Toxoplasma gondii and Schizophrenia: A Relationship That Is Not Ruled Out

Over recent years, it has been proposed that some diseases of unknown origin, such as schizophrenia, may be caused by persistent chronic infections coupled with a genetic component and may be perpetuated by the immune system. This hypothesis is supported by epidemiological and biological evidence on the exposure of schizophrenics to infec‐ tious diseases during prenatal or postnatal periods, including Toxoplasma gondii, chla‐ mydia, human herpes virus, human endogenous retroviruses, parvovirus B19, mumps, and flu viruses. This growing list of microbes will undoubtedly continue to increase in the future. Linking infection to schizophrenia is a complex challenge that requires further experimental and epidemiological research. T. gondii is the infectious agent that has most frequently been related to neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, and it is considered to represent a highly useful model to analyze the influence of a microorgan‐ ism on human behavior and the development of psychiatric disease. It may also help to detect patient subpopulations susceptible to treatment with specific antimicrobials by improving definition of the differential phenotype of the disease, and it offers the possibility of a preventive approach

Toxoplasma gondii and Schizophrenia: A Relationship That Is Not Ruled Out

Over recent years, it has been proposed that some diseases of unknown origin, such as schizophrenia, may be caused by persistent chronic infections coupled with a genetic component and may be perpetuated by the immune system. This hypothesis is supported by epidemiological and biological evidence on the exposure of schizophrenics to infectious diseases during prenatal or postnatal periods, including Toxoplasma gondii, chlamydia, human herpes virus, human endogenous retroviruses, parvovirus B19, mumps, and flu viruses. This growing list of microbes will undoubtedly continue to increase in the future. Linking infection to schizophrenia is a complex challenge that requires further experimental and epidemiological research. T. gondii is the infectious agent that has most frequently been related to neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, and it is considered to represent a highly useful model to analyze the influence of a microorganism on human behavior and the development of psychiatric disease. It may also help to detect patient subpopulations susceptible to treatment with specific antimicrobials by improving definition of the differential phenotype of the disease, and it offers the possibility of a preventive approach

Antimicrobial development in the era of emerging resistance

Antibiotics currently under study by the Food and Drugs Administration include: faropenem (for treatment of sinusitis, bronchitis, and community-acquired pneumonia), dalbavancin (for catheter infections), telavancin (for treatment of nosocomial pneumonia), oritavancin (for bacteremia), ceftobiprole and iclaprim (for pneumonias). Moreover, all of them would be useful for skin and soft tissue infections

Comparison of the SYBR Green and the hybridization probe format for real-time PCR detection of HHV-6

A comparative study was conducted of a novel real-time quantitative PCR test (LightCycler System) with FastStart DNA Master(PLUS) SYBR Green I dye to detect DNA of human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6). Results were compared with those of a real-time quantitative PCR with hybridization probe (HP) formats using the fluorescence resonance energy transfer method, and with those of a single qualitative PCR test. The detection limit of the test with SYBR Green I dye was 20 copies of the virus, similar to that of the other two tests. The reproducibility was satisfactory. The new test has the same advantages as real-time PCR with HP formats and offers a greater versatility at lower cost

High incidence of extended-spectrum β-lactamases among outpatient clinical isolates of Escherichia coli: a phenotypic assessment of NCCLS guidelines and a commercial method

The production of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) among 357 clinical isolates of Escherichia coli and 175 of Klebsiella spp. was studied using both the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards disk diffusion method and the semiautomated Wider system. We highlight the predominance of E. coli (50, 92.6%) among positive samples and the largely outpatient origin of these (40, 80%), including 39 samples of urine (97.5%) and one of urethral exudate. There were only four ESBL-producing isolates of Klebsiella spp. (7.4%), and three were in outpatient urine samples (75%, 2 K. oxytoca and 1 K. pneumoniae). The positive and negative predictive values for the Wider system were 81% and 98.5%, respectively. We stress the high incidence of ESBL in our setting, the predominance of cases in the outpatient setting, and the acceptable detection of ESBL by means of the Wider system in E. coli and Klebsiella spp

Evaluation of the rapid RIDAQUICK Campylobacter® test in a general hospital

The study objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of the new rapid immunochromatographic test RIDAQUICK Campylobacter® (r-biopharm AG, Darmstadt, Germany) for the qualitative detection of Campylobacter antigens in pathologic feces from primary and specialist care patients. Three hundred feces samples were studied from patients with diarrhea, 50.6% from adults and 49.4% from children, which were received by our microbiology laboratory for coproculture. Campylobacter culture results, with or without PCR data, served as reference values for the comparative evaluation of RIDAQUICK Campylobacter® findings. Campylobacter was detected in 12.3% of samples. The diagnostic accuracy values of the RidaQuick Campylobacter® versus culture were: sensitivity of 87%, specificity of 97%, and positive and negative predictive values of 77% and 98%, respectively. RIDAQUICK Campylobacter® is a rapid test for the diagnosis of enteritis due to Campylobacter and could be an option for the clinical diagnosis of one of the main causes of bacterial enteritis in resource-limited settings

