Familial disease, the HLA-DRB1 shared epitope and anti-CCP antibodies influence time at appearance of substantial joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) progresses more rapidly in some patients than in others and diverse factors influence radiographic progression in a specific population. Thus, we searched for variables that are associated with an early appearance of substantial joint damage in patients with RA by using radiographic assessments. A cohort of 157 consecutively enrolled Colombian RA patients was followed for an average of 3.

Tipranavir: a new protease inhibitor for the pediatric population.

Highly active antiretroviral therapy can provide sustained viral suppression and a beneficial immunological response in both antiretroviral-naive and -experienced pediatric patients infected with HIV. While there have been many antiretroviral studies in adults infected with HIV, considerably less information is available in similar HIV-infected pediatric or adolescent patients. Tipranavir, a new-generation protease inhibitor approved for use in adults with resistant HIV strains, has recently been studied in HIV-infected children and adolescents.

Efficacy, safety and tolerability of tipranavir coadministered with ritonavir in HIV-1-infected children and adolescents.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of ritonavir-boosted tipranavir (TPV/r) in HIV-1-infected pediatric patients.

Design: Open-label randomized pediatric trial (1182.14/PACTG1051) comparing TPV/r at two doses including an optimized background regimen.

Lack of valproic acid-associated weight gain in prepubertal children.

We evaluated whether prepubertal children treated with valproic acid did not gain excessive weight. This retrospective study of children with epilepsy, aged <12 years at enrollment, examined weight gain associated with valproic acid or carbamazepine monotherapy. There was no significant difference between the valproic acid (n = 31) and carbamazepine (n = 49) treated groups in average duration of therapy or mean age.

Phagocytosis of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease spirochete, potentiates innate immune activation and induces apoptosis in human monocytes.

We have previously demonstrated that phagocytosed Borrelia burgdorferi induces activation programs in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells that differ qualitatively and quantitatively from those evoked by equivalent lipoprotein-rich lysates. Here we report that ingested B. burgdorferi induces significantly greater transcription of proinflammatory cytokine genes than do lysates and that live B.

Cushing syndrome and severe adrenal suppression caused by fluticasone and protease inhibitor combination in an HIV-infected adolescent.

A 14-year-old female with perinatally acquired HIV on boosted protease inhibitor (PI) therapy with atazanavir and ritonavir rapidly developed cushingoid features with excessive weight gain and moon facies within 2 weeks of receiving inhaled fluticasone/salmeterol for asthma treatment. Soon after discontinuing PIs and inhaled steroid, she required hospitalization for dyspnea, headache, muscle weakness, and extreme fatigue requiring hydrocortisone replacement therapy for presumed adrenal insufficiency. Cushing syndrome and adrenal suppression were very likely caused by elevated steroid systemic concentrations resulting from the cytochrome p450 interaction between the protease inhibitors and fluticasone.

Assessment of the kinetics of Treponema pallidum dissemination into blood and tissues in experimental syphilis by real-time quantitative PCR.

Little is known about the size and kinetics of treponemal burdens in blood and tissues during acquired or experimental syphilitic infection. We used real-time quantitative PCR to measure Treponema pallidum DNA levels in rabbits infected intratesticularly with the prototype Nichols strain. At the outset, we performed a series of in vitro blood spiking experiments to determine the effect of blood processing procedures on the distribution of treponemes in various blood components.

Transitions to mild cognitive impairments, dementia, and death: findings from the Nun Study.

The potential of early interventions for dementia has increased interest in cognitive impairments less severe than dementia. However, predictors of the trajectory from intact cognition to dementia have not yet been clearly identified. The purpose of this study was to determine whether known risk factors for dementia increased the risk of mild cognitive impairments or progression from mild cognitive impairments to dementia.

The Helicobacter pylori amidotransferase GatCAB is equally efficient in glutamine-dependent transamidation of Asp-tRNAAsn and Glu-tRNAGln.

The amide aminoacyl-tRNAs, Gln-tRNA(Gln) and Asn-tRNA(Asn), are formed in many bacteria by a pretranslational tRNA-dependent amidation of the mischarged tRNA species, Glu-tRNA(Gln) or Asp-tRNA(Asn). This conversion is catalyzed by a heterotrimeric amidotransferase GatCAB in the presence of ATP and an amide donor (Gln or Asn). Helicobacter pylori has a single GatCAB enzyme required in vivo for both Gln-tRNA(Gln) and Asn-tRNA(Asn) synthesis.

Treponema pallidum elicits innate and adaptive cellular immune responses in skin and blood during secondary syphilis: a flow-cytometric analysis.

Background: Syphilis is caused by the spirochetal pathogen Treponema pallidum. The local and systemic cellular immune responses elicited by the bacterium have not been well studied in humans.

Methods: We used multiparameter flow cytometry to characterize leukocyte immunophenotypes in skin and peripheral blood from 23 patients with secondary syphilis and 5 healthy control subjects recruited in Cali, Colombia.

Atovaquone and azithromycin treatment for babesiosis in an infant.

An 8-month-old infant with cyanotic heart disease and transfusion-associated Babesia microti infection is reported here. At initial presentation, she was ill appearing, febrile and cyanotic. Laboratory tests revealed severe anemia, thrombocytopenia and an increase in hepatic enzymes.

