Sport and self-esteem in people living with HIV: a cross-sectional study.

Background: In the general population, sport activity is associated with better health and better self-esteem. Among people living with HIV (PLHIV), sport activity could also be associated with better self-esteem. The main objective of our study was to assess the association between sport activity and self-esteem among people living with HIV.

Efficacy of an Ethanol-Based Hand Sanitizer for the Disinfection of Blood Pressure Cuffs.

Blood pressure cuffs (BP cuffs) have been implicated in some nosocomial outbreaks. We compared the efficacy of an ethanol-based hand sanitizer (EBHS) with a detergent/disinfectant for the disinfection of BP cuffs. The inner sides of 30 BP cuffs were sampled for bacterial culture.

Lateralized clinical and diffusion-weighted MRI abnormalities in a probable case of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

The usual clinical profile of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is subacute dementia, motor dysfunction and myoclonus. Occasionally, some patients present atypical clinical features. We report a case of probable sCJD in a 73-year-old man with a rapidly progressive lateralized neurologic dysfunction of the left hemisphere.

Tropical sprue in two foreign residents, with evidence of Tropheryma whippelii in one case.

Tropical sprue is a rare disease in travelers. Its etiology remains unclear. We report two cases of tropical sprue occurring in long-term residents in Nepal and Cameroon.

Efficacy of praziquantel during the incubation and invasive phase of Schistosoma haematobium schistosomiasis in 18 travelers.

The efficacy of praziquantel started during the incubation period of schistosomiasis has not been studied. Eighteen tourists were infected by Schistosoma haematobium during summer 2003 after bathing once in the same cascade in Mali. We observed the efficacy of praziquantel given at different phases.

[Scurvy, a re-emerging disease].

Background: Scurvy is the clinical manifestation of vitamin C deficiency. It is historically linked to the era of great maritime expeditions. But it is remerging in Western countries as in France.

Eagle effect in Corynebacterium diphtheriae.

The in vivo relevance of the paradoxical bactericidal effect (the Eagle effect) is not evident. We found in vitro a paradoxical bactericidal effect of amoxicillin on 2 strains of nontoxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Then, using an experimental rabbit model of endocarditis, we evaluated the in vivo relevance of this phenomenon.

[In vivo activity of amoxicillin in a non-toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae rabbit endocarditis experimental model].

The mortality of non-toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae endocarditis is high (27%). One explanation could be tolerance to amoxicillin. The aim of this work was to evaluate in vivo the tolerance phenomenon, in a rabbit endocarditis experimental model.

[Non-aggressive diagnostic approach to invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in a hematology unit. Retrospective analysis of a series of 16 cases].

Purpose: Among neutropenic patients, diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is difficult. Computed tomographic scan, bronchoalveolar lavage and histology are considered invasive procedures, because they represent an infectious risk for these immunocompromised patients.

Methods: We describe the clinical and noninvasive paraclinical (X-rays, serology) signs of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, from a retrospective study of 16 cases in a haematology unit.

[Urticaria and parasites].

Urticaria has many etiology and during its exploration, it's important to mind about parasitic disease. The authors present briefly ten of them potentially associated with this eruption. For each disease (ascaridiosis, trichinellosis, fasciolosis, giardiosis, toxocarosis, anisakidosis, cercarial dermatitis, schistosomiasis, strongyloidosis, hydatidosis), they precise epidemiological situation for contamination and simple diagnosis approach.