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Colon cleansing, Laxative||ViaVita, Lecithin for healthy liver
Interferon research abs 1 ||
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Tuberculosis research abs
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2000 Aug 15;24(5):408-17.
Greater diversity of HIV-1 quasispecies in HIV-infected individuals with active tuberculosis.
Collins KR, Mayanja-Kizza H, Sullivan BA, Quinones-Mateu ME, Toossi Z, Arts EJ.
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, and Molecular Virology Training Program, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
OBJECTIVE: A continual increase in intrapatient HIV-1 heterogeneity is thought to contribute to evasion of host immune response and eventual progression to AIDS. Tuberculosis (TB) is diagnosed both early and late during the course of HIV-1 disease and may increase diversity of HIV-1 quasispecies by activating the HIV-1 immune response and increasing HIV-1 replication. We examined whether HIV-1 heterogeneity is altered in HIV-1-infected individuals with TB. METHODS: Blood samples were obtained from 7 HIV-1-infected patients with active TB (HIV/TB patients) and 9 HIV-1-infected patients (HIV patients) in Kampala, Uganda (CD4 counts of 0-650 cells/microl and HIV loads of 700-750,000 RNA copies/ml). The C2-C3 region of the HIV-1 envelope gene (env) was amplified by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from lysed peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of each patient, and then subject to sequencing, clonal-quasispecies analysis and heteroduplex tracking analysis (HTA). RESULTS: HTA of env DNA fragments showed increased heterogeneity in the HIV/TB individuals compared with the HIV group. Further sequence and HTA analysis on ten individual env clones for each patient showed significantly greater HIV mutation frequencies in HIV/TB patients than in HIV patients. CONCLUSION: An increase in HIV-1 heterogeneity may be associated with a TB-mediated increase in HIV-1 replication. However, a diverse HIV-1 quasispecies population in HIV/TB patients as opposed to tight quasispecies clusters in HIV patients suggests a possible dissemination of lung-derived HIV-1 isolates from the TB-affected organ.
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11035611&dopt=Abstract
Chest. 2000 Oct;118(4):928-35.
Diagnosing sarcoidosis using endosonography-guided fine-needle aspiration.
Fritscher-Ravens A, Sriram PV, Topalidis T, Hauber HP, Meyer A, Soehendra N, Pforte A.
Departments of Interdisciplinary Endoscopy and Internal Medicine, Pulmonology, University Hospital Eppendorf, Hamburg. FRIRA-online.de
STUDY OBJECTIVES: The ability to diagnose sarcoidosis cytologically has been reported previously, but the method is rarely used. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is a sensitive technique for detecting mediastinal lymph nodes, which in addition provides an opportunity to carry out guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology. We report herein on the use of EUS-FNA in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Nineteen patients with suspected sarcoidosis were investigated using EUS-FNA with a linear echoendoscope and a 22-gauge Hancke-Vilman needle. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: In all 19 patients, EUS revealed enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes (mean size, 2.4 cm), located subcarinally (n = 15), in the aortopulmonary window (n = 12), or in the lower posterior mediastinum (n = 5). The nodes had an isoechoic or hypoechoic appearance, with atypical vessels in five cases. The amount of aspirate obtained using EUS-FNA was adequate in all patients, and contained blood in excess of normal in some, indicating a high degree of vascularity. Cytology demonstrated epithelioid cell granuloma formation, suggesting sarcoidosis. Mycobacterial cultures were negative in all of the patients except one, in whom the final diagnosis was tuberculosis. The specificity and sensitivity of EUS-FNA in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis were 94% and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: EUS of mediastinal lymph nodes in sarcoidosis reveals certain characteristic features. However, it is not capable of differentiating the lesions from tuberculosis or malignancy. EUS-FNA is a safe and sensitive method of aspirating material for cytology and mycobacterial cultures. We believe it will provide a useful alternative in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis.
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11035658&dopt=Abstract
Infect Immun. 2000 Nov;68(11):6300-10.
Necrosis of lung epithelial cells during infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis is preceded by cell permeation.
Dobos KM, Spotts EA, Quinn FD, King CH.
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, USA.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis establishes infection, progresses towards disease, and is transmitted from the alveolus of the lung. However, the role of the alveolar epithelium in any of these pathogenic processes of tuberculosis is unclear. In this study, lung epithelial cells (A549) were used as a model in which to examine cytotoxicity during infection with either virulent or avirulent mycobacteria in order to further establish the role of the lung epithelium during tuberculosis. Infection of A549 cells with M. tuberculosis strains Erdman and CDC1551 demonstrated significant cell monolayer clearing, whereas infection with either Mycobacterium bovis BCG or Mycobacterium smegmatis LR222 did not. Clearing of M. tuberculosis-infected A549 cells correlated to necrosis, not apoptosis. Treatment of M. tuberculosis-infected A549 cells with streptomycin, but not cycloheximide, demonstrated a significant reduction in the necrosis of A549 cell monolayers. This mycobacterium-induced A549 necrosis did not correlate to higher levels of intracellular or extracellular growth by the mycobacteria during infection. Staining of infected cells with propidium iodide demonstrated that M. tuberculosis induced increased permeation of A549 cell membranes within 24 h postinfection. Quantitation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release from infected cells further demonstrated that cell permeation was specific to M. tuberculosis infection and correlated to A549 cellular necrosis. Inactivated M. tuberculosis or its subcellular fractions did not result in A549 necrosis or LDH release. These studies demonstrate that lung epithelial cell cytotoxicity is specific to infection by virulent mycobacteria and is caused by cellular necrosis. This necrosis is not a direct correlate of mycobacterial growth or of the expression of host cell factors, but is preceded by permeation of the A549 cell membrane and requires infection with live bacilli.
