Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
|---|
| fusidic acid disk diffusion testing of clostridium difficile can be calibrated using single-strain regression analysis. | single-strain regression analysis (sra) was employed to calibrate the disk diffusion antibiotic susceptibility test for fusidic acid and clostridium difficile. mic determinations of 40 clinical isolates of c. difficile were performed with the e-test. the disk diffusion test was standardized according to the swedish reference group for antibiotics (srga). disks used for sra contained 1.5, 5, 15, 50 and 150 microg fusidic acid and the routine disk contained 50 microg fusidic acid. a control strain ... | 2000 | 11200373 |
| clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in a va medical center: clustering of cases, association with antibiotic usage, and impact on hiv-infected patients. | a case-control study of patients with stools assayed for clostridium difficile toxin over a 24-month period at a veterans affairs hospital found that the majority of cases (70.6%) occurred in temporal clusters. clustering was particularly evident on a designated human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) unit. thirty-four (75.5%) of 45 hiv-infected patients with c difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad) died during their hospitalization. third-generation cephalosporins were the antibiotics most strongly as ... | 2001 | 11198022 |
| [diarrhea of nosocomial origin in an adult population]. | 2000 | 11196591 | |
| effects of clostridium difficile toxins on epithelial cell barrier. | clostridium difficile is the primary agent responsible for many patients with antibiotic-associated diarrhea and almost all patients with pseudomembranous colitis following antibiotic therapy. c. difficile infection is the most frequent form of colitis in hospitals and nursing homes and affects millions of patients in the united states and abroad. the first event in the pathogenesis of c. difficile infection involves alterations of the indigenous colonic microflora by antibiotics, followed by co ... | 2000 | 11193598 |
| regulation of intercellular tight junctions by zonula occludens toxin and its eukaryotic analogue zonulin. | the intestinal epithelium represents the largest interface between the external environment and the internal host milieu and constitutes the major barrier through which molecules can either be absorbed or secreted. there is now substantial evidence that tight junctions (tj) play a major role in regulating epithelial permeability by influencing paracellular flow of fluid and solutes. tj are one of the hallmarks of absorptive and secretory epithelia. evidence now exists that tj are dynamic rather ... | 2000 | 11193578 |
| clostridium difficile toxins disrupt epithelial barrier function by altering membrane microdomain localization of tight junction proteins. | the anaerobic bacterium clostridium difficile is the etiologic agent of pseudomembranous colitis. c. difficile toxins tcda and tcdb are udp-glucosyltransferases that monoglucosylate and thereby inactivate the rho family of gtpases (w. p. ciesla, jr., and d. a. bobak, j. biol. chem. 273:16021-16026, 1998). we utilized purified reference toxins of c. difficile, tcda-10463 (tcda) and tcdb-10463 (tcdb), and a model intestinal epithelial cell line to characterize their influence on tight-junction (tj ... | 2001 | 11179295 |
| therapeutic efficacy of oral lactobacillus preparation for antibiotic-associated enteritis in guinea pigs. | enteritis is a potential complication of antimicrobial agent use, particularly in certain species of rodents. the organism most frequently implicated in this disease is clostridium difficile. anecdotal information suggests that administration of yogurt or other lactobacillus-containing products in conjunction with antimicrobial agents will prevent or minimize the effects of antibiotic-associated enteritis. we wanted to determine whether a single subcutaneous injection of clindamycin phosphate co ... | 2000 | 11178313 |
| derivation and validation of guidelines for stool cultures for enteropathogenic bacteria other than clostridium difficile in hospitalized adults. | the yield of in-hospital stool cultures performed more than 72 hours after admission is low, and a commonly used policy dictates that laboratories reject these cultures to save costs. however, enteropathogenic bacteria other than clostridium difficile (epb) may cause nosocomial illness that would be missed by use of such a "3-day rule." | 2001 | 11176841 |
| performance of two rapid, single-use immunoassays for the detection of clostridium difficile toxin a. | two rapid, single-use immunoassays for c. difficile toxin a, the clearview c. diff a (wampole laboratories, cranbury, n.j.) and the immunocard toxin a assays (meridian diagnostics inc., cincinnati, ohio) were compared to the cytotoxin assay for their ability to detect c. difficile toxin in fecal specimens. a total of 537 specimens were tested and 47 (8.8%) were positive by the cytotoxin assay. the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the toxin a a ... | 2001 | 11173187 |
| infectious complications the year after autologous bone marrow transplantation or peripheral stem cell transplantation for treatment of breast cancer. | few studies have examined the specific incidence of infections after autologous bone marrow transplantation (bmt) or peripheral stem cell transplantation (psct) for treatment of breast cancer. we reviewed the medical records of 127 consecutive patients who underwent autologous bmt or psct for breast cancer at the university of pennsylvania medical center from 1 may 1991 through 31 march 1995 and through 1 year of follow-up. the mean duration of neutropenia after transplantation was 10 days. init ... | 2001 | 11170946 |
