The pathogenesis of nephropathia epidemica: new knowledge and unanswered questions.

Puumala virus (PUUV) causes an acute hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), a zoonosis also called nephropathia epidemica (NE). The reservoir host of PUUV is the bank vole (Myodes glareolus). Herein we review the main clinical manifestations of NE, acute kidney injury, increased vascular permeability, coagulation abnormalities as well as pulmonary, cardiac, central nervous system and ocular manifestations of the disease.

Chronic myeloid leukemia patients in prolonged remission following interferon-α monotherapy have distinct cytokine and oligoclonal lymphocyte profile.

Before the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), interferon-alpha (IFN-α) was the treatment of choice in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Curiously, some IFN-α treated patients were able to discontinue therapy without disease progression. The aim of this project was to study the immunomodulatory effects of IFN-α in CML patients in prolonged remission and isolate biological markers predicting response.

Immunological effects of low-dose cyclophosphamide in cancer patients treated with oncolytic adenovirus.

Patients with advanced solid tumors refractory to and progressing after conventional therapies were treated with three different regimens of low-dose cyclophosphamide (CP) in combination with oncolytic adenovirus. CP was given with oral metronomic dosing (50 mg/day, N = 21), intravenously (single 1,000 mg dose, N = 7) or both (N = 7). Virus was injected intratumorally.

Oncolytic adenovirus coding for granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor induces antitumoral immunity in cancer patients.

Granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GMCSF) can mediate antitumor effects by recruiting natural killer cells and by induction of tumor-specific cytotoxic T-cells through antigen-presenting cells. Oncolytic tumor cell-killing can produce a potent costimulatory danger signal and release of tumor epitopes for antigen-presenting cell sampling. Therefore, an oncolytic adenovirus coding for GMCSF was engineered and shown to induce tumor-specific immunity in an immunocompetent syngeneic hamster model.

Sinusitis in the common cold.

Background: Acute community-acquired sinusitis is considered a bacterial complication of the common cold. Radiologic abnormalities in sinuses occur, however, in most patients with upper respiratory virus infections.

Objective: Assessment of the occurrence, clinical profile, laboratory findings, and outcome of radiologically confirmed sinusitis was carried out as part of a common cold study in young adults.

Molecular diagnosis of human rhinovirus infections: comparison with virus isolation.

To compare the sensitivity and specificity of RT-PCR with that of virus isolation in the detection of human rhinoviruses, we tested nasopharyngeal aspirates from 200 patients on the 1st and 7th days after the onset of the common cold. An assay utilizing a short amplicon in the conserved 5' noncoding region was found highly sensitive. Of 192 positive samples altogether, 65 were found positive by RT-PCR only, 6 were positive by isolation exclusively, and 121 gave positive results in both tests.

Viruses and bacteria in the etiology of the common cold.

Two hundred young adults with common colds were studied during a 10-month period. Virus culture, antigen detection, PCR, and serology with paired samples were used to identify the infection. Viral etiology was established for 138 of the 200 patients (69%).

Waterborne outbreak of viral gastroenteritis.

A waterborne epidemic took place in a Finnish municipality in April 1994. Some 1500-3000 people, i.e.

Clinical scoring system in the evaluation of adult pharyngitis.

Objective: To compare results of a clinical scoring system for diagnosis of group A streptococcal pharyngitis with microbiologic results, when several different pharyngeal pathogens were tested simultaneously.

Design: Evaluation of clinical manifestations of 106 adult patients with pharyngitis of different microbial origin.

Setting: General private practice; Health Center Pulssi, Turku, Finland.

Expression of the L2 and E7 genes of the human papillomavirus type 16 in female genital dysplasias.

The expression of the E7 and L2 genes of HPV 16 was studied in benign and precancerous female genital lesions to evaluate their role in the development of dysplasias. Ninety biopsy specimens from 70 patients, selected on basis of dot blot DNA hybridization, were included in immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization analyses. In the HPV 16 DNA positive cases, L2 mRNA and E7 mRNA were detected in biopsies from 24 and 21 patients, respectively.

Surveillance of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibodies in medicolegal autopsies in Finland--monitoring early changes in HIV-seropositivity among risk groups and average population.

In order to cooperate with voluntary screening programs aimed at the surveillance of the HIV epidemic in Finland, we have studied medicolegal autopsies for HIV antibodies since 1986 using an enzyme immunoassay on postmortem sera. The investigation covered 47.4% and 39.

Human papillomavirus detection from the female genital tract: combined vs. separate scrape methods.

Because genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infections tend to be multifocal, it was studied how effective one combined specimen is in detecting HPV-DNA from the lower female genital tract. The study population consisted of 50 patients referred to a colposcopy clinic for a suspected condylomatous and/or dysplastic lesion. From half of the patients, a separate scrape from the cervix, vagina and vulva was taken first followed by a combined scrape representing all the genital sites, and from the other half, vice versa.

