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Biomedical subjects

J Schachter

Publications and source records attributed to J Schachter.

At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Multiple-antigen slide test for detection of immunoglobulin M antibodies in newborn and infant sera by immunofluorescence.

A microimmunofluorescence test was evaluated for use in measuring immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies in infant sera to five of the agents implicated in congenital and neonatal disease. Pen point dots of Toxoplasma gondii, cytomegalovirus, rubella virus, herpes simplex virus, and chlamydial cell culture antigens were applied to each circle of eight-circle printed slides. These multiple-antigen slides greatly facilitated the screening of 607 sera from infants and 117 sera from mothers for the presence of IgM antibody to these agents. Forty sera could be examined microscopically in approximately 30 min. All sera reacting with one or more antigens were tested for rheumatoid factor by the latex method, absorbed with glutaraldehyde-cross-linked human IgG, and retested for the presence of IgM antibody. IgM antibody to cytomegalovirus was demonstrated in sera from four newborns, but IgM antibody to rubella virus could not be detected until 21 days after birth, although rubella virus was isolated from sera from five younger infants. This may indicate that rubella IgM levels in many congenitally infected newborns are too low to be measured by the immunofluorescence method. Five percent of the sera from infants in this study possessed demonstrable IgM antibody to one of the antigens.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Intermittent trachoma chemotherapy: a controlled trial of topical tetracycline or erythromycin.

In communities with endemic blinding trachoma, mass (or "blanket") treatment with a topically applied tetracycline derivative is a standard control measure. The widely used "intermittent" treatment schedule consists of the twice daily application of antibiotic ointment for five consecutive days once a month for six months. In this study, the efficacy of "intermittent" treatment was evaluated for the treatment of severe and moderate intensity trachoma in children in southern Tunisia. Tetracycline or erythromycin ointments (specific antichlamydial drugs) were compared with 5% boric acid ointment (a simple antiseptic) given by the intermittent schedule during the winter and spring. There was a statistically significant degree of improvement at only one examination, four weeks after the full course of treatment had been completed. When re-examined five months later there were no differences in intensity in the three groups. The limited effect of topical chemotherapy might be attributable to several causes, among which could be inadequate drug levels, inadequate treatment periods, reinfection from non-treated children in the community, and auto-infection from extraocular sites (e.g., respiratory tract) in the same child. The possible value of short-term (two weeks) systemic antimicrobial therapy as an additional strategy to prevent blindness of children with potentially blinding active trachoma is discussed.

Boric Acids↗
PubMed1981

Serum and tear antibodies to Chlamydia after reinfection with guinea pig inclusion conjunctivitis agent.

Repeated inoculation of th eyes of guinea pigs with the naturally occurring Chlamydia psittaci agent, guinea pig inclusion conjunctivitis (GPIC), showed that animals gradually become susceptible to reinfection with the passage of time after primary infection. Higher levels of serum IgG antibody had a significant association with resistance to challenge inoculation only with a high dose (250 ELD50) but not with a low dose (25 ELD50) inoculum. With each inoculum, however, some animals with high serum antibody were susceptible. the presence of antibodies in tears did not correlate with resistance to the first low-dose challenge inoculation, but both tear IgG and secretory antibody did have a significant association with resistance on the second rechallenge with a high-dose inoculum. Topical treatment of the eye with immune serum or tears during primary infection reduced the amount of agent in the conjunctiva only during the period of application. Local treatment of the eye with heat-killed vaccine prior to primary infection did not produce detectable antibody or protect animals against challenge inoculation; this local immunization did "prime" the animals, however, so that they had an accelerated antibody response after infection. Although there is abundant evidence that local immunity has an important role in resistance to challenge inoculation with GPIC, serum and tear antibody levels correlate equally well with resistance to repeated ocular challenge inoculation. Effective immunization procedures for this chlamydial infection then would involve stimulation of both local and systemic immune responses.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

An animal model for cicatrizing trachoma.

An animal model of cicatrizing trachoma was developed in cynomolgus monkeys. This model is consistent with our hypothesis that repeated ocular inoculation of Chlamydia trachomatis, BOUR strain, mimics the repeated reinfection that occurs naturally in endemic human trachoma. A chronic follicular conjunctivitis developed, and scarring later appeared in the superior tarsal conjunctiva. The organism was reisolated after the infection and was also demonstrated cytologically. Specific antichlamydial antibodies of both the IgM and IgG types appeared in the sera of the monkeys. Histopathologic examination of conjunctiva showed a marked lymphocytic response and the presence of germinal centers; areas of conjunctival scar tissue were also examined. Efforts to produce a similar model in rhesus monkeys were less successful.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Experimental chlamydial salpingitis in the guinea pig.