Different presence of Chlamydia pneumoniae, herpes simplex virus type 1, human herpes virus 6, and Toxoplasma gondii in schizophrenia: meta-analysis and analytical study

In the present study we have performed both a meta-analysis and an analytical study exploring the presence of Chlamydia pneumoniae, herpes simplex virus type 1, human herpes virus 6, and Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in a sample of 143 schizophrenic patients and 143 control subjects. The meta-analysis was performed on papers published up to April 2014. The presence of serum immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin A was performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. The detection of microbial DNA in total peripheral blood was performed by nested polymerase chain reaction. The meta-analysis showed that: 1) C. pneumoniae DNA in blood and brain are more common in schizophrenic patients; 2) there is association with parasitism by T. gondii, despite the existence of publication bias; and 3) herpes viruses were not more common in schizophrenic patients. In our sample only anti-Toxoplasma immunoglobulin G was more prevalent and may be a risk factor related to schizophrenia, with potential value for prevention.Part of this work was presented at the Royal Academy of Medicine of Spain

Etiological and Resistance Profile of Bacteria Involved in Urinary Tract Infections in Young Children

The objective of this study was to identify the bacteria most frequently responsible for urinary tract infection (UTI) in the population of under-2-year-olds in our geographic area and to evaluate the activity of antibiotics widely used for UTI treatment during a 4-year study period. Materials and Methods. A retrospective analysis was conducted of data on the identification and susceptibility of microorganisms isolated in urine samples from children under 2 years of age. A total of 1,045 uropathogens were isolated. Escherichia coli accounted for the majority (60.3%) of these, followed by Enterococcus faecalis (22.4%) and Klebsiella spp. (6.5%). The highest E. coli susceptibility rates (>90%) were to piperacillin-tazobactam, cefuroxime, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, imipenem, gentamicin, nitrofurantoin, and fosfomycin, and the lowest were to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and cotrimoxazole. Among all bacteria isolated, we highlight the overall high activity of piperacillin-tazobactam, imipenem, nitrofurantoin, and fosfomycin against both community and hospital isolates and the reduced activity of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cephalosporins, gentamicin, and cotrimoxazole. There was no significant change in the total activity of any of the studied antibiotics over the 4-year study period. Empiric treatment with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cotrimoxazole, cephalosporins, and gentamicin may be inadequate due to their limited activity against uropathogens in our settingParts of this work were supported by the CTS-521 research grou

Prevalence and genetic diversity of Trichomonas vaginalis in the general population of Granada and co-infections with Gardnerella vaginalis and Candida species

Purpose: Purulent or exudative genitourinary infections are a frequent cause of consultation in primary and specialized healthcare. The objectives of this study were: to determine the prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis and co-infections with Candida spp. and Gardnerella vaginalis in vaginal secretion; and to use multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to analyse the genetic diversity of T. vaginalis strains. Methodology: The samples were submitted for analysis (n=5230) to a third-level hospital in Granada (Southern Spain) between 2011 and 2014; eight T. vaginalis strains isolated during 2015 were randomly selected for MLST analysis. Culture and nucleic acid hybridization techniques were used to detect microorganisms in the samples. Results: The prevalence of T. vaginalis was 2.4 % between 2011 and 2014, being higher during the first few months of both 2011 and 2012. Among samples positive for T. vaginalis, co-infection with G. vaginalis was detected in 29 samples and co-infection with Candida spp. in 6, while co-infection with all three pathogens was observed in 3 samples. The only statistically significant between-year difference in co-infection rates was observed for T. vaginalis with G. vaginalis due to an elevated rate in 2011. MLST analysis results demonstrated a high genetic variability among strains circulating in our setting. Conclusion: These findings emphasize the need for the routine application of diagnostic procedures to avoid the spread of this sexually transmitted infection

High presence of extended-spectrum β-lactamases and resistance to quinolones in clinical isolates of Escherichia coli

A study was conducted to detect the presence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) in 706 isolates of Escherichia coli, largely from outpatients (75.2%). The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (formerly NCCLS)-recommended disk diffusion procedure was used to detect ESBL presence; the VITEK 2 system (bioMérieux, Marcy L'Etoile, France) was used to determine the susceptibility to antibiotics of clinical interest, and the ESBLs were characterized by biochemical study, determining the isoelectric point, and by molecular study with PCR. Clonal distribution was studied in eight hospital isolates. There were 115 ESBL-producing isolates (16.3%), with a predominance of CTX-M9 type (58.3%). We draw attention to the high resistance to quinolones (>70%) in CTX-M9 and SHV enzyme producing isolates and the lower aminoglycoside activity in the latter