Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
|---|
| resistance to moxifloxacin in toxigenic clostridium difficile isolates is associated with mutations in gyra. | clostridium difficile is the etiological agent of antibiotic-associated colitis and the most common cause of hospital-acquired infectious diarrhea. fluoroquinolones such as ciprofloxacin are associated with lower risks of c. difficile-associated diarrhea. in this study, we have analyzed 72 c. difficile isolates obtained from patients with different clinical courses of disease, such as toxic megacolon and relapses; the hospital environment; public places; and horses. they were investigated for th ... | 2001 | 11451695 |
| gt160-246, a toxin binding polymer for treatment of clostridium difficile colitis. | gt160-246, a high-molecular-weight soluble anionic polymer, was tested in vitro and in vivo for neutralization of clostridium difficile toxin a and b activities. five milligrams of gt160-246 per ml neutralized toxin-mediated inhibition of protein synthesis in vero cells induced by 5 ng of toxin a per ml or 1.25 ng of toxin b per ml. in ligated rat ileal loops, 1 mg of gt160-246 neutralized fluid accumulation caused by 5 microg of toxin a. at doses as high as 80 mg/loop, cholestyramine provided i ... | 2001 | 11451694 |
| probiotics: "living drugs". | the uses, mechanisms of action, and safety of probiotics are discussed. probiotics are live microorganisms or microbial mixtures administered to improve the patient's microbial balance, particularly the environment of the gastrointestinal tract and the vagina. the yeast saccharomyces boulardii and the bacterium lactobacillus rhamnosus, strain gg, have shown efficacy in clinical trials for the prevention of antimicrobial-associated diarrhea. other probiotics that have demonstrated at least some p ... | 2001 | 11449853 |
| activity of bms284756 (t-3811) tested against anaerobic bacteria, campylobacter jejuni, helicobacter pylori and legionella spp. | bms284756, a novel des-fluoro (6) quinolone (formerly t-3811), was tested for activity and spectrum using reference agar dilution (ad) and etest (ab biodisk, solna, sweden) methods. the antimicrobial activities of bms284756, ciprofloxacin, gatifloxacin, levofloxacin, and trovafloxacin were evaluated against campylobacter jejuni (38 strains), helicobacter pylori (21 strains), legionella spp. (66 strains), and 197 anaerobic isolates. bms284756 (mic(90), 0.008 microg/ml) was four-fold more active t ... | 2001 | 11448563 |
| deletion of neutral endopeptidase exacerbates intestinal inflammation induced by clostridium difficile toxin a. | toxin a (txa) of clostridium difficile induces acute inflammation of the intestine initiated by release of substance p (sp) and activation of the neurokinin-1 receptor. however, the mechanisms that terminate this response are unknown. we determined whether the sp-degrading enzyme neutral endopeptidase (nep, ec 3.4.24.11) terminates txa-induced enteritis. we used both genetic deletion and pharmacological inhibition of nep to test this hypothesis. in wild-type mice, instillation of txa (0.5-5 micr ... | 2001 | 11447035 |
| evidence for holin function of tcde gene in the pathogenicity of clostridium difficile. | toxigenic strains of clostridium difficile produce two large bacterial toxins called toxins a (tcda) and b (tcdb). tcda and tcdb genes are located on the pathogenicity locus of c. difficile, a unique characteristic of toxigenic strains of this species. intergenic to the two toxin genes is tcde, a small 501-bp open reading frame of unknown function. expression of the tcde gene in escherichia coli caused bacterial cell death. computational analysis of the amino acid sequence of tcde revealed struc ... | 2001 | 11444771 |
| clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea and colitis. | clostridium difficile is a spore-forming toxigenic bacterium that causes diarrhea and colitis, typically after the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. the clinical presentation ranges from self-limited diarrhea to fulminant colitis and toxic megacolon. the incidence of this disease is increasing, resulting in major medical and economic consequences. although most cases respond quickly to medical treatment, c difficile colitis may be serious, especially if diagnosis and treatment are delayed. recu ... | 2001 | 11444405 |
| bacterial contamination of uniforms. | microbiological sampling of nurses' uniforms was undertaken using a casella slit sampler. staphylococcus aureus, clostridium difficile and vancomycin-resistant enterococci were detected on uniforms both before and after a span of duty. recommendations for provision and changing of nurses' uniforms are made. | 2001 | 11439013 |
| "second-look" cytotoxicity: an evaluation of culture plus cytotoxin assay of clostridium difficile isolates in the laboratory diagnosis of cdad. | clostridium difficile is one of the most frequent causes of hospital-acquired diarrhoea. our objective was to prove that some stool samples with a direct negative cytotoxicity assay may indeed harbour toxigenic c. difficile and that this can be demonstrated by performing a "second-look" cytotoxicity assay using the isolated c. difficile strains. over an eight-year period (1992-1999), the 8241 stool samples submitted for direct cell culture from patients with suspected c. difficile-associated dia ... | 2001 | 11439012 |
| [diarrhea due to clostridium difficile toxin in hemato-oncological patients]. | in two patients with multiple myeloma, men aged 72 and 54 years, diarrhoea developed upon chemotherapy with vincristin, doxorubicin and dexamethasone (vad). in the second patient, diarrhoea developed after subsequent peripheral stem cell mobilisation. pseudomembranous colitis was seen in the first patient during endoscopy but an enzyme immunoassay of the faeces was false negative for clostridium difficile enterotoxin. the bacterium was later cultured from stool samples and toxins were detected i ... | 2001 | 11433658 |
| pseudomembranous colitis after eradication of helicobacter pylori infection with a triple therapy. | background: h.pylori (h.p.) infection of the gastric mucosa is causally related to chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, malt-lymphoma and gastric cancer. there is also an evidence for a link between the h.p.-infection and non-ulcer dyspepsia and even extragastric diseases. the number of patients treated against h.p. infection is expanding. although in the last years the ppi-based triple therapies have been considered to be effective and safe, in some patients, however, severe side-effects ma ... | 2001 | 11433206 |
