Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted descending) Filter | PMID Filter |
|---|
| inhibition of in vitro cell adherence of clostridium difficile by saccharomyces boulardii. | the influence on the adherence of clostridium difficile to vero cells of the yeast saccharomyces boulardii, the yeast fractions (cytoplasm and cell wall) and the culture supernatant was investigated in vitro. c. difficile adherence was significantly inhibited when bacteria were pre-incubated with the whole yeast and the cell wall fraction; this adherence inhibition was dose-dependent. the cell wall fraction also acts upon the target cultured cells inasmuch as the level of adherence was significa ... | 2002 | 12071678 |
| patterns of sequence conservation in the s-layer proteins and related sequences in clostridium difficile. | clostridium difficile is the etiological agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. among the factors that may play a role in infection are s-layer proteins (slps). previous work has shown these to consist mainly of two components, resulting from the cleavage of a precursor encoded by the slpa gene. the high-molecular-weight (mw) subunit is related both to amidases from b. subtilis and to at least another 28 gene products in c. difficile strain 630. to gain insight into the functions of the slps a ... | 2002 | 12081960 |
| nutritional advantages of probiotics and prebiotics. | the potential 'nutritional advantages' of probiotics and prebiotics consist of preventive, and sometimes curative, effects against certain diseases. the evidence supporting such advantages, which requires randomised controlled trials and consistency of results from study to study, is rapidly increasing. this article summarizes the effects against diseases of intestinal origin. there is a high level of evidence for positive effects of some prebiotics to alleviate constipation and treat hepatic en ... | 2002 | 12088512 |
| c difficile induced pneumatosis intestinalis in a neutropenic child. | 2002 | 12089138 | |
| clostridium difficile genotyping based on slpa variable region in s-layer gene sequence: an alternative to serotyping. | recent investigations of clostridium difficile cell wall components have revealed the presence of an s-layer encoded by the slpa gene. the aim of this study was to determine whether slpa genotyping can be used as an alternative to serotyping. the variable regions of slpa were amplified by pcr from serogroup reference strains and various clinical isolates chosen randomly. amplified products were analyzed after restriction enzyme digestion and dna sequencing. the sequences of the variable region o ... | 2002 | 12089261 |
| recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor and transforming growth factor-beta mediated contraction of human dermal fibroblast populated lattices is inhibited by rho/gtpase inhibitor but does not require phosphatidylinositol-3' kinase. | matrix reorganization and tissue contraction are essential for wound healing. however, the intracellular signals that mediate these processes are largely unknown. we investigated cytokine-induced signaling and its potential role in contraction of adult human dermal fibroblast populated collagen lattices. the results document that recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-bb and transforming growth factor-1 individually stimulate contraction of fibroblast populated collagen lattices, while ... | 2002 | 12100378 |
| proteins released during high toxin production in clostridium difficile. | the mechanism by which toxins a and b are released by clostridium difficile is unknown and information about the other extracellular proteins of this bacterium is limited. the authors identified exported proteins from c. difficile strain vpi 10463 during conditions promoting high toxin production. toxins a and b were released in a 1:1 ratio and the proportion of toxin in the extracellular fraction reached 50% during the stationary phase as compared to a proportion of <1% for typical cytoplasmic ... | 2002 | 12101311 |
| fatal pseudomembranous colitis in a continent urinary neobladder. | antibiotic-associated colitis is a significant clinical problem, especially in patients hospitalized for longer than three days. clostridium difficile is now established as the most common nosocomial enteric pathogen causing antibiotic-associated colitis. the condition rarely occurs beyond the boundaries of the large bowel, but can represent significant diagnostic and therapeutic problems if it involves bowel that is used in the creation of a diversionary reservoir such as an ileo-cecal neobladd ... | 2002 | 12101580 |
| clostridium difficile toxin b activates dual caspase-dependent and caspase-independent apoptosis in intoxicated cells. | clostridium difficile toxin b (tcdb) inactivates the small gtpases rho, rac and cdc42 during intoxication of mammalian cells. in the current work, we show that tcdb has the potential to stimulate caspase-dependent and caspase-independent apoptosis. the apoptotic pathways became evident when caspase-3-processed-vimentin was detected in tcdb-treated hela cells. caspase-3 activation was subsequently confirmed in tcdb-intoxicated hela cells. interestingly, caspase inhibitor delayed tcdb-induced cell ... | 2002 | 12102688 |
| high prevalence of toxin a-negative toxin b-positive clostridium difficile in hospitalized patients with gastrointestinal disease. | the incidence of clostridium difficile toxin a-negative toxin b-positive in hospitalized patients with severe gastrointestinal disease was evaluated. of 530 stool specimens tested in parallel by two immunoassay tests, tox a and tox a/b (techlab, inc., blacksburg, va), 422 produced negative results on both tests. one hundred eight specimens (20.4%) tested positive by tox a/b assay, and only 47 of them were also positive by tox a. the 61 specimens with discrepant results were confirmed to be posit ... | 2002 | 12106951 |
| double-blind, placebo-controlled study comparing the effect of azithromycin with clarithromycin on oropharyngeal and bowel microflora in volunteers. | the purpose of this double-blind study was to assess the effect of azithromycin and clarithromycin on oral and fecal microflora. bacterial species from fecal samples and throat washes from healthy volunteers were identified and quantified before, during and after receipt of either placebo ( n=6), azithromycin (500 mg once daily for 3 days; n=6) or clarithromycin (500 mg twice daily for 7 days; n=6). in both antibiotic groups, the changes in oropharyngeal aerobic microflora following antibiotic a ... | 2002 | 12111597 |
