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D Taylor-Robinson

Publications and source records attributed to D Taylor-Robinson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Role of Mycoplasma genitalium and Ureaplasma urealyticum in acute and chronic nongonococcal urethritis.

One hundred fourteen heterosexual men with acute nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) and 64 patients without NGU were studied. We determined that Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium were strongly associated with acute NGU after controlling, by means of multivariate analysis, for age, race, sexual lifestyle, and coinfection (odds ratio [OR], 13.0, 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.6-64.5; and OR, 17.9, 95% CI, 2.0-160, respectively). Eighty-six men with acute NGU reattended at least once 10-92 days after treatment; 59 (69%) of these 86 men had urethritis. Seven men had M. genitalium detected during 10-92 days of follow-up, and all had urethritis. Ureaplasmas were not associated with acute NGU in multivariate analysis, but their detection was associated with the presence of urethritis during follow-up (P=.014). Ureaplasmas or M. genitalium were associated with both chronic NGU, which was defined as urethritis that occurred 30-92 days after the commencement of treatment (P=.028), and chronic NGU with symptoms or signs (P=.005).

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2001

Reduced detection of Chlamydia trachomatis by the ligase chain reaction assay due to suboptimal storage of urine.

Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis by the ligase chain reaction assay was assessed in urine samples that had been stored at 4 degrees C and at ambient temperature for 6-10 days before testing. Six of 67 (9%) ligase chain reaction-positive urine samples stored at 4 degrees C and 5 of 29 (17%) stored at ambient temperature became negative, a difference that is not statistically significant. Most of the urine samples that were negative after storage contained a small number of chlamydial elementary bodies, and almost three-quarters of them were from women. Optimal pretest storage conditions for urine samples should be maintained if the maximum benefit is to be obtained from this highly sensitive assay.

Chlamydia Infections↗
PubMed2001

The prevalence of Mycoplasma fermentans in patients with inflammatory arthritides.

OBJECTIVES: To search for evidence that Mycoplasma fermentans is involved in the pathogenesis of some forms of human arthritis by testing for the presence of mycoplasmal DNA in joint material. METHODS: M. fermentans DNA was detected by the identification of a 104-base pair amplification product of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: M. fermentans DNA was detected in synovial fluid samples from six (17%) of 35 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 18 (21%) of 85 patients with seronegative arthritis. These detection rates were significantly greater than in samples from patients with osteoarthritis or crystal synovitis, none of 26 of these being positive. CONCLUSIONS: M. fermentans could be involved in the pathogenesis of some forms of inflammatory arthritis and this possibility is worthy of further study.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2001

Failure of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection to confer protection against Mycoplasma genitalium: observations from a mouse model.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae and M. genitalium are genomically distinct but share antigens that induce some serological cross-reactivity. Therefore, the possibility that M. pneumoniae infection of the human respiratory tract might provide immunity to M. genitalium infection of the genital tract was considered. Because of the difficulty of assessing this proposition in man, it was evaluated experimentally in a mouse model. Female BALB/c mice were susceptible to infection of the vagina with M. pneumoniae, whereas those infected previously in the oropharynx with M. pneumoniae were completely immune to infection of the vagina with this mycoplasma. However, all mice with such a respiratory tract infection were susceptible to infection of the vagina with M. genitalium. The findings suggest that an M. pneumoniae infection of the human respiratory tract is unlikely to influence infection of the genital tract by M. genitalium.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

An association of disseminated Mycoplasma fermentans in HIV-1 positive patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

We examined the relationship between the haematogenous dissemination of Mycoplasma fermentans and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in 265 HIV-1 positive patients. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was used to detect M. fermentans in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 50 patients enrolled consecutively from an HIV outpatient clinic in 1991 (cohort 1), 56 patients with lower respiratory tract infection who underwent bronchoscopy in 1992 (cohort 2), and 159 patients who were enrolled into a natural history cohort study in 1994 (cohort 3). The incidence of NHL among the patients was determined in 1998. The PBMCs of 29 patients (10.9%) were positive for M. fermentans (8 in cohort 1, 13 in cohort 2 and 8 in cohort 3) and 11 patients (4.2%) developed NHL which was confirmed histologically (3 in cohort 1, 4 in cohort 2 and 4 in cohort 3). We found a statistically significant association between the presence of M. fermentans and the development of NHL in the combined cohort (risk ratio [RR]=6.78 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.21--20.84], P=0.003 Fisher's exact test [FET]). This association remained significant even after adjustment in a multivariate analysis for CD4 cell count and HIV disease status at the time of M. fermentans testing (RR=7.97 [95% CI=2.16--29.47], P=0.002).