Detection of human papilloma virus (HPV) DNA in genital biopsy specimens by in situ hybridization with digoxigenin-labeled probes.

The presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) nucleotide sequences in paraffin sections of genital biopsies was examined by in situ hybridization using non-isotopic, digoxigenin-labeled probes representing HPV types 11, 16 and 18. Digoxigenin-labeling of the probes was performed using DNA labeling and a commercially provided detection kit. Hybridization was performed under stringent conditions.

Polyethylene glycol increases specificity of hybridization typing of HPV specimens.

Different hybridization conditions for the typing of human papillomaviruses (HPV) in clinical biopsy specimens were tested. The stringency of the hybridization reaction was varied by altering the formamide concentration in the solution. Two polymers, dextran sulphate and polyethylene glycol (PEG), were compared as accelerators of the hybridization reaction.

Pharyngitis in adults: the presence and coexistence of viruses and bacterial organisms.

Study Objective: To determine the presence and coexistence of viruses and bacterial organisms causing pharyngitis in adults.

Design: Open study using diagnostic methods, including rapid antigen-detection techniques, to test for the presence of viruses of the respiratory tract, as well as Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Chlamydia trachomatis, the Chlamydia species strain TWAR, and beta-hemolytic streptococci.

Comparison of smear specimens with biopsy specimens in a nucleic acid hybridization test for human papilloma virus (HPV) infection.

A total of 323 pairs of specimens from women with Papanicolaou class II or III cytology were examined for human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16 and 18 by spot hybridization. Each pair consisted of a representative biopsy specimen and a smear specimen from cervical, vaginal or, more rarely, vulvar lesions. We found a close correlation between HPV findings in biopsies and smears.

Herpes simplex virus detection by macroscopic reading after overnight incubation and immunoperoxidase staining.

Human diploid foreskin fibroblast cells grown in 24-well plates were inoculated with clinical specimens by centrifugation at 1,000 X g for 45 min. Cultures were incubated at 37 degrees C overnight, fixed, and stained with peroxidase-labeled monoclonal antibodies against herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2. Stained plaques of infected cells were large enough to be detected with the naked eye, and microscopic examination did not reveal any further positive specimens.

Characterization of the common immunodominant antigenic determinant in the lipopolysaccharide of Bacteroides fragilis by a monoclonal antibody.

The target determinant of a monoclonal antibody (MoAb) to Bacteroides fragilis lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was characterized by inhibition enzyme immunoassay (EIA), immunoblotting (IB), immunofluorescence technique (IF) and electron immunocytochemical (EIC) technique. The MoAb has been shown to react positively with 96% of B. fragilis isolates.

Comparison of polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to Actinomyces and Arachnia species.

Polyclonal (PoAbs) and monoclonal (MoAbs) antibodies were produced to Actinomyces israelii serotypes 1 and 2, to Actinomyces naeslundii, and to Arachnia propionica, and their specificities were studied by an enzyme immunoassay (EIA). All PoAbs except those to A. propionica reacted also with at least one other Actinomyces species.

Typing of herpes simplex virus isolates with monoclonal antibodies and by nucleic acid spot hybridization.

Fifty-one clinical isolates of herpes simplex virus (HSV) were typed by an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) using mouse monoclonal antibodies, by DNA spot hybridization, and by restriction enzyme analysis using restriction endonuclease Eco RI. Extracts of VERO cells infected with the isolates were used for coating microtitre plates or denatured and spotted onto nitrocellulose filters. Viral antigens passively adsorbed to microtitre plates were detected by an indirect EIA using mouse monoclonal antibodies specific for HSV type 1 (HSV-1) or HSV type 2 (HSV-2).

Monoclonal antibodies to Bacteroides fragilis lipopolysaccharide.

Monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) to the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Bacteroides fragilis were produced by immunizing mice before hybridization with bacterial outer membranes solubilized with Triton X-100. Nineteen stabile clones were established. They all produced antibodies that reacted more strongly with purified B.

Viral diagnoses using the rapid immunofluorescence technique and epidemiological implications of acute respiratory infections among children in different European countries.

From November 1978 to October 1981, a total of 7716 specimens of nasopharyngeal secretions were examined by the rapid immunofluorescence technique to determine the frequency of infections caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza virus A, and parainfluenza viruses 1 and 3. The tests were carried out in six different virus laboratories located in Newcastle upon Tyne (England), Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Turku (Finland), and Vienna; laboratories in Lisbon and Paris participated in the study for shorter periods. The specimens were collected from infants and children less than 6 years of age who had been admitted to hospital with an acute respiratory infection.

Solid-phase enzyme-immunoassay for the detection of herpes simplex virus antigens in clinical specimens.

An indirect solid-phase enzyme-immunoassay (EIA) for the detection of herpes simplex virus (HSV) antigens in clinical specimens was developed. Rabbits and guinea pigs were hyperimmunized with highly purified nucleocapsids of HSV type 1. Microtitre plates were coated with 0.