| hospital-acquired clostridium difficile infection amongst icu and burn patients in kuwait. | to prospectively study the prevalence of nosocomially acquired clostridium difficile, a major cause of diarrhoea in hospitalized patients, in the intensive care units (icus) and burn unit (bus) of three teaching hospitals in kuwait. | 2002 | 12116691 |
| legionellosis in a lung transplant recipient obscured by cytomegalovirus infection and clostridium difficile colitis. | a 52-year-old-white male underwent double lung transplantation for severe emphysema due to alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency and heavy tobacco use. following a postoperative course complicated by renal insufficiency, pulmonary emboli, and clostridium difficile colitis, he was discharged in stable condition. two months later, he was admitted to a local hospital with a fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and dyspnea. computerized tomography (ct) of the chest revealed bilateral pleural effusions. ... | 2002 | 12123425 |
| small gtp-binding protein tc10 differentially regulates two distinct populations of filamentous actin in 3t3l1 adipocytes. | tc10 is a member of the rho family of small gtp-binding proteins that has previously been implicated in the regulation of insulin-stimulated glut4 translocation in adipocytes. in a manner similar to cdc42-stimulated actin-based motility, we have observed that constitutively active tc10 (tc10/q75l) can induce actin comet tails in xenopus oocyte extracts in vitro and extensive actin polymerization in the perinuclear region when expressed in 3t3l1 adipocytes. in contrast, expression of tc10/q75l co ... | 2002 | 12134073 |
| rac regulates endothelial morphogenesis and capillary assembly. | endothelial cells undergo branching morphogenesis to form capillary tubes. we have utilized an in vitro matrigel overlay assay to analyze the role of the cytoskeleton and rho gtpases during this process. the addition of matrix first induces changes in cell morphology characterized by the formation of dynamic cellular protrusions and the assembly of discrete aggregates or cords of aligned cells resembling primitive capillary-like structures, but without a recognizable lumen. this is followed by c ... | 2002 | 12134084 |
| breaking the cycle: treatment strategies for 163 cases of recurrent clostridium difficile disease. | there is currently uncertainty as to the best treatment for patients with recurrent episodes of clostridium difficile disease (rcdd). our objective was to evaluate the success of treatment strategies in a cohort of 163 rcdd patients. | 2002 | 12135033 |
| fluorescent analogs of udp-glucose and their use in characterizing substrate binding by toxin a from clostridium difficile. | uridine-5'-diphospho-1-alpha-d-glucose (udp-glc) is a common substrate used by glucosyltransferases, including certain bacterial toxins such as toxins a and b from clostridium difficile. fluorescent analogs of udp-glc have been prepared for use in our studies of the clostridial toxins. these compounds are related to the methylanthraniloyl-atp compounds commonly used to probe the chemistry of atp-dependent enzymes. the reaction of excess methylisatoic anhydride with udp-glc in aqueous solution yi ... | 2002 | 12135481 |
| adhesion-related kinase repression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone gene expression requires rac activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway. | recent studies suggest that adhesion-related kinase (ark) plays a role in gonadotropin-releasing hormone (gnrh) neuronal physiology. ark promotes migration of gnrh neurons via rac gtpase and concomitantly suppresses gnrh gene expression via homeodomain and myocyte enhancer factor-2 (mef2) transcription factors. here, we investigated the signaling cascade required for ark inhibition of the gnrh promoter in gt1-7 gnrh neuronal cells. ark repression was blocked by the mek/erk pathway inhibitor, pd9 ... | 2002 | 12138087 |
| differential expression and polarized secretion of cxc and cc chemokines by human intestinal epithelial cancer cell lines in response to clostridium difficile toxin a. | intestinal epithelial cells are the initial sites of host response to clostridium difficile infection and can play a role in signaling the influx of inflammatory cells. to further explore this role, the regulated expression and polarized secretion of cxc and cc chemokines by human intestinal epithelial cells were investigated. an expression of the cxc chemokines, including il-8 and growth-related oncogene (gro)-alpha, and the cc chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein (mcp)-1 from ht-29 cells ... | 2002 | 12139393 |
| antecedent treatment with different antibiotic agents as a risk factor for vancomycin-resistant enterococcus. | we conducted a matched case-control study to compare the effect of antecedent treatment with various antibiotics on subsequent isolation of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (vre); 880 in-patients; 233 vre cases, and 647 matched controls were included. after being matched for hospital location, calendar time, and duration of hospitalization, the following variables predicted vre positivity: main admitting diagnosis; a coexisting condition (e.g., diabetes mellitus, organ transplant, or hepatobili ... | 2002 | 12141965 |
| withdrawal of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme a reductase inhibitors elicits oxidative stress and induces endothelial dysfunction in mice. | 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme a reductase inhibitors (statins) improve endothelial function. we determined whether withdrawal of statin therapy affects endothelium-dependent relaxation in mice and studied the underlying mechanism. mice were treated with daily injections of cerivastatin (2 mg/kg per day sc), atorvastatin (1 and 10 mg/kg per day sc), or placebo. vascular reactivity was studied in aortic rings from these mice after 10 days of treatment and after cessation of therapy for sever ... | 2002 | 12142351 |
| impairment of autoregulatory vasodilation by nad(p)h oxidase-dependent superoxide generation during acute stage of subarachnoid hemorrhage in rat pial artery. | this study assessed the mechanism(s) by which the autoregulatory vasodilation of rat pial artery in response to acute hypotension during the acute phase of subarachnoid hemorrhage (sah) was markedly blunted. increased superoxide production from the cerebral vessels in response to nad(p)h at 24 hours after sah + ng-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-name) (10 mg/kg) was inhibited by intracisternal administration of a tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein (10 micromol/l) and rac inhibitor clostridium ... | 2002 | 12142572 |
| clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea and chronic renal insufficiency. | clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad) is a common cause of mortality and morbidity in hospitalized patients. some case reports have implicated renal failure as a risk factor for cdad. the aim of this study was to assess whether chronic renal insufficiency is a risk factor for cdad and whether it increases mortality and morbidity. | 2002 | 12144071 |
| one-step cloning and expression of clostridium difficile toxin b gene (tcdb). | the toxin genes of clostridium difficile have been previously cloned by reconstructing the entire gene in a series of steps in sequence using several cloned fragments. amplification of a 7.9 kb fragment corresponding to the toxin b gene (tcdb) was obtained with expand long template pcr system. the amplified fragment was inserted into the e. coli expression vector pbad and cloned into competent e. coli top 10 cells. tcdb gene sequences representing the complete toxin gene were detected in 3/120 ( ... | 2002 | 12144768 |
| prevalence of gastrointestinal disease caused by clostridium difficile in a university hospital in hungary. | a one-year survey was undertaken to investigate the frequency of diarrhoea caused by clostridium difficile among patients in a 1200-bed university hospital in hungary. the vidas (biomérieux) toxin a detection kit was used for screening specimens for the presence of c. difficile toxin. for all other diarrhoeal specimens selected according to special criteria, cytotoxin testing was used to determine the presence of 'free toxin' in the faeces. during the study period, a total of 945 diarrhoeal faec ... | 2002 | 12144795 |
| corticotropin-releasing hormone antagonists possess anti-inflammatory effects in the mouse ileum. | corticotropin-releasing hormone (crh) released at local sites of inflammation promotes inflammation in the periphery. we investigated its effects in the intestinal responses caused by toxin a from clostridium difficile, the causative agent of antibiotic-associated colitis. | 2002 | 12145804 |
| clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea: current strategies for diagnosis and therapy. | clostridium difficile, a spore-forming toxigenic bacterium, is one of the most common causes of infectious diarrhea and colitis in the united states. most patients with c. difficile infection have recently received antimicrobial therapy--usually clindamycin, cephalosporins, or the extended-spectrum penicillins. clinical presentation varies from asymptomatic colonization to mild diarrhea to severe colitis. the mainstay of diagnosis is detection of c. difficile toxin a, toxin b, or both with a cyt ... | 2002 | 12149168 |
| low incidence of concurrent enteric infection associated with sporadic and outbreak-related human cryptosporidiosis in northern ireland. | 2002 | 12149394 | |
| [epidemiology of clostridium difficile infection]. | pseudomembranous colitis (pmc), antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (aad), and colitis (aac) caused by clostridium difficile are recognized as complications of antibiotic treatment (cephalosporins, penicillins, clindamycin and others). two groups are particularly at risk: older and immunocompromised patients. in recent years c. difficile has been recognized as a common nosocomial pathogen. to understand the epidemiology of the c. difficile infection, many outbreaks have been investigated by various ... | 2002 | 12150067 |
| the diagnosis of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea: comparison of triage c. difficile panel, eia for tox a/b and cytotoxin assays. | this study prospectively compared; triage(r) c. difficile test (tct), techlab c. difficile toxin a-b enzyme immuno-assay (eia), and cell-culture cytotoxin test (ct). of the 400 stools tested, 99 were positive by any test with 92, 41 and 58 detected by tct, eia and ct, respectively. culture of discordant samples indicated that 52 contained c. difficile (42 toxigenic, 10 non-toxigenic), 10 contained clostridium species and 2 had no detectable clostridium isolates. there were 21/42 toxigenic c. dif ... | 2002 | 12151184 |
| yoghurt biotherapy: contraindicated in immunosuppressed patients? | a fatal case of lactobacillus rhamnosus septicaemia after prolonged oral vancomycin for recalcitrant clostridium difficile infection is reported. the patient was immunosuppressed with cyclophosphamide and steroids for sjögren's syndrome. the administration of lactobacillus spp as "biotherapy" may be hazardous in such circumstances. | 2002 | 12151695 |
| a survey of agents associated with neonatal diarrhea in iowa swine including clostridium difficile and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus. | this survey was undertaken to determine the relative frequency of agents that are currently associated with neonatal diarrhea in swine, including clostridium difficile and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (prrsv). the subjects for this study were the first 100 live 1-7-day-old piglets submitted to the iowa state university veterinary diagnostic laboratory with a clinical signalment of diarrhea, beginning on january 1, 2000. the evaluation of each pig included bacterial culture ... | 2002 | 12152806 |
| occupational health and safety in small animal veterinary practice: part i--nonparasitic zoonotic diseases. | zoonotic diseases are an ever-present concern in small animal veterinary practice and are often overlooked. a variety of nonparasitic zoonotic diseases may be encountered in small animal practice, including cat scratch disease (bartonellosis), cat bite abscesses, rabies, leptospirosis, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, salmonellosis, avian chlamydiosis, campylobacteriosis, dermatophytosis, and blastomycosis. these may cause human disease rang ... | 2002 | 12170843 |
| haemophilus segnis polymicrobial and monomicrobial bacteraemia identified by 16s ribosomal rna gene sequencing. | this paper reports a case of haemophilus segnis polymicrobial bacteraemia and a case of h. segnis monomicrobial bacteraemia identified by 16s ribosomal rna gene sequencing. in the first case, a gram-negative aerobic coccobacillus was isolated with streptococcus intermedius and s. sanguis from the blood culture of a 32-year-old intravenous drug addict with left thoracic empyema. in the second case, a gram-negative aerobic coccobacillus was isolated from the blood culture of an 82-year-old woman w ... | 2002 | 12171293 |