| randomized, double-blind, multicenter trial comparing clinafloxacin with imipenem as empirical monotherapy for febrile granulocytopenic patients. | in a double-blind, multicenter trial, 541 febrile granulocytopenic patients were randomized to receive either intravenous (iv) clinafloxacin (200 mg every 12 h) or i.v. imipenem (500 mg every 6 h) as empirical monotherapy. more baseline pathogens were susceptible to clinafloxacin (259 [99%] of 262 organisms) than to imipenem (253 [95%] of 265; p=.03). initial favorable clinical response rates for clinafloxacin (88 [32%] of 272 patients) and imipenem (89 [33%] of 269) were similar. after addition ... | 2001 | 11170945 |
| comparison of the e test to the reference agar dilution method for antibiotic susceptibility testing of clostridium difficile. | 2000 | 11168094 | |
| clostridium difficile toxin and faecal lactoferrin assays in adult patients. | clostridium difficile is the primary aetiological agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. the faecal lactoferrin (fl) assay is a simple in vitro test which is highly sensitive to the presence of a marker of polymorphonuclear cells. we evaluated the use of the fl assay in conjunction with the c. difficile toxin assay in faecal samples obtained from 231 adult patients. the relationship between c. difficile toxin and fl in both negative and positive status was highly significant statistically (p ... | 2000 | 11165926 |
| groel (hsp60) of clostridium difficile is involved in cell adherence. | previous results have demonstrated that adherence of clostridium difficile to tissue culture cells is augmented by various stresses; this study focussed on whether the groel heat shock protein is implicated in this process. the 1940 bp groesl operon of c. difficile was isolated by pcr. the 1623 bp groel gene is highly conserved between various c. difficile isolates as determined by rflp-pcr and dna sequencing, and the operon is present in one copy on the bacterial chromosome. the 58 kda groel pr ... | 2001 | 11160803 |
| rac and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase regulate the protein kinase b in fc epsilon ri signaling in rbl 2h3 mast cells. | fcepsilonri signaling in rat basophilic leukemia cells depends on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (pi3-kinase) and the small gtpase rac. here, we studied the functional relationship among pi3-kinase, its effector protein kinase b (pkb), and rac using inhibitors of pi3-kinase and toxins inhibiting rac. wortmannin, an inhibitor of pi3-kinase, blocked fcepsilonri-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of phospholipase cgamma, inositol phosphate formation, calcium mobilization, and secretion of hexosaminid ... | 2001 | 11160204 |
| safety and immunogenicity of increasing doses of a clostridium difficile toxoid vaccine administered to healthy adults. | clostridium difficile is a major cause of nosocomial diarrhea in industrialized countries. although most illnesses respond to available therapy, infection can increase morbidity, prolong hospitalization, and produce life-threatening colitis. vaccines are being explored as an alternative means for protecting high-risk individuals. we assessed the safety, immunogenicity, and dose response of a parenteral vaccine containing c. difficile toxoids a and b. thirty healthy adults were assigned to receiv ... | 2001 | 11159994 |
| comparison of toxinotyping and pcr ribotyping of clostridium difficile strains and description of novel toxinotypes. | toxinotyping and pcr ribotyping are two methods that have been used to type clostridium difficile isolates. toxinotyping is based on pcr-rflp analysis of a 19 kb region encompassing the c. difficile pathogenicity locus. pcr ribotyping is based on comparison of patterns of pcr products of the 16s-23s rrna intergenic spacer region. representative strains (101) from a c. difficile pcr ribotype library and 22 strains from previously described toxinotypes were analysed to compare ribotyping with toxi ... | 2001 | 11158361 |
| demonstration that the group ii intron from the clostridial conjugative transposon tn5397 undergoes splicing in vivo. | previous work has identified the conjugative transposon tn5397 from clostridium difficile. this element was shown to contain a group ii intron. tn5397 can be conjugatively transferred from c. difficile to bacillus subtilis. in this work we show that the intron is spliced in both these hosts and that nonspliced rna is also present. we constructed a mutation in the open reading frame within the intron, and this prevented splicing but did not prevent the formation of the circular form of the conjug ... | 2001 | 11157942 |
| antibiotic activity against genotypically distinct and indistinguishable clostridium difficile isolates. | 2001 | 11157920 | |
| in vitro activity of new quinolones against clostridium difficile. | we evaluated the in vitro activities of ofloxacin, levofloxacin, grepafloxacin, trovafloxacin and ciprofloxacin against clostridium difficile. the mic(90) was 128 mg/l for ofloxacin and levofloxacin, 64 mg/l for ciprofloxacin, 16 mg/l for grepafloxacin and 8 mg/l for trovafloxacin. thirty per cent of isolates were resistant to trovafloxacin, and rates of resistance to ofloxacin, levofloxacin, grepafloxacin and ciprofloxacin were considerably higher. none of the antimicrobials studied would be a ... | 2001 | 11157906 |
| protection from gastrointestinal diseases with the use of probiotics. | probiotics are nonpathogenic microorganisms that, when ingested, exert a positive influence on the health or physiology of the host. they can influence intestinal physiology either directly or indirectly through modulation of the endogenous ecosystem or immune system. the results that have been shown with a sufficient level of proof to enable probiotics to be used as treatments for gastrointestinal disturbances are 1) the good tolerance of yogurt compared with milk in subjects with primary or se ... | 2001 | 11157353 |
