Analysis of serum levels of cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and monoamine neurotransmitters in patients with tick-borne encephalitis: identification of novel inflammatory markers with implications for pathogenesis.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a leading human neuroinfection in Europe and northeastern Asia. However, the pathophysiology of TBE is not understood completely. This study sought to determine the specific serum mediators that are associated with acute TBE.

[Microperimetry in the wet form of age - related macular degeneration (ARMD)].

Unlabelled: Aim of the paper is to introduce and evaluate the microperimetry as a support technique in the evaluation of the ARMD wet form bevacizumab (Avastin) treatment efficacy.

Methods: Twenty-one patients (21 eyes) with ARMD wet form were included in the study; they were examined by means by OCT/SLO (optic coherence tomography / scanning laser ophthalmoscope) machine whose part is the microperimetric test. In each patient, there were two microperimetric examinations performed - the first one was done one day before the application of the treatment and the second one one month after the application.

Serum matrix metalloproteinase-9 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 levels in patients with tick-borne encephalitis.

Objectives: Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) play important roles in the function of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). To investigate the function of the BBB during tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), the levels of MMP-9 and its common tissue inhibitor, TIMP-1, were measured in serum from patients with acute phase of TBE.

Methods: Serum MMP-9 and TIMP-1 levels were measured in 147 patients with TBE and 153 controls by ELISA.

[The use of molecular genetics techniques in clinical microbiology--final report from the workshop of the Molecular Microbiology Working Group TIDE].

In the last decade, there has been a rapid development in the use of molecular genetics methods in clinical microbiology. Novel technologies bring new knowledge and approaches to various disciplines of microbiology--taxonomy, identification of microbes, clinical diagnosis, epidemiology of infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance. This article summarizes the conclusions from the workshop of the Molecular Microbiology Working Group TIDE held during the Second Annual Meeting of the Society for Medical Microbiology of the J.

High variability in viral load in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with herpes simplex and varicella-zoster infections of the central nervous system.

Infections of the central nervous system (CNS) caused by herpes viruses can result in severe diseases, often with a fatal outcome. In this study, the viral load in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with herpes simplex or varicella-zoster infections of the CNS was measured using a quantitative real-time PCR. The results suggest a high variability in viral load, with relatively mild disease associated with a high viral load in CSF and vice versa.

[Value of Western blotting in serodiagnosis of chlamydial infections].

Unlabelled: The Western blot (WB) method was verified for serological diagnosis of chlamydial infections.

Material And Methods: For testing, sera previously examined by the microimmunofluorescence (MIF) test with either ambiguous results or those suggesting persistent infection were used.

Results: Whereas the investigation confirmed adequate sensitivity and specificity of the MIF test for diagnosing Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection, it was less sensitive in case of Chlamydia trachomatis.

[Epidemiologic monitoring of tick-borne encephalitis in Rimov in Southern Bohemia].

Southern Bohemia is one of the extensive natural foci of tick-borne encephalitis (TE) in the Czech Republic. Some professionals hold the view that people living in the focus of infection acquire naturally herd immunity and are the protected against the infection and thus it is not necessary to vaccinate them against TE. Several serious cases of the disease in temporal sequence in Rímov in the district of Ceské Budĕjovice led the authors to examine more closely the problem of TE in this locality.

[Diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis by culture and Macchiavella's staining technique].

The author modified and tested staining according to Macchiavelli for detection of C. trachomatis in tissue cultures. As compared with IF staining by the monoclonal antibody the author found a high sensitivity (95.

[Serologic detection of sexually transmitted diseases caused by Chlamydia trachomatis].

163 patients were examined for the presence of C. trachomatis by cultivation and concurrently sera were examined by the ELISA method for the presence of antibodies against C. trachomatis.