| variant toxin b and a functional toxin a produced by clostridium difficile c34. | a particular property of clostridium difficile strain c34 is an insertion of approximately 2 kb in the tcda-c34 gene that does not hinder expression of a fully active tcda-c34 molecule. intoxication with tcda-c34 induced an arborized appearance in eukaryotic cells (d-type cytopathic effect); intoxication with tcdb-c34 induced a spindle-like appearance of cells (s-type cytopathic effect). inactivation of gtpases with purified toxins revealed that rho, rac, cdc42, and rap are substrates of tcda-c3 ... | 2001 | 11430410 |
| antibiotic prophylaxis and the risk of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea. | to test the hypothesis that extended antibiotic prophylaxis increases the risk of clostridium difficile -associated diarrhoea (cdad), we conducted a retrospective cohort study of 2641 patients under-going cardiovascular surgery. main outcome measures were the duration of prophylaxis (< 48 h vs. > 48 h) and the occurrence of cdad. cdad occurred in 31 patients (1.2%), who were significantly older (70 +/- 9 y vs. 66 +/- 10 y; p = 0.03), received more therapeutic antibiotics (2.2 +/- 1.9 vs. 0.4 +/- ... | 2001 | 11428874 |
| molecular analysis of relapse vs re-infection in hiv-positive patients suffering from recurrent clostridium difficile associated diarrhoea. | recurrence is a major complication of clostridium difficile associated diarrhoea, especially in human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) positive patients, and it is important to distinguish between relapse and re-infection in recurrent episodes. the aim of our study was to analyse c. difficile isolates obtained from hiv-positive patients with recurrent diarrhoea in order to distinguish between relapse and re-infection. this analysis was based on the study of dna similarities among isolates obtained f ... | 2001 | 11428873 |
| faecal concentrations of piperacillin and tazobactam in elderly patients. | 2001 | 11418534 | |
| recurrent clostridium difficile diarrhoea. | 2001 | 11413124 | |
| involvement of nerves and calcium channels in the intestinal response to clostridium difficile toxin a: an experimental study in rats in vivo. | the involvement of nerves and calcium channels in the intestinal response to clostridium difficile toxin a (luminal concentration 1 or 15 microg/ml) was studied in the small intestine of rats in vivo. | 2001 | 11413111 |
| effect of probiotics on enterocyte bacterial translocation in vitro. | enteral probiotics such as lactobacillus casei gg (lgg) have been used in the treatment of a variety of intestinal disorders in infants and children, including diarrhea, malabsorption, and clostridium difficile colitis. we have previously demonstrated that the probiotic bacterium lgg has an inhibitory effect on bacterial translocation (bt) in a neonatal rabbit model. however, this in-vivo model is limited for investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for probiotic inhibitio ... | 2001 | 11409159 |
| regulation of i(cl,swell) in neuroblastoma cells by g protein signaling pathways. | guanosine 5'-o-(3-thiotriphosphate) (gtpgammas) activated the i(cl,swell) anion channel in n1e115 neuroblastoma cells in a swelling-independent manner. gtpgammas-induced current was unaffected by atp removal and broadly selective tyrosine kinase inhibitors, demonstrating that phosphorylation events do not regulate g protein-dependent channel activation. pertussis toxin had no effect on gtpgammas-induced current. however, cholera toxin inhibited the current approximately 70%. exposure of cells to ... | 2001 | 11401830 |
| molecular characterization of the surface layer proteins from clostridium difficile. | many bacteria express a surface-exposed proteinaceous layer, termed the s-layer, which forms a regular two-dimensional array visible by electron microscopy. clostridium difficile is unusual in expressing two s-layer proteins (slps), which are of varying size in a number of strains. in an approach combining molecular biology with mass spectrometric sequencing strategies, we have identified the structural gene (slpa) for the s-layer from three strains of c. difficile. both proteins are derived fro ... | 2001 | 11401722 |
| [toxicity study of cefmatilen hydrochloride hydrate (s-1090) (5)--six-month repeated oral dose toxicity study and supplement study in rats]. | cefmatilen hydrochloride hydrate (s-1090) was orally administered to rats at dose levels of 100, 300 and 1000 mg potency/kg once daily for 6 months. all the s-1090 treated groups showed soft feces, reddish-brown feces (due to chelated products of s-1090 or its decomposition products with fe3+ in the diet), abdominal distention, increased food and water consumption, lower urine ph, and a decrease of white blood cells counts (except for males of the 100 mg potency/kg group). one male in the 300 mg ... | 2001 | 11400319 |
| antibiotic susceptibility of clostridium difficile isolates from adult patients at two jamaican hospitals. clinical and epidemiological implications. | the susceptibility of 39 toxin producing clostridium difficile isolates from stools of hospitalized patients was determined, by disc diffusion, to six antibiotics. all but one isolate (toxin a negative) produced toxin a and toxin b. a wide variation in susceptibility to clindamycin, tetracycline and chloramphenicol was noted. erythromycin and cotrimoxazole showed a clear-cut discrimination in resistance and susceptibility, while all isolates were sensitive to vancomycin. erythromycin sensitive i ... | 2001 | 11398289 |
| flow cytometric analysis of clostridium difficile adherence to human intestinal epithelial cells. | clostridium difficile is the most common cause of diarrhoea in hospitalised patients. bacterial adherence to gut epithelial cells is a likely prerequisite to infection and toxin production. a novel flow cytometric method was developed for detecting adherence of c. difficile to human colonic and small intestinal epithelial cells (ec) and human intestinal cell lines. small intestinal and colonic ec were isolated from biopsy specimens with mucolytic and chelating agents. adherence of fluorochrome-l ... | 2001 | 11393290 |
| probiotics: future directions. | clinical studies have shown that certain probiotics may be useful in treating a variety of diarrheal disorders, including rotavirus diarrhea, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, clostridium difficile diarrhea, and traveler's diarrhea. new data suggest that probiotics might be useful in controlling inflammatory diseases, treating and preventing allergic diseases, preventing cancer, and stimulating the immune system, which may reduce the incidence of respiratory disease. different modes of administeri ... | 2001 | 11393194 |