| intravenous immunoglobulin for recurrent clostridium difficile diarrhoea. | 2002 | 12171976 | |
| [clostridium difficile strains not producing toxin a, but producing toxin b [toxa(-)tox b(+)]--etiologic agent of antibiotic associated diarrhoea (aad) in poland]. | previously, toxin a-negative/toxin b-positive clostridium difficile strains were not thought to be associated with clinically significant diseases. in our study among 159 tested c. difficile strains isolated from feacal samples from 413 patients with antibiotic associated diarrhoea (aad) 17 strains (11%) were negative in the "culturette brand toxin" cd (becton-dickinson) for detection toxin a and positive in the tox a/b test, designed for detection of both toxins. the conserved regions of both t ... | 2002 | 12185683 |
| undetected vancomycin-resistant enterococcus stool colonization in a veterans affairs hospital using a clostridium difficile-focused surveillance strategy. | we examined the point prevalence of undetected vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (vre) stool colonization in an institution that screens stool samples submitted for clostridium difficile testing. of 112 patients not known to be colonized, 10 (9%) had rectal vre colonization. a prospective algorithm was effective for identification of colonized patients. | 2002 | 12186217 |
| colitis associated with variant clostridium difficile. | 2002 | 12186530 | |
| detection of toxin production in clostridium difficile strains by three different methods. | to compare two immunoassays for detection of toxins produced in vitro by isolates of clostridium difficile with the standard tissue culture assay, to help in the diagnosis of c. difficile-associated diarrhoea. | 2002 | 12199851 |
| ccl19 induces rapid dendritic extension of murine dendritic cells. | dendritic cells (dcs) possess numerous dendrites that may be of great advantage to interaction with t cells. however, it has been poorly understood how the dendritic morphology of a dc is controlled. in the present study, using a murine spleen-derived dc line, we analyzed effects of ccr7 ligands, ccl19 and ccl21, on dendritic morphology. mature dcs, but not immature dcs, showed vigorous migration to either ccl19 or ccl21. ccl19 also rapidly (within 30 minutes) induced marked extension of dendrit ... | 2002 | 12200351 |
| molecular analysis of the pathogenicity locus and polymorphism in the putative negative regulator of toxin production (tcdc) among clostridium difficile clinical isolates. | the pathogenicity locus (paloc) of clostridium difficile contains toxin a and b genes and three accessory genes, including tcdd and tcdc, which are supposed to code for the positive and negative regulators of toxin expression, respectively. different studies have described variations in c. difficile toxin a and b genes, but little is known about c. difficile variants for the accessory genes. the paloc of several c. difficile clinical isolates was investigated by three different pcr methods with ... | 2002 | 12202595 |
| pulsed-field gel electrophoresis can yield dna fingerprints of degradation-susceptible clostridium difficile strains. | 2002 | 12202619 | |
| adjunctive intracolonic vancomycin for severe clostridium difficile colitis: case series and review of the literature. | successful treatment of severe clostridium difficile colitis has been reported with the use of adjunctive intracolonic vancomycin (icv) therapy. we report a descriptive case series and review the literature on patients with c. difficile colitis who received adjunctive icv therapy. nine patients received antibiotics within 6 weeks prior to presentation. complete resolution of the clinical presentation occurred in 8 patients (88.9%), and eradication of c. difficile cytotoxin production was documen ... | 2002 | 12203166 |
| the hiv-1 nef protein and phagocyte nadph oxidase activation. | nef, a multifunctional hiv protein, activates the vav/rac/p21-activated kinase (pak) signaling pathway. given the potential role of this pathway in the activation of the phagocyte nadph oxidase, we have investigated the effect of the hiv-1 nef protein on the phagocyte respiratory burst. microglia (cell line and primary culture) were transduced with lentiviral expression vectors. expression of nef did not activate the nadph oxidase by itself but led to a massive enhancement of the responses to a ... | 2002 | 12207012 |
| reduction of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (tnf-alpha) related nuclear factor-kappab (nf-kappab) translocation but not inhibitor kappa-b (ikappa-b)-degradation by rho protein inhibition in human endothelial cells. | degradation of inhibitor kappa-b (ikappa-b) followed by translocation of nuclear factor-kappab (nf-kappab) into the nucleus and activation of gene expression is essential in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (tnf-alpha)-signaling. in order to analyze the role of rho proteins in tnf-alpha-induced nf-kappab-activation in human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells (huvec) we used clostridium difficile toxin b-10463 (tcdb-10463) which inactivates rhoa/rac1/cdc42 by glucosylation and clostridium botulinum ... | 2002 | 12213594 |
| probiotics and inflammatory bowel disease: from fads and fantasy to facts and future. | probiotic therapy is attracting the renewed interest of clinicians and basic investigators from a variety of traditional research disciplines. while the theoretical rationale for modifying the commensal flora of the gastrointestinal tract in specific circumstances appears sound and requires scientific pursuit, the field of probiotics has been clouded by exaggerated claims from some quarters. in general, many of the claims for therapeutic efficacy have not been well substantiated, but the field i ... | 2002 | 12215176 |
| probiotics and intestinal health effects: a clinical perspective. | probiotics are viable non-pathogenic micro-organisms which, when ingested, exert a positive influence on host health or physiology. we have critically analysed the evidence for the efficacy of specific probiotic strains in human gastrointestinal diseases. the best evidence can be obtained with randomised controlled trials which avoid bias. good evidence has been obtained with several strains in the prevention or treatment of antibiotic-associated disorders, in the treatment (and to a lesser exte ... | 2002 | 12215185 |
