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Biomedical subjects

J Schachter

Publications and source records attributed to J Schachter.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Placental microbiology and histology and the pathogenesis of chorioamnionitis.

The present study was undertaken to determine the proportion of cases of chorioamnionitis that was caused by microbiologic agents. Seventy-five placentas were processed to isolate aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and chlamydia. Results were correlated with the presence or absence of histologic and clinical chorioamnionitis. Bacteria were recovered from 72% (18 of 25) of placentas with histologic chorioamnionitis and from nine of 11 cases (82%) of clinical chorioamnionitis, all of which had histologic chorioamnionitis. Bacteria were recovered from only 15% (six of 39) of placentas without histologic chorioamnionitis. Nearly 50% of the bacteria recovered from placentas were anaerobes, often fastidious in their growth requirements. Often two to three such anaerobes were recovered from a placenta. Findings of the present study increase the possibility that bacteria are responsible for most cases of chorioamnionitis.

Chlamydia Infections↗
PubMed1984

Chlamydia trachomatis is not an important cause of abnormal postcoital tests in ovulating patients.

To examine the role of Chlamydia trachomatis infections of the cervix and abnormal postcoital tests (PCT) in a general infertility clinic, 63 consecutive patients undergoing a midcycle PCT during a routine infertility workup underwent endocervical curettage, and a 10-ml blood sample was obtained. The endocervical tissue was cultured for C. trachomatis; the serum sample was analyzed for chlamydial IgG and IgM antibodies using an indirect microimmunofluorescence assay. A negative titer was considered to be less than or equal to 1:8 dilution for IgG antibodies and less than or equal to 1:32 dilution for IgM antibodies. A good PCT was defined as greater than or equal to 5 motile sperm per high power field (HPF). A poor PCT was defined as less than 2 motile sperm/HPF, and a fair PCT was defined as 2 to 4 motile sperm/HPF. Of the 63 PCTs done, 27 (42.9%) were good, 14 (22.2%) were fair, and 22 (34.9%) were poor. All endocervical tissue cultures for C. trachomatis obtained during PCTs were negative. All IgM chlamydial antibody titers were negative (less than or equal to 1:32 dilution), 55 (87.3%) of the patients having a zero titer. Eleven (17.5%) of the patients had negative IgG chlamydial antibody titers (less than or equal to 1:8 dilution), none of the patients had a 1:16 dilution, and 52 (82.5%) had positive IgG chlamydial antibody titers (greater than or equal to 1:32 dilution). Thus, chlamydial infections of the endocervix are rare and not commonly associated with poor PCTs in this patient population.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Serologic evidence of chlamydial and mycoplasmal pharyngitis in adults.

In a study of 763 adult patients we found serologic evidence of infection (a fourfold increase in antibodies) with Chlamydia trachomatis in 20.5 percent of the patients and with Mycoplasma pneumoniae in 10.6 percent, but with group A streptococcus (by culture) in only 9.1 percent. Pharyngitis, the most common problem for which patients seek medical care in the United States, may be caused by nonviral, potentially treatable organisms more often than had been suspected.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Failure of beta-lactam antibiotics to eradicate Chlamydia trachomatis in the endometrium despite apparent clinical cure of acute salpingitis.

Chlamydia trachomatis was isolated from 17 (24%) of 71 patients with acute salpingitis (AS) hospitalized for parenteral treatment. For patients with AS, antimicrobial therapy was started immediately on admission and before the availability of culture results. Notable clinical response was seen in 16 of 17 chlamydial-positive cases. Despite apparent clinical cure, posttreatment cultures from the endometrial cavity yielded C trachomatis from 12 of 13 patients treated solely with second- or third-generation cephalosporins as single-agent therapy. The finding of persistent chlamydial infection of the endometrium suggests that some patients treated for AS, despite apparent clinical response, maintain chlamydial infection of the endometrium that might cause relapse or chronic fallopian tube infection with tubal obstruction and infertility, or perhaps reflect a similar tubal persistence of Chlamydia. Treatment of AS should routinely include coverage for C trachomatis, as clinical response and findings may not reflect its presence or persistence.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1983

Urine as a specimen for diagnosis of sexually transmitted diseases.