| nerves and intestinal mast cells modulate responses to enterotoxins. | experiments in intact animals exposed to enterotoxins demonstrate that neurons and immune cells of the lamina propria regulate toxin-induced diarrhea and tissue damage. clostridium difficile toxins cause profound diarrhea and acute inflammation by activating a complex cascade initiated by toxin binding to enterocyte receptors. | 1998 | 11390763 |
| acute appendicitis: the role of enterotoxigenic strains of bacteroides fragilis and clostridium difficile. | the aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a relationship between enterotoxin-producing b. fragilis strains and toxigenic c. difficile strains and the pathogenesis of acute appendicitis. | 2001 | 11386013 |
| [nosocomial epidemiology and transmission of clostridium difficile infection]. | clostridium difficile is of growing importance as a hospital-acquired pathogen. pseudomembraneous colitis is the main clinical disease. transmission and epidemiological features are not yet fully understood. | 2001 | 11381634 |
| phospholipases stimulate secretion in rbl mast cells. | roles for glycerophospholipids in exocytosis have been proposed, but remain controversial. phospholipases are stimulated following the activation of the high-affinity receptor for immunoglobulin e (ige) in mast cells. to study the biochemical sequelae that lead to degranulation, broken cell systems were employed. we demonstrate that the addition of three distinct types of exogenous phospholipases (i.e., bcplc, scpld, and tfpla(2)), all of which hydrolyze phosphatidylcholine (pc), trigger degranu ... | 2001 | 11380253 |
| a comparison of multifaceted versus clostridium difficile-focused vre surveillance strategies in a low-prevalence setting. | we compared our current screening strategy for vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (vre) with a focused strategy that screens all stool samples sent for clostridium difficile toxin assay but limits rectal swab screening to wards with new vre cases detected via c. difficile samples. the proposed strategy detects 72.7% of new vre cases, with substantial cost savings. | 2001 | 11379713 |
| regulation of connective tissue growth factor (ccn2; ctgf) gene expression in human mesangial cells: modulation by hmg coa reductase inhibitors (statins). | connective tissue growth factor (ccn; ctgf) gene expression is upregulated in fibrotic renal glomeruli. therefore, the regulation and pharmacological modulation of ccn2 (ctgf) mrna expression was investigated in a human renal mesangial cell line. | 2001 | 11376131 |
| infection of hamsters with epidemiologically important strains of clostridium difficile. | five different toxigenic strains of clostridium difficile of known human epidemiologic importance were tested for virulence in hamsters. three strains-types b1, j9, and k14-have caused hospital outbreaks. type y2 is associated with a high rate of asymptomatic colonization in patients. the fifth strain, type cf2, is a toxin a-negative, toxin b-positive strain implicated in multiple human cases of c. difficile-associated diarrhea. groups of 10 hamsters per strain were given 1 dose of clindamycin, ... | 2001 | 11372028 |
| virulence of clostridium difficile toxin a negative strains. | 2001 | 11358476 | |
| intestinal epithelial damage in sids babies and its similarity to that caused by bacterial toxins in the rabbit. | sections of the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, caecum and large intestine from 14 sudden infant death syndrome (sids) babies were examined by scanning (sem) and transmission electron microscopy (tem). the type and amount of damage was characterised and quantitated and compared with the presence of clostridium perfringens, clostridium difficile, escherichia coli and staphylococcus aureus in faecal samples from the babies and toxins from the bacteria in faecal samples and serum from the babies. the dat ... | 2001 | 11358053 |
| the effect of bacterial enterotoxins implicated in sids on the rabbit intestine. | the aim of this project was to characterise the type of damage caused to the intestine of the infant rabbit by bacterial enterotoxins implicated in sudden infant death syndrome (sids). samples of the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, caecum and large intestine exposed to the toxins for up to 6 hours were examined by scanning (sem) and transmission electron microscopy (tem). the damage was quantitatively assessed (% villi damaged) by sem and qualitatively by sem and tem. clostridium perfringens enterotox ... | 2001 | 11358052 |
| in vitro activities of ertapenem (mk-0826) against recent clinical bacteria collected in europe and australia. | ertapenem (mk-0826, l-749,345) is a 1-beta-methyl carbapenem with a long serum half-life. its in vitro activity was determined by broth microdilution against 3,478 bacteria from 12 centers in europe and australia, with imipenem, cefepime, ceftriaxone, and piperacillin-tazobactam used as comparators. ertapenem was the most active agent tested against members of the family enterobacteriaceae, with mics at which 90% of isolates are inhibited (mic(90)s) of < or =1 microg/ml for all species. ertapene ... | 2001 | 11353638 |
| suspected clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in two cats. | two adult cats from the same household developed acute diarrhea. clostridium difficile toxins were detected in the feces of both cats, whereas other recognized causes of diarrhea were not identified. supportive medical treatment and metronidazole were administered and both cats responded well. a fecal sample obtained from 1 of the affected cats after treatment and a fecal sample obtained from a clinically normal cat in the household did not contain c difficile toxins. the role of c difficile in ... | 2001 | 11345306 |
| probiotic agents and infectious diseases: a modern perspective on a traditional therapy. | there is an increasing scientific and commercial interest in the use of beneficial microorganisms, or "probiotics," for the prevention and treatment of disease. the microorganisms most frequently used as probiotic agents are lactic-acid bacteria such as lactobacillus rhamnosus gg (lgg), which has been extensively studied in recent literature. multiple mechanisms of action have been postulated, including lactose digestion, production of antimicrobial agents, competition for space or nutrients, an ... | 2001 | 11340528 |
| novel helicobacter species isolated from rhesus monkeys with chronic idiopathic colitis. | chronic, idiopathic diffuse colitis is a well recognised clinical and pathological entity in captive rhesus monkeys. six rhesus monkeys were diagnosed with clinically debilitating, chronic diarrhoea. histologically, colonic tissues were characterised as chronic, moderate to severe colitis and typhlitis, with diffuse mononuclear inflammation of lamina propria, reactive lymphoid hyperplasia and multifocal micro-abscesses. colonic tissues were cultured for salmonella spp. and shigella spp.; all res ... | 2001 | 11339249 |