| age and disease related changes in intestinal bacterial populations assessed by cell culture, 16s rrna abundance, and community cellular fatty acid profiles. | the normal intestinal microflora plays an important role in host metabolism and provides a natural defence mechanism against invading pathogens. although the microbiota in adults has been extensively studied, little is known of the changes that occur in the microflora with aging. these may have important consequences in elderly people, many of whom are receiving antibiotic therapy and who are most susceptible to intestinal dysbiosis. | 2001 | 11156640 |
| cytomegalovirus infection as a cause of pseudomembrane colitis: a report of four cases. | pseudomembranous colitis is very commonly encountered in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (aids), and has been characteristically associated with clostridium difficile infection. we present four cases of aids-related diarrhea and pseudomembrane formation on endoscopy with pathologic features consistent with cytomegalovirus (cmv) colitis. our findings indicate that cmv colitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pseudomembranous colitis in immunocompromised pati ... | 2001 | 11154179 |
| low ph-induced formation of ion channels by clostridium difficile toxin b in target cells. | clostridium difficile toxin b (269 kda), which is one of the causative agents of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis, inactivates rho gtpases by glucosylation. here we studied the uptake and membrane interaction of the toxin with eukaryotic target cells. bafilomycin a1, which prevents acidification of endosomal compartments, blocked the cellular uptake of toxin b in chinese hamster ovary cells cells. extracellular acidification (ph </= 5.2) induced uptake of toxin b into ... | 2001 | 11152463 |
| frequency of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in 2462 antibiotic-treated hospitalized patients: a prospective study. | the frequency of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (aad) and clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (cdad) was prospectively determined in a population of 2462 patients recruited from five swedish hospitals, including divisions for infectious diseases, orthopaedics, surgery, geriatrics, nephrology and internal medicine. aad developed in 4.9% of the treated patients. faecal samples were obtained from 69% of patients with aad and 55.4% were positive for c. difficile cytotoxin b. the frequency of ... | 2001 | 11152430 |
| clostridium difficile and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus: the new nosocomial alliance. | the aims of this study were to determine the frequency of the association between clostridium difficile (c. difficile) and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (vre) and delineate the role of c. difficile coinfection as a predictor of vre infection versus colonization and adverse outcome. | 2000 | 11151886 |
| clostridium difficile, disinfectant, and elemental diet. | 2000 | 11145517 | |
| fecal leukocyte stain has diagnostic value for outpatients but not inpatients. | the methylene blue stain for fecal leukocytes (fl) is widely used as an adjunct to slower but more accurate tests of diarrheal etiology, such as stool culture (scx) or toxin assays for clostridium difficile. prior studies investigating the utility of fl for predicting scx and c. difficile toxin assay (cdta) results did not evaluate the importance of inpatient versus outpatient status. we conducted a study of patients who submitted a stool specimen to the stanford hospital microbiology laboratory ... | 2001 | 11136781 |
| clostridium difficile toxins a and b can alter epithelial permeability and promote bacterial paracellular migration through ht-29 enterocytes. | clostridium difficile toxins a and b are the widely recognized etiologic agents of antibiotic-associated diseases ranging from diarrhea to pseudomembranous colitis. we hypothesized that c. difficile toxins may alter intestinal epithelial permeability and facilitate bacterial penetration of the intestinal epithelial barrier. experiments were designed to clarify the effects of c. difficile toxins a and b on the flux of inert particles across ht-29 enterocyte monolayers, and to correlate these resu ... | 2000 | 11131913 |
| postpartum clostridium sordellii infection associated with fatal toxic shock syndrome. | clostridium bacteria are anaerobic gram positive spore-form-ing bacilli, known to cause distinct clinical syndromes such as botulism, tetanus, pseudomembranous colitis and myonecrosis. the natural habitats of clostridium species are soil, water and the gastrointestinal tract of animals and humans. in 5-10% of all women, clostridium species are also found to be normal inhabitants in the microbial flora of the female genital tract. in case of a non-sexually transmitted genital tract infection, clo ... | 2000 | 11130102 |
| comparative in vitro activities of abt-773 against 362 clinical isolates of anaerobic bacteria. | the activity of abt-773, a novel ketolide antibiotic, against clinical isolates of anaerobic bacteria was determined and compared to the activities of other antimicrobial agents. mics at which 90% of isolates were inhibited (mic(90)s) were </=0.06 microg/ml for actinomyces spp., clostridium perfringens, peptostreptococcus spp., propionibacterium spp., and porphyromonas spp. the mic(50)s and mic(90)s were </=0.06 and >32 microg/ml, respectively, for eubacterium spp., lactobacillus spp., clostridi ... | 2001 | 11120995 |
| cytosolic delivery and characterization of the tcdb glucosylating domain by using a heterologous protein fusion. | tcdb from clostridium difficile glucosylates small gtpases (rho, rac, and cdc42) and is an important virulence factor in the human disease pseudomembranous colitis. in these experiments, in-frame genetic fusions between the genes for the 255 amino-terminal residues of anthrax toxin lethal factor (lfn) and the tcdb(1-556) coding region were constructed, expressed, and purified from escherichia coli. lfntcdb(1-556) was enzymatically active and glucosylated recombinant rhoa, rac, cdc42, and substra ... | 2001 | 11119561 |
