European ST80 community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus orbital cellulitis in a neonate

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Methicillin-resistant <it>Staphylococcus aureus</it> is a serious cause of morbidity and mortality in hospital environment, but also, lately, in the community. This case report is, to our knowledge, the first detailed description of a community-associated methicillin-resistant <it>S. aureus</it> ST80 orbital cellulitis in a previously healthy neonate. Possible predisposing factors of microbial acquisition and treatment selection are also discussed.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 28-day-old Caucasian boy was referred to our hospital with the diagnosis of right orbital cellulitis. His symptoms included right eye proptosis, periocular edema and redness. Empirical therapy of intravenous daptomycin, rifampin and ceftriaxone was initiated. The culture of pus yielded a methicillin-resistant <it>S. aureus</it> isolate and the molecular analysis revealed that it was a Panton-Valentine leukocidine-positive ST80 strain. The combination antimicrobial therapy was continued for 42days and the infection was successfully controlled.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Clinicians should be aware that young infants, even without any predisposing condition, are susceptible to orbital cellulitis caused by community-associated methicillin-resistant <it>S. aureus.</it> Prompt initiation of the appropriate empirical therapy, according to the local epidemiology, should successfully address the infection, preventing ocular and systemic complications.</p

Serpin Family E Member 1 Tag Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Patients with Diabetic Nephropathy: An Association Study and Meta-Analysis Using a Genetic Model-Free Approach

Background: Many lines of evidence highlight the genetic contribution on the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN). One of the studied genes is SERPINE1 whose the role in the risk of developing DN remains questionable. In order to elucidate the contribution of SERPINE1 in DN progression in the context of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), we conducted an association study and meta-analysis of SERPINE1 genetic variants. Materials and Methods: A total of 190 patients with DN, 150 T2DM (type 2 diabetes mellitus) patients without DN and 238 healthy controls were recruited. We selected five tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the HapMap. The generalized odds ratio (ORG) was calculated to estimate the risk on DN development. Subgroup analyses based on ethnicity and type of diabetes were also performed. Results: Both the present association study regarding SERPINE1 SNPs (rs2227667, rs2070682, rs1050813, rs2227690, rs2227692) did not found any significant association between SERPINE1 variants and DN and the meta-analysis of variant 4G>5G (rs1799889) did not also reveal a significant association between 4G>5G variant and DN in main and subgroup analyses. Discussion: In conclusion, the present association study and meta-analysis provides strong evidence that SERPINE1 genetic variant 4G>5G is not implicated in the risk or development of DN in Caucasians. Further studies in other populations remain to further investigate the role of this variant in the course of DN

Serpin Family E Member 1 Tag Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Patients with Diabetic Nephropathy: An Association Study and Meta-Analysis Using a Genetic Model-Free Approach

Background: Many lines of evidence highlight the genetic contribution on the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN). One of the studied genes is SERPINE1 whose the role in the risk of developing DN remains questionable. In order to elucidate the contribution of SERPINE1 in DN progression in the context of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), we conducted an association study and meta-analysis of SERPINE1 genetic variants. Materials and Methods: A total of 190 patients with DN, 150 T2DM (type 2 diabetes mellitus) patients without DN and 238 healthy controls were recruited. We selected five tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the HapMap. The generalized odds ratio (ORG) was calculated to estimate the risk on DN development. Subgroup analyses based on ethnicity and type of diabetes were also performed. Results: Both the present association study regarding SERPINE1 SNPs (rs2227667, rs2070682, rs1050813, rs2227690, rs2227692) did not found any significant association between SERPINE1 variants and DN and the meta-analysis of variant 4G&gt;5G (rs1799889) did not also reveal a significant association between 4G&gt;5G variant and DN in main and subgroup analyses. Discussion: In conclusion, the present association study and meta-analysis provides strong evidence that SERPINE1 genetic variant 4G&gt;5G is not implicated in the risk or development of DN in Caucasians. Further studies in other populations remain to further investigate the role of this variant in the course of DN

Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor Type-1 Tag Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 and Diabetic Retinopathy

<p><i>Background</i>: There is accumulating evidence for genetic susceptibility to the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). The role of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in DR risk remains controversial.</p> <p><i>Objective</i>: The present study was designed to investigate possible influence of PAI-1 gene region polymorphisms on the risk of DR and on the risk of developing DR early vs late in the course of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).</p> <p><i>Methods</i>: A total of 138 patients with DR, 107 patients with T2DM without DR, and 315 healthy controls were recruited. To cover the majority of the genetic variability across the extended region of PAI-1 gene, five tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the HapMap using a pairwise approach and an <i>r</i>² ≥ 0.8 and a minor allele frequency (MAF) of >0.05 were identified. Using logistic regression analyses, tag SNPs and haplotypes were tested for associations with DR risk and risk of DR development early or late in the course of T2DM. The generalized odds ratio (OR_G) was calculated to estimate the mutational load effect on DR development among all participants. Corrections for multiple comparisons were carried out (<i>p</i>-value < 0.01).</p> <p><i>Results</i>: A significant effect of rs2070682 on the risk of early DR onset was found in the codominant model of inheritance [odds ratio, OR (95% confidence interval, CI): 5.04 (1.47–17.28), <i>p</i> = 0.018]. However, this association marginally did not survive multiple testing corrections. No other significant association between PAI-1 tag-SNPs and haplotypes was revealed. Furthermore, no significant mutational load effect of PAI-1 tag SNPs on the risk of DR development in T2DM course was found.</p> <p><i>Conclusions</i>: In conclusion, the present study does not provide any strong evidence that <i>PAI-1</i> gene variants are implicated in the risk of DR or the development of DR during T2DM course.</p