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This article presents a case study of a 54-year-old male patient who experienced symptoms of fatigue, headaches, and personality changes. After undergoing imaging tests, a large tumor in the frontal region of the brain was discovered. The patient underwent surgery to remove the tumor, and the recovery was successful. The article explores different possible diagnoses for the tumor, including meningioma, primary central nervous lymphoma, hemangiopericytoma/solitary fibrous tumor, dural-based metastasis, and dural cavernous hemangioma. The authors provide information on the imaging characteristics and features that can help distinguish between these conditions. The document also discusses the diagnosis of a rare case of follicular lymphoma within the dura mater, providing a detailed analysis of the tumor's histology and immunohistochemistry. The authors highlight the rarity of primary lymphomas of the dura and the limited prognostic evidence available for this specific type of lymphoma. This information is valuable for library patrons researching lymphomas and rare brain tumors. [Extracted from the article]

This article presents a case report of a 68-year-old female patient who was admitted to the emergency department with symptoms of headache, mental confusion, and mild hemiparesis. The patient underwent surgery to remove a right temporal mass lesion, which was found to be a primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the central nervous system (CNS-DLBCL). The article provides detailed information about the imaging findings, histology, and immunohistochemistry of the tumor. It also discusses the differential diagnoses considered for the patient's condition, including glioblastoma, gliosarcoma, metastasis, and pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma. The article concludes by highlighting the rarity of CNS-DLBCL and its poor prognosis compared to systemic DLBCL. [Extracted from the article]

Possible findings also include lesions that might resemble MS, usually with the presence of associated findings that are unusual for MS (red flags), or that might resemble noninflammatory small vessel disease. Keywords: Susac syndrome; Anti-MOG associated encephalomyelitis; Central nervous system vasculitis; Multiple sclerosis; Guillain-Barré Syndrome EN Susac syndrome Anti-MOG associated encephalomyelitis Central nervous system vasculitis Multiple sclerosis Guillain-Barré Syndrome 529 535 7 06/21/21 20210601 NES 210601 The authors M. Frosch and N. Kremers contributed equally to the manuscript. Differential Diagnosis, Imaging Multiple Sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a relatively common acquired chronic relapsing demyelinating disease involving the central nervous system and is the second most common cause of neurological impairment in young adults, after trauma [[1]]. 10.1136/jnnp-2016-314295 9 Van der Valk P, De Groot C. Staging of multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions: pathology of the time frame of MS. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Der Schmerz is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Monatsschrift Kinderheilkunde is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Uveitis in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is frequently associated with the development of complications and visual loss. Topical corticosteroids are the first-choice therapy, and immunosuppression is commonly used. However, treatment has not been standardized. Representatives from the German Ophthalmological Society, Society for Childhood and Adolescent Rheumatology, and the German Society for Rheumatology reached consensus on a standardized treatment strategy according to disease severity in the individual patient. The recommendations were based on a systematic literature analysis in MEDLINE and consensus expert meetings. Evidence and recommendations were graded, and an algorithm for anti-inflammatory treatment and final statements confirmed in a Delphi method. An interdisciplinary, evidence-based treatment guideline for JIA uveitis is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Monatsschrift Kinderheilkunde is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The VITEK 2 AST-N111 card was evaluated for detection of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) by testing 51 ESBL positive and 50 ESBL negative isolates of E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and K. oxytoca. The occurrence of beta-lactamase genes was confirmed by PCR and sequencing. The advanced expert system (AES) of the VITEK 2 system achieved sensitivity and specificity values of 100% and 96.0%, respectively. The ESBL test of the VITEK 2 AST-N111 card showed a sensitivity of 92.1% and a specificity of 90.0%. Contradictory results obtained with the two VITEK 2 tools could be clarified by combination disk tests in nine of 11 isolates. The combined use of AES and ESBL tests of the AST-N111 card in association with combination disk tests in case of contradictory results seems to be a reliable method for ESBL detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Monatsschrift Kinderheilkunde is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