Phagocytosis of Borrelia burgdorferi and Treponema pallidum potentiates innate immune activation and induces gamma interferon production.

We examined the interactions of live and lysed spirochetes with innate immune cells. THP-1 monocytoid cells were activated to comparable extents by live Borrelia burgdorferi and by B. burgdorferi and Treponema pallidum lysates but were poorly activated by live T.

Alterations in the choroid in hypercholesterolemic rabbits: reversibility after normalization of cholesterol levels.

Endothelial damage in atherosclerosis is characterized by abnormal vascular functionality. Hyperlipidemic patients show alterations in ocular vascularization. However, it is not known whether these alterations are reversible after the lipid profile returns to normal.

RNA-dependent conversion of phosphoserine forms selenocysteine in eukaryotes and archaea.

The trace element selenium is found in proteins as selenocysteine (Sec), the 21st amino acid to participate in ribosome-mediated translation. The substrate for ribosomal protein synthesis is selenocysteinyl-tRNA(Sec). Its biosynthesis from seryl-tRNA(Sec) has been established for bacteria, but the mechanism of conversion from Ser-tRNA(Sec) remained unresolved for archaea and eukarya.

Long-term cognitive impact of anticholinergic medications in older adults.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether chronic use of medications with anticholinergic (AC) properties impact older adults' cognitive functioning.

Methods: Six years of cognitive test data from two groups of older adults (AC and control) were examined retrospectively (N = 592).

Results: Declines over time were found for the AC group on parts A and B of the Trail Making Test.

Macroglial and retinal changes in hypercholesterolemic rabbits after normalization of cholesterol levels.

This study evaluates hypercholesterolemic rabbits, examining the retinal changes in Müller cells and astrocytes as well as their variations after a period of normal blood-cholesterol values induced by a standard diet. New Zealand rabbits were divided into three groups: G0, fed a standard diet; G1A, fed a 0.5% cholesterol-enriched diet for 8 months; and G1B, fed as G1A followed by standard diet for 6 months.

Comparison of sexual and drug use behaviors between female sex workers in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Female sex workers (FSWs) have been documented to have high rates of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV in many parts of the world. However, little work has been done to characterize the prevalence of these infections along the U.S.

A cholesterol-enriched diet induces ultrastructural changes in retinal and macroglial rabbit cells.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether the excess of cholesterol in rabbits induces ultrastructural retinal changes similar to those observed in human age-related macular degeneration (AMD). New Zealand rabbits were divided into two groups: Control (GO; n=10), fed standard diet for 8 months; hypercholesterolemic (G1; n=10), fed with 0.5% cholesterol-enriched diet for 8 months.

Clostridium septicum infections in children: a case report and review of the literature.

Clostridium myonecrosis is a rare and deadly infection that progresses very rapidly; thus, prompt diagnosis and treatment is vital. In adults, clostridial myonecrosis used to be a well-known complication of war wounds. Today, it is usually seen in settings of trauma, surgery, malignancy, skin infections/burns, and septic abortions.

Shared random effects analysis of multi-state Markov models: application to a longitudinal study of transitions to dementia.

Multi-state models are appealing tools for analysing data about the progression of a disease over time. In this paper, we consider a multi-state Markov chain with two competing absorbing states: dementia and death and three transient non-demented states: cognitively normal, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (amnestic MCI), and non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment (non-amnestic MCI). The likelihood function for the data is derived and estimates for the effects of the covariates on transitions are determined when the process can be viewed as a polytomous logistic regression model with shared random effects.

Lipoprotein-dependent and -independent immune responses to spirochetal infection.

In this study, we used the epidermal suction blister technique, in conjunction with multiparameter flow cytometry, to analyze the cellular and cytokine responses elicited by intradermal injection of human volunteers with synthetic analogs for spirochetal lipoproteins and compared the responses to findings previously reported from patients with erythema migrans (EM). Compared with peripheral blood (PB), lipopeptides derived from the N termini of the Borrelia burgdorferi outer surface protein C and the 17-kDa lipoprotein of Treponema pallidum (OspC-L and 17-L, respectively) elicited infiltrates enriched in monocytes/macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) but also containing substantial percentages of neutrophils and T cells. Monocytoid (CD11c(+)) and plasmacytoid (CD11c(-)) DCs were selectively recruited to the skin in ratios similar to those in PB, but only the former expressed the activation/maturation surface markers CD80, CD83, and DC-SIGN.

Schlemm's canal and the collector channels at different developmental stages in the human eye.

We studied Schlemm's canal (SC) and other posttrabecular structures of aqueous humor outflow in eyes from human fetuses (at 24, 26, 33 and 36 weeks of gestation), eyes from normal children (2 months and 8 years old) and normal adult eyes, using mesoscopy/diaphanization and light microscopy. This study points to the presence of a collector canal parallel to the outer wall of SC (the outer collector). At 24 weeks of gestation, the SC was observable throughout the entire circumference (360 degrees) and the anlage of the outer collector was present.

Calcium dobesilate attenuates vascular injury and the progression of diabetic retinopathy in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a highly specific vascular complication of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Calcium dobesilate (DOBE) has been tested in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy showing a slowdown of the progression of the disease after long-term oral treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of DOBE on vascular and diabetic retinopathy in streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rats.