| molecular typing and long-term comparison of clostridium difficile strains by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and pcr-ribotyping. | thirty-two related and 68 unrelated isolates of clostridium difficile, isolated in different italian hospitals since 1987, were analysed by pfge and pcr-ribotyping to investigate their genetic relatedness. the isolates were classified into 28 groups by pfge and 20 ribotypes by pcr-ribotyping. a single clone of c. difficile was recognised as the cause of three geographically and chronologically distant outbreaks. the correlation between pfge and pcr-ribotyping results was good, with agreement for ... | 2001 | 11339247 |
| [evaluation of three methods of diagnosis of clostridium difficile infection]. | 2001 | 11333611 | |
| in vitro activity of sitafloxacin against clostridium difficile. | 2001 | 11328798 | |
| ureidopenicillins and risk of clostridium difficile infection. | 2001 | 11328794 | |
| laboratory diagnosis of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea and colitis: usefulness of premier cytoclone a+b enzyme immunoassay for combined detection of stool toxins and toxigenic c. difficile strains. | detection of clostridium difficile toxins a and b in stools by premier cytoclone a+b enzyme immunoassay (eia) was compared with detection by stool culture for c. difficile followed by detection of toxigenic isolates using the same eia. chart reviews were performed to evaluate the likelihood of c. difficile-associated diarrhea and colitis (cadc) for all patients with at least one positive toxin assay. while the toxins were detected in 58 of 85 consecutive cadc patients by both assays, cadc in 5 p ... | 2001 | 11326033 |
| evaluation of biosite triage clostridium difficile panel for rapid detection of clostridium difficile in stool samples. | one hundred two stool samples were tested by both the rapid triage clostridium difficile panel (triage panel) and the cytotoxin cell culture assay. five samples positive by both the c. difficile toxin a (tox a) and common antigen components of the triage panel had cytotoxin titers of > or =10,000. twenty-three samples were triage panel tox a negative but common antigen positive. ten of these had cytotoxin titers of 10 to 1,000, but 13 were cytotoxin negative. bacterial isolates obtained from 8 o ... | 2001 | 11326003 |
| regulation of toxin synthesis in clostridium difficile by an alternative rna polymerase sigma factor. | clostridium difficile, a causative agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and its potentially lethal form, pseudomembranous colitis, produces two large protein toxins that are responsible for the cellular damage associated with the disease. the level of toxin production appears to be critical for determining the severity of the disease, but the mechanism by which toxin synthesis is regulated is unknown. the product of a gene, txer, that lies just upstream of the tox gene cluster was shown to be ... | 2001 | 11320220 |
| comparison of tn5397 from clostridium difficile, tn916 from enterococcus faecalis and the cw459tet(m) element from clostridium perfringens shows that they have similar conjugation regions but different insertion and excision modules. | comparative analysis of the conjugative transposons tn5397 from clostridium difficile and tn916 from enterococcus faecalis, and the cw459tet(m) element from clostridium perfringens, has revealed that these tetracycline-resistance elements are closely related. all three elements contain the tet(m) resistance gene and have sequence similarity throughout their central region. however, they have very different integration/excision modules. instead of the int and xis genes that are found in tn916, tn ... | 2001 | 11320127 |
| clostridium difficile toxins and enterococcal translocation in vivo and in vitro. | clostridium difficile toxins alter permeability in cultured enterocytes and may alter intestinal epithelial permeability to bacteria in vivo. experiments were designed to test the effects of c. difficile toxins on in vitro interactions of enterococcus gallinarum with cultured enterocytes, as well as on translocation of e. gallinarum in mice. | 2001 | 11319888 |
| clostridium beijerinckii and clostridium difficile detoxify methylglyoxal by a novel mechanism involving glycerol dehydrogenase. | in contrast to gram-negative bacteria, little is known about the mechanisms by which gram-positive bacteria degrade the toxic metabolic intermediate methylglyoxal (mg). clostridium beijerinckii br54, a tn1545 insertion mutant of the ncimb 8052 strain, formed cultures that contained significantly more (free) mg than wild-type cultures. moreover, br54 was more sensitive to growth inhibition by added mg than the wild type, suggesting that it has a reduced ability to degrade mg. the single copy of t ... | 2001 | 11319074 |
| probiotic activities of lactobacillus casei rhamnosus: in vitro adherence to intestinal cells and antimicrobial properties. | the interest of probiotics as remedies for a broad number of gastrointestinal and other infectious diseases has gained wide interest over the last few years, but little is known about their underlying mechanism of action. in this study, the probiotic activities of a human isolate of lactobacillus casei subsp. rhamnosus strain (lcr35) were investigated. using intestinal caco-2 cell line in an in vitro model, we demonstrated that this strain exhibited adhesive properties. the inhibitory effects of ... | 2001 | 11316370 |
| statistical inference for serial dilution assay data. | serial dilution assays are widely employed for estimating substance concentrations and minimum inhibitory concentrations. the poisson-bernoulli model for such assays is appropriate for count data but not for continuous measurements that are encountered in applications involving substance concentrations. this paper presents practical inference methods based on a log-normal model and illustrates these methods using a case application involving bacterial toxins. | 1999 | 11315070 |
| laboratory-based surveillance for vancomycin-resistant enterococci: utility of screening stool specimens submitted for clostridium difficile toxin assay. | to study vancomycin-resistant enterococci (vre) gastrointestinal colonization prevalence in high-risk hospitalized patients and to assess the cost and utility of this laboratory-based surveillance. | 2001 | 11310695 |
| glutaraldehyde-induced colitis. | to describe the etiology and clinical course of acute colitis occurring after flexible endoscopy. | 2001 | 11308232 |
