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Biomedical subjects

P Jacquier

Publications and source records attributed to P Jacquier.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Recurrence rate after discontinuation of long-term mebendazole therapy in alveolar echinococcosis (preliminary results).

The recurrence rate was investigated in 19 patients with non-resectable alveolar echinococcosis after discontinuation of a long-term therapy with mebendazole (average treatment 4.3 years). A control group consisted of 14 patients who underwent radical surgery and finished a course of prophylactic postoperative mebendazole treatment of 2 years. In the controls, no recurrence was observed after a post-therapy period averaging 3.5 years. In contrast, recurrence occurred in 7/19 patients (37%) with non-resectable alveolar echinococcosis an average of 1.6 years after discontinuation of the long-term mebendazole therapy. The absence of clinically detectable recurrence in the remaining 12 patients seems to be due either to spontaneous inactivation of alveolar echinococcosis preceding chemotherapy or too short post-therapy surveillance. The patients with recurrence responded favorably to reintroduction of chemotherapy. The data indicate that mebendazole therapy is parasitostatic rather than parasiticidal.

Adult↗

[Neurological manifestations of alveolar echinococcosis].

Among 78 cases of alveolar echinococcosis reported in Lorraine, France, 5 had neurologic complications which in 3 cases revealed the disease. Results of parasitic tests are discussed and emphasis is placed on differences between this disease and hydatidosis. Encephalic localizations (3 cases) were multiple making neurosurgery impossible. The outcome was fatal in 2 cases: 1 month after the initial neurologic signs in the absence of treatment (case 1) and 4 months after treatment with flubendazole (case 2). This drug was however effective in the 3rd case (hepatic, pulmonary and cerebral form) with follow-up now at 4 years. Epidemiologic, histopathologic, clinical, diagnostic characteristics and course of these encephalic localizations are reviewed. Spinal localizations (2 cases) presented with a picture of spinal cord compression. After laminectomy and flubendazole, the course was marked by relapse with death in one case and a satisfactory neurologic course with a 4 year follow-up in the other one.

Aged↗

An international study on the serological differential diagnosis of human cystic and alveolar echinococcosis.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the serological differentiation of cystic (Echinococcus granulosus) and alveolar (E. multilocularis) echinococcosis in man has been evaluated. A discrimination rate of 95.1% was found for 82 sera from patients of geographically disparate endemic areas. This rate was essentially the same as that found for 57 Swiss patients, indicating that inter- and intraspecific strain differences do not influence the test results. The assay method is suitable for immunodiagnostic purposes as well as for seroepidemiological studies.

Adolescent↗

Plasmodium falciparum in vitro culture: improvements using umbilical cord serum and medium modifications.

Umbilical cord serum is a cheap, readily available source of human serum which promotes in vitro P. falciparum growth as well or even better than adult serum, and gives more consistent results. By increasing to 35 mM the HEPES concentration in RPMI medium, the time elapsed between two medium changes can be extended to 48 hours (or even to 72 hours if optimum multiplication rates are not required). An initial parasitemia of 0.2% with medium changes on day 2 and 3, generally results in 6 to 12% parasitemia on day 4 (30 to 60 X/96 hours).

Culture Media↗

Evaluation of a new Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase assay (OptiMAL-IT) for the detection of malaria.

The new OptiMAL-IT(R) rapid diagnostic test for malaria was evaluated in 271 patients in Thailand with uncomplicated malaria between June and July 2002. The sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum parasites were 88% and 92%, respectively. For species other than P. falciparum, the sensitivity was 65% and specificity was 99%. The performance of the new test decreased markedly at low levels of parasitaemia.

Adolescent↗

A colorimetric in vitro drug sensitivity assay for Plasmodium falciparum based on a highly sensitive double-site lactate dehydrogenase antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

We report a double-site enzyme-linked lactate dehydrogenase immunodetection assay (DELI), a highly sensitive antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, which proved to be more sensitive for the detection of Plasmodium falciparum than thick blood smears, as sensitive as the polymerase chain reaction, and probably more reliable. This technique can help to detect infra-microscopic parasitemias (one parasite in 10(6)-10(8) red blood cells) from biological samples, and being quantitative, provide a fast substitute to thick smears for epidemiologic purposes. The technique can also be used to measure the in vitro drug sensitivity of P. falciparum with greater ease, much greater speed, and simpler equipment than that required for the isotopic microtest. Results obtained with four antimalarial drugs upon 16 strains closely paralleled those obtained by the isotopic assay (R = 0.95). In contrast with the latter, much lower parasite densities could be tested in the DELI assay (as low as 0.005%), thereby extending the number of isolates that can be investigated. The ease of implementation and low cost of the DELI-microtest may contribute to a revived interest in using in vitro methods to survey resistance to antimalarial drugs, so as to better predict future in vivo drug failures and provide public health recommendations.

Animals↗