Acute self-limited salpingitis developed when guinea pigs' fallopian tubes were infected with the guinea pig inclusion conjunctivitis agent (Chlamydia psittaci). The disease peaked at approximately 8 days post infection and had diminished markedly by day 14. The inflammatory reaction was concentrated at the luminal surface. Chlamydial replication was demonstrated and inclusions were found in epithelial cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Microbiology and pathogenesis of acute salpingitis as determined by laparoscopy: what is the appropriate site to sample?

Acute salpingitis is a polymicrobial disease. Neisseria gonorrhoeae and anaerobic gram-positive cocci were the predominant microorganisms isolated from the fallopian tubes of salpingitis patients. Gonococci were isolated from the fallopian tubes in eight of 35 (23%) patients; anaerobic bacteria were recovered from 10 of 35 (28.5%). Although Chlamydia trachomatis was not recovered from the fallopian tube exudate, there was abundant serologic evidence of chlamydial infection in the salpingitis patients. Twenty-three percent of patients with paired sera had a fourfold rise in IgM and IgG titer, which was consistent with systemic chlamydial infection. Comparison of cultures obtained via laparoscopy and culdocentesis suggested that culdocentesis is not an accurate reflection of the microbial milieu in the fallopian tube.

Ascitic Fluid↗
PubMed1980

Relative resistance to erythromycin in Chlamydia trachomatis.

Recent Chlamydia trachomatis isolates were tested in a tissue culture system for susceptibility to tetracycline, erythromycin, rosaramicin, rifampin, and clindamycin. Rifampin was the most active drug (minimal inhibitory concentration, less than or equal to 0.02 microgram/ml). Tetracycline and rasaramicin were highly active, with a concentration of less than or equal to 0.25 microgram/ml being chlamydicidal. Clindamycin was least active on a weight basis, requiring up to 16 microgram/ml to prevent the passage of chlamydiae into a drug-free tissue culture system. Relative resistance to erythromycin was detected; two isolates were capable of limited replication in 1 microgram/ml.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1980

Chlamydiae.

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Animal Diseases↗
PubMed1980

Fatal pulmonary psittacosis and aspergillosis. Case report of dual infection.

A 59-year-old man in previously good health had acute, progressive bronchopneumonia and died after a three-week course of illness, despite treatment with various antibiotics. Serologic, microbiologic, and histologic findings indicated infection with both Chlamydia psittaci and Aspergillus fumigatus. Disseminated, invasive aspergillosis sometimes is a complication of chronic respiratory disease, malignancy, or other deficiency of host defenses, but to our knowledge, this is the first report of psittacosis as a coincidental, probably predisposing disease.

Aspergillosis↗
PubMed1979

Prospective study of chlamydial infection in neonates.

Chlamydia trachomatis was recovered from the cervices of 4% (36/900) of pregnant women tested. 20 infants born through chlamydia-infected cervices were followed up for a year, as were 18 infants born to chlamydia-negative mothers. A statistically significant excess of conjunctivitis and pneumonia was found in infants exposed to chlamydia. The attack-rate for inclusion conjunctivitis was 35% (7/20) and for chlamydial pneumonia it was 20% (4/20). Chlamydiae were recovered from 10 of the 20 (50%) exposed infants, and seroconversion was demonstrated in 14 (70%). None of the 18 unexposed infants showed evidence of chlamydial infection. Thus in our clinic 2.8% of all newborns acquired chlamydial infection, with incidence-rates of 14 cases of conjunctivitis and 8 cases of pneumonia per 1000 live births. Neonatal chlamydial infection is thus a major public-health problem warranting a preventive programme based on the fuller provision of diagnostic services and the treatment of infected pregnant women.

Cervix Uteri↗
PubMed1979

Use of laparoscopy to determine the microbiologic etiology of acute salpingitis.

