis complicated by leukemoid reactions (total leukocyte count greater than 35 x 10(9)/l) and to determine whether this complication is associated with higher morbidity or mortality than c difficile colitis without leukemoid reactions. | 2004 | 15558922 |
| novel evidence suggesting clostridium difficile is present in human gut microbiota more frequently than previously suspected. | prevalence rate of clostridium difficile in healthy human adults is believed to be very low. our rt-pcr system using glass powder, which can eliminate pcr inhibitors, detected c. difficile toxin b mrna in 16 of 30 fecal samples (53.3%) from healthy human adults. in contrast, we failed to detect toxin b in the same fecal samples by pcr using dna templates extracted with phenol-chloroform. our results suggest that pcr inhibitors in feces carried through phenol-chloroform extraction procedure might ... | 2004 | 15557747 |
| clostridium difficile colitis: a marker for ischemic colitis? | 2004 | 15557572 | |
| a question of ethics. | 2004 | 15557570 | |
| resistance determinants in strains of clostridium difficile from two geographically distinct populations. | ninety-three clinical isolates of clostridium difficile, comprising 65 from royal gwent hospital, newport and 28 from southmead hospital, bristol were examined to determine the prevalence of genes coding for macrolide resistance and to explore differences in susceptibility patterns. antibiogram testing produced similar results for both sets of strains with respect to amoxicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin and cefotaxime. results differed for rifampicin, where 53% of the bristol isolates were re ... | 2004 | 15555889 |
| risk factors and mortality associated with clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea at a va hospital. | the objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of certain patient co-morbidities and antibiotics in the development of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (cdad). hospitalized patients developing cdad during a specified period were compared with a cohort of patients, matched by age, without a diagnosis of cdad, who were hospitalized during the same time period. data collection included demographics, hospital ward, co-morbid conditions, antibiotics received, and mortality. gender and ... | 2004 | 15555878 |
| [molecular epidemiology and laboratory diagnosis of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea]. | 2003 | 15552833 | |
| development of an extensive set of 16s rdna-targeted primers for quantification of pathogenic and indigenous bacteria in faecal samples by real-time pcr. | the microbiota of the human intestinal tract constitutes a complex ecosystem. we report the design and optimization of an extensive set of 16s rdna-targeted species- and group-specific primers for more accurate quantification of bacteria from faecal samples with real-time pcr. | 2004 | 15546407 |