| treatment and prevention of antibiotic associated diarrhea. | mild or severe episodes of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (aad) are common side effects of antibiotic therapy. the incidence of aad differs with the antibiotic and varies from 5 to 25%. the major form of intestinal disorders is the pseudomembranous colitis associated with clostridium difficile which occurs in 10-20% of all aad. in most cases of aad discontinuation or replacement of the inciting antibiotic by another drug with lower aad risk can be effective. for more severe cases involving c. di ... | 2000 | 11118872 |
| enterotoxins and the enteric nervous system--a fatal attraction. | although there has been extensive investigation of the biochemical consequences of the interactions between bacterial enterotoxins and intestinal epithelial cells and the mechanisms by which they induce intestinal secretion, relatively little attention has been given to other aspects of the host response to these enterotoxins. there is now compelling evidence that the enteric nervous system has a major role in enhancing the secretory state induced by cholera toxin, the e. coli enterotoxins and p ... | 2000 | 11111932 |
| [recurrent clostridium difficile enterocolitis]. | pseudomembranous enterocolitis generally occurs after antibiotic treatment. the standard treatment is oral metronidazol or vancomycin. nevertheless, relapses of clostridium difficile enterocolitis are observed in 10-25% of cases. factors associated with recurrences include endogenous reinfection by spore formation, selective igg1 or iga deficiency or infection with mutated strains of clostridium difficile. recurrent clostridium difficile enterocolitis may be treated with repeat oral vancomycin c ... | 2000 | 11103440 |
| novel targets for the pharmacotherapy of diarrhoea: a view for the millennium. | acute diarrhoea continues to carry a high morbidity and mortality worldwide. intestinal infection is the major cause of acute diarrhoea although the prevalence of individual pathogens varies according to geographic location. in many countries in the industrialized world, reports of intestinal infections continue to increase; these are largely related to waterborne and foodborne outbreaks. acute diarrhoea may be due to increased intestinal secretion, commonly as a result of infection with enterot ... | 2000 | 11100992 |
| bacterial infections of the colon. | the colon is a common site of infection for a heterogeneous group of bacterial pathogens. the presentation of disease in the colon is generally in the form of distinct syndromes, and it is important for physicians to recognize the causative organisms, because specific treatment is highly effective. the flouroquinolones have emerged as the treatment of choice for most food-borne bacterial pathogens. resistance to these agents is not a major issue at present except in campylobacter. clostridium di ... | 2000 | 11097742 |
| infectious enteritis. | initial management of acute infectious enteritis should focus on fluid and electrolyte repletion and symptomatic care. a decision to prescribe empiric antibiotic therapy should rest on clinical or epidemiologic features of the illness that suggest a treatable bacterial origin or a high-risk host. this decision should be reinforced by the detection of leukocytes or blood in the stool. if empiric therapy is indicated, a quinolone is generally the best initial choice. a stool culture yielding an en ... | 1999 | 11096582 |
| treatment of recurrent clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea by administration of donated stool directly through a colonoscope. | 2000 | 11095355 | |
| leukocytosis as a harbinger and surrogate marker of clostridium difficile infection in hospitalized patients with diarrhea. | clostridium difficile is the etiological agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis and is a leading cause of nosocomial diarrhea. the objective of the study was to examine if leukocytosis could be a harbinger and surrogate marker of c. difficile infection in hospitalized patients. | 2000 | 11095331 |
| "flora power"-- fecal bacteria cure chronic c. difficile diarrhea. | 2000 | 11095314 | |
| leukocytosis and clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea. | 2000 | 11095311 | |
| [nosocomial diarrhea due to clostridium difficile]. | 2000 | 11093872 | |
| [the risk factors for clostridium difficile infection in elderly patients. a case-control study]. | to study the main risk factors associated with clostridium difficile infection in a geriatric unit. | 2000 | 11093871 |
| inhibition of protein isoprenylation impairs rho-regulated early cellular response to genotoxic stress. | activation of c-jun n-terminal kinases (jnks) and nuclear factor-kappab (nf-kappab) are early cellular responses to genotoxic stress involved in the regulation of gene expression. pretreatment of cells with the hydroxymethyl glutaryl-coa reductase inhibitor lovastatin blocked stimulation of jnk1 activity by uv irradiation and by treatment with the alkylating compound methyl methanesulfonate but did not affect activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 by uv light. lovastatin also atte ... | 2000 | 11093778 |
| stimulation of m3 muscarinic receptors induces phosphorylation of the cdc42 effector activated cdc42hs-associated kinase-1 via a fyn tyrosine kinase signaling pathway. | the tyrosine kinase, activated cdc42hs-associated kinase-1 (ack-1), is a specific effector of the rho family gtpase cdc42. gtp-bound cdc42 has been shown to facilitate neurite outgrowth elicited by activation of muscarinic cholinergic receptors (machrs). because tyrosine kinase activity is a requirement for neuritogenesis in several cell systems, we investigated whether endogenous machrs (principally of the m3 subtype) expressed in human sh-sy5y neuroblastoma cells would signal to ack-1. incubat ... | 2001 | 11087735 |
