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J Grosset

Publications and source records attributed to J Grosset.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Combination of rifapentine-moxifloxacin-minocycline (PMM) for the treatment of leprosy.

To further the development of a multidrug regimen for treatment of leprosy that is suitable for monthly administration and fully supervisable, the bactericidal activities against Mycobacterium leprae of HMR 3647 (HMR), moxifloxacin (MXFX) and rifapentine (RPT) were measured by the proportional bactericide technique in the mouse footpad system, and compared with those of the established antileprosy drugs clarithromycin (CLARI), ofloxacin (OFLO) and rifampicin (RMP). Administered in five daily doses of 100 mg per kg body weight, HMR appeared slightly more bactericidal than CLARI, but the difference did not attain statistical significance. Administered as single doses, MXFX in a dosage of 150 mg per kg was more active than OFLO in the same dosage, and displayed the same level of activity as RMP in a dosage of 10 mg per kg; the combination MXFX-minocycline (MINO) (MM) was more bactericidal than the combination OFLO-MINO (OM); RPT in a dosage of 10 mg per kg was more bactericidal than RMP administered in the same dosage, and even more active than the combination RMP-OFLO-MINO (ROM); the combination RPT-MXFX-MINO (PMM) killed 99.9% of viable M. leprae, and was slightly more bactericidal than was RPT alone, indicating that the combination PMM showed an additive effect against M. leprae. These promising results justify a clinical trial among lepromatous patients, in which MM is being compared with OM, and PMM with ROM, in terms of efficacy and tolerance.

Animals↗

The new challenges for chemotherapy research.

Scientific knowledge is constantly expanding, and needs are changing; therefore, efforts must be made to adapt the treatment of leprosy and the manner in which it is implemented to the newly identified needs. Because an effective vaccine against leprosy remains to be identified, multidrug therapy (MDT) is the only tool available for leprosy control. At present, therefore, the priority is to make MDT available in all endemic countries for all patients, even those living in difficult-to-access areas. The remaining important issues in chemotherapy research are to improve the quality of leprosy case-finding, improve the quality of MDT, identify the areas in which leprosy patients are not receiving proper MDT, and find the means necessary to ensure delivery to all of appropriate MDT. The MDT regimens recommended by the World Health Organization are of too long duration, require correct classification of the patients as PB or MB, and rely upon the daily self-administration of dapsone and clofazimine to prevent selection of rifampicin resistant mutants among MB patients. Thus, research leading to the development of new drug regimens should be directed toward overcoming the shortcomings of the presently recommended regimens. The drugs required to permit use of regimens of shorter duration, that may be employed among both PB and MB patients, and that enable fully supervised drug administration may be already in hand, and the necessary clinical trials to confirm efficacy and acceptability should be carried out.

Drug Therapy, Combination↗

Twenty-five years of tuberculosis in a French university hospital: a laboratory perspective.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of recent changes in the epidemiology of tuberculosis in France and other industrialised countries on the primary trends of tuberculosis case rates in a French university hospital. DESIGN: Descriptive study of all 4549 culture-positive tuberculosis cases hospitalised at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital between 1972 and 1996. RESULTS: From 1972, there was a decline of 5% per year in the tuberculosis case rate, which levelled off in 1983. The proportion of tuberculosis patients who were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive increased from 2% in 1983 to 28% in 1990, and thereafter remained stable. The proportion of foreign-born tuberculosis patients also increased, from 40% in 1972 to 55% in 1985. These two changes affected drug resistance patterns. Drug resistance was more common among foreign-born than among French-born patients, whether previously treated or not. Resistance to rifampicin and multidrug resistance among previously untreated patients was highly related to HIV co-infection. Extrapulmonary sites of tuberculosis were more often smear-positive in HIV-positive than in non-HIV-positive patients (22.8% vs 12.6%), and bacteraemia was diagnosed almost exclusively in HIV-positive patients. CONCLUSION: The changes in clinical and bacteriological tuberculosis patterns at the hospital level over the last 25 years have paralleled those observed at national and international level in industrialised countries, including a slowing in the decrease in the case rate, due in part to the HIV epidemic, a higher proportion of foreign-born patients and an increase in drug resistance.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