| a crk-ii/tc10 signaling pathway is required for osmotic shock-stimulated glucose transport. | osmotic shock stimulates the translocation of the glucose transporter glut 4 to plasma membrane by a tyrosine kinase signaling pathway involving gab-1 (the grb2-associated binder-1 protein). we show here that, in response to osmotic shock, gab-1 acts as a docking protein for phospholipase cgamma1, the p85 subunit of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase and crk-ii. it has been shown that the adapter crk-ii is constitutively associated with c3g, a gdp to gtp exchange factor for several small gtp-binding ... | 2002 | 12215429 |
| angiotensin ii stimulation of nad(p)h oxidase activity: upstream mediators. | angiotensin ii (ang ii)-stimulated hypertrophy of vascular smooth muscle cells is mediated by reactive oxygen species (ros) derived from nad(p)h oxidases. the upstream signaling mechanisms by which ang ii activates these oxidases are unclear but may include protein kinase c, tyrosine kinases, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase, and rac, a small molecular weight g protein. we found that ang ii-stimulated ros production is biphasic. the first phase occurs rapidly (peak at 30 seconds) and is dependent o ... | 2002 | 12215489 |
| rho protein inactivation induced apoptosis of cultured human endothelial cells. | small gtp-binding rho gtpases regulate important signaling pathways in endothelial cells, but little is known about their role in endothelial cell apoptosis. clostridial cytotoxins specifically inactivate gtpases by glucosylation [clostridium difficile toxin b-10463 (tcdb-10463), c. difficile toxin b-1470 (tcdb-1470)] or adp ribosylation (c. botulinum c3 toxin). exposure of human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells (huvec) to tcdb-10463, which inhibits rhoa/rac1/cdc42, or to c3 toxin, which in ... | 2002 | 12225960 |
| binding of clostridium difficile surface layer proteins to gastrointestinal tissues. | clostridium difficile is the etiological agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, a potentially serious condition frequently affecting elderly hospitalized patients. while tissue damage is primarily induced by two toxins, the mechanism of gut colonization, and particularly the role of bacterial adherence to the mucosa, remains to be clarified. previous studies have shown binding of c. difficile whole cells to cultured cell lines and suggested the existence of multiple adhesins, only one of which ... | 2002 | 12228307 |
| antidiarrhoeal properties of a novel sigma ligand (jo 2871) on toxigenic diarrhoea in mice: mechanisms of action. | sigma ligands display antisecretory activity against various secretagogues, suggesting antidiarrhoeal properties. in this study, we evaluated: (i) the antidiarrhoeal effect of jo 2871, a high affinity sigma ligand, in three models of toxigenic diarrhoea in mice; and (ii) the site and mechanism of action of this compound. | 2002 | 12235074 |
| risk factors for recurrence of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in the elderly. | risk factors that influence the recurrence of nosocomial clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad) were determined in an 18-month follow-up study in a subacute geriatric department. a case-control study was conducted, comparing 43 patients with recurrent c. difficile-associated diarrhea (rcdad) (case patients) with 38 patients who had only 1 episode of cdad (control patients). the mean age of patients was 81.6 +/- 7.2 y (range 64-95 y). all cases with cdad were receiving antibiotic therap ... | 2002 | 12238576 |
| fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolases in amitochondriate protists constitute a single protein subfamily with eubacterial relationships. | sequences of putative fructose-1,6-bisphospate aldolases (fba) in five amitochondriate unicellular eukaryotes, the diplomonads giardia intestinalis (published earlier) and spironucleus barkhanus, the pelobiont mastigamoeba balamuthi,the entamoebid entamoeba histolytica, and the parabasalid trichomonas vaginalis all belong to class ii of fbas and are highly similar to each other (>48% amino acid identity). the five protist sequences, however, do not form a monophyletic group. diplomonad fbas shar ... | 2002 | 12242011 |
| [pcr cloning of 3'-terminal repeat fragments of clostridium difficile toxin a and toxin b gene]. | to explore a method to rapidly detect the presence of clostridium difficile. | 2002 | 12297432 |
| genotypic and phenotypic characterization of clostridium perfringens and clostridium difficile in diarrheic and healthy dogs. | the objectives of this study were to examine the potential roles of clostridium difficile and enterotoxigenic clostridium perfringens in diarrhea in dogs by comparison of isolation, determination of toxin status via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa), and application of multiplex polymerase chain reaction (pcr). these techniques were used to evaluate fecal specimens in 132 healthy and diarrheic dogs. these dogs were prospectively evaluated by grouping them into the following 3 categories: ... | 2002 | 12322702 |
| prevent the sread of clostridium difficile. | 2002 | 12360910 | |
| clostridium difficile colitis: an increasingly aggressive iatrogenic disease? | the diagnosis of clostridium difficile colitis is increasing in frequency, with worsening patient outcomes. | 2002 | 12361411 |
| rescue of auditory hair cells from aminoglycoside toxicity by clostridium difficile toxin b, an inhibitor of the small gtpases rho/rac/cdc42. | the hair cells (hcs) are the most vulnerable elements in the cochlea and damage to them is the most common cause of sensorineural hearing loss. understanding the intracellular events that lead to the death of hcs is a key to developing protective strategies. recently, it has been shown that the c-jun-n-terminal kinase (jnk) pathway is activated in hcs in response to aminoglycosides (j. neurosci. 20 (2000) 43). we have studied the upstream events leading to jnk activation in aminoglycoside toxici ... | 2002 | 12361869 |
| vancomycin-resistant enterococcal colonisation of hospitalised patients in auckland. | to assess the prevalence of vancomycin-resistant enterococcal colonisation of hospitalised patients in five selected auckland hospitals. | 2002 | 12362202 |