| [diarrhea associated with clostridium difficile secondary to the use of ciprofloxacin, complicating a first occurrence of intestinal inflammatory disease]. | 2000 | 11084823 | |
| clostridium difficile infection in allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients is associated with severe graft-versus-host disease and non-relapse mortality. | we retrospectively evaluated 75 allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients to ascertain the incidence, risk factors and outcome of infection with clostridium difficile. ten patients (13%) had clostridium difficile infection at a median of 38 days (range day -6 to day +72) following the transplant. there was no difference in the duration or severity of diarrhoea in patients with clostridium difficile infection compared to the uninfected patients and no relationship to the prior antibiotic or chem ... | 2000 | 11081387 |
| the large resolvase tndx is required and sufficient for integration and excision of derivatives of the novel conjugative transposon tn5397. | tn5397 is a novel conjugative transposon, originally isolated from clostridium difficile. this element can transfer between c. difficile strains and to and from bacillus subtilis. it encodes a conjugation system that is very similar to that of tn916. however, insertion and excision of tn5397 appears to be dependent on the product of the element encoded gene tndx, a member of the large resolvase family of site-specific recombinases. to test the role of tndx, the gene was cloned and the protein wa ... | 2000 | 11073898 |
| hospital disinfectants and spore formation by clostridium difficile. | evidence is lacking on how best to decontaminate the hospital environment of clostridium difficile. we compared sporulation levels in the uk epidemic c. difficile strain (p24), another clinical isolate (b31), and an environmental strain (e4) cultured in faecal emulsion containing subinhibitory concentrations of one of five hospital cleaning agents. the epidemic strain produced significantly more spores than the non-prevalent strains, and sporulation was further enhanced when this strain was cult ... | 2000 | 11073024 |
| transposition of tn4451 and tn4453 involves a circular intermediate that forms a promoter for the large resolvase, tnpx. | tn4451 is the paradigm element of a family of mobilizable chloramphenicol resistance transposons from clostridium perfringens and clostridium difficile. the unique feature of these 6.3 kb elements is that their excision to form a circular molecule is mediated by tnpx, a member of the large resolvase family of site-specific recombinases. by optimizing the transposition assay system in escherichia coli, we showed that tn4453a from c. difficile transposed at a higher frequency than the c. perfringe ... | 2000 | 11069682 |
| microflora-associated characteristics in faeces from allergic and nonallergic infants. | the prevalence of allergic diseases has increased particularly over the past 30-40 years. a reduced microbial stimulation during infancy may result in a development of a disturbed balance between th1- and th2-like immunity. the gut flora is, quantitatively, the most important source for such stimulation. | 2000 | 11069568 |
| pharmacokinetics and comparative effects of telithromycin (hmr 3647) and clarithromycin on the oropharyngeal and intestinal microflora. | the pharmacokinetics in plasma and saliva of a new ketolide, telithromycin (hmr 3647), and the effect on the normal oropharyngeal and intestinal microflora were studied in healthy volunteers and compared with those of clarithromycin. ten subjects received 800 mg telithromycin perorally once daily and 10 other subjects received 500 mg clarithromycin bid for 10 days. blood, saliva and faecal specimens were collected at defined intervals before, during and after administration for pharmacokinetic a ... | 2000 | 11062193 |
| knowledge of centers for disease control and prevention guidelines for the use of vancomycin at a large tertiary care children's hospital. | in 1994, the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) published guidelines to encourage prudent use of vancomycin. we sought to determine whether physicians could demonstrate knowledge consistent with the guidelines. | 2000 | 11060537 |
| beneficial microbes: health or hazard? | normal microbial flora support the health of the host by diverse mechanisms. when antibiotics, stress, disease or medications disrupt normal microflora, the ability to ward off infection by pathogens is compromised. the use of beneficial microbes (also known as biotherapeutic agents, probiotics, synbiotics) has been shown to be an effective therapeutic agent for some diseases. various types of diarrhoea (antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, clostridium difficile disease, traveller's diarrhoea) are m ... | 2000 | 11057450 |
| evaluation of 16s rrna and cellular fatty acid profiles as markers of human intestinal bacterial growth in the chemostat. | chemostats were used to study the effects of carbon and nitrogen limitation and specific growth rate on 16s rrna synthesis and cellular fatty acid (cfa) profiles in four human intestinal bacteria (bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, bifidobacterium adolescentis, clostridium bifermentans and cl. difficile). cellular fatty acid synthesis varied with dilution rate and nutrient availability in different species, but these cellular constituents were relatively stable phenotypic characteristics in bact. the ... | 2000 | 11054172 |
| effect on the human normal microflora of oral antibiotics for treatment of urinary tract infections. | oral administration of antibiotics for treatment of urinary tract infections (utis) can cause ecological disturbances in the normal intestinal microflora. poorly absorbed drugs can reach the colon in active form, suppress susceptible microorganisms and disturb the ecological balance. suppression of the normal microflora may lead to reduced colonization resistance with subsequent overgrowth of pre-existing, naturally resistant microorganisms, such as yeasts and clostridium difficile. new coloniza ... | 2000 | 11051623 |
