Safety and Immunogenicity of a Candidate Bioconjugate Vaccine against Shigella flexneri 2a Administered to Healthy Adults: a Single-Blind, Randomized Phase I Study.

Several candidate vaccines against Shigella spp. are in development, but the lack of a clear correlate of protection from challenge with the induction of adequate immune responses among the youngest age groups in the developing world has hampered Shigella vaccine development over the past several decades. Bioconjugation technology, exploited here for an Shigella flexneri 2a candidate vaccine, offers a novel and potentially cost-effective way to develop and produce vaccines against a major pathogen of global health importance.

Immunological Biomarkers in Postinfectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Background: There is a recognized need for biological markers to facilitate diagnoses of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and to distinguish it from other functional and organic disorders. As postinfectious IBS (PI-IBS) is believed to account for as many as one third of all IBS cases, here we sought to identify differences in specific cytokines and serologic responses across patients with idiopathic IBS and PI-IBS and healthy controls.

Methods: At total of 120 US military personnel were identified from the Defense Medical Surveillance System-based International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD9-CM) codes recorded during medical encounters and were grouped based on infectious gastroenteritis (IGE) episode (Shigella, Campylobacter, Salmonella, or an unspecified pathogen) followed by IBS, IBS without antecedent IGE, or IGE without subsequent IBS within 2 years of the IGE exposure.

A novel intramuscular bivalent norovirus virus-like particle vaccine candidate--reactogenicity, safety, and immunogenicity in a phase 1 trial in healthy adults.

Background: Noroviruses are the most important viral causes of gastroenteritis-related morbidity and mortality. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated an adjuvanted bivalent intramuscular norovirus virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine.

Methods: Forty-eight adults aged 18-49 years received either 2 doses containing genotype GI.

Safety and immunogenicity of an intranasal Shigella flexneri 2a Invaplex 50 vaccine.

Background: Shigella flexneri 2a lipopolysaccharide 50 is a nasally delivered subunit vaccine consisting of a macromolecular complex composed of LPS, IpaB, IpaC and IpaD. The current study examined vaccine safety and immunogenicity across a dose range and the clinical performance of a new intranasal delivery device.

Methods: Volunteers (N=36) were randomized to receive vaccine via the Dolphin™ (Valois of America, Congers, New York) intranasal spray device at one of three doses (240, 480, and 690 μg) on days 0, 14, and 28.

The Incidence and gastrointestinal infectious risk of functional gastrointestinal disorders in a healthy US adult population.

Objectives: Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGDs) are recognized sequelae of infectious gastroenteritis (IGE). Within the active duty military population, a group with known high IGE rates, the population-based incidence, risk factors, and attributable burden of care referable to FGD after IGE are poorly defined.

Methods: Using electronic medical encounter data (1999-2007) on active duty US military, a matched, case-control study describing the epidemiology and risk determinants of FGD (irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional constipation (FC), functional diarrhea (FD), dyspepsia (D)) was conducted.

The epidemiology of infectious gastroenteritis related reactive arthritis in U.S. military personnel: a case-control study.

Background: Reactive arthritis (ReA) is a recognized sequela of infectious gastroenteritis (IGE). However, the population-based incidence of IGE-related ReA is poorly defined, and the risk of disease has not previously been characterized in a military population. The intent of this study was to provide estimates of the incidence and morbidity associated with IGE-related ReA in the U.

The epidemiology of Guillain-Barré Syndrome in U.S. military personnel: a case-control study.

Background: Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), the leading cause of acute flaccid paralysis worldwide, is an autoimmune disorder involving the loss of the myelin sheaths encasing peripheral nerve axons, leading to a loss of nerve signaling and typically ascending paralysis. A number of infectious triggers have been identified, with Campylobacter being most common. Limited data are available regarding GBS in U.

A natural language intelligent tutoring system for training pathologists: implementation and evaluation.

Introduction: We developed and evaluated a Natural Language Interface (NLI) for an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) in Diagnostic Pathology. The system teaches residents to examine pathologic slides and write accurate pathology reports while providing immediate feedback on errors they make in their slide review and diagnostic reports. Residents can ask for help at any point in the case, and will receive context-specific feedback.

AIDS and non-AIDS diffuse large B-cell lymphomas express different antigen profiles.

Based on gene expression profiling, diffuse large B-cell lymphomas arising in immunocompetent patients can be divided into germinal center and activated B-cell types. Since little is known about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome associated diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, we tested whether the protein expression of germinal center and activated B-cell markers differed between acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) vs non-AIDS diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. We immunohistochemically stained tissue microarrays of 39 de novo diffuse large B-cell lymphomas: 12 AIDS associated and 27 non-AIDS, with germinal center (BCL6, CD10, CyclinH) and activated B-cell markers (MUM1, CD138, PAK1, CD44, BCL2).

Germinal center and activated b-cell profiles separate Burkitt lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in AIDS and non-AIDS cases.

Morphologic features of Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) overlap. No single phenotypic marker or molecular abnormality is pathognomonic. We tested a panel of 8 germinal center (GC) and activated B-cell (ABC) markers for their ability to separate BL and DLBCL.