| environmental response and autoregulation of clostridium difficile txer, a sigma factor for toxin gene expression. | txer, a sigma factor that directs clostridium difficile rna polymerase to recognize the promoters of two major toxin genes, was shown to stimulate its own synthesis. whether expressed in c. difficile, clostridium perfringens, or escherichia coli, txer stimulated transcription of fusions of the txer promoter region to reporter genes. as is the case for the tox genes, txer expression was responsive to the cellular growth phase and the constituents of the medium. that is, the level of expression in ... | 2002 | 12374831 |
| rho family small gtpases control migration of hematopoietic progenitor cells into multicellular spheroids of bone marrow stroma cells. | seeding of hematopoietic progenitor cells (hpc) into the bone marrow requires a complex interaction between cell membrane and adhesion systems and cell signaling pathways. we established a multicellular, spheroid coculture model to study hpc migration in a three-dimensional stromal environment. here, entry of primary cd34(+) cells into stroma cell spheroids was independent of the integrins very late antigen (vla)-4, vla-5, lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1, and the chemokine receptor cxcr ... | 2002 | 12377954 |
| rarity of toxigenic clostridium difficile infections after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: implications for symptomatic management of diarrhea. | diarrhea is a common complication of high-dose chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (hsct). the frequent and prolonged use of multiple antibiotics in this setting can predispose to infection with toxigenic clostridium difficile and the development of pseudomembranous colitis. anti-motility agents are usually not administered in this setting until c. difficile infection has been excluded. the objective of this study was to determine the incidence of c. difficile toxin (cdt) po ... | 2002 | 12379891 |
| enteropathogens associated with acute diarrhea in community and hospital patients in jakarta, indonesia. | the prevalence of bacteria, parasite and viral pathogens in 3875 patients with diarrhea in community and hospital settings from march 1997 through august 1999 in jakarta, indonesia was determined using routine bacteriology and molecular assay techniques. bacterial pathogens isolated from hospital patients were, in decreasing frequency, vibrio cholerae o1, shigella flexneri, salmonella spp. and campylobacter jejuni, while s. flexneri, v. cholerae o1, salmonella spp. and c. jejuni were isolated fr ... | 2002 | 12381465 |
| structural microdomains in the lateral plasma membrane of cochlear outer hair cells. | the basal and lateral regions of the plasma membrane of cochlear outer hair cells are structurally and functionally distinct. the lateral region contains thousands of motor proteins but few voltage-gated channels. the basal region, conversely, contains a high number of voltage-gated channels but is devoid of motor proteins. it has been suggested that the cortical cytoskeleton is responsible for maintaining this regional distinction. toward elucidating the structure of the outer hair cell's elect ... | 2002 | 12382104 |
| the icest1 element of streptococcus thermophilus belongs to a large family of integrative and conjugative elements that exchange modules and change their specificity of integration. | the 34,734-bp element icest1 from streptococcus thermophilus cnrz368 is site-specifically integrated into the 3(') end of the gene fda. icest1 encodes integrative functions and putative transfer functions. six proteins of the putative conjugative system of icest1 are related to those encoded by the conjugative transposon tn916 from enterococcus faecalis. a comparison of these proteins with those encoded by the complete or partial genome sequences of various low g+c bacteria including bacillus su ... | 2002 | 12383726 |
| gyra and gyrb mutations are implicated in cross-resistance to ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin in clostridium difficile. | a total of 198 nonrepetitive clinical strains of clostridium difficile isolated from different french hospitals in 1991 (n = 100) and 1997 (n = 98) were screened for decreased susceptibility to fluoroquinolones by plating onto wilkins-chalgren agar containing 16 micro g of ciprofloxacin per ml. the frequency of decreased susceptibility was 7% (14 of 198) and was identical for the years 1991 and 1997. serogroups c, h, d, a9, and k accounted for five, four, two, one, and one of the resistant strai ... | 2002 | 12384345 |
| in vitro activities of faropenem against 579 strains of anaerobic bacteria. | the activity of faropenem, a new oral penem, was tested against 579 strains of anaerobic bacteria by using the nccls-approved reference method. drugs tested included amoxicillin-clavulanate, cefoxitin, clindamycin, faropenem, imipenem, and metronidazole. of the 176 strains of bacteroides fragilis group isolates tested, two isolates had faropenem mics of 64 micro g/ml and imipenem mics of >32 micro g/ml. faropenem had an mic of 16 micro g/ml for an additional isolate of b. fragilis; this strain w ... | 2002 | 12384389 |
| in vitro activity of 15 antimicrobial agents against clinical isolates of clostridium difficile in kuwait. | a total of 73 clinical isolates of clostridium difficile isolated from stool/rectal swabs of patients admitted to the intensive care units at mubarak hospital, ibn sina hospital burn unit and haematology wards at the kuwait cancer control centre, were investigated for their susceptibility to 15 antibiotics using the etest. amoxycillin-clavulanic acid, ampicillin, meropenem, metronidazole, penicillin, piperacillin, piperacillin/tazobactam, teicoplanin and vancomycin had excellent activities with ... | 2002 | 12385683 |
| the spectrum of pseudomembranous enterocolitis and antibiotic-associated diarrhea. | pseudomembranous (entero)colitis is primarily caused by clostridium difficile infection. the most common predisposing factor is prior use of antibiotics, including vancomycin and metronidazole, which themselves are therapy for c difficile colitis. other risk factors have also been described. the presence of c difficile in the gastrointestinal tract leads to a spectrum of manifestations from the asymptomatic carrier state to fulminant colitis. successful treatment of c difficile colitis requires ... | 2002 | 12390059 |
| health and economic outcomes of vancomycin-resistant enterococci. | the health and economic impact of vancomycin-resistant enterococci has not been quantified. | 2002 | 12390066 |