The case of specimen collection has led to the suggestion that urine might be a useful specimen for the isolation of sexually transmitted disease agents. It would only be an appropriate specimen for agents that infect the urethra, such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae or Chlamydia trachomatis. Comparative tests have shown that culture of urine for chlamydiae (from men with urethritis) or for gonococci from women is an insensitive procedure. Gonococci can be isolated from urine from men at rates essentially equivalent to culture of urethral swabs. If specimens can be processed promptly (to avoid bactericidal effects of urine), culture of urine can likely be useful for screening asymptomatic men for gonococcal infection.

Adenovirus Infections, Human↗
PubMed1983

Chlamydia trachomatis-induced salpingitis in mice.

Inoculation of the mouse pneumonitis biovar of Chlamydia trachomatis into the ovarian bursa of mice resulted in salpingitis. An acute inflammatory response in the bursa and contiguous oviduct peaked at six to nine days postinoculation. At day 14, most animals showed an acute and chronic infiltrate that occluded the oviductal lumen in some sections. Inflammatory exudate and debris accumulated in the periovarial space near the ostium of the oviduct. Inclusions were demonstrated in the lumenal epithelial cells of the oviduct and uterus. The mouse pneumonitis agent could be recovered from genital tissues for up to 21 days postinoculation but not from other organs. IgG antibodies to the mouse pneumonitis agent were detected at seven days postinoculation and reached peak titers by 21-30 days. By 25-30 days postinoculation, the inflammatory reaction declined and hydrosalpinx was observed. This model for salpingitis may be useful in understanding some aspects of the pathogenesis of C trachomatis genital infections.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Intraindividual variability in human figure drawings: a developmental study.

An investigation was conducted with a normal population, in which 180 children drew "a person" four times under identical conditions. Three types of variability were assessed: score, content, and visual. A cyclical pattern was found in all three areas, with significant correlations between visual variability and score and content variabilities.

Art↗
PubMed1983

Selection and outcome in in-patient psychotherapy.

In a retrospective study of 28 successive admissions for in-patient psychotherapy, the following characteristics have been identified as predictors of favourable outcome: a diagnosis of neurotic psychopathology; superior intelligence; considerable depression; and minimal previous out-patient treatment. Two alternative sets of decision rules are presented which might be used as a guide in deciding whether to admit patients. More rigorous selection criteria are suggested in the common situation where the demand for treatment greatly exceeds the supply of facilities, but such criteria would result in the exclusion of a small proportion of borderline patients who might respond to in-patient psychotherapy and might otherwise prove untreatable.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Failure to detect cell-mediated cytotoxicity against Chlamydia trachomatis-infected cells.

Mice were infected with Chlamydia trachomatis (L2/434) and at various intervals after infection their lymphoid cells were tested directly for cytotoxic activity against Chlamydia-infected L929 cells. In a modified cell-mediated lympholysis assay, splenic, lymph node, and peritoneal exudate cells did not significantly cause the destruction of the infected targets, although infection did result in the formation of antichlamydial antibodies. Whereas chlamydial antigens are capable of activating cell-mediated immunity in other experimental models, our results show that either this chlamydial infection does not induce the generation of cytotoxic effector cells or chlamydial antigens are absent from the surface of infected cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for immunoglobulin G and M antibodies to Chlamydia trachomatis in human sera.

