Nosocomial bacteremia due to an as yet unclassified acinetobacter genomic species 17-like strain.

We describe a case of bacteremia due to an as yet unclassified Acinetobacter genomic species 17-like strain. The recognition of this microorganism as non-Acinetobacter baumannii may have important epidemiological implications, as it relieves the hospital of the implementation of barrier precautions for patients infected or colonized as may be necessary with a multiresistant A. baumannii epidemic.

Physical activity, energy balance and obesity

Obesity appears when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. The most important variable compound of energy expenditure is physical activity. The global epidemics of obesity seem closely related to reduced physical activity and sedentariness widely increasing nowadays. Once obesity has developed, caloric intake becomes similar to energy expenditure. To lose weight, besides decreasing energy intake, energy expenditure must be increased. The promotion of physical activity is difficult and so the results of treatment of obesity are discouraging for doctors, other health professionals and patients. Proactive efforts from patients and health providers with an intensive feedback between them may be extremely helpful. Nevertheless, more studies are needed to provide better approaches on the role of physical activity for the prevention and treatment of obesity and for long-term weight-loss maintenance.

Bacteremia due to extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in the CTX-M era: a new clinical challenge.

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli, particularly those producing CTX-M types of ESBL, are emerging pathogens. Bacteremia caused by these organisms represents a clinical challenge, because the organisms are frequently resistant to the antimicrobials recommended for treatment of patients with suspected E. coli sepsis. METHODS:A cohort study was performed that included all episodes of bloodstream infection due to ESBL-producing E. coli during the period from January 2001 through March 2005. Data on predisposing factors, clinical presentation, and outcome were collected. ESBLs were characterized using isoelectric focusing, polymerase chain reaction, and sequencing. RESULTS: Forty-three episodes (8.8% of cases of bacteremia due to E. coli) were included; 70% of the isolates produced a CTX-M type of ESBL. The most frequent origins of infection were the urinary (46%) and biliary tracts (21%). Acquisition was nosocomial in 21 cases (49%), health care associated in 14 cases (32%), and strictly community acquired in 8 cases (19%). Thirty-eight percent and 25% of patients had obstructive diseases of the urinary and biliary tracts, respectively, and 38% had recently received antimicrobials. Nine patients (21%) died. Compared with beta-lactam/beta-lactamase-inhibitor and carbapenem-based regimens, empirical therapy with cephalosporins or fluoroquinolones was associated with a higher mortality rate (9% vs. 35%; P=.05) and needed to be changed more frequently (24% vs. 78%; P=.001). CONCLUSIONS: ESBL-producing E. coli is a significant cause of bloodstream infection in hospitalized and nonhospitalized patients in the context of the emergence of CTX-M enzymes. Empirical treatment of sepsis potentially caused by E. coli may need to be reconsidered in areas where such ESBL-producing isolates are present.

Clinical and molecular epidemiology of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli as a cause of nosocomial infection or colonization: implications for control.

BACKGROUND: Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing members of the Enterobacteriaceae family are important nosocomial pathogens. Escherichia coli producing a specific family of ESBL (the CTX-M enzymes) are emerging worldwide. The epidemiology of these organisms as causes of nosocomial infection is poorly understood. The aims of this study were to investigate the clinical and molecular epidemiology of nosocomial infection or colonization due to ESBL-producing E. coli in hospitalized patients, consider the specific types of ESBLs produced, and identify the risk factors for infection and colonization with these organisms. METHODS: All patients with nosocomial colonization and/or infection due to ESBL-producing E. coli in 2 centers (a tertiary care hospital and a geriatric care center) identified between January 2001 and May 2002 were included. A double case-control study was performed. The clonal relatedness of the isolates was studied by repetitive extragenic palindromic-polymerase chain reaction and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. ESBLs were characterized by isoelectric focusing, polymerase chain reaction, and sequencing. RESULTS: Forty-seven case patients were included. CTX-M-producing E. coli were clonally unrelated and more frequently susceptible to nonoxyimino-beta-lactams. Alternately, isolates producing SHV- and TEM-type ESBL were epidemic and multidrug resistant. Urinary catheterization was a risk factor for both CTX-M-producing and SHV-TEM-producing isolates. Previous oxyimino-beta-lactam use, diabetes, and ultimately fatal or nonfatal underlying diseases were independent risk factors for infection or colonization with CTX-M-producing isolates, whereas previous fluoroquinolone use was associated with infection or colonization with SHV-TEM-producing isolates. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiology of ESBL-producing E. coli as a cause of nosocomial infection is complex. Sporadic CTX-M-producing isolates coexisted with epidemic multidrug-resistant SHV-TEM-producing isolates. These data should be taken into account for the design of control measures.

