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S R Pattyn

Publications and source records attributed to S R Pattyn.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Utility of an internal control for the polymerase chain reaction. Application to detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in clinical specimens.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify a 209 base-pair fragment of Mycoplasma pneumoniae DNA. The amplicon was transferred into a plasmid and a 680 base-pair piece of foreign DNA was inserted between the two amplimer sites. Plasmid DNA was added to the reaction mixture as an internal control for the polymerase chain reaction. Since the original hybridization target sites were included in this construction, one pair of amplimers could be used to amplify both the target DNA and the internal control DNA. Separation of internal control from target DNA after amplification was easily obtained on agarose gel electrophoresis. For the analysis of clinical samples with the polymerase chain reaction, the addition of internal control DNA allowed monitoring of the overall effectiveness of the amplification in each tube. With this technique approximately one-third of the tests were shown to be unsatisfactory due to technical errors or contaminating inhibitors. Adequate internal controls are necessary to avoid false-negative results with the polymerase chain reaction.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Ambulatory treatment of multibacillary leprosy with a regimen of 8 months duration.

An ambulatory treatment regimen for multibacillary leprosy, of 34 weeks duration composed of 8 weeks daily supervised rifampicin, ethionamide (ETH), dapsone (DDS) and clofazimine (CLO) followed by 26 weeks of unsupervised ETH, DDS and CLO, introduced in 1983 has been evaluated; 268 patients were followed for a mean of 4.4 years and a total of 1188 patient years. The relapse rate was 0.33 per 100 patient years of follow up. The reduction of the duration of the combined administration of RMP + ETH reduced the hepatotoxicity to 1.4%. It is possible that both phases of the regimen studied could still be reduced, however, in the near future ETH will be replaced by alternative bactericidal drugs, avoiding the hepatotoxicity.

Clofazimine↗
PubMed1992

Treatment of multibacillary leprosy with a regimen of 13 weeks duration.

In a prospective study 559 multibacillary patients in Zaire were treated for 13 weeks with twice weekly rifampicin (600 mg) and daily ethionamide (500 mg) and dapsone (100 mg), 13-RED, or clofazimine (100 mg), 13-REC. The patients were followed for a total of 1418 person years, mean 3.2 years. The incidence of hepatitis was 3.3%. The incidence of relapses was 0.28 per 100 person years. Relapses were due to drug-sensitive organisms. In patients who received the same drug regimens but with a reduced dosage of ethionamide to 5 mg/k bodyweight, the incidence of hepatitis was significantly lower but the relapse rate was 7.8 per 100 person years of follow-up in the RED group, no relapses were diagnosed in the REC group. It is concluded that by the use of potent antileprosy drugs in suitable combinations and dosages, it will be possible to shorten the duration of antibacterial treatment in multibacillary leprosy to 3 months.

Clofazimine↗
PubMed1992

Polymerase chain reaction amplifying DNA coding for species-specific rRNA of Mycobacterium leprae.

The sensitivity of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on the DNA coding for the species-specific fragment of 16S rRNA of Mycobacterium leprae studied on mouse foot pad harvests and human skin biopsies varies widely between 1 and 3 x 10(4) organisms. This is probably the result of variations in the proportions of organisms with sufficiently intact DNA suitable for PCR. Preserving human skin biopsies for 3 weeks at an ambient temperature even after boiling for 6 minutes gives rise to a 10-fold decrease in sensitivity. Fixation of tissues in formol 10% or Lowy fixative or preserving in Dubos OAA broth is very harmful to the PCR, mainly due to the enhancement of an inhibitory effect on the PCR reaction. For preservation, the best choice at the moment seems to be alcohol 70%. Sample preparation of five cycles of freeze-boiling is simple and generally more efficient than proteinase K treatment and DNA extraction.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Molecular biology in diagnostic microbiology. PCR on Mycobacterium leprae.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has already produced several hundreds of papers. Alternative procedures for diagnostic purposes based on nucleic acid detection do exist but have until now found less application. Problems with the PCR are discussed. It is proposed that the diagnostic microbiology laboratory has a section devoted to PCR for the diagnosis of diseases whose etiologic agent can "almost not" be cultured such as (for Flanders) Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Toxoplasma gondii, EB virus and some other agents in particular specimens. In this setting the PCR would only be performed on selected, clinically justified samples, in close collaboration between clinician and microbiologist. PCR will evidently play an important role in research. Illustration is given of PCR applied for the detection Mycobacterium leprae.

DNA Replication↗
PubMed1991

Rapid diagnosis of viral respiratory infections. Comparison between immunofluorescence on clinical samples and immunofluorescence on centrifuged cell cultures.

We compared the technique of immunofluorescence on clinical samples (IFCS) and immunofluorescence on centrifuged cell cultures (IFCC) for the detection of respiratory viruses, using monoclonal antibodies. Four hundred fourty five nasopharyngeal aspirates were tested prospectively for RSV, influenza- (A and B), parainfluenza viruses (1, 2, 3) and adenovirus. IFCS and IFCC detected 94% and 51% of RSV respectively, 78.5% and 82% of influenza viruses, 8.3% and 100% of parainfluenzaviruses and 0 and 100% of adenoviruses. We conclude that for routine rapid virus diagnosis the IFCS procedure is acceptable for RSV, that for influenza virus the IFCC procedure can be omitted for samples positive by IFCS, and that for the detection of parainfluenza and adenoviruses the IFCS procedure is too insensitive.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1991

Streptococcal myositis. A report of two cases.

