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Biomedical subjects

G Stanek

Publications and source records attributed to G Stanek.

154 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

Preliminary characterization of Borrelia burgdorferi CSF isolates.

Borrelia burgdorferi was cultivated from three cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of children (aged three and a half, four and a half and eight years) who were admitted to the hospital because of acute facial palsy, aseptic meningitis, and aseptic meningitis plus facial palsy. CSF was taken on day one in two cases and on day two in the remaining case after onset of symptoms. All three strains showed a very similar SDS-PAGE pattern, without an OspB and 20kD band. However, of nine monoclonal antibodies (Moab) raised against B. burgdorferi B31, the Moab H5332 recognized two strains, one of them very weakly, and the flagella specific Moabs H9724, H605, and H6TS (less intensively) recognized all strains. This preliminary characterization reveals heterogeneity among CSF Borrelia isolates of cases from a very close geographic area.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Infections following tickbites. Tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme borreliosis--a prospective epidemiological study from Tyrol.

We present here a prospective study on infections following tickbites in military recruits in the province of Tyrol (Austria). 84 recruits experienced tickbites and underwent clinical and serological examination twice at four-week intervals for signs of tick borne encephalitis (TBE)-virus or Borrelia burgdorferi infections. 56 and 50 recruits could be evaluated for TBE-virus and Borrelia infection, respectively. Whereas no recruit was found with clinical or laboratory evidence of TBE-virus infection, two (4%) recruits showed an erythema chronicum migrans as primary manifestation of a Borrelia burgdorferi infection and 11 (20%) recruits had a significant increase in the titer of anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies. Our results support the predominance of a subclinical course of a tick-transmitted borrelia infection in the population under observation, and shed some light on the epidemiological situation of tick-transmitted diseases in Tyrol.

Animals↗

Therapy of Lyme borreliosis in children.

A retrospective open study was conducted to determine the efficacy of penicillin and ceftriaxone in children with skin manifestations of Lyme borreliosis (solitary erythema migrans, multiple erythemata, borrelial lymphocytoma) and neuroborreliosis, respectively. One hundred sixty children were treated with penicillin and 41 with ceftriaxone for an average of 12 days. Serum antibodies to borreliae were determined before therapy and 2-3 and 4-6 weeks thereafter. At admission 44%/26%,8%/42%, and 40%/35% of erythema migrans, borrelial lymphocytoma and neuroborreliosis patients, respectively, were IgM/IgG positive. Four to 6 weeks after treatment the percentage of seropositives was 20%/15%,8%/61%, and 21%/44%, respectively. A 3 months follow-up was completed with 151 children. No child showed clinical evidence of illness, nor were there abnormalities in laboratory parameters.

Adolescent↗

In vitro susceptibility of thirty Borrelia strains from various sources against eight antimicrobial chemotherapeutics.

Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBC) were evaluated of the antimicrobial chemotherapeutics amoxicillin, azithromycin, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, doxycycline, penicillin G sodium, roxithromycin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for 30 Borrelia strains from various sources (skin, cerebrospinal fluid, ticks). Of these strains 29 were Lyme disease agents of the species Borrelia afzelii (n = 12), Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (n = 4), Borrelia garinii (n = 13), and one was the relapsing fever strain Borrelia turicatae (n = 1). Tests were performed in microtiter plates by broth dilution. MIC was determined after 72 hours of incubation by comparing growth control with the antibiotic dilutions by means of dark field microscopy. Strains tested were susceptible against amoxicillin, azithromycin, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, doxycycline, and penicillin G sodium, partly susceptible to roxithromycin, and resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. No statistically significant differences in MIC and MBC were seen among the different antibiotics with the various Borrelia species.

Amoxicillin↗

Erythema migrans: three weeks treatment for prevention of late Lyme borreliosis.

An open, randomized, prospective study was carried out to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of phenoxymethylpenicillin with that of minocycline in the treatment of erythema migrans. Sixty patients (minocycline 30, penicillin 30) were enrolled in the study. The two groups of patients were statistically homogeneous regarding age and sex distribution. IgG and IgM antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi were determined by ELISA before and after treatment and 1 year thereafter. Thirty-nine patients completed the study. All these patients (penicillin 21, minocycline 18) who received a 21-day course of treatment were free of clinical symptoms of late Lyme borreliosis after 1 year. Serum antibodies against B. burgdorferi could be detected before treatment in 6/21 patients treated with penicillin and 3/18 patients treated with minocycline. After 1 year 8/39 patients were seropositive without any evidence of ongoing disease. In the remaining 21 patients treatment could not be completed with the initial antibiotic due to side effects (penicillin 9/30, minocycline 12/30). One patient, who stopped penicillin treatment at day 14 and one patient who stopped minocycline at day 4, developed fatigue and memory impairment within the observation period. A 3-week course of treatment with penicillin or minocycline is equally effective in treating patients with erythema migrans and preventing late symptoms of Lyme borreliosis.