| extracolonic manifestations of clostridium difficile infections. presentation of 2 cases and review of the literature. | clostridium difficile is most commonly associated with colonic infection. it may, however, also cause disease in a variety of other organ systems. small bowel involvement is often associated with previous surgical procedures on the small intestine and is associated with a significant mortality rate (4 of 7 patients). when associated with bacteremia, the infection is, as expected, frequently polymicrobial in association with usual colonic flora. the mortality rate among patients with c. difficile ... | 2001 | 11307591 |
| when are stool cultures indicated for hospitalized patients with diarrhea not caused by clostridium difficile (c-diff)? | 2001 | 11300978 | |
| evaluation of six commercial assays for the rapid detection of clostridium difficile toxin and/or antigen in stool specimens. | to evaluate six commercially available assays for the detection of clostridium difficile toxin and/or antigen in stool samples: one latex agglutination test (culturette brand cdt, becton dickinson), two elisas (culturette brand toxin cd, becton dickinson, and ridascreen c. difficile toxin a/b, r-biopharm), two chromatographic assays (clearview c. difficile a, oxoid, and colorpac toxin a, becton dickinson) and one enzyme immunoassay for the simultaneous detection of c. difficile common antigen an ... | 2001 | 11298143 |
| clostridium difficile infection, hospital geography and time-space clustering. | to analyse spatial and temporal relationships of clostridium difficile-associated disease in an inner-city hospital, we retrospectively evaluated 283 episodes of confirmed c. difficile diarrhoea in the chelsea and westminster hospital between 1995 and 1998, against a background of relatively stable case mix, antibiotic usage and admission numbers, using knox analysis to determine the presence of disease clustering in time and space. we found five time-space clusters on four medical wards and bet ... | 2001 | 11294965 |
| molecular and genomic analysis of genes encoding surface-anchored proteins from clostridium difficile. | the gene slpa, encoding the s-layer precursor protein in the virulent clostridium difficile strains c253 and 79--685, was identified. the precursor protein carries a c-terminal highly conserved anchoring domain, similar to the one found in the cwp66 adhesin (previously characterized in strain 79--685), an slh domain, and a variable n-terminal domain mediating cell adherence. the genes encoding the s-layer precursor proteins and the cwp66 adhesin are present in a genetic locus carrying 17 open re ... | 2001 | 11292772 |
| clostridium difficile infections in hiv-positive patients. | the prevalence of clostridium difficile infections in hiv-positive patients with regard to the presence of its enterotoxin was investigated. enzyme immunoassay (eia, meridian diagnostic inc) was used for the detection of c. difficile enterotoxin in stool specimens collected from 201 hiv-positive and 271 hiv-negative diarrheal patients. culture was performed on cycloserine cefoxitin fructose agar. chromosomal dna types of c. difficile isolates were determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis ( ... | 2000 | 11289016 |
| management and prevention of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea. | clostridium difficile is a major cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. while treatment regimens for c. difficile have been available for decades, they remain less than optimal due to the frequent recurrences that occur after therapy is completed. moreover, the morbidity and expense associated with c. difficile have underscored the need for more effective preventive measures than are currently available. in this review, we outline the current recommendations for treatment and prevention of c. ... | 2001 | 11286650 |
| [intestinal flora of patients with suspected antibiotic associated diarrhea (aad). i. clostridium perfringens]. | stool samples of 158 patients suspected of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (aad) were studied. toxin a of c. difficile and enterotoxin of c. perfringens were detected in stool samples by immunoenzymatic assays and pcr. in 35 stool samples toxin a of c. difficile was detected and in 48 cases (30%) c. difficile strains were cultured from 21 stool samples (13%). the presence of the cpe gene of c. perfringens, enabling the production of enterotoxin, could not be detected by pcr, both in stool sample ... | 2000 | 11286179 |
| analysis of clostridium difficile isolates from nosocomial outbreaks at three hospitals in diverse areas of japan. | clostridium difficile isolates recovered from patients with c. difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad) at three hospitals located in diverse areas of japan were analyzed by three typing systems, pcr ribotyping, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (pfge), and western immunoblotting. at the three hospitals examined, a single pcr ribotype strain (type smz) was predominant and accounted for 22 (65%) of 34, 18 (64%) of 28, and 11 (44%) of 25 isolates, respectively. all of the 51 isolates that represented p ... | 2001 | 11283061 |
| medical diagnoses and procedures associated with clostridium difficile colitis. | the aim of this study was to examine the associations of clostridium difficile colitis with other comorbid conditions and procedural interventions among hospitalized patients. | 2001 | 11280548 |
| clostridium difficile infection: risk factors, medical and surgical management. | clostridium difficile has become recognized as a cause of nosocomial infection which may progress to a fulminant disease. | 2000 | 11279333 |
| an inhibitory role of rho in the vasopressin-mediated translocation of aquaporin-2 into cell membranes of renal principal cells. | vasopressin regulates water reabsorption in renal collecting duct principal cells by a camp-dependent translocation of the water channel aquaporin-2 (aqp2) from intracellular vesicles into the cell membrane. in the present work primary cultured inner medullary collecting duct cells were used to study the role of the proteins of the rho family in the translocation of aqp2. clostridium difficile toxin b, which inhibits all members of the rho family, clostridium limosum c3 toxin, which inactivates ... | 2001 | 11278652 |
| in vitro activity of telithromycin (hmr 3647) against 502 strains of anaerobic bacteria. | in a previous study, we compared hmr 3004 with azithromycin, clarithromycin, erythromycin and roxithromycin against 502 anaerobic bacteria using nccls-approved procedures. this report extends this study by reporting the activity of telithromycin (hmr 3647) against these strains. telithromycin inhibited 10% of bacteroides fragilis, 50% of other b. fragilis group organisms and 93% of other bacteroides spp. telithromycin inhibited all porphyromonas spp. and 98% of prevotella spp. activity against b ... | 2001 | 11266423 |