| the search for a better treatment for recurrent clostridium difficile disease: use of high-dose vancomycin combined with saccharomyces boulardii. | recurrent clostridium difficile disease (cdd) is a difficult clinical problem because antibiotic therapy often does not prevent further recurrences. in a previous study, the biotherapeutic agent saccharomyces boulardii was used in combination with standard antibiotics and was found to be effective in reducing subsequent recurrences of cdd. in an effort to further refine a standard regimen, we tested patients receiving a regimen of a standard antibiotic for 10 days and then added either s. boular ... | 2000 | 11049785 |
| environmental control to reduce transmission of clostridium difficile. | restrictive antibiotic policies and infection control measures have been shown to reduce the incidence of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad) among hospitalized patients. to date, the role of environmental disinfectants in reducing nosocomial cdad rates has not been well studied. in a before-and-after intervention study, patients in 3 units were evaluated to determine if unbuffered 1:10 hypochlorite solution is effective as an environmental disinfectant in reducing the incidence of ... | 2000 | 11049782 |
| perioperative complications after living donor lobectomy. | clinical lung transplantation has been limited by availability of suitable cadaveric donor lungs. living donor lobectomy provides right and left lower lobes from a pair of living donors for each recipient. we reviewed our experience with living donor lobectomy from july 1994 to february 2000. | 2000 | 11044317 |
| evidence for rho protein regulation of renal tubular epithelial cell function. | rho proteins are small guanine 5'-triphosphate (gtp)-binding proteins felt to be important regulators of several aspects of cell function, including the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. the effects of rho proteins on the regulation of renal tubular epithelial cell function are not known. | 2000 | 11044220 |
| fermentation of 4-aminobutyrate by clostridium aminobutyricum: cloning of two genes involved in the formation and dehydration of 4-hydroxybutyryl-coa. | clostridium aminobutyricum ferments 4-aminobutyrate via succinic semialdehyde, 4-hydroxybutyrate, 4-hydroxybutyryl-coa and crotonyl-coa to acetate and butyrate. the genes coding for the enzymes that catalyse the interconversion of these intermediates are arranged in the order abfd (4-hydroxybutyryl-coa dehydratase), abft (4-hydroxybutyrate coa-transferase), and abfh (nad-dependent 4-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase). the genes abfd and abft were cloned, sequenced and expressed as active enzymes in ... | 2000 | 11041350 |
| dna sequence of the insertional hot spot of tn916 in the clostridium difficile genome and discovery of a tn916-like element in an environmental isolate integrated in the same hot spot. | tn916 is a broad host range tetracycline resistance conjugative transposon. in most bacteria, this element enters the bacterial genome at multiple sites. however, in clostridium difficile, the element has a strong hot spot when introduced by filter mating from bacillus subtilis. in this work, the dna sequence of the preferred insertion site (att916) was obtained. an environmental isolate of c. difficile was also discovered which contained an element indistinguishable from tn916, tn916cd. tn916cd ... | 2000 | 11040422 |
| purification and evaluation of large clostridial cytotoxins that inhibit small gtpases of rho and ras subfamilies. | 2000 | 11036597 | |
| bifidobacterium strains from resident infant human gastrointestinal microflora exert antimicrobial activity. | the gastrointestinal microflora exerts a barrier effect against enteropathogens. the aim of this study was to examine if bifidobacteria, a major species of the human colonic microflora, participates in the barrier effect by developing antimicrobial activity against enterovirulent bacteria. | 2000 | 11034580 |
| [detection of toxin-producing pathogenic bacterial strains by polymerase chain reaction]. | polymerase chain reaction (pcr) was used for detection of pathogenic clostridium botulinum, clostridium perfringens, clostridium difficile, and escherichia coli. with this aim in view, primers to botulinic toxins types a, b, c1, d, e, f, and g, perfringens enterotoxin, difficile toxin, and types 1 and 2 shigella-like toxins were chosen and synthesized. optimal amplification conditions were selected for each pair of primers, with dna and the respective agent as the reaction mixture matrices. pcr ... | 2000 | 11031435 |
| clostridium difficile toxins influence hepatocyte protein synthesis through the interleukin 1 receptor. | clostridium difficile toxins require interleukin 1 (il-1) production or a functioning il-1 receptor to elicit acute-phase protein production by murine hepatocytes. | 2000 | 11030883 |
| activation of mmp-2 by clostridium difficile toxin b in bovine smooth muscle cells. | matrix metalloproteinase-2 (mmp-2) plays critical roles in cell migration through the breakdown of the extracellular matrix. cell movements require dynamic actin reorganization, which is controlled by rho family gtpases. in order to examine the relation between mmp-2 regulation and actin reorganization, we used several inhibitors of rho family gtpases. treatment of smooth muscle cells with clostridium difficile toxin b known to inactivate rho family gtpases activated mmp-2. however, neither c3 t ... | 2000 | 11027636 |
| simultaneous occurrence of clostridium difficile and cytomegalovirus colitis in a recipient of autologous stem cell transplantation. | 2000 | 11025618 | |
