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Biomedical subjects

T Vesikari

Publications and source records attributed to T Vesikari.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Faecal excretion of alpha-1-antitrypsin in acute diarrhoea.

High levels of faecal alpha-1-antitrypsin were found in children suffering from acute rotavirus diarrhoea and in children with diarrhoea in whom no microbial pathogen could be established. The results suggest that transient protein-losing enteropathy is common in acute childhood diarrhoea and may influence the outcome of the disease.

Acute Disease↗

Perinatal Campylobacter fetus ss jejuni enteritis.

A 2-day-old breast-fed male infant developed mucoid and blood diarrhoea, and Campylobacter fetus ss jejuni was isolated from the stools but not from the blood. The probable source of transmission was his mother in whom symptoms of Campylobacter jejuni-associated illness began one day earlier. Both showed IgM, IgG and IgA antibody responses to autologous and reciprocal strains of Campylobacter jejuni as studied by ELISA.

Adult↗

Quantitative aspects of rotavirus excretion in childhood diarrhoea.

The amount of rotavirus (antigen) in diarrhoeal stools was determined from serially diluted faecal specimens using a solid phase radioimmunoassay (RIA) method. The acute stage RIA titres for rotavirus antigen ranged from 1:200 to 1:200 000 with a mean titre of 1:2 936 in a group of 16 infants with age range 2 to 14 months and 1:4 703 in a group of 12 children aged 25 to 94 months. In the younger age-group the diarrhoea lasted longer (mean 7.8 days) than in the older children (mean 5.4 days) despite the fact that the quantity of rotavirus was similar. In most of the younger infants there was either no demonstrable rotavirus present at the time of cessation of diarrhoea, or the amount of virus was on the decrease. In contrast, among the older children there were cases with a high titre of rotavirus in the stools a few days after the diarrhoea had ceased. These children were considered as potential spreaders of rotavirus infection in the community. However, none of the long-term follow-up stool specimens, collected 28 to 47 days after the onset of diarrhoea, were positive for rotavirus RIA.

Antigens, Viral↗

Plasmids in Yersinia enterocolitica serotypes O:3 and O:9: correlation with epithelial cell adherence in vitro.

Human isolates of Yersinia enterocolitica serotypes O:3 (biotype 4) and O:9 (biotype 3) harbored plasmids sized approximately 47 and 44 megadaltons, respectively. No such plasmids were found in "apathogenic" strains of Y. enterocolitica belonging to biotype 1. There was a positive correlation among the presence of plasmid, autoagglutination, and adherence to and toxicity for HEp-2 cell cultures; all of these properties were lost by culturing at 37 degrees C in the absence of calcium. Strains of Y. enterocolitica O:3 and O:9 cured of the plasmids showed increased invasiveness in the HEp-2 cell culture model, but no invasiveness in guinea pig eye. It is suggested that the plasmids of Y. enterocolitica primarily determine epithelial cell adherence, but may also be associated with other pathogenic properties.

Adhesiveness↗

Rotavirus, adenovirus, and non-viral enteropathogens in diarrhoea.

The aetiology of rotavirus and adenovirus in acute gastroenteritis was studied in a prospective series that comprised 283 children admitted consecutively with diarrhoea during a 1-year period. Rotavirus was associated in 49% of the cases by solid-phase radioimmunoassay and electron microscopical examination of stool specimens, or by serology. Adenovirus was detected by radioimmunoassay in the stool specimens of 29 (11%) patients, including 8 cases of possible dual infection with rotavirus. Rotavirus infections showed a typical age distribution and seasonal clustering between January and June, whereas the adenovirus-associated cases did not form a distinctive subgroup. Enteropathogenic bacteria were found in 10% of cases, and were nearly as common in association with rotavirus infection as not. Respiratory symptoms accompanied diarrhoea in 34% of the patients with rotavirus and in 25% of those with neither rotavirus nor adenovirus. Therefore we could not confirm the existence of a 'rotavirus syndrome', nor could we confirm an association of respiratory symptoms with rotavirus infection. Use of antibiotics before the onset of diarrhoea was more common among those with non-viral diarrhoea (23%) than in the rotavirus group (13%). Rotavirus infections appeared to be common among cases of 'antibiotic-induced' diarrhoea.