Hernia discal traumática. Implicaciones médico-legales.

Traumatic origin of disc herniation, remains as a relevant Medico-Legal problem. The present paper makes a disc protrusion/ herniation revision, mainly about mechanic and traumatic factors involved in their origin. A multifactorial (genetic, bio-antropometric, environnement, metabolic, etc.) causation is concluded to explain etiology of disc herniation. Pure disc herniation (occurring in a healthy non degenerated disc) is considered an exceptional phenomenon. Clinical and radiological spine degeneration sings are revised, along with others that can point to a traumatic origin. Dealing with a disc herniation after an accident, Medical Expert has always to consider the possibility of a precedent disc damage status, assessing the role of a worsening of such antecedent condition in each case. A classification of degree of causation accident-herniation, and antecedent disc damage decompensation are proposed.

Novel MLPA procedure using self-designed probes allows comprehensive analysis for CNVs of the genes involved in Hirschsprung disease.

Background: Hirschsprung disease is characterized by the absence of intramural ganglion cells in the enteric plexuses, due to a fail during enteric nervous system formation. Hirschsprung has a complex genetic aetiology and mutations in several genes have been related to the disease. There is a clear predominance of missense/nonsense mutations in these genes whereas copy number variations (CNVs) have been seldom described, probably due to the limitations of conventional techniques usually employed for mutational analysis. In this study, we have looked for CNVs in some of the genes related to Hirschsprung (EDNRB, GFRA1, NRTN and PHOX2B) using the Multiple Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA) approach. Methods: CNVs screening was performed in 208 HSCR patients using a self-designed set of MLPA probes, covering the coding region of those genes. Results: A deletion comprising the first 4 exons in GFRA1 gene was detected in 2 sporadic HSCR patients and in silico approaches have shown that the critical translation initiation signal in the mutant gene was abolished. In this study, we have been able to validate the reliability of this technique for CNVs screening in HSCR. Conclusions: The implemented MLPA based technique presented here allows CNV analysis of genes involved in HSCR that have not been not previously evaluated. Our results indicate that CNVs could be implicated in the pathogenesis of HSCR, although they seem to be an uncommon molecular cause of HSCR.

Nuevo censo de asociaciones en salud de Andalucía

Boletín semanal para profesionales sanitarios de la Secretaría General de Salud Pública y Participación de la Consejería de Salud

Functional Variants in NOS1 and NOS2A Are Not Associated with Progressive Hearing Loss in Ménière's Disease in a European Caucasian Population

Hearing loss in Meniere's disease (MD) is associated with loss of spiral ganglion neurons and hair cells. In a guinea pig model of endolymphatic hydrops, nitric oxide synthases (NOS) and oxidative stress mediate loss of spiral ganglion neurons. To test the hypothesis that functional variants of NOS1 and NOS2A are associated with MD, wed genotyped three functional variants of NOS1 (rs41279104,rs2682826, and a cytosine-adenosine microsatellite repeat in exon 1f) and the CCTTT repeat in the promoter of NOS2A gene (rs3833912) in two independent MD sets(273 patients in total) and 550 controls. A third cohort of American patients was genotyped as replication cohort for the CCTTT repeat. Neither allele nor genotype frequencies of rs41279104 and rs2682826 were associated with MD, although longer alleles of the cytosine-adenosine microsatellite repeat were marginally significant (corrected p = 0.05) in the Mediterranean cohort but not in a second Galicia cohort. Shorter numbers of the CCTTT repeat in NOS2A were significantly more frequent in Galicia controls (OR = 0.37 [CI, 0.18-0.76], corrected p =0.04), but this finding could not be replicated in Mediterranean or American case-control populations. Meta-analysis did not support an association between CCTTT repeats and risk for MD. Severe hearing loss (>75 dB) was also not associated with any functional variants studied. Functional variants of NOS1 and and NOS2A do not confer susceptibility for MD.

Multiple sclerosis risk variant HLA-DRB1*1501 associates with high expression of DRB1 gene in different human populations.