Two patients are described with acute streptococcal myositis. One of them died after a brief duration of illness in multiple organ failure; the other survived extensive muscular damage complicated by diffuse intravascular coagulation, acute renal failure, adult respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopneumonia, Pseudomonas septicaemia and probably streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. Both patients received nonsteroidal antiphlogistics, purportedly involved in the pathogenesis of this syndrome. Based on a mouse model, clindamycin would seem to be the antibiotic of choice.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Application of a polymerase chain reaction for the detection of Mycobacterium leprae in skin tissues.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on the selective amplification of a 530-bp fragment of the gene encoding the proline-rich antigen of Mycobacterium leprae was applied on sections of fixed or frozen biopsy samples from leprosy patients. A simple procedure for the extraction of DNA from M. leprae in clinical specimens that provided suitable template DNA for amplification was developed. When PCR was applied on frozen sections, positive amplification in samples from all untreated acid-fast bacillus (AFB)-positive patients and in samples from 56% of the untreated AFB-negative patients could be detected, while biopsy samples from patients with skin diseases other than leprosy were all PCR negative. With neutral Formalin-fixed biopsy samples, positive amplification in 92% of the samples from untreated AFB-positive patients and in 61% of the samples from untreated AFB-negative patients could be detected by PCR. Biopsy samples exposed to mercuric chloride or nonbuffered formaldehyde containing fixatives were not suitable for application of PCR. This PCR holds promise as a tool for studies on M. leprae infection.

DNA, Bacterial↗
PubMed1991

Legionella pneumophila peritonitis in a kidney transplant patient.

Legionella pneumophila serotype 6 was isolated from the peritoneal fluid of a 59-year-old immunosuppressed patient who developed peritonitis shortly after kidney transplantation. Clinical and radiological examination did not show pulmonary abnormalities until shortly before his death when multiple organ failure developed with adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Post mortem examination showed L. pneumophila in the peritoneum and in a small pulmonary infiltrate, confirmed by positive cultures. A primary peritoneal inoculation via an indwelling Tenckoff catheter seems to have been the most likely route of infection. Positive L. pneumophila type 6 cultures were obtained from the shower and hot water tap in the room of the patient. L. pneumophila must be considered as a potential cause of peritonitis in which routine microbiological cultures remain negative.

Ascitic Fluid↗
PubMed1991

A controlled therapeutic trial in paucibacillary leprosy comparing a single dose of rifampicin with a single dose of rifampicin followed by one year of daily dapsone. The Collaborative Study Group for the Treatment of Leprosy in Zaire.

The cure rates of two treatment regimens in PB leprosy were compared in a prospective randomized trial: treatment U consisting of a single dose of rifampicin 40 mg/K bodyweight, and treatment A of rifampicin 1500 mg in a single dose, followed by one year of daily dapsone 100 mg. In patients with a BI = 0, the cure rates evaluated on the basis of histopathology of skin biopsies, were identical for the two regimens but in patients with a BI = 1, cure and relapse rates were unacceptable. For this reason and particularly the need to separate patients on the basis of the BI in skin biopsies, the single dose regimen does not appear to be suited for wide-scale application.

Dapsone↗
PubMed1991

Anti-Mycobacterium leprae activity of several quinolones studied in the mouse.

The anti-Mycobacterium leprae activity of several fluoroquinolones (A-56619, A-56620, ofloxacin, fleroxacin, lomefloxacin, temafloxacin, tosufloxacin, and PD-117596) was studied in the mouse. In a dosage of 150 mg/kg administered daily, A-56619 is active and A-56620 is inactive against M. leprae. Ofloxacin administered daily for 2 weeks at 300 mg/kg is bactericidal. The minimal effective dose of PD-117596, lomefloxacin and temafloxacin is less than 37.5 mg/kg. When administered at 300 mg/kg at monthly intervals temafloxacin, PD-117596, and ofloxacin are bacteriostatic; while fleroxacin and lomefloxacin are bactericidal. Tosufloxacin is less active than the other quinolones included in the present study.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Leprosy in the Comores 1981-88.

The evolution of the leprosy endemic in the République Fédérale Islamique des Comores between 1981 and 1988 is described. Leprosy on Grande Comore seems to be extinct. On the island of Anjouan the yearly detection rate is 0.38 per 1,000 with a high multibacillary rate (34%). Leprosy is highly endemic in children: during the last 6 years, 30% of multibacillary and 44% of paucibacillary cases are detected in the less than 15 years age group. Detection seems to be early as illustrated by the high proportion of paucibacillary patients with a small number of skin lesions and a low proportion of patients with severe infirmity. In the detection process both patient's and doctor's delays are short. Most diagnoses are suspected by relatives or others who had the disease in the past and who referred the suspects directly to the specialised service.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Evolution of the leprosy endemicity in Burundi during the years 1981-88.

Between 1981 and 1988 the detection rate of leprosy in Burundi increased from 2.4 per 100,000 during 1981-84 to 3.09 per 100,000 during 1985-88. The proportion of multibacillary disease remained constant at 30%. The detection rate in children decreased significantly from 21 to 9% for paucibacillary disease (PB) but remained constant for multibacillary disease (MB). The proportion of patients with disabilities doubled in both PB and MB patients. It seems thus that the detection rate is high but that cases are diagnosed fairly late. Health education of the public and staff in the Health Centers should stress the importance of better and earlier detection.

Adolescent↗