α-Synuclein is a major constituent of Lewy bodies, the fibrillar aggregates that form within neurons in Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Recent biochemical data show that α-synuclein accumulates in Parkinson’s disease in a detergent insoluble form. We now examine the relationship between detergent insoluble α-synuclein and the presence of Lewy bodies, clinical measures of dementia and biochemical parameters in a series of individuals with DLB. We found that Triton X-100 insoluble α-synuclein enriched nearly twofold in the temporal cortex of patients with DLB compared to age-matched controls. By contrast the total amount of α-synuclein protein was unchanged. Surprisingly, the degree of Triton X-100 insoluble α-synuclein did not correlate with either the duration of illness or the number of Lewy bodies counted using stereological methods from an adjacent block of tissue. However, the Triton X-100 soluble fraction of α-synuclein did correlate strongly with the expression of several heat shock proteins (HSPs) in DLB but not control cases, suggesting a coordinated HSP response in DLB neocortex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reported here is a case of a febrile illness caused by a wild type and small-colony variant of Escherichia coli in an anorectic patient. A review of the literature revealed that the formation of small-colony variants in E. coli has been recognized since 1931. In recent years, an association has been established between those variants and chronic recurrent infections. This report describes for the first time the isolation of an E. coli small-colony variant from a blood culture of a patient who had suffered from chronic urinary tract infections in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Monatsschrift Kinderheilkunde is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Monatsschrift Kinderheilkunde is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Der Radiologe is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A sibling cord blood (CB) transplantation was performed in a boy with Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome. The CB (31 × 106 CD34+ cells) derived from a newborn sister with neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT) with 40000 platelets/μl, caused by a maternal anti-HPA-5b and HLA-A2 antibody. Maternal serum did not inhibit clonogenicity after in vitro testing of megakaryopoiesis. Accordingly, this CB was accepted for sibling transplantation. The transplantation showed a good course with fast and sustained hematopoietic reconstitution (granulocytes >500/μl on day +16, platelets >50 000/μl on day +30). This case demonstrates a successful CB transplantation from a donor suffering from NAIT. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2001) 28, 803–806. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlabelled: We report the clinical course of a 6.5-year-old boy with refractory auto-immune haemolytic anaemia. Due to failure of conventional immunosuppressive therapy, an autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation was performed. The conditioning regimen consisted of cyclophosphamide and anti-thymocyte globulin. The patient was reinfused with 2.6 x 10(6) CD34 positive selected, B- and T-cell-depleted peripheral blood stem cells per kg body weight. He showed a partial response with a reduced demand for red blood cell transfusions. However, due to persistence of the haemolytic process he was started on rituximab therapy on day +40 post-transplant. Following two doses of rituximab, the patient improved rapidly and developed a sustained complete response. After 10 months, haemolysis recurred and responded again to rituximab therapy without the necessity for red blood cell transfusions. 15 months after initial antibody treatment, however, the patient developed a second relapse which was now refractory to rituximab therapy although CD20+ B-lymphocytes were cleared from the peripheral blood.Conclusion: Our case report suggests that rituximab and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation are important though not curative elements in the treatment of patients with severe auto-immune haemolytic anaemia who are refractory to conventional immunosuppressive therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Der Schmerz is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Two different drawer tasks were investigated with the aim of assessing the role of eye movements in well-coordinated hand movements. In an unimanual step-tracking task, which had a predictive and an unpredictive movement, a two-way repeated-measures ANOVA showed a significant effect of prediction on the onset of grip-force (GF) rate (300±39 ms for the predictive condition versus 394±53 ms for the non-predictive condition, P<0.0001). Correlation coefficients, computed from the eye and the hand movements were low for the right and the left hand. The saccade was more coupled with the visual step change than with the action of the hand per se. In a second bimanual pull-and-pick task , the instruction was to pull a drawer with the left hand from a closed position to a LED-cued open position and then to grasp and reinsert a small peg in the drawer with the right hand. Correlation coefficients, computed from the latencies of saccades and of the leading left hand or of the right hand, were significant in four of five subjects. Intermanual correlations were significant in all five subjects. In conclusion, we found that the initial saccade in the unimanual task was best related with the visual step change, but was poorly correlated with the pulling/pushing hand. In the bimanual task, a moderate, but significant temporal coupling between the eyes and hand events was observed. This coupling was, however, less tight than that between both hands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death characterized by specific morphologic and biochemical properties. Tumorgenesis is the consequence not only of cell proliferation but also the loss of the ability to undergo apoptosis [2]. Bcl-2 is a protooncogene which has the ability to block apoptosis in many cell types. Astrocytic neoplasms are very aggressive tumors which many times fail to respond to surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. They frequently overexpress wild-type p53 which is associated with the expression of bcl-2, and thus they may have evolved a mechanism to subvert apoptosis and allow continued growth. We examined the apoptotic index in fifty-nine astrocytic tumors of various histological grades (Oncor ApopTag Plus In Situ Detection Kit) and compared this with the level of bcl-2 expression. Low grade astrocytomas (0.21 ±0.05; range 0.0–0.9) and anaplastic astrocytomas (0.27 ±0.13; range 0.0–2.6) had significantly less