The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DRB1*1501 has been consistently associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) in nearly all populations tested. This points to a specific antigen presentation as the pathogenic mechanism though this does not fully explain the disease association. The identification of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) for genes in the HLA locus poses the question of the role of gene expression in MS susceptibility. We analyzed the eQTLs in the HLA region with respect to MS-associated HLA-variants obtained from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We found that the Tag of DRB1*1501, rs3135388 A allele, correlated with high expression of DRB1, DRB5 and DQB1 genes in a Caucasian population. In quantitative terms, the MS-risk AA genotype carriers of rs3135388 were associated with 15.7-, 5.2- and 8.3-fold higher expression of DQB1, DRB5 and DRB1, respectively, than the non-risk GG carriers. The haplotype analysis of expression-associated variants in a Spanish MS cohort revealed that high expression of DRB1 and DQB1 alone did not contribute to the disease. However, in Caucasian, Asian and African American populations, the DRB1*1501 allele was always highly expressed. In other immune related diseases such as type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, asthma and IgA deficiency, the best GWAS-associated HLA SNPs were also eQTLs for different HLA Class II genes. Our data suggest that the DR/DQ expression levels, together with specific structural properties of alleles, seem to be the causal effect in MS and in other immunopathologies rather than specific antigen presentation alone.

High ACSL5 transcript levels associate with systemic lupus erythematosus and apoptosis in Jurkat T lymphocytes and peripheral blood cells

BACKGROUND: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototypical autoimmune disease in which increased apoptosis and decreased apoptotic cells removal has been described as most relevant in the pathogenesis. Long-chain acyl-coenzyme A synthetases (ACSLs) have been involved in the immunological dysfunction of mouse models of lupus-like autoimmunity and apoptosis in different in vitro cell systems. The aim of this work was to assess among the ACSL isoforms the involvement of ACSL2, ACSL4 and ACSL5 in SLE pathogenesis. FINDINGS: With this end, we determined the ACSL2, ACSL4 and ACSL5 transcript levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 45 SLE patients and 49 healthy controls by quantitative real time-PCR (q-PCR). We found that patients with SLE had higher ACSL5 transcript levels than healthy controls [median (range), healthy controls =16.5 (12.3-18.0) vs. SLE = 26.5 (17.8-41.7), P = 3.9x10 E-5] but no differences were found for ACSL2 and ACSL4. In in vitro experiments, ACSL5 mRNA expression was greatly increased when inducing apoptosis in Jurkat T cells and PBMCs by Phorbol-Myristate-Acetate plus Ionomycin (PMA+Io). On the other hand, short interference RNA (siRNA)-mediated silencing of ACSL5 decreased induced apoptosis in Jurkat T cells up to the control levels as well as decreased mRNA expression of FAS, FASLG and TNF. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that ACSL5 may play a role in the apoptosis that takes place in SLE. Our results point to ACSL5 as a potential novel functional marker of pathogenesis and a possible therapeutic target in SLE

Documento de consenso SENPE/SEGHNP/ANECIPN/SECP sobre vías de acceso en nutrición enteral pediátrica.

Standardization of clinical procedures has become a desirable objective in contemporary medical practice. To this effect, the Spanish Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (SENPE) has endeavoured to create clinical practice guidelines and/or documents of consensus as well as quality standards in artificial nutrition. As a result, the SENPE´s Standardization Team has put together the "Document of Consensus in Enteral Access for Paediatric Nutritional Support" supported by the Spanish Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (SEGHNP), the National Association of Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery (ANECIPN), and the Spanish Society of Pediatric Surgery (SECP). The present publication is a reduced version of our work; the complete document will be published as a monographic issue. It analyzes enteral access options in the pediatric patient, reviews the levels of evidence and provides the team-members' experience. Similarly, it details general and specific indications for pediatric enteral support, current techniques, care guidelines, methods of administration and complications of each enteral access. The data published by the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) and several European Societies has also been incorporated.