| isolation of environmental clostridium difficile from a veterinary teaching hospital. | an environmental survey of a veterinary teaching hospital for the presence of clostridium difficile was performed using contact plates and cycloserine-cefoxitin-fructose with 0.1% sodium taurocholate agar. clostridium difficile was isolated from 24 of 381 sites (6.3%). growth was obtained from 4.5% (9/202) of sites sampled in the large animal clinic, from 8.1% (13/160) of sites within the small animal clinic, and from 20% (2/10) of sites sampled elsewhere. fourteen of 21 strains tested produced ... | 2000 | 11021433 |
| probiotics in pediatric gastrointestinal disorders. | probiotics have been defined most recently as living microorganisms which, upon ingestion in certain numbers, exact health benefits beyond inherent general nutrition. they have been a part of human nutrition for centuries, but in recent years they have been more closely studied for their potential to improve health and treat disease. this review of probiotics is not extensive, highlighting the most recent reviews and well controlled clinical studies in both animals and humans. the safety issues ... | 2000 | 11021414 |
| clarithromycin appears to be linked with clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea in the elderly. | 2000 | 11020269 | |
| effect of supplements with lactic acid bacteria and oligofructose on the intestinal microflora during administration of cefpodoxime proxetil. | thirty healthy volunteers in three groups participated in a study of the effect on the intestinal microflora of oral supplementation with bifidobacterium longum, lactobacillus acidophilus and oligofructose, an indigestible oligosaccharide, during oral administration of cefpodoxime proxetil bd for 7 days. those in group a also received an oral supplement with c.1011 cfu of b. longum bb 536 and l. acidophilus ncfb 1748 and 15 g oligofructose daily, those in group b received a supplement with oligo ... | 2000 | 11020259 |
| in vitro activity of new generation fluoroquinolones against genotypically distinct and indistinguishable clostridium difficile isolates. | we compared the activities of ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin with those of the newer fluoroquinolones grepafloxacin, moxifloxacin, sparfloxacin and trovafloxacin against clostridium difficile isolates. as there is good evidence of marked clonal spread of c. difficile, we studied both genotypically distinct (n = 26) and indistinguishable (n = 28) isolates as determined by random amplified polymorphic dna and ribosomal spacer pcr fingerprinting. the indistinguishable strains examined represent the ... | 2000 | 11020251 |
| the role of physical proximity in nosocomial diarrhea. | to examine physical proximity as a risk factor for the nosocomial acquisition of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad) and of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (aad), we assessed a retrospective cohort of 2859 patients admitted to a community hospital from 1 march 1987 through 31 august 1987. of these patients, 68 had nosocomial cdad and 54 had nosocomial aad. in multivariate analysis, physical proximity to a patient with cdad (relative risk [rr], 1.86; 95% confidence interval [ci], 1.06 ... | 2000 | 11017821 |
| inhibition of small g proteins of the rho family by statins or clostridium difficile toxin b enhances cytokine-mediated induction of no synthase ii. | in order to investigate the involvement of ras and/or rho proteins in the induction of the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase (nos ii) we used hmg-coa reductase inhibitors (statins) and clostridium difficile toxin b (tcdb) as pharmacological tools. statins indirectly inhibit small g proteins by preventing their essential farnesylation (ras) and/or geranylgeranylation (rho). in contrast, tcdb is a glucosyltransferase and inactivates rho-proteins directly. human a549/8- and dld-1 cells as ... | 2000 | 11015307 |
| the role of sonography in children with abdominal pain after recent successful reduction of intussusception. | 2000 | 11009308 | |
| regulation of dendritic spine morphology by the rho family of small gtpases: antagonistic roles of rac and rho. | dendritic spines mediate most excitatory transmission in the mammalian cns and have been traditionally considered stable structures. following the suggestion that spines may 'twitch', it has been recently shown that spines are capable of rapid morphological rearrangements. because of the role of the small gtpases from the rho family in controlling neuronal morphogenesis, we investigated the effects of several members of this biochemical signaling pathway in the maintenance of the morphology of e ... | 2000 | 11007543 |
| surveillance for nosocomial and central line-related infections among pediatric hematology-oncology patients. | to determine the incidence of all nosocomial infections (nis) in pediatric hematology-oncology patients, as well as central venous access device (cvad)-associated infections acquired during home care. | 2000 | 11001263 |
| extrinsic surgical denervation inhibits clostridium difficile toxin a-induced enteritis in rats. | clostridium difficile enteritis is caused by toxin a (ta) which stimulates substance p release and subsequent receptor activation. this receptor stimulation results in secretion, inflammation, and structural damage. however, it is unclear as to which subset of neurons is required to initiate substance p release following toxin stimulation. five centimeter ileal segments were surgically denervated. after 10 days, three ileal loops were constructed in each rat: the denervated loop was injected int ... | 2000 | 10998557 |
| pediatric clostridium difficile: a phantom menace or clinical reality? | 2000 | 10997362 | |
| diagnosis of clostridium difficile antibiotic associated diarrhoea culture versus toxin assay. | to compare the results of clostridium difficile (cd) on culture with detection of c. difficile toxin by enzyme immunoassay (eia) in the stool specimens of hospitalized patients with antibiotic associated diarrhoea (aad). | 2000 | 10992705 |
