Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome in a very low birth weight preterm infant

Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS) is an exfoliative dermatitis produced by the toxins of some strains of staphylococci, predominantly phage Group 2, strains 71 and 55. It has been reported mostly in children under 5 years of age with few cases only reported in very preterm infants. The disease can be life threatening in very low birth weight preterm babies. We are reporting one such case to emphasize the importance for clinicians to not only recognize the clinical manifestations of SSSS but also the need to closely monitor infants, especially VLBW infants with SSSS for bacterial sepsis and other complications

Neonatal seizures: our experience of incidence, etiology and outcome in a tertiary care centre

Context: Neonatal seizures often evoke a sense of urgency among physician in charge of newborn as they oftenindicate a CNS dysfunction. Incidence of neonatal seizures remains high in our community even in this era ofadvanced perinatal care. Early detection of seizure and its etiology help us to provide specific therapy.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence, etiology and outcome of neonatalseizures. Settings and design: Prospective hospital based descriptive study conducted in the neonatal unit oftertiary care hospital. Material and methods: Consecutive newborns admitted with seizures were included inthis study. Data were collected regarding relevant history and examination, thoroughly evaluated for etiologyand outcome was documented. Analysed by descriptive statistics and conclusions were drawn. Results: Onehundred and eight newborns with seizures were included during study period and incidence of neonatal seizurewas 5.5%. Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and sepsis constituted the most common etiologies. HIEwas the most common etiology associated with mortality. Abnormal EEG with supressed background activitywas present in majority of mortality cases. Conclusion: Most of the cases had multifactorial etiology. Measuresfor prevention, prompt recognition and specific management of neonatal seizure help to reduce the burden ofneonatal morbidity in the community

Clinical profile and neuroimaging of neonates with influenza encephalopathy

Background: Pediatric influenza is found primarily in children under 5 years of age, and it is very difficult to distinguish the illness caused by influenza, a virus infection based on the signs alone. Objective: The objective of this study is to analyze the clinical profile and neuroimaging of neonates admitted with seizures followed by encephalopathy. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted among neonates admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit, with neurological manifestations such as poor feeding, lethargy followed by seizures and poor sensorium in the 1st week of life. During the study period, 14 neonates were included with similar neurological manifestations. Results: Our study neonates had poor feeding and lethargy (57.1%) before the onset of seizures. The mean day of the onset of seizure was day 4, and the mean duration of encephalopathy lasted for 63 h. We could detect influenza A in cerebrospinal fluid-polymerase chain reaction only in two neonates and H1N1 influenza in one neonate, but all our study neonates had consistent findings on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain suggestive of viral infection probably influenza A as its circulation in the community is considered common. The mean day of discharge from the hospital was 11.5 days. At discharge, all neonates were on breastfeeds and had no focal neurological deficit. Conclusions: The possibility of influenza A-related encephalopathy should be considered as a differential diagnosis if a neonate presents with poor feeding, lethargy followed by seizures and encephalopathy in the 1st week of life and their brain MR

A Systematic Screen to Discover and Analyze Apicoplast Proteins Identifies a Conserved and Essential Protein Import Factor

Parasites of the phylum Apicomplexa cause diseases that impact global health and economy. These unicellular eukaryotes possess a relict plastid, the apicoplast, which is an essential organelle and a validated drug target. However, much of its biology remains poorly understood, in particular its elaborate compartmentalization: four membranes defining four different spaces. Only a small number of organellar proteins have been identified in particular few proteins are known for non-luminal apicoplast compartments. We hypothesized that enlarging the catalogue of apicoplast proteins will contribute toward identifying new organellar functions and expand the realm of targets beyond a limited set of characterized pathways. We developed a bioinformatic screen based on mRNA abundance over the cell cycle and on phyletic distribution. We experimentally assessed 57 genes, and of 30 successful epitope tagged candidates eleven novel apicoplast proteins were identified. Of those, seven appear to target to the lumen of the organelle, and four localize to peripheral compartments. To address their function we then developed a robust system for the construction of conditional mutants via a promoter replacement strategy. We confirm the feasibility of this system by establishing conditional mutants for two selected genes – a luminal and a peripheral apicoplast protein. The latter is particularly intriguing as it encodes a hypothetical protein that is conserved in and unique to Apicomplexan parasites and other related organisms that maintain a red algal endosymbiont. Our studies suggest that this peripheral plastid protein, PPP1, is likely localized to the periplastid compartment. Conditional disruption of PPP1 demonstrated that it is essential for parasite survival. Phenotypic analysis of this mutant is consistent with a role of the PPP1 protein in apicoplast biogenesis, specifically in import of nuclear-encoded proteins into the organelle