| [clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea--a growing problem in geriatric care]. | from 1994 to 1998 the incidence of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (cdad) in the department of geriatric medicine, huddinge university hospital increased from 0.5% to 2.2% of all admissions. corresponding figures for the whole hospital were 0.3% and 0.6%, respectively. the increase in cdad at the department of geriatric medicine was parallel with a more than doubled consumption of antibiotics. all geriatric patients with cdad had been treated with antibiotics before onset of diarrhoea ... | 2001 | 11265569 |
| rho gtpases are involved in the regulation of nf-kappab by genotoxic stress. | a common cellular response to genotoxic agents and inflammatory cytokines is the activation of nf-kappab. here, we addressed the question of whether small gtpases of the rho family are involved in the stimulation of nf-kappab signaling by genotoxic agents or tnfalpha in hela cells. inhibition of isoprenylation of rho proteins by use of the hmg-coa reductase inhibitor lovastatin attenuated uv-, doxorubicin-, and tnfalpha-induced degradation of ikappabalpha as well as drug-stimulated dna binding a ... | 2001 | 11262181 |
| cell volume kinetics of adherent epithelial cells measured by laser scanning reflection microscopy: determination of water permeability changes of renal principal cells. | the water channel aquaporin-2 (aqp2), a key component of the antidiuretic machinery in the kidney, is rapidly regulated by the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin. the hormone exerts its action by inducing a translocation of aqp2 from intracellular vesicles to the cell membrane. this step requires the elevation of intracellular cyclic amp. we describe here a new method, laser scanning reflection microscopy (lsrm), suitable for determining cellular osmotic water permeability coefficient changes in p ... | 2001 | 11259291 |
| analysis of the physicochemical interactions between clostridium difficile toxins and cholestyramine using liquid chromatography with post-column derivatization. | a potential therapy for antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis is to bind clostridium difficile toxins a and b using cholestyramine, a hydrophobic anion exchange medium. frontal analysis in isotonic phosphate buffer was studied using post-column derivatization with o-phthalaldehyde, which gave a highly sensitive (> or =30 ng) flow-through analysis. following load (1.5-3.0 microg toxin/3.6 mg), toxin a was bound at a slightly higher capacity than b, due to slower kinetics. a salt gradient ... | 2001 | 11257520 |
| oligomerization-dependent regulation of motility and morphogenesis by the collagen xviii nc1/endostatin domain. | collagen xviii (c18) is a triple helical endothelial/epithelial basement membrane protein whose noncollagenous (nc)1 region trimerizes a cooh-terminal endostatin (es) domain conserved in vertebrates, caenorhabditis elegans and drosophila. here, the c18 nc1 domain functioned as a motility-inducing factor regulating the extracellular matrix (ecm)-dependent morphogenesis of endothelial and other cell types. this motogenic activity required es domain oligomerization, was dependent on rac, cdc42, and ... | 2001 | 11257123 |
| [diarrhea caused by adenovirus and astrovirus in hospitalized immunodeficient patients]. | acute or chronic diarrheal illness are common complications in immunosuppressed patients such as human immunodeficiency virus (hiv)-infected, bone marrow or solid organ transplanted patients and those with leukaemias or other immune deficiency disorders. due to the importance of recognizing the feasible etiologies of diarrhea in order to give the proper antimicrobial chemotherapy or to avoid a misdiagnosis of rejection in the case of transplanted patients, we have investigated adenovirus and ast ... | 2001 | 11256256 |
| saccharomyces boulardii stimulates intestinal immunoglobulin a immune response to clostridium difficile toxin a in mice. | saccharomyces boulardii is a nonpathogenic yeast that protects against antibiotic-associated diarrhea and recurrent clostridium difficile colitis. the administration of c. difficile toxoid a by gavage to s. boulardii-fed balb/c mice caused a 1.8-fold increase in total small intestinal immunoglobulin a levels (p = 0.003) and a 4.4-fold increase in specific intestinal anti-toxin a levels (p < 0.001). enhancing host intestinal immune responses may be an important mechanism for s. boulardii-mediated ... | 2001 | 11254650 |
| characterization of a cell surface protein of clostridium difficile with adhesive properties. | our laboratory has previously shown that clostridium difficile adherence to cultured cells is enhanced after heat shock at 60 degrees c and that it is mediated by a proteinaceous surface component. the present study was undertaken to identify the surface molecules of this bacterium that could play a role in its adherence to the intestine. the cwp66 gene, encoding a cell surface-associated protein of c. difficile 79-685, was isolated by immunoscreening of a c. difficile gene library with polyclon ... | 2001 | 11254569 |
| endogenous corticosteroids modulate clostridium difficile toxin a-induced enteritis in rats. | we examined the role of glucocorticoids in acute inflammatory diarrhea mediated by clostridium difficile toxin a. toxin a (5 microg) or buffer was injected in rat ileal loops, and intestinal responses were measured after 30 min to 4 h. ileal toxin a administration increased plasma glucocorticoids after 1 h, at which time the toxin-stimulated secretion was not significant. administration of the glucocorticoid analog dexamethasone inhibited toxin a-induced intestinal secretion and inflammation and ... | 2001 | 11254479 |
| pancytopenia and colitis with clostridium difficile in a rheumatoid arthritis patient taking methotrexate, antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. | methotrexate (mtx) is widely used despite its side-effects. we describe a rheumatoid arthritis (ra) patient taking low-dose mtx who developed severe pancytopenia and colitis with clostridium difficile after the administration of antibiotics for acute pyelonephritis. our case suggests that low-dose mtx may seriously interact with antibiotics and that these side-effects should always be considered when ra patients are treated with mtx and antibiotics. | 2001 | 11254248 |
