In vitro and in vivo preliminary results on Spirulina platensis for treatment of impetigo: Topical cream application

Impetigo is a highly infectious superficial bacterial disease, most common among pre-school children. Applying 11 antimicrobial agents to the Staphylococcus aureus, the most causative organism for impetigo, S. aureus isolates are resistant to all agents except of vancomycin and fusidic acid. Nevertheless, treatment of impetigo using antimicrobial agents may cause serious medical problems, such as destroying normal gut and skin flora and producing gastrointestinal irritations, dermatitis or serious hypersensitivity problems. Thus, the test of new microbial infection-fighting natural compounds is urgent. The in vitro measuring the antibacterial activity of Spirulina platensis extracts, following agarwell diffusion method, against methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) clinical isolates showed that the methanolic S. platensis extract is the most active. The in vivo efficacy of applied topical S. platensis creams, both methanolic extract and crude, in treatment of impetigo were compared. In general, clinical application of both active ingredients of S. platensis (Group 1-G1) and crude S. platensis form (Group 2-G2) gave promising and excellent response rates. However, the Group 1 application had the best efficacy, no side effects and no recurrence during the follow-up period. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of both crude alga and its methanolic extract concludes that the potential antimicrobial activity is attributed to synergic effect of some fatty acids. We propose that the higher percentage of linoleic and palmitic acids and the presence of squalane in methanolic extract of Spirulina most probably are the causes of its higher antimicrobial activity.Keywords: Staphylococcus aureus, impetigo, Spirulina platensis, extracts, topical cream, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), antimicrobial activityAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(18), pp. 2498-250

Case Report of Urethritis in a Male Patient Infected with Two Different Isolates of Multiple Drug-Resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae

We report a brief description of a case suffering from bacterial urethritis, conjunctivitis, and arthritis, caused by two different isolates of multiple drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Initial diagnosis was dependent on the patient history, clinical findings, symptoms, and the bacteriological data. Polymerase chain reaction confirmed the identification of the pathogens. Random amplified polymorphic DNA revealed two different patterns. Susceptibility testing was performed using Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method and the minimum inhibitory concentration was also determined. It revealed multiple drug resistance associated with β-lactamase production. Only gentamicin, rifampicin, and azithromycin were active against the test pathogens. A dual therapy was initiated using gentamicin as well as azithromycin to treat the possible co-infection with Chlamydia trachomatis. Complete recovery of the patient achieved with resolved symptoms a week later

Caveolin-1 expression in hyperproliferative skin disorders: A potential predictive marker of disease severity and progression

Background: Caveolin-1 (CAV-1) is a key structural and functional membrane protein that is thought to play a role in controlling cellular proliferation and differentiation. Objective: To study the immunohistochemical expression of caveolin-1 in psoriasis and the two common types of non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs); basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in comparison to normal control skin and to correlate their expression with disease severity and progression. Patients and methods: This study included 90 patients and paraffin blocks (30 psoriasis, 30 BCC and 30 SCC) and 30 normal control skin specimens. Skin biopsy specimens were taken from all and examined for immunohistochemical expression of caveolin-1. Results: Significant reduction of caveolin-1 expression was detected in all studied patients groups in comparison to control group. Caveolin-1 expression in psoriasis showed significant downregulation with progression of Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score. In addition, caveolin-1 expression was significantly decreased in aggressive types of BCC compared to non-aggressive types. Furthermore, poorly differentiated SCC showed significantly reduced caveolin-1 expression compared to moderately and well differentiated SCC. Conclusion: Caveolin-1 downregulation may increase the susceptibility to both benign and malignant hyperproliferative skin disorders. It could be useful as predictive biomarker of disease severity and progression. Keywords: Caveolin-1, Psoriasis, BCC, SC