Adult↗

Success and failure in the treatment of acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans.

To determine the most effective treatment for acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans, several clinical trials were undertaken in recent years to evaluate whether a 2-week course of ceftriaxone would be superior to oral antibiotics. Of the 46 patients suffering from acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans, 14 were treated with ceftriaxone 2g for 15 days. The remaining patients received either oral penicillin V 1.5 million IU t.i.d. or doxycycline 100 mg b.i.d. for 20 to 30 days. Patients were followed up for at least 1 year. Of the 14 ceftriaxone-treated patients four showed incomplete regression of the inflammatory skin changes after 6 to 12 months. Two out of five patients who were monitored for Borrelia burgdorferi DNA excretion were still positive after 12 months as compared to none of six patients who were treated orally for 20-30 days. Six out of 11 patients treated orally for only 20 days needed retreatment after 6 months because of continuing skin manifestations, neuropathy or arthralgia. A 30-day duration of treatment with oral antibiotics and not the chosen antibiotic is crucial for curing acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans. The duration of treatment with ceftriaxone needed for eradication of Borrelia in acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans has yet to be determined in future studies.

Acrodermatitis↗

Solitary borrelial lymphocytoma: report of 36 cases.

Thirty-six cases of borrelial lymphocytoma were detected during the period 1986 to 1990 in Slovenia. Borrelial lymphocytoma was located on the ear lobe in 17 persons, ten female and seven male, with a median age of 12 years (range 2-56). Fourteen of these 17 were children under 14 years of age. A tick bite was remembered by 15 patients a median of 30 days before borrelial lymphocytoma developed. The most frequent month of onset was September. Erythema migrans preceded or accompanied borrelial lymphocytoma in eight cases. In 15 cases, eight female and seven male, borrelial lymphocytoma was localized on the mamilla. Median age of these patients was 42 years (range 15-72). Twelve had a tick bite about 45 days (median value) before the onset of borrelial lymphocytoma, which occurred most frequently in August. Erythema migrans was reported in 13 patients and preceded borrelial lymphocytoma in ten cases. In another four patients borrelial lymphocytoma was localized on the nose, scrotum, upper arm and shoulder. Antibiotic treatment with phenoxymethyl-penicillin (n = 16), ceftriaxone (n = 8), doxycycline (n = 9), azithromycin (n = 2) and penicillin G (1) led to complete recovery within an average of three weeks in all cases.

Adolescent↗

Genetic approaches to cell biology and metabolism of spirochetes.

Genetic analysis and methodology have only comparatively recently been applied to the study of spirochetes. Although genetic transfer procedures for spirochetes are not widely available, there are several examples of progress in genetic analysis of spirochetes by other approaches. Some examples of these approaches are the following. 1) Genes for synthetic pathways in Treponema and Leptospira have been cloned by complementation of Escherichia coli serving as plasmid hosts. 2) The OspA protein of Borrelia burgdorferi has been overexpressed in E. coli without the signal peptide; the recombinant product has been suitable for circular dichroism as well as other biochemical analyses. 3) The heat shock proteins of B. burgdorferi are homologous to heat shock proteins of E. coli. 4) Enzyme activity profiles of B. burgdorferi and other spirochetes show strain heterogeneity and also indicate which biosynthetic and enzymatic activities are conserved within different spirochetes. 5) The gene organization of rRNA genes have revealed differences between spirochetes and other types of bacteria.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins↗

Comparison of SeroMP IgA with four other commercial assays for serodiagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia.

Acute phase serum samples from 23 patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia were examined for specific antibodies with microparticle agglutination (MAG)-assay, complement fixation (CF)-test, IgM-specific ELISA, and Immunocard-based IgM-EIA. A novel 3-h IgA-ELISA (SeroMP-IgA) was tested to assess its diagnostic value. For MAG, CF, IgM-ELISA, card-based IgM-EIA, and IgA-ELISA positive results were obtained in 87%, 87%, 91%, 87%, and 100%, respectively. Overall concordance was 78%. Specificity testing of 46 healthy blood donors revealed an optimal diagnostic cut-off range of 22-30 IgA-ELISA binding units (BU)/mL resulting in 91%-100% specificity and 100%-96% sensitivity for serologic diagnosis of acute M. pneumoniae infection.

Adolescent↗