| clostridium difficile--associated diarrhea: a review. | clostridium difficile causes 300 000 to 3 000 000 cases of diarrhea and colitis in the united states every year. antibiotics most frequently associated with the infection are clindamycin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, and cephalosporins, but all antibiotics may predispose patients to c difficile infection. the clinical presentation varies from asymptomatic colonization to mild diarrhea to severe debilitating disease, with high fever, severe abdominal pain, paralytic ileus, colonic dilation (or megaco ... | 2001 | 11252111 |
| delivery of proteins into living cells by reversible membrane permeabilization with streptolysin-o. | the pore-forming toxin streptolysin o (slo) can be used to reversibly permeabilize adherent and nonadherent cells, allowing delivery of molecules with up to 100 kda mass to the cytosol. using fitc-labeled albumin, 10(5)-10(6) molecules were estimated to be entrapped per cell. repair of toxin lesions depended on ca(2+)-calmodulin and on intact microtubules, but was not sensitive to actin disruption or to inhibition of protein synthesis. resealed cells were viable for days and retained the capacit ... | 2001 | 11248053 |
| five-year surveillance of patients with communicable diseases nursed in isolation. | during a five year surveillance program of patients with communicable diseases nursed in isolation, we gathered information on 2880 patients who were nursed in isolation for 28 145 days, from january 1994 to december 1998. the mean number of patients nursed in isolation was 575.4 (range, 427-709) per year. on average 2.4% of patients admitted yearly to the university medical center (umc) were nursed in isolation. the mean number of days nursed in isolation was 9.8 days per patient.1996 was a pea ... | 2001 | 11247681 |
| [pediatric nosocomial diarrhea]. | nosocomial diarrhea are an important cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. rotavirus has been recognized as the most important cause of nosocomial gastroenteritidis particularly in infants during winter months. nosocomial diarrhea are also, caused by bacterial pathogen like clostridium difficile, salmonella, shigella, campylobacter. clostridium difficile toxin assay should be considered for patients who are receiving antibiotics. modifications of hygiene procedures and preventive measures ... | 2000 | 11244605 |
| [nosocomial diarrhea in adults due to microorganisms other than clostridium difficile]. | nosocomial diarrhea of the adult is to the largest extend caused by clostridium difficile. however, one must not underestimate the importance of other bacteria such as salmonella or shigella, which are most common in developing countries. other viruses and parasites can equally be responsible for causing such infections. | 2000 | 11244604 |
| [epidemiology, risk factors and prevention of clostridium difficile nosocomial infections]. | clostridium difficile is responsible for 10-25% of cases of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (aad) and for virtually all cases of antibiotic-associated pseudo-membranous colitis (pmc). this anaerobic spore-forming bacterium has been identified as the leading cause of nosocomial infectious diarrhea in adults. pathogenesis relies on a disruption of the normal bacterial flora of the colon, a colonization by c. difficile and the release of toxins a and b that cause mucosal damage and inflammation. inc ... | 2000 | 11244603 |
| [role of the microbiology laboratory in the diagnosis of nosocomial diarrhea]. | diarrhea that occurs in hospitalized patients is frequent and may be due to infectious or noninfectious causes. in adults with nosocomial diarrhea, the most commonly detected agent is clostridium difficile; in children, rotaviruses are predominant. various studies have shown that bacterial enteric pathogens (e.g. salmonella spp., shigella spp., campylobacter spp...) or parasites are common causes of community-acquired diarrhea but rarely cause nosocomial enteritis. stool cultures for these patho ... | 2000 | 11244602 |
| bovine milk antibodies for health. | the immunoglobulins of bovine colostrum provide the major antimicrobial protection against microbial infections and confer a passive immunity to the newborn calf until its own immune system matures. the concentration in colostrum of specific antibodies against pathogens can be raised by immunising cows with these pathogens or their antigens. immune milk products are preparations made of such hyperimmune colostrum or antibodies enriched from it. these preparations can be used to give effective sp ... | 2000 | 11242458 |
| fulminant clostridium difficile colitis associated with paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapy. | resnik e, lefevre ca. fulminant clostridium difficile colitis associated with paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapy. pseudomembranous colitis is commonly associated with the use of antibiotics. some antineoplastic agents even without associated antibiotic use can predispose patients to developing infection with clostridium difficile. the infection is usually mild; however, in rare cases severe forms of pseudomembranous colitis may be encountered. a 66 year-old female with stage iiic suboptimal ... | 1999 | 11240821 |
| liver abscess caused by clostridium difficile. | we report the first case of an infected cyst and liver abscess caused by clostridium difficile. it recurred 11 months later, despite therapy with vancomycin and percutaneous drainage. administration of metronidazole following percutaneous drainage achieved a favorable outcome. | 2001 | 11234983 |
| impact of nosocomial infection on length of stay and functional improvement among patients admitted to an acute rehabilitation unit. | to identify factors predictive of length of stay (los) and the level of functional improvement achieved among patients admitted to an acute rehabilitation unit for the first time, with special reference to the role of nosocomial infection. | 2001 | 11232883 |
| p-hydroxyphenylacetate decarboxylase from clostridium difficile. a novel glycyl radical enzyme catalysing the formation of p-cresol. | the human pathogenic bacterium clostridium difficile is a versatile organism concerning its ability to ferment amino acids. the formation of p-cresol as the main fermentation product of tyrosine by c. difficile is unique among clostridial species. the enzyme responsible for p-cresol formation is p-hydroxyphenylacetate decarboxylase. the enzyme was purified from c. difficile strain dmsz 1296(t) and initially characterized. the n-terminal amino-acid sequence was 100% identical to an open reading f ... | 2001 | 11231288 |