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed2001

Qualitative and quantitative aspects of the ligase chain reaction assay for Chlamydia trachomatis in genital tract samples and urines.

The performance of the ligase chain reaction (LCR) assay for Chlamydia trachomatis was evaluated in a genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic population. Its sensitivity was 100%, 91% and 95%, respectively, for cervical, vaginal and urine samples from 417 women, when compared with direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) staining of cervical samples, and 100% and 91%, respectively, for urethral and urine samples from 317 men, when compared with DFA staining of urethral smears. An enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was only 65% sensitive for cervical samples. Urethral swabs from a number of treated men remained LCR-positive when antigen was no longer detectable by DFA staining. An association between quantitative data from the LCR assay (i.e. the optical density of samples, measured in relation to internal controls and calibrators) and the antigen load of the samples, measured by DFA staining, indicated a lack of significant inhibition in the LCR assay in this study. This was probably due to freezing of the samples before testing. Diluting 20 LCR-positive urines with a range of antigen loads resulted in loss of positivity in 3, and a reduction in the signal in 13. The implications of the antigen load on the performance of detection assays for chlamydia-positive patients are discussed.

Cervix Uteri↗
PubMed2000

Detection of Mycoplasma fermentans in healthy students and patients with congenital immunodeficiency.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of M. fermentans at different anatomical sites in healthy subjects and in patients with congenital immunodeficiency, and to determine whether haematogenous invasion occurs among the latter. METHODS: A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was used to detect M.fermentans in throat swabs and urine specimens from healthy students, and from patients with congenital immunodeficiency. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from the latter group were also tested. RESULTS: Sixty-two students provided throat swabs, of which 11 (18%) were M. Jermentans-positive; 46 provided urine specimens, of which eight (17%) were positive. Of the 45 students who provided both throat and urine specimens, 12 (27%) had M. fermentans-positive samples; four in the throat and urine, four in the throat only and four in the urine only. Nineteen of the 20 patients with congenital immunodeficiency provided throat swabs, of which one (5%) was M. fermentans-positive; 19 also provided urine specimens, of which three (16%) were positive. All of the immunodeficient patients provided a PBMC sample, but none was positive. CONCLUSION: M. fermentans occurred frequently at mucosal sites in a healthy population and in subjects with congenital immunodeficiency. However, such a deficiency did not lead to overt haematogenous invasion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Detection of Mycoplasma fermentans in broncho-alveolar lavage fluid specimens from AIDS patients with lower respiratory tract infection.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of Mycoplasma fermentans in lower respiratory tract disease of HIV-positive patients. METHODS: A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was used to detect M. fermentans in broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected from 78 hospitalized HIV-positive patients with lower respiratory tract disease (the index group). BAL specimens were also assessed from two control groups; 25 HIV-positive patients without respiratory symptoms and 46 patients with a respiratory illness who did not have risk factors for HIV. RESULTS: Seventy-one (91%) of the 78 patients who comprised the index group had AIDS. Sixty-one patients provided BAL and PBMC specimens; 16 provided a BAL specimen and one only a PBMC specimen; 15 (25%) of the 61 patients had M. fermentans positive BAL fluid, of whom 10 (67%) also had a positive PBMC specimen. In contrast, of the 46 patients who had a negative BAL fluid, only three (6.4%) had a positive PBMC sample (P < 0.00001 Fisher's exact test). Overall, 21 (27%) of 77 patients had M. fermentans positive BAL fluid. Of these positive patients, 16 also had another microorganism in the BAL fluid and for five patients M. fermentans was detected alone. Compared with patients in the index group, none of the 46 BAL fluid specimens from patients at low risk of HIV infection was M. fermentans positive (P < 0.001, chi2 15.13). Two (8%) of the 25 HIV-positive patients without respiratory symptoms had a M. fermentans positive BAL fluid, positivity that was also statistically different from the index group (P = 0.045, chi2 4.01). CONCLUSIONS: M. fermentans frequently invades the lower respiratory tract of AIDS patients as an opportunist and may cause disease in some.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed2000

Chlamydia pneumoniae in atherosclerotic tissue.

