Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S S Das.
A case of brain abscess involving Haemophilus paraphrophilus and Actinomyces odontolyticus is presented. This combination of organisms has not previously been described. All brain abscess specimens should routinely be processed rapidly and cultured for a prolonged period to ensure recovery of fastidious organisms which may have implications for antibiotic therapy.
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To determine whether a trans-synaptic mechanism triggered the effects of reserpine on adrenomedullary mRNAs encoding the norepinephrine transporter and tyrosine hydroxylase, we administered 10 mg/kg reserpine to rats after unilateral splanchnicotomy, and examined their adrenal medullas using quantitative in situ hybridization. Splanchnicotomy did not alter the decrease in norepinephrine transporter mRNA that follows reserpine administration, but diminished the reserpine-induced increase in tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA by almost 80%. Despite the latter effect, reserpine still induced a significant increase in tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA in denervated adrenal medullas, compared to vehicle-treated adrenal medullas. These results show that a trans-synaptic mechanism does not trigger the decrease in adrenomedullary norepinephrine transporter mRNA following reserpine. In addition, an innervation-independent mechanism mediates a portion of the reserpine-induced increase in adrenomedullary tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA.
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We report a case of aortic valve endocarditis caused by Enterococcus faecalis highly resistant to gentamicin, which failed to respond to conventional antibiotic combination therapy. Extensive in vitro testing was required to determine an appropriate antimicrobial regimen. Despite bacteriological resolution and cardiac surgery the patient died from complications of infective endocarditis.
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OBJECTIVE: To determine the changes in serum iron levels, if any, as a biochemical marker of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). METHOD: Fifty-four primigravidas with PIH formed the study group and 20 normotensive primigravidas comprised the control group in a prospective study. Serum iron levels were estimated at diagnosis of PIH, at termination of pregnancy and in the postpartum period. Data was analyzed using Student's t-test, the chi 2-test and regression analysis. RESULTS: Subjects with PIH were found to have higher serum iron levels at diagnosis of PIH (recruitment value) and at termination of pregnancy than the controls (P < 0.001). Serum iron levels in the PIH subjects decreased markedly in the postpartum period simultaneously with the clinical recovery from PIH. Serum iron values of > or = 110 micrograms/dl was found to differentiate PIH from normotensive pregnancies with a sensitivity and specificity of 89% and 90%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in serum iron levels correlated with the clinical course of PIH and appeared to be a uniform and specific biochemical marker of PIH although its correlation with the severity of PIH was found to be poor.
We describe the first reported case in the literature of bacterial endocarditis caused by Enterococcus faecium that was highly resistant to gentamicin. The case is unusual in that it followed a successfully treated Streptococcus sanguis endocarditis. The micro-organism was susceptible only to the glycopeptide antibiotics, vancomycin and teicoplanin and to agents such as pristinamycin and daptomycin which are not routinely available for treatment. It illustrates the therapeutic dilemma posed by serious infections with such micro-organisms and supports previous observations that early heart valve replacement surgery may be necessary to achieve cure of endocarditis due to enterococci which are highly resistant to gentamicin. It further emphasises the importance of screening for high-level aminoglycoside resistance in enterococci in all life threatening enterococcal infections, including endocarditis, septicaemia and meningitis when aminoglycoside-penicillin synergy is required for successful treatment.
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In 1982, five patients having pemphigus vulgaris, four men and one woman, ranging in age between 16 and 48 years, were treated with an arbitrary regimen designed by us. The regimen consisted of giving 100 mg dexamethasone in 500 mL of 5% glucose by a slow intravenous infusion on three consecutive days, along with 500 mg cyclophosphamide on one day only. Such dexamethasone-cyclophosphamide pulses (DCP) were meant to be given once a month, but most patients were not regular in this treatment. In between these pulses the patients received only 50 mg cyclophosphamide orally per day. Oral corticosteroids were given only when necessary. After having received a total of 14 to 48 DCPS, further treatment for pemphigus was withdrawn. All the patients are in continuous clinical remission for the last 4 to 9 years and without any treatment for 2 to 7 years. Further studies on more pemphigus patients have yielded similar results suggesting that it may be possible to cure pemphigus.
The effect of temperature on the transtadial transmission of Theileria annulata in Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum was studied. Variation in temperature (4-40 degrees C) had a significant effect on moulting rate of the ticks and transmission of theilerial parasites from nymphs to resultant adults. The temperatures above 40 degrees C and below 12 degrees C prevented moulting. Maximum infection levels were obtained in salivary glands of adult ticks when the infected engorged nymphs were incubated at 24-28 degrees C. The infection rate in salivary glands was assessed using a methyl green pyronin technique.
Two hundred forty-six patients with a wide range of upper gastrointestinal tract disorders were investigated for the presence of Campylobacter pylori infection in esophagus, gastric antrum, and duodenum. C. pylori was identified in 52% of patients in at least one site, and microbiological and histological techniques were used to exclude the presence of the organism. Esophageal infection was not significant and is probably due to reflux. Antral C. pylori was significantly associated with active gastritis and active duodenitis and is possibly pathogenic.
The opsonic activity of human serum from various sources against Campylobacter pylori was compared. All sera, whether from control subjects with no symptoms of gastritis or peptic ulceration, or from symptomatic patients from whom C. pylori had or had not been isolated, opsonised C. pylori equally well. Opsonisation depended on the alternative pathway of complement activation but not on antibody. These findings suggest that antibody plays no role in protection against C. pylori and that the presence of antibody in patients' sera is mainly of diagnostic value.
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