| resistance to induced apoptosis in the human neuroblastoma cell line sk-n-sh in relation to neuronal differentiation. role of bcl-2 protein family. | much evidence suggests that apoptosis plays a crucial role in cell population homeostasis that depends on the expression of various genes implicated in the control of cell life and death. the sensitivity of human neuroblastoma cells sk-n-sh to undergo apoptosis induced by thapsigargin was examined. sk-n-sh were previously differentiated into neuronal cells by treatments with retinoic acid (ra), 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (pma) which increases protein kinase c (pkc) activity, and stau ... | 2001 | 11231287 |
| requirement for rho gtpases and pi 3-kinases during apoptotic cell phagocytosis by macrophages. | in vivo, apoptotic cells are removed by surrounding phagocytes, a process thought to be essential for tissue remodeling and the resolution of inflammation [1]. although apoptotic cells are known to be efficiently phagocytosed by macrophages, the mechanisms whereby their interaction with the phagocytes triggers their engulfment have not been described in mammals. here, we report that primary murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (using alpha(v)beta(3) integrin for apoptotic cell uptake) extend l ... | 2001 | 11231156 |
| phylogenetic analyses of two "archaeal" genes in thermotoga maritima reveal multiple transfers between archaea and bacteria. | the genome sequence of thermotoga maritima revealed that 24% of its open reading frames (orfs) showed the highest similarity scores to archaeal genes in blast analyses. here we screened 16 strains from the genus thermotoga and other related thermotogales for the occurrence of two of these "archaeal" genes: the gene encoding the large subunit of glutamate synthase (gltb) and the myo-inositol 1p synthase gene (ino1). both genes were restricted to the thermotoga species within the thermotogales. th ... | 2001 | 11230537 |
| molecular characterization of flid gene encoding flagellar cap and its expression among clostridium difficile isolates from different serogroups. | the flid gene encoding the flagellar cap protein (flid) of clostridium difficile was studied in 46 isolates belonging to serogroups a, b, c, d, f, g, h, i, k, x, and s3, including 30 flagellated strains and 16 nonflagellated strains. in all but three isolates, amplification by pcr and reverse transcription-pcr demonstrated that the flid gene is present and transcribed in both flagellated and nonflagellated strains. pcr-restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) analysis of amplified flid ge ... | 2001 | 11230454 |
| yield of vancomycin-resistant enterococci and multidrug-resistant enterobacteriaceae from stools submitted for clostridium difficile testing compared to results from a focused surveillance program. | it has been suggested that a method of performing surveillance for vancomycin-resistant enterococci (vre) is to screen specimens submitted for clostridium difficile testing. we compared this approach to our focused surveillance program of high-risk units during october 1997 to compare the yield of vre and multidrug-resistant enterobacteriaceae (mdre) with both methods. of the stools submitted for c. difficile testing, 14% were positive for vre or mdre, whereas rectal swabs from routine surveilla ... | 2001 | 11230446 |
| clarithromycin and risk of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea. | 2001 | 11222572 | |
| thymic emigrants isolated by a new method possess unique phenotypic and functional properties. | t cells that emigrate from the thymus have primarily been studied in vivo using fluorescent dye injection of the thymus. this study examined the properties of thymocytes that emigrate from cultured thymic lobes in organ culture. under these conditions, thymic emigrants displayed the expected phenotype, that of mature thymocytes expressing high levels of t-cell receptor (tcr-alphabeta) and either cd4 or cd8, and were observed to emigrate within 24 hours of positive selection. emigration was inhib ... | 2001 | 11222381 |
| evaluating the ct diagnosis of clostridium difficile colitis: should ct guide therapy? | the purpose of this study was to further characterize the ct findings of clostridium difficile colitis and to provide for the first time a diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value to help clinicians decide whether antibiotic treatment is warranted on the basis of ct findings while awaiting stool test results (which may take as long as 48 hr). | 2001 | 11222194 |
| clostridial enterocolitis. | equine clostridial enterocolitis is being recognized with increasing frequency. it has been identified in foals with diarrhea, antibiotic-associated enterocolitis, or nosocomial enterocolitis. the sporadic occurrence of clostridial enterocolitis, the variety of types of clostridia involved, and the difficulty of experimentally reproducing the disease suggest that it is a poorly defined multifactorial syndrome. the risk factors associated with susceptibility to colonization and progressive infect ... | 2000 | 11219344 |
| association between antibody response to toxin a and protection against recurrent clostridium difficile diarrhoea. | we have reported that symptom-free carriers of clostridium difficile have a systemic anamnestic immune response to toxin a. the aim of this study was to determine whether an acquired immune response to toxin a, during an episode of c. difficile diarrhoea, influences risk of recurrence. | 2001 | 11213096 |
| role of antibody response in outcome of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. | 2001 | 11213086 | |
| clostridium difficile colitis following antibiotic prophylaxis for dental procedures. | clostridium difficile-induced diarrhea and colitis are common complications of therapeutic courses of antibiotics in the hospital setting. we report a case of clostridium difficile colitis following antibiotic prophylaxis for endocarditis prior to dental procedures in the community setting. the infection necessitated hospital admission and a prolonged hospital stay. dental practitioners must be aware of the significance of the disease and the risk associated with antibiotics, whether they are us ... | 2001 | 11209501 |
| microbes and microbial toxins: paradigms for microbial-mucosal interactions ii. the integrated response of the intestine to clostridium difficile toxins. | clostridium difficile, the major etiologic factor of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and colitis, mediates its effects by releasing two large protein exotoxins, toxins a and b. a major toxin effect is related to the disassembly of actin microfilaments, leading to impairment of tight junctions in human colonocytes. the mechanism of actin disaggregation involves monoglucosylation of the signaling proteins rho a, rac, and cdc 42, which control stress fiber formation directly by toxins a and b. an im ... | 2001 | 11208538 |