Microimmunofluorescence methods used for detection of immunoglobulin G and M antibodies to Chlamydia trachomatis are not available to many clinical laboratories. We evaluated a simple enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in which serotype L2 elementary bodies are used as antigen. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay proved satisfactory for the detection of serum IgG. A total of 160 human sera were tested, and the results correlated well with those obtained by microimmunofluorescence. Results for IgM antibody detection were not as successful, and correlation with current methods was poor.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Detection of antichlamydial immunoglobulin G and M antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Chlamydia trachomatis causes a wide range of infections in adults and conjunctivitis and pneumonia in neonates. The complement fixation test for chlamydial antibody is broadly reactive, but possesses low sensitivity, whereas the microimmunofluorescence test is highly sensitive, but technically difficult to perform. A simple, rapid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been developed for the measurement of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM antibodies to C. trachomatis. Wells of microtiter plates were coated with Renografin-purified elementary bodies (serotype L2) grown in cycloheximide-treated McCoy cells, and serum antibody was detected with peroxidase-labeled goat antihuman IgG and IgM antibody. Of 41 sera tested from patients with lymphogranuloma venereum, pelvic inflammatory disease, cervicitis, or urethritis there was a 90 and 63% correlation of positive results for IgG and IgM, respectively, by microimmunofluorescence and ELISA. Of the positive correlates, ELISA titers were up to 128 times higher than microimmunofluorescence titers for IgG and IgM. The ELISA detected no false-positive results, but missed two positive results for IgG. Both of these sera were reactive against serotypes C and J, suggesting that the ELISA with LGV L2 antigen may not measure antibodies to serotypes within the C serogroup. The IgM ELISA detected 7 negative and 4 positive results not detected by the microimmunofluorescence test. Of four paired sera examined by ELISA, three showed a fourfold rise in IgG antibody titer, and one showed a twofold rise. Further evaluation of this ELISA will be required to determine how useful it will be in seroepidemiological studies and as a diagnostic tool.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1983

Immunoassay for detecting Chlamydia trachomatis major outer membrane protein.

The development of a solid-phase immunoassay for the detection of the 39,500-dalton major outer membrane protein of the Chlamydia trachomatis lymphogranuloma venereum serotype L2 is described. The test uses immunoadsorbent-purified rabbit anti-L2 major outer membrane protein immunoglobulin G (IgG) passively adsorbed to microtiter plates as a capture antibody. This same IgG antibody was either conjugated to horseradish peroxidase or radioiodinated with 125I and used as a probe to detect major outer membrane protein bound to immobilized IgG. At its greatest sensitivity, the test was capable of detecting 0.5 to 1 ng of purified major outer membrane protein, 5 X 10(3) elementary body inclusion-forming units, and approximately 100 C. trachomatis intracytoplasmic inclusions per assay.

Antibody Specificity↗
PubMed1983

Association of genital mycoplasmas with exudative vaginitis in a 10 year old: a case of misdiagnosis.

A 10-year-old girl with a 1-year history of lower genitourinary tract symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection but with numerous negative urine cultures was referred to the University of Alabama urology clinic after empirical treatment with multiple antibiotics failed to resolve her symptoms. An extensive urologic evaluation revealed no structural or physiologic abnormalities, but an exudative vaginitis was noted and large numbers of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis were isolated from the lower genital tract. Cultures for Chlamydia, viruses, and routine bacterial pathogens were negative. After initiation of tetracycline therapy, symptoms resolved and subsequent cultures for mycoplasmas were negative. In addition, a seroconversion was noted for M hominis but not for U urealyticum. Chlamydia serology was negative. It was later learned that the patient had been sexually molested just prior to the onset of symptoms. This case illustrates the necessity of early consideration of a mycoplasmal etiology in the patient with persistent genitourinary symptoms and no obvious bacterial pathogen, or in the patient whose condition is refractory to routine antibiotic therapy.

Child↗
PubMed1983

An animal model of trachoma: IV. The failure of local immunosuppression to reveal inapparent infection.

Repeated inoculation with live chlamydia trachomatis is necessary to develop a model of trachoma in monkeys. However, it is not possible to reisolate chlamydia from the monkey's eye after the first 1 or 2 months of weekly reinoculation. The effect of subconjunctival steroid injections in monkeys that had received weekly inoculations with live chlamydia is reported. Despite a profound suppression of local inflammation, steroid treatment did not produce a reactivation of identifiable chlamydial infection as determined by repeated chlamydial cultures and cytologic examinations.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