Infections due to Yersinia enterocolitica serotypes O:2,3 and O:4 acquired in South Florida.

Four recent cases of Yersinia enterocolitica infections from Florida are discussed. Two of the cases presented as acute mesenteric lymphadenitis, and the other two presented as septicemia. Three of the isolates were an uncommon serotype, O:2,3, and the fourth was serotype O:5. The increasing occurrence of Y. enterocolitica in semitropical areas of the United States is emphasized.     

Association of DLG5 R30Q variant with inflammatory bowel disease

Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are chronic inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal system known as the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Recently, Stoll and colleagues reported a novel finding of genetic variation in the DLG5 gene that is associated with IBD (CD and UC combined). We present here a study of the genetic variation described in that report in two well-powered, independent case-control cohorts and one family-based collection, and confirm the proposed association between IBD and the R30Q variant of DLG5 in two of the three studies. We are, however, unable to replicate the other proposed association to the common haplotype described in Stoll et al and suggest that this other finding could conceivably have been partially a statistical fluctuation and partially a result of LD with the replicated R30Q association. This study provides support for the hypothesis that DLG5 constitutes a true IBD risk factor of modest effect.     

Births of normal daughters after MicroSort sperm separation and intrauterine insemination, in-vitro fertilization, or intracytoplasmic sperm injection

The world's first deliveries of normal babies after use of flow cytometric separated human sperm cells (MicroSort) for preconception gender selection are reported. Offspring were of the desired female gender in 92.9% of the pregnancies. Most of these pregnancies and births were achieved after simple intrauterine insemination.      

A 3 year retrospective review of intrauterine insemination, using cryopreserved donor spermatozoa and cycle monitoring by urinary or serum luteinizing hormone measurements

Insemination with donor spermatozoa is an integral part of infertility treatment. For the last 3 years in our unit, intrauterine insemination with donor spermatozoa (IUID) has been used in preference to vaginal insemination. In this retrospective study, patients were offered an initial course of five single intrauterine inseminations with cryopreserved donor spermatozoa and treatment was then reviewed. A total of 389 patients received 1465 inseminations. In all, 1119 cycles were monitored using luteinizing hormone serum analyses and 346 cycles using the urine home test kits. The clinical pregnancy rate per insemination for the cycles monitored by the serum assay was 18.0% (202/1119) compared with the urine cycles (13.7%, 46/346) (P <05). The pregnancy loss rate was not significantly different (14.4%, 29/202 and 21.7%, 10/46) (serum and urine cycles respectively). The viable clinical pregnancy rate was significantly higher (P <03) for the serum cycles than for the cycles using the urinary monitoring (15.5%, 173/1119 and 10.4%, 36/346 respectively). The cycles monitored by serum assay had a significantly higher cumulative viable clinical pregnancy rate (P <0001) of 70.2% after nine inseminations compared with the urine monitored cycles of 54.8%. The majority of patients opted for the serum cycles, with a minority self-selecting the urine cycles mainly for travelling convenience. The explanation for the significant differences between the viable clinical pregnancy rates per insemination and the cumulative viable clinical pregnancy rates may be due to the sensitivity of the urine home test kit or the patients' interpretation of the result.      

First Case of Subcutaneous Phaeohyphomycosis Caused by Scytalidium lignicola in a Human

A case of subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis in a human, involving the ankle and caused by Scytalidium lignicola, is described. The isolate was found to be sensitive to amphotericin B, 5-fluorocytosine, miconazole, and ketoconazole in vitro.     

Immunohistochemical analysis of ageing human B and T cell populations reveals an age-related decline of CD8 T cells in spleen but not gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT)

It is thought that senescence of the immune system is responsible, at least in part, for many health problems associated with ageing. Previous studies on changes in lymphocyte composition have used flow cytometry to study peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL's), or cells isolated from rodent tissue, and have yielded conflicting results. We have used immunohistochemistry to determine whether the B and T cells in human tissue from spleen and gut are affected by age. Areas of germinal centre, mantle zone and marginal zone of B cell follicles were measured. In addition, CD4 and CD8 T cells in T cell areas and in B cell follicles were counted. We observed a striking age-related decrease in the proportion of CD8+ T cells in the T cell zones of the spleen. This decrease was not apparent in the T cell population that occupies splenic B cell areas, or in GALT. Further differences, in CD4+ cells, were seen between T cell populations in the T cell zones and those in B cell areas. These findings highlight differences between lymphocyte populations in different lymphoid tissues, and different compartments within each tissue, which may be of importance in future studies of the ageing immune system.