| activation of rac, cdc42 and other downstream signalling molecules by bartonella bacilliformis during entry into human endothelial cells. | bartonella bacilliformis is an intracellular bacterial pathogen of human endothelial cells. in vitro incubation of b. bacilliformis with human endothelial cells leads to the formation of filamentous actin extensions (filopodia) within 30 min, followed by formation of membrane rufflings or lamellipodia within 1 h of incubation. by immunofluorescence, f-actin phalloidin staining and anti-rac antibodies were shown to co-localize in the membrane rufflings, indicating the recruitment of activated rac ... | 2002 | 12390349 |
| adhesiveness of human uterine epithelial rl95-2 cells to trophoblast: rho protein regulation. | embryo implantation involves adhesion of trophoblast cells to the epithelial lining of the endometrium. using an in-vitro model to simulate this initial interaction, we previously reported that attachment of human trophoblast-like jar spheroids to human uterine epithelial rl95-2 cells provokes a ca(2+) influx in rl95-2 cells depending on apically localized integrin receptors. here, we demonstrate that adhesiveness of rl95-2 cells for jar spheroids, measured by a centrifugal force-based adhesion ... | 2002 | 12397214 |
| treatment of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea. | to review the literature related to the treatment and infection control of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad). | 2002 | 12398575 |
| mechanism of clostridium difficile toxin a-induced apoptosis in t84 cells. | this study is an investigation into the mechanism of clostridium difficile toxin a-induced apoptosis in human intestinal epithelial cells. toxin a induced apoptosis of t84 cells in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. toxin a-induced apoptosis was completely inhibited by blocking toxin enzymatic activity on rho gtpases with uridine 5'-diphosphate-2',3'-dialdehyde by a nonspecific caspase inhibitor and was partially inhibited by caspase-1, -3, -6, -8, and -9 inhibitors. caspases 3, 6, 8, and 9 and ... | 2002 | 12404159 |
| conjugative transfer of clostridial shuttle vectors from escherichia coli to clostridium difficile through circumvention of the restriction barrier. | progress towards understanding the molecular basis of virulence in clostridium difficile has been hindered by the lack of effective gene transfer systems. we have now, for the first time, developed procedures that may be used to introduce autonomously replicating vectors into this organism through their conjugative, orit-based mobilization from escherichia coli donors. successful transfer was achieved through the use of a plasmid replicon isolated from an indigenous c. difficile plasmid, pcd6, a ... | 2002 | 12406220 |
| variation in human intestinal microbiota with age. | the large intestinal microbiota plays an important role in normal bowel function and the maintenance of host health, through the formation of short chain fatty acids, modulation of immune system reactivity and development of colonisation resistance. however, the effects of ageing on bacterial community structure in the colon are not well documented. aim of this study is to assess bacterial species diversity in the human faecal microbiota with respect to age and clostridium difficile infection. b ... | 2002 | 12408433 |
| new therapeutic approach in the management of intestinal disease: probiotics in intestinal disease in paediatric age. | current evidence supports the view that oral administration of probiotics may be of therapeutic usefulness in several clinical disorders by reestablishing normal flora in the gastrointestinal tract. these entities include inflammatory and infectious diseases of the gut as well as extraintestinal disorders (such as atopic eczema) in which a defective intestinal permeability plays a role. the probiotic effects are attributed to restoration to normal of increased intestinal permeability, unbalanced ... | 2002 | 12408439 |
| probiotics in antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. | antibiotic-associated diarrhoea is a common event. in some cases, it could represent a life-threatening event. clostridium difficile colitis is a further distinct complication of antibiotic administration. treatment options for antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and clostridium difficile colitis include supplementation with several types of probiotics, as overviewed in this paper. three randomised, double-blind, controlled clinical trials show a therapeutic effect of saccharomyces boulardii in anti ... | 2002 | 12408447 |
| evaluation of a routine diagnostic fecal panel for dogs with diarrhea. | to assess the diagnostic yield of a routine fecal panel and determine whether clostridium perfringens or c difficile toxin production is associated with acute hemorrhagic diarrheal syndrome (ahds) in dogs. | 2002 | 12420824 |
| fulminant clostridium difficile colitis without diarrhea: lack of emphasis in diagnostic guidelines. | 2002 | 12425579 | |
| clostridium difficile, atopy and wheeze during the first year of life. | differences have been suggested to occur in the composition of intestinal microflora from allergic and non-allergic children. in this study we used a semi-quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) for the measurement of clostridium difficile-specific immunoglobulin g (igg) (cdigg). cdigg was excellent in differentiating between adults with or without cl. difficile colitis (absorbance levels, positive vs. negative controls: geometric mean (gm) 0.301, 95% ci: 0.289-0.314 vs. gm 0.167, ... | 2002 | 12431195 |
| clostridium difficile-associated enteric disease. | clostridium difficile was identified as the putative agent of antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis in 1978 and is now recognized as the major identifiable cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. this microbe causes a spectrum of enteric disease ranging from nuisance diarrhea to life-threatening colitis. risk factors include increasing age, exposure to antibiotics, colonization or acquisition of toxin-producing strains of c. difficile, and lack of circulating antibody to c. difficile t ... | 2002 | 12433321 |
| [late infectious complications after high-dose therapy and autologous blood stem cell transplantation]. | only a few data on frequency and character of late infectious complications after high-dose therapy (hdt) and autologous blood stem cell transplantation (asct) have been published. this prospective study was carried out to identify potential predictive factors for late infections (occurring after discharge following hdt) and to clarify the usefulness of prophylactic measures. | 2002 | 12434273 |
