Cytomegalovirus DNA detection in pregnant women with a high IgG avidity index: a valuable tool for diagnosing non-primary infections?

Background/aim: Congenital human cytomegalovirus infection (cCMV) is the commonest congenital infection, and it can result in hearing loss and neurodevelopmental delay. Even if primary infections are more frequent and cause more severe congenital cCMV manifestations compared to NPIs, and despite partial protection from maternal immunity, the highest birth prevalence of cCMV is observed in seropositive women with non-primary CMV infection (NPI). Given that NPI contribute significantly to the overall burden of cCMV, their accurate diagnosis of NPI remains clinically important.

Sunbathing, a possible risk factor of murine typhus infection in Greece.

Background: There are few studies about the presence of murine typhus in Greece. Our objective was to conduct a large scale retrospective investigation to determine the clinical and epidemiological features of patients diagnosed with murine typhus in Greece.

Methodology/principal Findings: From 2012 to 2019 serum samples from hospitalized patients and outpatients throughout Greece suspected for murine typhus infection were tested by immunofluorescence assay for Rickettsia typhi.

Q Fever Endocarditis and a New Genotype of Coxiella burnetii, Greece.

Underdiagnosis of Coxiella burnetii infections in Greece is possible because of lack of awareness by physicians, and most suspected cases are in patients with no bovine contact. We found serologic evidence of C. burnetii infection throughout Greece and identified a new C.

A 5-year study of human parechoviruses in children living in bad sanitation conditions and non-polio acute flaccid paralysis children from Greece.

In Greece, data for human parechoviruses (HPeVs) are scarce and our aim was to conduct a large scale study to determine for the first time their occurrence. Under the spectrum of surveillance, we retrospectively screened stool specimens obtained from 71 children with acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) symptoms and from 311 individuals in high-risk population groups such as children living in bad sanitation conditions for HPeVs presence by rRT-PCR targeting the 5' UTR. All positive samples were then genotyped by targeting the HPeVs VP1 region.

Increased growth hormone receptor (GHR) degradation due to over-expression of cytokine inducible SH2 domain-containing protein (CIS) as a cause of GH transduction defect (GHTD).

Objective: Children with growth hormone transduction defect (GHTD) have impaired growth and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) activation. Here, we examine the etiology of GHTD.

Methods: Control (Cf) and GHTD (Pf) children's fibroblasts were induced with hGH, MG132, lactacystin or silence RNA/CIS (siCIS).