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11035739&dopt=Abstract
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Oct 24;97(22):12210-5.
Antimicrobial activity of MHC class I-restricted CD8+ T cells in human tuberculosis.
Cho S, Mehra V, Thoma-Uszynski S, Stenger S, Serbina N, Mazzaccaro RJ, Flynn JL, Barnes PF, Southwood S, Celis E, Bloom BR, Modlin RL, Sette A.
Division of Dermatology, University of California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Studies of mouse models of tuberculosis (TB) infection have indicated a central role for MHC class I-restricted CD8+ T cells in protective immunity. To define antigens and epitopes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) proteins that are presented by infected cells to CD8+ T cells, we screened 40 MTB proteins for HLA class I A*0201-binding motifs. Peptides that bound with high affinity to purified HLA molecules were subsequently analyzed for recognition by CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes. We identified three epitopes recognized by CD8+ T cells from patients recovering from TB infection. Those three epitopes were derived from three different antigens: thymidylate synthase (ThyA(30-38)), RNA polymerase beta-subunit (RpoB(127-135)), and a putative phosphate transport system permease protein A-1 (PstA1(75-83)). In addition, CD8+ T cell lines specific for three peptides (ThyA(30-38), PstA1(75-83), and 85B(15-23)) were generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of normal HLA-A*0201 donors. These CD8+ T cell lines specifically recognized MTB-infected macrophages, as demonstrated by production of IFN-gamma and lysis of the infected target cells. Finally, CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes reduced the viability of the intracellular MTB, providing evidence that CD8+ T cell recognition of MHC class I-restricted epitopes of these MTB antigens can contribute to effective immunity against the pathogen.
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11035787&dopt=Abstract
Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2000 Nov;44(11):3167-8.
Evaluation of rifalazil in a combination treatment regimen as an alternative to isoniazid-rifampin therapy in a mouse tuberculosis model.
Lenaerts AM, Chase SE, Cynamon MH.
Departments of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Medical Center and State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York 13210, USA.
The newer rifamycin, rifalazil (RLZ) (previously known as KRM-1648), has been shown in prior experiments to be a highly potent drug against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this report, we studied the efficacy of RLZ in combination with pyrazinamide (PZA) and ethambutol (EMB) in a long-term in vivo experiment and compared their activity with the isoniazid (INH)-rifampin (RIF) combination which is presently used in the clinic. Combinations of RLZ with PZA alone or with both PZA and EMB were both found to have sterilizing activities comparable to that of the INH-RIF combination but significantly better activity with respect to relapse of infection. These results suggest that RLZ, or other agents with similar activity, could be combined with available agents to act as a potential alternative drug regimen to the currently used INH-RIF combination.
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11036043&dopt=Abstract
The average human scalp is covered by approximatey 100,000 hair follicles. Each hair undergoes
hair cycle and normally 50-100 hairs randomly fall out a day, which is unnoticeable because lost hair is replaced by as many new hairs springing up daily. Hair loss results from the fall out of hair from the hair follicle. Alopecia or excessive, premature hair loss is the condition caused by many factors.
Loss of hair itself does not pose critical health problems because biological role of human hair is relatively marginal. Hair on our scalp protects the head from mechanical shock, heat loss, and exposure to UV-light. The eyelashes and eyebrowes protect the eyes, and hair in the ear canal or the nasal passages help filter out particles and pathogens, thus protecting our internal organs.
However, hair does play important social role: it is one of the major determinants of our appearance and identity in daily life. Fullness of hair also implicates or manifests physical integrity and youthfulness of the person. Losing hair could have more than just emotional impacts on individuals.
The hair is a unique organ that goes through a characteristic cycle consisting of an immature phase, a growing phase called anagen, a transitional phase between the growing phase and the resting phase called catagen, and finally a resting phase called telogen in which the hair stops growing, waiting to fall out. 85-90% of hairs on our body are in anagen phase or growing phase, which lasts anywhere from two to five years. This phase is followed by a short regression phase, or catagen, which lasts 2-3 weeks. Approximately 1% of hair follicles are in catagen. Approximately 10-15% of hair follicles are in the resting phase, the telogen, which lasts about 3-5 months. Hair follicles typically goes through 10-20 asynchronous cycles during the lifetime.
Persistent loss of more than 150 hairs would consist a state of hair loss, or alopecia, albeit it could be temporary.
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