Surveillance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug resistance in France, 1995-1997. AZAY Mycobacteria Study Group.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the rate of primary and secondary drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis on an ongoing basis. DESIGN: Data on all culture-positive tuberculosis were collected prospectively from 1995 through 1997 from a microbiological laboratory network of 19 university hospitals throughout France, and submitted quarterly to the National Reference Centre for Surveillance of Mycobacterial Diseases. RESULTS: A total of 2998 patients were included in the study. Among the 2333 (78%) previously untreated patients, 8.6% had isolates resistant to any drug, 4.8% to streptomycin (SM) alone, 1.2% to isoniazid (INH) alone, 1.8% to SM + INH, and 0.3% to INH + rifampicin (RMP) or multidrug resistance (MDR). Foreign birth was independently associated with a higher risk of primary resistance to any drug (odds ratio [OR] 1.5). Among the 268 (9%) previously treated patients, 20.9% had isolates resistant to any drug, 6.3% to SM alone, 3.4% to INH alone, 4.1% to SM + INH, and 3.7% to INH + RMP. Foreign birth (OR = 2.3), and human immunodeficiency virus positive status (OR = 4.4) were independently associated with a higher risk of secondary resistance to any drug. CONCLUSION: During the last 30 years there has been no increase in resistance to any drug among previously untreated patients. As expected, secondary resistance was highly associated with foreign birth. MDR-TB remains a rare event in France.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

[Mycobacterium ulcerans infection].

Mycobacterium ulcerans infection, or Buruli ulcer, is the third most common mycobacterial disease of the immunocompetent host in the tropical areas. M. ulcerans reservoir is aquatic. Infection occurs in children and young adults. The lesion begins with an indolent subcutaneous nodule, principally located on the limbs, that progressively changes into a deep indolent extensive ulcer. M. ulcerans produces a lipidic necrotic and immunosuppressive toxin, named mycolactone, that causes the clinical lesions. In endemic areas, clinical diagnosis is confirmed by microscopic examination. Spontaneous healing occurs after several months or years, causing retractile scars. Surgical excision and grafting is the treatment of choice. Antibiotic therapy is of limited value.

Adult↗

Culture-independent prediction of isoniazid resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by katG gene analysis directly from sputum samples.

BACKGROUND: The molecular prediction of isoniazid (INH) resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is hampered by the need for specialized equipment, expertise, high costs, a limited range of detectable mutations, or several of these factors. The rationale for the study was to find a practical alternative and to demonstrate generally valid problems. METHODS AND RESULTS: DNA extracted from decontaminated sputum pellets was used to amplify a 0.26 kb target sequence within the katG gene. Mutations of codon 315, frequently found in isoniazid-resistant isolates, could be discriminated in a simple agarose minigel format following an AciI digest of the nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product. Within a panel of 22 sputum samples, INH resistance could be predicted in 5 of 10 samples containing isoniazid-resistant M. tuberculosis. The protocol is robust, requires little expertise and no specialized equipment, and provides the test results within 2 days. CONCLUSION: The results show the feasibility to rapidly and easily detect mutations highly predictive of isoniazid resistance. Nevertheless, this, like any other molecular resistance prediction test, is affected by often neglected factors, including mutation prevalences, the phenomenon of heteroresistance, and a possible bias toward one's own method.

Antitubercular Agents↗

Characterization, subcellular localization and nuclear targeting of casein kinase 2 from Zea mays.

We have isolated and characterized the genomic clone of maize casein kinase 2 (CK2) alpha subunit using the previously described alphaCK2-1 cDNA clone as a probe. The genomic clone is 7.5 kb long and contains 10 exons, separated by 9 introns of different size, two larger than 1.5 kb and the others around 100-150 bp. The sequence of the exons is 100% homologous to the sequence of the alphaCK2-1 cDNA. Southern hybridization of total genomic DNA from maize embryos with aCK2 cDNA indicated that the alphaCK2-1 gene is part of a multigenic family. We also isolated a new embryo cDNA clone coding for an alphaCK2-2 subunit. We studied the regulation of the enzyme in embryos at the mRNA level, at the protein level and by activity testing. By using immunocytochemistry the CK2 protein was localized in several types of cells of mature embryos. Particularly strong signals were visible in the cytoplasm of epidermis and meristematic cells. Decoration of nuclei of root cortex and scutellum cells was also observed suggesting that CK2 can shift from the cytoplasm into nuclei in specific cell types. We examined whether CK2 contained specific protein domains which actively target the protein to the nucleus by using in-frame fusions of the maize CK2alpha subunit to the reporter gene encoding beta-glucuronidase (GUS) which were assayed in transiently transformed onion epidermal cells. Analysis of chimeric constructs identified one region containing a nuclear localization signal (NLS) that is highly conserved in other alphaCK2 proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Outcome of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis in France: a nationwide case-control study.