Adenoviridae Infections↗

Enterotoxigenic and invasive Escherichia coli as causes of childhood diarrhoea in Finland.

E. coli was considered as the possible aetiologic agent in 16 cases (5.7%) of 283 hospital admissions for diarrhoea. One invasive strain was isolated from a case with exudative diarrhoea. Four heat-labile (LT) enterotoxin-producing strains were found in relatively mild cases of diarrhoea. Eleven strains belonged to "classic" pathogenic serotypes (EPEC); 9 of these were endemic cases and 2 associated with travel. Of the latter, 1 strain (078) was also found to produce heat-stable (ST) enterotoxin detectable by infant mouse assay. Although EPEC are now found much less frequently than 20 years ago, E. coli as a whole may still be the most common bacterial aetiology of childhood diarrhoea in Finland.

Adolescent↗

Evaluation of ELISA in the diagnosis of Yersinia enterocolitica diarrhoea in children.

In a series of acute gastroenteritis in children, including 2 bacteriologically confirmed cases of Yersinia enterocolitica infection, paired sera from 286 patients were studied for the presence of Y. enterocolitica 0:3 and 0:9 antibodies, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In the 2 cases with positive stool culture of Y. enterocolitica 0:3 significant rise was seen in each IgM, IgG and IgA class Y. enterocolitica 0:3 antibodies. There were 6 further cases with elevated anti-Yersinia IgM: these possibly false-positive reactions were distinguished from the confirmed cases of Y. enterocolitica infection by the absence of IgG and IgA antibodies.

Acute Disease↗

Yersiniosis in children.

40 cases of bacteriologically proved Yersinia enterocolitica infections in children under 15 years were reviewed. Most children presented with abdominal symptoms, and diarrhoea was present in 80% of them. In half of those with diarrhoea the stools were mucoid and gross blood was often present. Faecal leucocytes were found in 4 out of the 5 children studied. The clinical findings are consistent with the enteroinvasive pathogenic mechanism proposed for Y. enterocolitica. 29 of 30 faecal isolates of Y. enterocolitica were found invasive for human epithelial cells in vitro. Nine strains produced an enterotoxin demonstrable in newborn mouse assay. Toxin production may be an additional pathogenic mechanism in human yersiniosis.

Adolescent↗

Suppression of lymphocyte PHA-responsiveness after rubella vaccination with Cendehill and RA 27/3 strains.

Two rubella vaccine strains, Cendehill and RA 27/3, were compared with regard to their immunosuppressive effect in vivo. 26 female vaccinees were studied. Both vaccines caused a slight transient suppression of lymphocyte responsiveness to mitogens on day 11 after vaccination. A whole blood culture method was used for lymphocyte stimulation tests, and the method appeared suitable for clinical studies of cell-mediated immunity.

Cells, Cultured↗

Suppressed lymphocyte mitogen-responsiveness in urinary tract infections of children and its correlation to pyelonephritis.

Cell-mediated immunity (CMI) was studied in a group of 48 children with urinary tract infections (UTI) using a whole blood micromethod for lymphocyte stimulation in vitro. The patients were subdivided into pyelonephritis group (27 cases) and lower urinary tract infection (LUTI) group (21 cases) on the basis of fever, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reative protein and renal concentration capacity. At the acute stage of infection the lymphocyte responsiveness to leucoagglutinin (LA) and concanavalin A (Con A) was suppressed in both groups, but the suppression was much greater in those with pyelonephritis. By 6 weeks after infection the lymphocyte responses were normal in most but not all cases. We conclude that an acute pyelonephritis is associated with marked suppression of CMI and that the latter can be used as an additional criterion for establishing the level of infection. Patients with UTI did not generally appear to have any primary defect of CMI but when suppression of CMI was present, it seemed secondary to an ongoing infection.

Agglutinins↗

Acute tubulointerstitial nephritis in a patient with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.

A 26-year-old man developed pneumonia, hepatitis and biopsy-verified acute tubulointerstitial nephritis coinciding with a rise and fall of complement-fixing antibodies to Mycoplasma pneumoniae. M. pneumoniae antigenic material and complement (C3) in the renal interstitium were shown by immunohistochemical techniques. A causal relationship between M. pneumoniae infection and the renal lesion is suggested.

Acute Disease↗