Publications by authors named "S Kilvington"

Background: This study examined the prevalence of free-living Acanthamoeba in domestic tap water in the greater Sydney region, Australia, and determined any seasonal variation in prevalence.

Methods: Fifty-four participants were included in this study following approval from an institutional human research ethics committee. Each participant self-collected two samples (one in summer and another in winter) from the surface of the drain of the bathroom sink using an instructional kit.

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Purpose: To determine whether Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) patients have higher rates of Acanthamoeba and free-living amoeba (FLA) colonising domestic sinks than control contact lens (CL) wearers, and whether these isolates are genetically similar to the corneal isolates from their CL associated AK.

Methods: 129 AK patients from Moorefield Eye Hospital, London and 64 control CL wearers from the Institute of Optometry were included in this study. The participants self-collected home kitchen and bathroom samples from tap-spouts, overflows and drains using an instructional kit.

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Purpose: Contact lens (CL) wear is a risk factor for the acquisition of microbial keratitis. Accordingly, compliance to manufacturers' recommended hygiene and disinfection procedures are vital to safe (CL) use. In this study we evaluated a novel povidone-iodine (PI) (CL) disinfection system (cleadew, Ophtecs Corporation, Japan) against a range of bacterial, fungal and Acanthamoeba.

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Significance: Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) disinfection systems are contact-lens-patient problem solvers. The current one-step, criterion-standard version has been widely used since the mid-1980s, without any significant improvement. This work identifies a potential next-generation, one-step H2O2, not based on the solution formulation but rather on a case-based peroxide catalyst.

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The aim of this study was to identify and characterize the receptor system involved in controlling encystment in Acanthamoeba using specific agonists and antagonists and to examine whether endogenous stores of catecholamines are produced by the organism. Acanthamoeba trophozoites suspended in axenic growth medium were exposed to adrenoceptor agonists and antagonists to determine which compounds promoted or prevented encystment. Second, trophozoites were cultured in medium containing a catecholamine synthesis inhibitor to investigate the effect this had on natural encystment.

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