To determine the microbiologic etiology of acute salpingitis, laparoscopy was used in 26 patients to obtain specimens for a variety of microorganisms directly from the fallopian tube. Simultaneous culdocentesis was performed to obtain peritoneal fluid for microbiologic analysis. A variety of microorganisms were isolated from the fallopian tubes and cul-de-sac aspirate. However, the organisms isolated from the fallopian tube were not consistent with the cul-de-sac isolates. It appears that direct culture from the fallopian tube may be necessary to determine the microbiologic etiology and pathogenesis of acute salpingitis. N. gonorrhoeae was isolated from the cul-de-sac in 32 per cent of cases and the fallopian tube in 19 per cent. In patients with endocervical gonorrhea, the gonococcus was isolated from the fallopian tube in 38.5 per cent of cases. Aerobic and/or anaerobic bacteria were present in the cul-de-sac aspirate in 46 per cent of patients and in the fallopian tube in 38 per cent.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1979

Is trachoma an ocular component of a more generalised chlamydial infection?

In industrialised countries, inclusion conjunctivitis of the newborn is now known to be just one manifestation of a more generalised infection with Chlamydia trachomatis. Pneumonia and enteric infection can develop in perinatally infected infants. It is possible that trachoma in developing countries may reflect extraocular infection that may contribute to the high frequency of pneumonia and diarrhoea in infants in these countries. If true, this would explain the short-term effects of topical treatment, since children could reinfect their eyes by autoinoculation from other sites. Thus systemic treatment with macrolides would result in benefits beyond the temporary suppression of eye disease.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1979

Infection with Chlamydia trachomatis: involvement of multiple anatomic sites in neonates.

In a study of infection due to Chlamydia trachomatis in infants, chlamydiae were recovered not only from the conjunctiva and respiratory tract but also from the vagina and rectum. The timing of recovery suggested that the vagina and conjunctivae are exposed to chlamydiae at birth and that pneumonia and gastrointestinal infection occur later. Sampling of the rectum may be a useful procedure for the diagnosis of chlamydial disease in infants.

Chlamydia Infections↗
PubMed1979

Infant blood pressure and heart rate: relation to ethnic group (black or white), nutrition and electrolyte intake.

Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate were measured during non-rapid-eye-movement sleep in 392 full-term newborns and in 318 of these infants at age six months. Two-day records of food intake were collected at age six months for 150 infants. Black babies did not differ substantially in BP from white babies either at birth or at six months. The earliest BP tracking was from age six to 15 months (systolic (SBP): r = .29, p less than .001; diastolic:r = .45, p less than .001). No relationship was found between BP at six months and breast- or bottle-feeding, infant weight or weight change, or nutrient intake. The relationship between parental BP, on the one hand, and infant electrolyte intake and BP on the other, suggested that electrolyte intake was related to BP in the six-month-old infant, and that the relationship was different in white babies than in black babies. Among 56 white infants whose mother's mean BP was above the median for this population, infant sodium intake correlated with infant SBP (r = .31, p less than .009). Among 32 black infants, regardless of parents' BP, sodium intake was negatively correlated with SBP (r = -.36, p less than .021).

Black People↗
PubMed1979

Stimulation of peroxidase by chlamydial infection: cytochemistry of guinea pig conjunctival epithelium.

Guinea pig inclusion conjunctivitis, a naturally occurring chlamydial disease of guinea pigs, resolves spontaneously after 3 to 4 weeks. The factors responsible for curbing the infection have not yet been specifically defined. Since Iwata (Invest. Ophthalmol. 15:297-301, 1976) reported cytochemical activity for peroxidase in the conjunctival epithelium of the normal rat, we undertook these studies to determine whether a similar activity exists in the guinea pig, and if so, whether it functions in the elimination of this Chlamydia psittaci infection. Tarsal conjunctivas of 14 normal guinea pigs, 34 infected ones, and 7 control guinea pigs (inoculated with yolk sac only) were excised and tested for peroxidase by the Graham and Karnovsky method (J. Histochem. Cytochem. 14:291-302, 1966). We found that peroxidase activity, virtually absent in normal animals, was intensely stimulated by the infection. This enzymatic activity appeared 2 days after inoculation of the conjunctiva with chlamydia and persisted for 6 to 7 weeks. The enzyme was localized in the rough endoplasmic reticulum and perinuclear cisternae of all layers of the conjunctival epithelium from the external surface to the basal lamina, including cells with no apparent inclusions as well as those heavily parasitized. Reaction in the Golgi complex was variable. No reaction, however, was ever evident in the chlamydial vacuoles or lysosomes, and the organisms continued to grow and multiply during peak enzymatic activity. We therefore concluded that the stimulated enzyme is apparently not directly responsible for the waning of the infection, but instead reflects an alteration of host metabolism that occurs as a consequence of the infection.

Animals↗