| toxins, butyric acid, and other short-chain fatty acids are coordinately expressed and down-regulated by cysteine in clostridium difficile. | it was recently found that a mixture of nine amino acids down-regulate clostridium difficile toxin production when added to peptone yeast extract (py) cultures of strain vpi 10463 (s. karlsson, l. g. burman, and t. akerlund, microbiology 145:1683-1693, 1999). in the present study, seven of these amino acids were found to exhibit a moderate suppression of toxin production, whereas proline and particularly cysteine had the greatest impact, on both reference strains (n = 6) and clinical isolates (n ... | 2000 | 10992498 |
| toxin gene analysis of a variant strain of clostridium difficile that causes human clinical disease. | a toxin variant strain of clostridium difficile was isolated from two patients with c. difficile-associated disease (cdad), one of whom died from extensive pseudomembranous colitis. this strain, identified by restriction endonuclease analysis (rea) as type cf2, was not detected by an immunoassay for c. difficile toxin a. culture supernatants of cf2 failed to elicit significant enterotoxic activity in the rabbit ileal loop assay but did produce atypical cytopathic effects in cell culture assay. s ... | 2000 | 10992443 |
| metronidazole resistance in clostridium difficile. | 2000 | 10987742 | |
| antibiotic policies and clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea. | 2000 | 10985451 | |
| treatment of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea and colitis. | treatment of c. difficile diarrhea with metronidazole or vancomycin is highly effective at relieving symptoms. the high rate of diarrhea recurrence is concerning, but fortunately most patients respond to a second course of treatment. the problem of vancomycin resistance in hospital organisms has markedly reduced usage of this agent as a first-line treatment for c. difficile diarrhea, leaving metronidazole as the mainstay of treatment in the united states where teicoplanin and fusidic acid are no ... | 2000 | 10981361 |
| pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of clostridium difficile diarrhea and colitis. | 2000 | 10981360 | |
| large clostridial cytotoxins as tools in cell biology. | 2000 | 10981359 | |
| cytotoxic effects of the clostridium difficile toxins. | 2000 | 10981358 | |
| molecular mode of action of the large clostridial cytotoxins. | 2000 | 10981357 | |
| genetics of clostridium difficile toxins. | 2000 | 10981356 | |
| microbiology, epidemiology and diagnosis of clostridium difficile infection. | 2000 | 10981355 | |
| update on clostridium difficile infection. | clostridium difficile is a major cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea in hospital and community settings, spreading endemic and epidemic disease in developed and developing areas throughout the world. its toxins a and b cause epithelial disruption, inflammation, and secretion. diagnosis of infection with c. difficile is based on appropriate clinical presentation and demonstration of the presence of either toxin a or b, or both. established treatment is still predominantly metronidazole and va ... | 2000 | 10981029 |
| update on gastrointestinal infections: clostridium difficile and other bugs. | 1999 | 10980973 | |
| in vitro activity of an evernimicin derivative, sch27899, against anaerobic bacteria and propionibacterium acnes. | the in vitro activity of sch27899, a novel oligosaccharide antimicrobial agent, was compared with those of representatives of six classes of antimicrobial agents (piperacillin, clarithromycin, clindamycin, vancomycin, sitafloxacin and metronidazole) against clinical isolates of anaerobic bacteria and propionibacterium acnes. against peptostreptococcus: spp. and clostridium difficile, sch27899 was the most potent (mic(90) < 0.125 mg/l) of the agents examined. besides these gram-positive anaerobes ... | 2000 | 10980176 |
| absence of intestinal secretion on supernatants from macrophages stimulated with clostridium difficile toxin b on rabbit ileum. | several studies have documented the involvement of both clostridium difficile, toxins, a and b in the pathogenesis of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. recently, we demonstrated that il-1 beta is the intestinal secretory factor released by macrophages stimulated with toxin a. the aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of macrophages stimulated with toxin b on rabbit ileal ion transport. the changes in ion transport were analyzed by studying the short-circuit current of the rabbit ileal m ... | 2001 | 10978752 |
| modification of surface histidine residues abolishes the cytotoxic activity of clostridium difficile toxin a. | clostridium difficile toxin a displays both cytotoxic and enterotoxic activities. it has recently been demonstrated that toxin a exerts its cytotoxic effect by the glucosylation of the small gtp-binding proteins of the rho family. diethyl pyrocarbonate, at ph 7.0, was used to chemically modify exposed histidine residues on toxin a. modification of toxin a with diethyl pyrocarbonate abolished both its cytotoxic activity and the ability of the toxin to bind zn-sepharose gel. treatment of toxin a w ... | 2001 | 10978751 |
| developmental control of endocytosis in dendritic cells by cdc42. | dendritic cells (dcs) developmentally regulate antigen uptake by controlling their endocytic capacity. immature dcs actively internalize antigen. however, mature dcs are poorly endocytic, functioning instead to present antigens to t cells. we have found that endocytic downregulation reflects a decrease in endocytic activity controlled by rho family gtpases, especially cdc42. blocking cdc42 function by toxin b treatment or injection of dominant-negative inhibitors of cdc42 abrogates endocytosis i ... | 2000 | 10975523 |
| prevalence of toxin a negative/b positive clostridium difficile strains. | 2000 | 10973753 |