The majority of almost 30 publications from 1992 to 1999 describe Chlamydia pneumoniae organisms in atherosclerotic lesions of various major arteries. In the first study in the United Kingdom, C. pneumoniae was found in the aorta and femoral and iliac arteries. In a subsequent study, the organism was detected in arteries of subjects as young as 15 years. In a collaborative investigation, 71% of atheromatous arteries taken at autopsy from white South African subjects were C. pneumoniae positive compared with 9% of nonatheromatous arteries. Of interest, the organisms were detected in 67% of vessels that showed only early atherosclerotic lesions (fatty streaks). C. pneumoniae was also found in the ruptured coronary artery plaque of a black South African who died of myocardial infarction, a rare event. The presence of C. pneumoniae organisms within foam and smooth muscle cells of atherosclerotic plaques is beyond doubt, but their role in atherosclerosis remains enigmatic.

Aging↗
PubMed2000

Observations on the antibiotic treatment of experimentally induced mycoplasmal infections in mice.

Antibiotics were given subcutaneously to female mice, colonized by mycoplasmas in the vagina and by others in the oropharynx. Mycoplasma pulmonis was eradicated from the vagina of 36 of 42 immunocompetent TO or BALB/c mice with oxytetracycline, and from 17 of 18 TO mice with lymecycline. Mycoplasma hominis was eradicated from the vagina of all of 18 immunocompetent BALB/c mice with oxytetracycline or tetracycline. Regarding oropharyngeal organisms, M. pulmonis was eradicated from only 20 of 42 TO or BALB/c mice with oxytetracycline and from none of 15 mice with lymecycline. However, Mycoplasma pneumoniae was eliminated from the oropharynx of eight of nine BALB/c mice with oxytetracycline. In contrast to the success in eradicating mycoplasmas from the vagina or oropharynx of immunocompetent BALB/c mice with oxytetracycline, no such effect was seen in nude BALB/c mice, indicating the importance of a competent immune system in conjunction with antibiotic treatment for eradication of these organisms.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis in young men in north west London.

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common, treatable, bacterial sexually transmitted infection in England and Wales. Among men, chlamydial infection is an important cause of non-gonococcal urethritis, epididymitis, and proctitis. The case for wider screening among women has been accepted by an expert advisory group. In the absence of estimates of the prevalence of infection in men, its potential impact at the population level is difficult to assess. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis in young men in clinic and community based samples in north west London. METHOD: Cross sectional survey in healthcare centres and general practices in north west London. 1002 males aged 18-35 years, living in north west London, were recruited by staff in occupational health departments, general practices, student health services, and a "well man" clinic and by postal recruitment in four GP practices. The men were tested for C trachomatis using the ligase chain reaction assay on urine samples. The main outcome measure was prevalence of C trachomatis infection in men aged 18-35 years. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 51%. Prevalence of confirmed infection was 1.9% (95% CI: 1.14% to 2.96%) in all men. Best estimated minimum prevalence of infection was 1% (95% CI: 0.58% to 1.50%). Estimated prevalence was highest among men aged over 30 years. CONCLUSIONS: The estimated prevalence among men is commensurate with that described for female populations in London. The results suggest that recruitment of men to screening programmes would be difficult. However, a higher proportion of chlamydial infection may be detected in men than in women by existing approaches to control through genitourinary medicine clinic based case finding and contact tracing. Screening of young women and the contact tracing of the male partners of positive females may be an efficient approach to improving chlamydia control.

Adolescent↗