'The great imitator': Neurosyphilis and new-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE) syndrome.

New-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE) is a syndrome of new-onset drug resistant status epilepticus that often has a catastrophic outcome. A 30-year-old man of Somali origin presented with refractory status to a district general hospital. A clinical diagnosis of NORSE syndrome was made, and he was transferred to the regional epilepsy center for immunomodulatory treatment and consideration for cyclophosphamide treatment.

Change in meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clones at a tertiary care hospital in the United Arab Emirates over a 5-year period.

Aims: Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains isolated in Tawam Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in the United Arab Emirates, were examined in order to understand the reasons for a doubling of its incidence between 2003 and 2008 while maintaining the same infection control measures.

Methods: All consecutive non-duplicate clinically relevant MRSA isolates recovered between January and December 2003 and between May and October 2008 were studied. The antibiotic susceptibility, pulsed field gel electrophoresis, toxin gene, staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec), spa, agr and multilocus sequence types of the strains were tested.

The molecular epidemiology of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia bacteraemia in a tertiary referral hospital in the United Arab Emirates 2000-2004.

Background: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is recognised as an important cause of nosocomial infection, especially in immunocompromised patients, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. The treatment of S. maltophilia infection presents a therapeutic challenge.

Brevinin-1BYa: a naturally occurring peptide from frog skin with broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Brevinin-1BYa (FLPILASLAAKFGPKLFCLVTKKC) is a cationic alpha-helical peptide containing an intramolecular disulphide bridge that is present in skin secretions of the foothill yellow-legged frog Rana boylii. A synthetic replicate of the peptide showed growth inhibitory activity against a range of reference strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, against clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)=2.5 microM), and against reference strains and clinical isolates of the opportunistic yeast pathogens Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei and Candida parapsilosis (MIC View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Epidemiology, presentation, management and outcome of candidemia in a tertiary care teaching hospital in the United Arab Emirates, 1995-2001.

Sixty episodes of candidemia among hospitalized patients in the United Arab Emirates (0.77/1000 discharges) in 1995-2001 were identified through case retrieval. All patients had malignancy (65%) or serious non-malignant disease (35%).

Eradication of Cryptosporidium in four children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Four children on chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia presented with severe diarrhea and dehydration. Cryptosporidium was identified in the stools using modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain. Two of them received paromomycin and responded well.

Recombinant human interleukin 11 and bacterial infection in patients with [correction of] haematological malignant disease undergoing chemotherapy: a double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trial.

Background: Bacteraemia in patients with haematological malignant disease causes substantial morbidity. Recombinant human interleukin 11 (rhIL-11) prevents gastrointestinal epithelial disintegrity and has immunomodulatory actions. Our aim was to ascertain whether or not treatment with rhIL-11 can prevent gut-associated infections.