| [detection of lactoferrin in feces for differential diagnosis in diarrhea]. | routine stool culture is used to evaluate patients with diarrheal illness. however, the results are often delayed, and the tests are very expensive. therefore a rapid, simple method for screening would be a helpful adjunct in a diagnostic algorithm. fecal leukocytes are found in diarrhea patients with diffuse colonic inflammation but missing in non-inflammatory cases, and are most commonly identified in infectious diarrheas of bacterial origin. it supports the use of immediate empiric therapy in ... | 2002 | 12434630 |
| [clostridium difficile infection in a department of internal medicine. a consecutive series of 45 patients]. | a retrospective study of 45 patients with clostridium difficile infection over a 4-year period in a department of internal medicine. | 2002 | 12442074 |
| the uptake machinery of clostridial actin adp-ribosylating toxins--a cell delivery system for fusion proteins and polypeptide drugs. | several bacterial protein toxins, including clostridium botulinum c2 toxin, clostridum perfringens iota toxin, clostridium difficile adp-ribosyltransferase, and the bacillus-produced vegetative insecticidal proteins, target the cytoskeleton by adp-ribosylation of actin. all these toxins are binary in structure and consist of an enzyme component, possessing adp-ribosyltransferase activity and a separated binding and translocation component, which is involved in the delivery of the enzyme componen ... | 2002 | 12444490 |
| clostridium difficile associated diarrhoea: how good are nurses at identifying the disease? | 2002 | 12446303 | |
| pseudomembranous (clostridium difficile) colitis. | 2002 | 12447310 | |
| colonization for the prevention of clostridium difficile disease in hamsters. | studies suggest that asymptomatic colonization with clostridium difficile (cd) decreases the risk of cd-associated disease (cdad) in humans. a hamster model was used to test the efficacy of colonization with 3 nontoxigenic cd strains for preventing cdad after exposure to toxigenic cd. groups of 10 hamsters were given 10(6) nontoxigenic cd spores 2 days after receiving a single dose of clindamycin. five days later, the hamsters were given 100 spores of 1 of 3 toxigenic cd strains previously shown ... | 2002 | 12447764 |
| ciprofloxacin and clostridium difficile--associated diarrhea. | 2002 | 12452287 | |
| what's lurking under the bed? persistence and predominance of particular clostridium difficile strains in a hospital and the potential role of environmental contamination. | 2002 | 12452289 | |
| difference in the incidence of clostridium difficile among patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus admitted to a public hospital and a private hospital. | to compare the occurrence of clostridium difficile among inpatients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) in two different hospitals. | 2002 | 12452290 |
| predominance of a single restriction endonuclease analysis group with intrahospital subgroup diversity among clostridium difficile isolates at two chicago hospitals. | to determine the epidemiology and relatedness of clostridium difficile isolates in two geographically separated hospitals in a large metropolitan area, each with unique patients and personnel design: observational descriptive molecular epidemiology of clinical c. difficile isolates. | 2002 | 12452291 |
| underlying disease severity as a major risk factor for nosocomial clostridium difficile diarrhea. | to determine the diagnostic accuracy of an index of underlying disease severity (horn's index) in identifying patients with a high probability of having nosocomial clostridium difficile diarrhea as a complication of antimicrobial therapy. | 2002 | 12452292 |
| the role of clostridium difficile and viruses as causes of nosocomial diarrhea in children. | we report surveillance of nosocomial diarrhea in children at our institution during the past decade and note different epidemiology of diarrhea due to viruses and clostridium difficile. | 2002 | 12452293 |
| clostridium difficile in long-term-care facilities for the elderly. | antimicrobial agents are among the most frequently prescribed medications in long-term-care facilities (ltcfs). therefore, it is not surprising that clostridium difficile colonization and c. difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad) occur commonly in elderly ltcf residents. c. difficile has been identified as the most common cause of non-epidemic acute diarrheal illness in nursing homes, and outbreaks of cdad in ltcfs have also been recognized. this position paper reviews the epidemiology and clinica ... | 2002 | 12452300 |
| recurrent clostridium difficile colitis. tackling a tenacious nosocomial infection. | c difficile infection recurs in about 20% of previously treated hospitalized patients. the elderly and patients with underlying colonic disease who have recently used antibiotics are at high risk. signs and symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, and leukocytosis. diagnosis is dependent on a high degree of clinical suspicion and elisa testing of a stool sample for toxins. recurrence is thought to be due to the persistence of c difficile spores. treatment can be difficult. oral vancomycin or m ... | 2002 | 12462185 |
| probiotics up-regulate muc-2 mucin gene expression in a caco-2 cell-culture model. | 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. previous studies have identified the gene locus for mucin (muc-2) and its expression in caco-2 cells. others have demonstrated that mucin, located on the surface of the intestinal epithelium, inhibits bacterial translocation (bt). we previously demonstrated that both mucin and th ... | 2002 | 12471471 |
| clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea: epidemiological data from western australia associated with a modified antibiotic policy. | the incidence of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad) has increased dramatically in hospitals worldwide during the past 2 decades. in western australia, this increase was most obvious during the 1980s, when there was also an increase in the use of third-generation cephalosporin antibiotics. a study of the epidemiology of cdad and the use of third-generation cephalosporins during 1993-2000 was undertaken. from 1993 through 1998, the incidence of cdad remained relatively stable (2-3 ca ... | 2002 | 12471563 |