The factors related to the outcome of 51 cases of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) reported in 1994 to the French National Reference Center were retrospectively analyzed. The patients (median age, 45 yr) were mainly male (75%), foreign-born (63%), and had pulmonary involvement (95%). Sixteen percent were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-coinfected. The number of drugs to which the Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates were susceptible was four. Only 82% of the patients have been hospitalized at any time (median duration, 33 d). Five patients (9%) received no antituberculosis drugs, although three had drug susceptibility results, indicating that two or more active drugs were available; 46 (91%) received drugs, including 37 who received two or more active drugs. Among the nine cases who received only one active drug, three had drug susceptibility results, indicating that two or more active drugs were available. By December 1996, 10 patients were lost before treatment completion, 24 had treatment failure, and 17 had a favorable outcome. The median survival time was 31 mo. Factors related to a poorer outcome were HIV-coinfection (hazard ratio [HR] = 41), treatment with less than two active drugs (HR = 9.9), and MDR status knowledge at the time of diagnosis (HR = 3.3). The country of birth was not associated with a poorer outcome. The management and outcome of MDR-TB in France has to be improved. A solution would be to develop a specialized unit or team for the treatment of MDR-TB, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

A national survey of human Mycobacterium bovis infection in France. Network of Microbiology Laboratories in France.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of Mycobacterium bovis in the epidemiology of human tuberculosis in France. DESIGN: A national survey in France in 1995 using a questionnaire mailed to all French microbiological laboratories performing mycobacteria cultures. RESULTS: M. bovis was isolated in 38 out of 7075 cases of bacteriologically confirmed tuberculosis (0.5%) notified to the National Reference Centre (CNR) in 1995, resulting in an incidence of 0.07 per 100,000 population. Incidence rates increased with age, and were the highest among patients of 75 years or more (range 0.02-0.33/100,000). Two cases of tuberculosis due to M. bovis were reported in foreign-born children who had come to France for treatment of their disease. No cases were reported among French-born children. The site of tuberculosis was pulmonary in 17 cases, extra-pulmonary in 14, both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary in one, and unknown in six. Extra-pulmonary sites were more frequent in older patients, and pulmonary sites more frequent in younger patients. Two patients were coinfected with the human immunodeficiency virus. Occupational exposure was identified in 13 cases and ingestion of non pasteurised milk in three. In addition, 11 patients had a possible risk of exposure related to their country of birth, family contact or occupation. CONCLUSION: In France, the 0.5% proportion of human tuberculosis due to M. bovis is similar to that of other developed countries. The higher incidence of the disease among older people is likely to reflect the efficacy of the control measures for tuberculosis in cattle.

Adolescent↗

[Which strategies for eradication of tuberculosis?].

Eradication of tuberculosis is biologically feasible because infectious tuberculosis is relatively easy to identify, is treatable and curable, with cure rates approaching 100% when modern short-course therapy is used. Early diagnosis and effective treatment reduce transmission. Infected persons at increased risk of developing infectious tuberculosis can be identified through tuberculin screening of high-risk populations and tuberculosis is, at least partly, preventable by the administration of preventive therapy (chemoprophylaxis) and BCG vaccination. Humans are the primary reservoir of the tubercle bacillus. In industrialized countries, tuberculin testing of dairy cattle and slaughter of infected animals and pasteurization of milk have virtually eliminated the problem. In industrialized countries, tuberculosis has retreated into focal pockets that can be targeted for intensified control efforts. Elimination of tuberculosis in these countries depends in part on global elimination because of imported cases. In developing countries, the immediate task is to control tuberculosis, and DOTS is the key detection and treatment strategy. Joint efforts should address the issue of the global implementation of DOTS strategy and of the research needs for effective vaccine, new drugs and new delivery services.

Animals↗

Mycobacterium avium complex common-source or cross-infection in AIDS patients attending the same day-care facility.