apoptosis than glioblastomas (0.70 ± 0.13; range 0.0–2.1; Kruskal-Wallis test, P ≤0.01). In contrast, bcl-2 expression was similar in all grades of astrocytic tumors and did not correlate with the apoptotic index. Cells of low grade and anaplastic astrocytomas are less likely to undergo apoptosis; however, this does not seem to be a direct consequence of the regulation of bcl-2 expression. The difference in growth potential despite differences in apoptotic index is likely to be attributed to differences in mitotic not apoptotic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Monatsschrift Kinderheilkunde is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The infant rat model is widely used to study the pathogenesis of meningitis caused by a variety of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. However, the interpretation of published results concerning meningitis is difficult in many records because the fact that blood contamination of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cannot be avoided during the traumatic puncture procedure has not been taken into consideration. Since bacterial invasion of the central nervous system develops following bacteremia in this model, blood contamination of the CSF leads to a falsification of the CSF bacterial counts. Here we present an evaluation of a rapid and quantitative test for CSF blood contamination using Sangur test strips. The procedure requires minimal amounts of CSF and allows direct calculation of the CSF bacterial load due to blood contamination and, thus, provides refined criteria for the presence of bacterial meningitis in the infant rat model. It is superior to the detection of erythrocytes using a hemocytometer since it is less time consuming. Furthermore, we demonstrate the value of this method for the experimental infection of rats with Neisseria meningitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the contribution of the polysialic acid capsule and of terminal lipooligosaccharide (LOS) sialylation to the pathogenicity of Neisseria meningitidis in vivo using a set of defined isogenic mutants of the N. meningitidis strain B 1940 deficient in either capsule synthesis or LOS sialylation. Furthermore a spontaneous capsule-deficient variant was investigated, which was capable of switching on the capsule synthesis at a frequency of 3×10 in vitro. Infection of infant rats with the wild-type strain revealed a high potential to cause bacteremia. This potential was attenuated in the capsule-phase variable mutant (LOS sialylation). However, using a mutant irreversibly deficient in capsule synthesis, but expressing a sialylated LOS, bacteremia could only be achieved using 10 times higher numbers of bacteria when compared to the wild-type. The unencapsulated bacteria were located extracellularly upon examination of blood smears, suggesting that defense mechanisms, i. e. phagocytosis, directed against unencapsulated meningococci were exhausted using very high infecting doses. Interestingly, when infant rats were infected with encapsulated meningococci which were unable to sialylate the LOS, bacteremia could never be achieved, even with an infective dose as high as 10 colony forming units (CFU). Despite the presence of capsular polysaccharide this mutant was phagocytosed by peritoneal phagocytes, as was the unencapsulated, LOS-sialylated mutant, suggesting that the inability to cause bacteremia was due to a higher susceptibility to the action of the complement system, which is virtually unsaturable. We conclude that in the infant rat model of meningococcal infection both forms of sialic acid on the bacterial cell surface are indispensable for systemic survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The difficulties of biochemical diagnosis in children and in chronic renal failure are discussed in detail, as well as the development of diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities in recent years, exemplified by 4 cases. Excretion of oxalate (and glycolate) may be incorrectly assumed to be normal with: a) uncritical application of the method of measurement, b) disregard of the clearly lower oxalate excretion in children (values should be referred to m of body surface), c) disregard of a decreased glomerular filtration rate (values should be referred to the creatinine clearance). With compromised renal function the excretion of oxalate and glycolate in primary oxalosis drops to 'normal' whereas plasma values increase considerably. In this case the biochemical diagnosis is possible only by measurement of plasma values of glycolate and oxalate. Consequently, extensive extrarenal deposition of calcium oxalate crystals will, as a rule, become clinically manifest only after chronic renal failure has turned irreversible. In recent years, several therapeutic procedures, have been developed. They are of therapeutic significance for the early stages of the disease as well. Observing especially conditions renal transplantation or combined hepatorenal transplantation can be managed with a successful outcome. As the perioxisomal enzyme is activated only in the liver cells, an early liver transplantation as a definitive treatment by enzyme replacement may be the successful therapy in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shuttle mutagenesis using signature-tagged transposons was employed to generate a library of individually tagged mutants of the Neisseria meningitidis strain B1940, which belongs to serogroup B. The use of tagged transposons allowed us to monitor for enrichment for single mutants during the process of shuttle mutagenesis, by amplification of the tags and subsequent sequence determination. Enrichment of a single clone occurred during the transformation of the meningococci with transposon-containing plasmid DNA. Sequence determination around the site of transposon insertion revealed that the transposon had mutagenized a previously unknown locus, which was designated hrtA (high rate of transformation). hrtA-mediated transformation was independent of Tn Max5 and tag sequences, and it most probably involved recombination events. The hrtA locus is restricted to meningococci and gonococci and is present in few apathogenic neisserial species. Chromosomal mapping of hrtA and six further hrt sites revealed a random distribution of highly transforming DNA fragments on the meningococcal chromosome. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that shuttle mutagenesis of naturally competent bacteria using signature-tagged transposons allows the isolation of chromosomal DNA fragments, which exhibit a high transformation efficiency, and which, therefore, are likely to be involved in horizontal gene transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The serogroups B, C, W135 and Y of Neisseria meningitidis express chemically and immunologically distinct capsular polysaccharides containing sialic acid. In the case of serogroup B meningococci sialic acid is synthesized by the gene products of a locus termed sia and forms the homopolymers of the capsule. The organization of the genes required for sialic acid synthesis in serogroups B, C, W135 and Y was elucidated by PCR technology. Cloning, sequencing and the functional expression of the polysialyltransferase (PST) genes of serogroups B and C demonstrated that the difference in capsule composition derives from the presence of related, but distinct siaD genes coding for PSTs. Analysis of meningococci of serogroups W135 and Y expressing sialic acid heteropolymers revealed that the DNA sequences of the corresponding genetic loci in these serogroups were highly homologous, but differed completely from the siaD genes of serogroups B and C. This finding suggests that enzymes unrelated to those of serogroups B and C are required for the formation of sialic acid heteropolymers characteristic of the capsules of serogroups W135 and Y. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the comparative evaluation of the Vitek 2 system for identification and anti-microbial susceptibility testing of streptococcus pneumoniae. The Vitek 2 system was redesigned to identify gram-positive cocci and testing the anti-microbial susceptibility of pneumococci. The performance of the system in comparison with reference data and methods and with results obtained using the prior version was evaluated.

In order to analyse the development of antibiotic resistance in Salmonella spp., a total of 262 Salmonella strains isolated in 1987 ( n=148) and in 1996 ( n=114) from clinical specimens in Würzburg, Germany, were tested in parallel by the agar diffusion method. In 1987, most of the strains were Salmonella enterica serotype typhimurium (42.6%), whereas in 1996 most were Salmonella enterica serotype enteritidis (68.4%). The majority of Salmonella enterica serotype enteritidis isolates was fully susceptible in 1987 and 1996. In contrast, the percentage of drug-resistant strains of Salmonella enterica serotype typhimurium increased significantly from 27% in 1987 to 52.4% in 1996. This increase, which might reflect uncontrolled use of antibiotics in the environment, should be of concern to public health authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ultrasound examination of an asymptomatic 67-year-old German man during a routine medical consultation revealed two space-occupying lesions in the right lobe of the liver. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) located these two lesions to segment V and VII, respectively (Figure 1a, arrowheads), and hepatic malignancy or metastasis was suspected. MRI revealed no further lesions in the abdomen, lungs or brain. Endoscopy was unremarkable and tumor markers alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), carcinoembryogenic antigen (CEA), and cancer antigen (CA) 19-9 were within normal range. Serology was highly positive for Echinococcus multilocularis in a crude antigen-screening ELISA and in the confirmatory recombinant antigen-ELISA and immunoblot. Antiparasitic chemotherapy with albendazole (400 mg b.i.d.) was initiated, and the patient underwent hemihepatectomy and regional lymphadenectomy. Gross pathology of the resected liver tissue showed two adjacent alveolar lesions (Figure 1b), corresponding to the metacestode stage of E. multilocularis. Histological examination of the lesions demonstrated multiple eosinophilic vesicular structures surrounded by necrosis, fibrosis, and round cell infiltration (Figure 1c), a typical aspect of human alveolar echinococcosis. Based on to the World Health Organization’s staging system, we diagnosed stage II (P2N0M0). Albendazole therapy was well tolerated, and a 15-month followup period was uneventful. No regrowth of parasitic tissue could be detected on the follow-up MRI. Antibodies directed against a crude parasite antigen extract and the recombinant antigen Em10 showed a constant decline during the observation period (Figure 1d), which is consistent with a curative resection. Accordingly, immunoblot analysis of the first and last serum obtained showed a loss of one genus-specific band at 7 kDa and two speciesspecific bands at 16 and 18 kDa (Figure 1d, inset). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the case of a patient who got infected with Brucella melitensis. Brucella melitensis is the causative agent of Brucellosis, a systemic disease that can affect any of the major organs in the human body. In January 2005, the patient developed fever with an irregular course and further developed hearing loss. Investigations for species and biovar identification were performed and the strain was identified as B. melitensis.

Presents a study which investigated the occurrence of varicella zoster infection in preterm infants despite the presence of maternal varicella zoster virus (VZV) immunoglobulin G antibodies. Information on the case of a preterm infant with gastroenteritis and bronchiolitis; Use of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay in determining antibodies against VZV; Transmission of maternal antibodies to fetus.