Is Toxoplasma gondii infection protective against multiple sclerosis risk?

Background: Parasitic infections may play a protective role in neurodegenative diseases. OBJECTıVE: To determine the association between Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection and Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Frequency of dense fine speckled pattern in immunofluorescence screening test.

Objective: The presence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA), directed against intracellular antigens, is a distinctive feature of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs). The standard test for antinuclear antibody screening is the indirect immunofluorescence (IIF). Anti-dense fine speckled 70 (anti-DFS70) antibodies were initially identified as an ANA IIF pattern from a patient with interstitial cystitis, but they were later associated with various other conditions.

Evaluation of laboratory diagnosis for cutaneous tuberculosis.

Background And Aim: Cutaneous tuberculosis (CTB) is still difficult to diagnose due to its varied clinical presentation and limitations of diagnostic methods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of diagnostic laboratory tests available for CTB.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-six skin biopsy specimens belonging to clinically suspected cases of CTB were studied retrospectively.

Primary inoculation tuberculosis: a report of a rare entity.

Primary inoculation tuberculosis is an exogenous infection resulting from direct inoculation of bacteria into individuals with no acquired immunity to the organism. We report a 63-year-old male patient who was diagnosed with primary inoculation tuberculosis on the basis of clinical appearance and histopathological examination. The findings from this case emphasize the importance of clinical and histopathological findings in this rarely seen form of skin tuberculosis if the organism cannot be shown to grow in culture.

Evaluation of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection in blood donors in western Turkey.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infections are potentially dangerous complications of transfusion therapy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HDV markers examined by serological and molecular methods in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-reactive sera among blood donors.

Materials And Methods: Samples from 88 HBsAg-reactive blood donors were investigated for total anti-delta antibody (anti-HDV) and HDV-RNA between April 2010 and February 2011.

Evaluation of antinuclear antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence and line immunoassay methods': four years' data from Turkey.

The presence of antinuclear antibodies (ANAs), directed against intracellular antigens, is a hallmark of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases. The indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) assay is among the most commonly used routine methods for ANA detection as the screening test. The objective of the study was to evaluate ANA patterns in a 4-year period retrospectively.

[Comparison of Cefoxitin Disk Diffusion Test, Automated System and Chromogenic Medium for Detection of Methicillin Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus Isolates].

The mecA gene is responsible for the development of methicillin resistance in staphylococci however accurate detection of methicillin resistance is not feasible evermore because of heterogenous expression of mecA gene. Although mecA gene determination by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is considered as the gold standard method, molecular tests are not easily applied in all routine laboratories. Thus, for the rapid and accurate diagnosis of MRSA strains, easy and practical phenotypic tests are still required.

[Linezolid-resistant Enterococcus faecium: the first G2576T mutation in Turkey].

Linezolid which is the first member of oxazolidinone class of synthetic antimicrobial agents, was licensed for the treatment of gram-positive coccal infections in Turkey in 2006. In recent years, multidrug-resistant pathogens, especially vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), have emerged rapidly worldwide and linezolid exhibited good clinical efficacy against VRE. However, linezolid-resistant bacteria have been reported from Turkey.

Infection and autoimmune disease.

Most infectious agents, such as viruses, bacteria and parasites, can trigger autoimmunity via different mechanisms. The development of an autoimmune disorder after infection tends to occur in genetically susceptible individuals. Some parameters, such as genetic predisposition, feature of the infectious agent and sometimes protective effect of the infections, have a significant role in this process.

[In vitro activity of daptomycin against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from blood cultures].

The aim of this study was to detect the in vitro activity of daptomycin against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains isolated from blood cultures at Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey between 2006-2010. A total of 64 MRSA clinical isolates were included in the study, and daptomycin susceptibility were investigated by E-test (AB bioMerieux, Sweden). The identification of the MRSA isolates was based on conventional microbiological methods and an additional automated identification system (Phoenix 100, BD Diagnostic Systems, USA).

Evaluation of Epstein-Barr virus antibodies, anti-VCA avidity by immunofluorescence and immunoblot assays for assessment of Epstein-Barr virus immunologic state.

Three hundred twenty two serum samples were evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and immunoblotting for the assessment of the immunologic status of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Serological profiles of 322 serum samples were classified by the IgM and IgG antibodies by the immunofluorescence assay as seronegative, acute infection, reactivation and past infection. Higher rates of seropositivity were determined in serum samples belonging to old age groups.

[Investigation of the relationship between serum nitric oxide levels, HBV-DNA and ALT levels in chronic hepatitis B patients].

It has been reported that increased nitric oxide (NO) production by the hepatocytes during chronic inflammatory processes, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum levels of NOx (nitrite + nitrate) with the viral load and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. A total of 93 CHB patients (67 male, 26 female; mean age: 47.

Comparison of various surgical methods in the treatment of implant-related infection.

The treatment of implant-related infections is troublesome. This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of three different surgical modalities in the treatment of implant-related infection. A total of 32 Wistar albino rats were randomised into four groups after the establishment of implant-related infection: no treatment, surgical débridement, antibiotic-loaded bone cement and antibiotic-loaded autogenous bone.

Evaluation of the results of Mycobacterium tuberculosis direct test (MTD) and Mycobacterial culture in urine samples.

Tuberculosis remains a public health problem in Turkey. Rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis plays a key role in control of infection. In this article, the Gen-Probe Amplified Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Direct Test (MTD) was evaluated for detection of M.

Lupus vulgaris in a pediatric patient: a clinicohistopathological diagnosis.

Lupus vulgaris is the most common form of cutaneous tuberculosis which usually occurs in patients previously sensitized to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We present a case of a 10-year-old boy who was diagnosed as lupus vulgaris clinically and histopathologically. He had well demarcated, irregularly bordered, pink, infiltrated plaques on his left cheek showing apple-jelly appearance on diascopy.

A case of Acremonium strictum peritonitis.

During the past two decades opportunistic fungal infections have emerged as important causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with severe underlying illnesses. A few cases of Acremonium spp. infections have been described in immunocompromised patients, but they have on occasion been reported as the cause invasive disease in immunocompetent individuals.

[In vitro evaluation of gentamicin and teicoplanin release from cancellous human bone].

Objectives: This study was designed to determine the in vitro antibacterial activity of gentamicin- or teicoplanin-impregnated human cancellous bone as a local antibiotic carrier.

Methods: The study samples were obtained from human cancellous bone within the femur head in seven patients who underwent partial or total hip arthroplasty. Bone specimens were processed and incubated with gentamicin or teicoplanin for an hour.

Comparison of incidence of Demodex folliculorum on the eyelash follicule in normal people and blepharitis patients.

Demodex folliculorum has been incriminated in the development of blepharitis although much controversy persist. Some authors suggest that Demodex is a direct pathogen in chronic palpebral conditions while others consider the saprophyte to be innocuous to skin. We conducted a prospective study of eyelashes in 48 patients with blepharitis (totally 96 eyes) and 48 healthy persons (totally 96 eyes), searching for Demodex folliculorum and chronic blepharitis.

A case of nasomyiasis whose agent was Sarcophaga sp.

Sixteen larvae fell from the nose of a 16-year-old girl, who had been hospitalized in the anesthesia intensive care unit for 4 days because of a traffic accident and had been evaluated as E1M2V1 according to Glaskow Coma Scale. These larvae were examined macroscopically and microscopically and it was determined that they were second stage Sarcophage spp. larvae.