Clinical outcome and cerebrospinal fluid profiles in patients with tick-borne encephalitis and prior vaccination history.

Background: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is endemic in southern and eastern districts of Germany. Approximately 10-14% of the infected individuals suffer from long-term disability and in 1.5-3.

Patient Satisfaction and Quality of Life in People with Schizophrenia-Spectrum Disorders in a Rural Area.

People suffering from schizophrenia-spectrum disorders often endorse a reduced quality of life (QoL) as compared to the general population. There appears to be a lack of studies for rural catchment areas for this patient population. We conducted a cross-sectional study with 94 people with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders in a mainly rural alpine area.

Predictors, Neuroimaging Characteristics and Long-Term Outcome of Severe European Tick-Borne Encephalitis: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background And Objectives: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) still represents a considerable medical and health economic problem in Europe and entails a potential threat to travellers. The aim of this study was to characterise the conditions of severe TBE by precisely recording its clinical variants, the related neuroimaging features, and the variant-specific long-term outcome and by identifying predictors for severe courses.

Methods: A cohort of 111 TBE patients (median age 51, range 17-75 years; 42% females) was analysed prospectively.

Herpes simplex virus encephalitis despite normal cell count in the cerebrospinal fluid.

Objectives: To describe herpes simplex virus encephalitis despite normal cell count in the cerebrospinal fluid in patients with malignoma after whole brain irradiation.

Interventions: Blood and cerebrospinal fluid analysis and magnetic resonance imaging.

Measurements And Main Results: Three male and two female patients with malignoma and a recent history of whole-brain irradiation presented with impaired consciousness with or without epileptic seizure.

A novel fish herpesvirus of Osmerus eperlanus.

A herpesvirus of smelt (Osmerus eperlanus) was identified by thin section electron microscopy. Degenerated cells of skin lesions located on the back fin of smelt showed either intranucleic- or cytoplasmic herpesvirus-specific structures. In the nuclei "naked" virus capsids with a diameter of about 100 nm were observed.

Testing the possibility to protect bovine PrPC transgenic Swiss mice against bovine PrPSc infection by DNA vaccination using recombinant plasmid vectors harboring and expressing the complete or partial cDNA sequences of bovine PrPC.

The objective of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms of neurobiological processes involved in the degeneration of the central nervous system. The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was used as experimental model system for investigation of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). The experimental strategy was to evaluate the possibility for protection of bovine PrP(C) transgenic mice against a bovine PrP(Sc) infection by DNA vaccination using the complete or partial cDNA sequences of the bovine prion protein.

Pharmacological properties of homomeric and heteromeric pannexin hemichannels expressed in Xenopus oocytes.

Several new findings have emphasized the role of neuron-specific gap junction proteins (connexins) and electrical synapses in processing sensory information and in synchronizing the activity of neuronal networks. We have recently shown that pannexins constitute an additional family of proteins that can form gap junction channels in a heterologous expression system and are also widely expressed in distinct neuronal populations in the brain, where they may represent a novel class of electrical synapses. In this study, we have exploited the hemichannel-forming properties of pannexins to investigate their sensitivity to well-known connexin blockers.

Molecular anatomy of Chilo iridescent virus genome and the evolution of viral genes.

Chilo iridescent virus (CIV) or Insect iridescent virus 6 (IIV-6) is the type species of the genus iridovirus, a member of the Iridoviridae family. CIV is highly pathogenic for a variety of insect larvae and this implicates a possible use as a biological insecticide. CIV progeny and assembly occur in the cytoplasm of the infected cell and accumulate in the fatbody of the infected insects.