Oral diacetylmorphine (heroin) yields greater morphine bioavailability than oral morphine: bioavailability related to dosage and prior opioid exposure.

Aims: In the Swiss heroin substitution trials, patients are treated with self-administered diacetylmorphine (heroin). Intravenous administration is not possible in patients that have venosclerosis. Earlier studies have demonstrated that oral diacetylmorphine may be used, although it is completely converted to morphine presystemically.

Identification of Borrelia burgdorferi ribosomal protein L25 by the phage surface display method and evaluation of the protein's value for serodiagnosis.

The phage surface display technique was used to identify Borrelia burgdorferi antigens. By affinity selection with immunoglobulin G from pooled sera of six Lyme borreliosis (LB) patients, the ribosomal protein L25 was identified. The diagnostic value of L25 was investigated by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, using sera from 80 LB patients and 75 controls, and the use of the protein resulted in a specificity of 99% and a 23% sensitivity, which qualify L25 as a useful antigen when combined with others.

Critical evaluation of urine-based PCR assay for diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis.

Many approaches were made in recent years to establish urine PCR as a diagnostic tool for Lyme borreliosis, but results are contradictory. In the present study, a standardized protocol spiking urine from healthy donors with a defined amount of whole Borrelia or Borrelia DNA was established. The development of a nested real-time PCR targeting ospA enabled a highly sensitive and quantitative analysis of these samples.

Heterozygous Arg753Gln polymorphism of human TLR-2 impairs immune activation by Borrelia burgdorferi and protects from late stage Lyme disease.

Lyme disease (LD) is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi and displays different stages, including localized, early disseminated, and persistent infection, all of which are associated with profound inflammatory reactions in the host. Induction of proinflammatory cytokines by B. burgdorferi is mainly mediated by outer surface proteins interacting with TLR-2/TLR-1 heterodimers.

G-CSF: boosting endogenous production--a new strategy?

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) has been in clinical use for over a decade. Its main applications are in adjunctive medication to chemotherapy and in mobilizing stem cells for bone marrow transplantation. However, it has additional effects in that it primes neutrophilic granulocytes for improved host defense, and reduces the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (filgrastim) treatment primes for increased ex vivo inducible prostanoid release.

We investigated whether anti-inflammatory effects of treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF, filgrastim) are mediated via prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) induction. In a double-blind crossover study, 10 healthy volunteers received 300 microg of filgrastim or saline 1 week apart. This was repeated after oral administration of 50 mg of flurbiprofen 1 h before injection.

Borrelia burgdorferi-induced tolerance as a model of persistence via immunosuppression.

If left untreated, infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato may lead to chronic Lyme borreliosis. It is still unknown how this pathogen manages to persist in the host in the presence of competent immune cells. It was recently reported that Borrelia suppresses the host's immune response, thus perhaps preventing the elimination of the pathogen (I.

Distribution of clinically relevant Borrelia genospecies in ticks assessed by a novel, single-run, real-time PCR.

A LightCycler-based PCR protocol was developed which targets the ospA gene for the identification and quantification of the different Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species in culture and in ticks, based on the use of a fluorescently labeled probe (HybProbe) and an internally labeled primer. The detection limit of the PCR was 1 to 10 spirochetes. A melting temperature determined from the melting curve of the amplified product immediately after thermal cycling allowed the differentiation of the three different B.