Microbiology of the female genital tract

Patients who contract genital tract infections are predominantly young, are otherwise healthy, and generally respond well to treatment for bacterial infections. These infections are most commonly polymicrobial in etiology, with several noteworthy exceptions. Often there is an inciting event such as childbirth, surgical intervention, pregnancy termination or intrauterine contraceptive device insertion. With treatment, prognosis for cure is excellent; however, sequelae such as recurrent infections, infertility, or ectopic pregnancy can be serious. Bacteria encountered in the female genital tract can be divided into aerobic and anaerobic organisms. Among the aerobic gram-positive organisms, several varieties of streptococci such as Group B streptococci and enterococci occur frequently. Staphylococcus aureus is an infrequent but important pathogen. Among the aerobic gram-negative organisms, the most common is Escherichia coli. Klebsiella sp. and Proteus sp. occur in about 5% of genital tract infections. Species that are more resistant to antibiotics, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter sp., occur in approximately 1% or 2% of these cases and are more likely to appear in patients who have previously received antibiotic therapy or who have been hospitalized for some time. Among the anaerobic organisms, the most common gram-positive isolates are Peptostreptococci and Peptococci. Clostridia sp. occurs less frequently. Among the anaerobic gram-negative organisms, the Bacteroides sp. most frequently encountered are Bacteroides bivius and Bacteroides disiens. Bacteroides fragilis is still a common problem but appears to be less predominant. Other organisms encountered are Chlamydia trachomatis, the genital mycoplasmas, yeasts, protozoa, and viruses.     

Evaluation of a new Rift Valley fever vaccine: safety and immunogenicity trials

A formalin-inactivated Rift Valley fever vaccine prepared in primary monkey kidney cells has been used to protect laboratory workers from disease since 1967. A similar but improved vaccine was prepared in 1978-1979 using well characterized diploid fetal rhesus lung cells. In initial clinical trials reported here, the new vaccine elicited high levels of plaque neutralizing antibodies and caused only minimal local reactions at the injection site. Significant variability was observed in the geometric mean titre evoked by various vaccine lots. This variability had not been predicted by conventional pre-filtration or pre-inactivation virus infectivity assays, or the results of animal potency tests. These findings emphasize the need for statistically valid human potency testing and the development of accurate predictive preclinical measurements for this and other vaccines.     

S-Farnesyl-Thiopropionic Acid (FTPA) Triazoles as Potent Inhibitors of Isoprenylcysteine Carboxyl Methyltransferase

We report the design and synthesis of novel FTPA-triazole compounds as potent inhibitors of isoprenylcysteine carboxyl methyltransferase (Icmt), through a focus on thioether and isoprenoid mimetics. These mimetics were coupled utilizing a copper-assisted cycloaddition to assemble the potential inhibitors. Using the resulting triazole from the coupling as an isoprenyl mimetic resulted in the biphenyl substituted FTPA triazole 10n. This lipid-modified analog is a potent inhibitor of Icmt (IC(50) = 0.8 ± 0.1 μM; calculated K(i) = 0.4 μM).     

Treatment of Bone Tumors

In this article, the authors summarize the state of the art and future potential in the management of Osteosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, and Chondrosarcoma. They cover systemic therapy, surgical therapy, and radiotherapy, along with targeted therapies to inhibit signal transduction pathways. They discuss staging and the role of imaging evaluation to provide an overview of bone tumor treatment. Images presenting pathologic-radiologic correlations are included.     

The 200- and 150-kDa neurofilament proteins react with IgG autoantibodies from patients with kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and other neurologic diseases.

Sera from 65 patients with spongiform virus encephalopathies (29 with kuru, 36 with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease), 79 with other neurologic diseases, and 65 control subjects were examined for reactivity in immunoblots of preparations of myelinated axons and neurofilaments from mouse brain. The sera reacted most frequently with the 200-kDa and 150-kDa neurofilament proteins and less frequently with the 70-kDa neurofilament protein and a 62-kDa neurofilament-associated protein. The sera reacted with the same proteins as those which reacted with rabbit and mouse polyclonal antibodies and mouse monoclonal antibody to neurofilament proteins. Serum reactions were also seen with Trixon X-100 extracts of chimpanzee brain and bovine spinal cord but not with Triton extracts of liver, kidney, and muscle.