To delineate the epidemiology of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients, we studied 32 case patients with disseminated MAC infection who attended the same daycare facility during a period of 13 months. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis showed very low similarity between MAC strains, suggesting that, despite close contacts between the patients, nosocomial cross-transmission or exposure to a common source of MAC did not occur.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

Bactericidal activity of a single-dose combination of ofloxacin plus minocycline, with or without rifampin, against Mycobacterium leprae in mice and in lepromatous patients.

To develop a fully supervisable, monthly administered regimen for treatment of leprosy, the bactericidal effect of a single-dose combination of ofloxacin (OFLO) and minocycline (MINO), with or without rifampin (RMP), against Mycobacterium leprae was studied in the mouse footpad system and in previously untreated lepromatous leprosy patients. Bactericidal activity was measured by the proportional bactericidal method. In mouse experiments, the activity of a single dose of the combination OFLO-MINO was dosage related; the higher dosage of the combination displayed bactericidal activity which was significantly inferior to that of a single dose of RMP, whereas the lower dosage did not exhibit a bactericidal effect. In the clinical trial, 20 patients with previously untreated lepromatous leprosy were treated with a single dose consisting of either 600 mg of RMP plus 400 mg of OFLO and 100 mg of MINO or 400 mg of OFLO plus 100 mg of MINO. The OFLO-MINO combination exhibited definite bactericidal activity in 7 of 10 patients but was less bactericidal than the RMP-OFLO-MINO combination. Both combinations were well tolerated. Because of these promising results, a test of the efficacy of multiple doses of ROM in a larger clinical trial appears justified.

Adolescent↗

In vitro and in vivo activities of moxifloxacin and clinafloxacin against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

On 10% oleic acid-albumin-dextrose-catalase-enriched 7H11 agar medium, the MIC at which 90% of the isolates are inhibited for 20 strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was 0.5 microg of sparfloxacin (SPFX) or moxifloxacin (MXFX) per ml and 1.0 microg of clinafloxacin (CNFX) per ml, indicating that the in vitro activities of SPFX and MXFX were virtually identical and were slightly greater than that of CNFX. However, the in vivo activities of these drugs in a murine tuberculosis model differed considerably. Female Swiss mice were infected intravenously with 6.2 x 10(6) CFU of the H37Rv strain and treated for 4 weeks, beginning the next day after infection, with isoniazid (INH) serving as the positive control. By the criteria of 30-day survival rate, spleen weight, gross lung lesion, and mean number of CFU in the spleen, treatment with CNFX at up to 100 mg/kg of body weight six times weekly displayed no measurable effect against M. tuberculosis, whereas both SPFX and MXFX were effective; administration six times weekly of either of the latter two drugs demonstrated dosage-dependent bactericidal effects, as measured by enumeration of CFU in the spleens, and MXFX appeared more bactericidal than the same dosage of SPFX. Of the three fluoroquinolones, only MXFX at 100 mg/kg six times weekly appeared as bactericidal as INH at 25 mg/kg six times weekly. Thus, MXFX may be an important component of the newer combined regimens for treatment of tuberculosis.

Animals↗

Once-weekly rifapentine-containing regimens for treatment of tuberculosis in mice.

The bactericidal activities of several once-weekly rifapentine (P)-containing combination regimens against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and their ability to prevent the selection of rifampin (R)-resistant mutants, were compared with those of the standard six-times-weekly regimen consisting of R, isoniazid (H), and pyrazinamide (Z) in a mouse experiment. Mice were infected intravenously with 1.3 x 10(7) cfu of M. tuberculosis strain H37Rv, and 8 wk of treatment began on Day 14 after infection, when mice were randomly allocated to an untreated control group and nine treatment groups of 30 mice each. At the end of 8 wk of treatment, all the tested regimens showed promising bactericidal activities. Once-weekly P alone was less bactericidal than six-times-weekly R alone; likewise, the once-weekly P-containing combined regimens were less bactericidal than the six-times-weekly standard regimen. However, the difference in killing was about 1 log10, which represented only a fraction of the overall 4 log10 to 5 log10 magnitude of killing effects. The addition of streptomycin (S) improved the bactericidal effect of once-weekly PHZ, and the effect of once-weekly PHZS was further enhanced when it was preceded by 2 wk of daily HZS. The latter regimen achieved the same level of activity as the standard six-times-weekly regimen. All of the once-weekly P-containing combined regimens were able to prevent the selection of R-resistant mutants, whereas monotherapy with R or P selected resistant mutants in approximately 50% of animals.

Animals↗