Serosurvey Study of Toscana Virus in Domestic Animals, Granada, Spain

Toscana virus (TOSV) is transmitted by infected sandflies. In Mediterranean countries, TOSV is one of the major viral pathogens involved in aseptic meningitis and meningoencephalitis in humans. It remains unclear if there are animal reservoirs able to maintain the virus through the cold months of the year, when the vector is not circulating. From May to October of 2006 and 2007, we conducted a serosurvey study on domestic animals from Granada province (southern Spain). TOSV was investigated in 1186 serum samples from horses, goats, pigs, cats, dogs, sheep, and cows by serology (indirect fluorescence assay), viral culture, and RT-polymerase chain reaction. Specific anti-TOSV antibodies were detected in 429 (36.2%) serum samples. The highest seropositivity rates were observed in cats (59.6%) and dogs (48.3%). These results suggest that an important percentage of the domestic animals have been infected by TOSV. Significantly different seroprevalence rates were detected in goats among distinct geographical areas. All viral cultures were negative. TOSV was detected by RT-polymerase chain reaction in only one serum sample from a goat. Thus, the studied animals do not seem to act as reservoirs for TOSV; otherwise, they could be amplifying hosts for the virus.

Influence of HLA DRB1 alleles in the susceptibility of rheumatoid arthritis and the regulation of antibodies against citrullinated proteins and rheumatoid factor.

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between HLA-DRB1 alleles with susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and production of antibodies against citrullinated proteins (ACPA) and rheumatoid factor (RF). METHODS We studied 408 patients (235 with RA, 173 non-RA) and 269 controls. ACPA, RF and HLA-DR typing were determined. RESULTS We found an increased frequency of HLA DRB1 alleles with the shared epitope (SE) in ACPA-positive RA. Inversely, HLA DRB1 alleles encoding DERAA sequences were more frequent in controls than in ACPA-positive RA, and a similar trend was found for HLA DR3. However, these results could not be confirmed after stratification for the presence of the SE, probably due to the relatively low number of patients. These data may suggest that the presence of these alleles may confer a protective role for ACPA-positive RA. In RA patients we observed association between SE alleles and ACPA titers in a dose-dependent effect. The presence of HLA DR3 or DERAA-encoding alleles was associated with markedly reduced ACPA levels. No association between RF titers and HLA DR3 or DERAA-encoding alleles was found. CONCLUSIONS HLA DRB1 alleles with the SE are associated with production of ACPA. DERAA-encoding HLA-DR alleles and HLA DR3 may be protective for ACPA-positive RA.

Hypermethylated 14-3-3-sigma and ESR1 gene promoters in serum as candidate biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment efficacy of breast cancer metastasis

Background: Numerous hypermethylated genes have been reported in breast cancer, and the silencing of these genes plays an important role in carcinogenesis, tumor progression and diagnosis. These hypermethylated promoters are very rarely found in normal breast. It has been suggested that aberrant hypermethylation may be useful as a biomarker, with implications for breast cancer etiology, diagnosis, and management. The relationship between primary neoplasm and metastasis remains largely unknown. There has been no comprehensive comparative study on the clinical usefulness of tumor-associated methylated DNA biomarkers in primary breast carcinoma and metastatic breast carcinoma. The objective of the present study was to investigate the association between clinical extension of breast cancer and methylation status of Estrogen Receptor1 (ESR1) and Stratifin (14-3-3-σ) gene promoters in disease-free and metastatic breast cancer patients. Methods: We studied two cohorts of patients: 77 patients treated for breast cancer with no signs of disease, and 34 patients with metastatic breast cancer. DNA was obtained from serum samples, and promoter methylation status was determined by using DNA bisulfite modification and quantitative methylation-specific PCR. Results: Serum levels of methylated gene promoter 14-3-3-σ significantly differed between Control and Metastatic Breast Cancer groups (P < 0.001), and between Disease-Free and Metastatic Breast Cancer groups (P < 0.001). The ratio of the 14-3-3-σ level before the first chemotherapy cycle to the level just before administration of the second chemotherapy cycle was defined as the Biomarker Response Ratio [BRR]. We calculated BRR values for the "continuous decline" and "rise-and-fall" groups. Subsequent ROC analysis showed a sensitivity of 75% (95% CI: 47.6 - 86.7) and a specificity of 66.7% (95% CI: 41.0 - 86.7) to discriminate between the groups for a cut-off level of BRR = 2.39. The area under the ROC curve (Z = 0.804 ± 0.074) indicates that this test is a good approach to post-treatment prognosis. Conclusions: The relationship of 14-3-3-σ with breast cancer metastasis and progression found in this study suggests a possible application of 14-3-3-σ as a biomarker to screen for metastasis and to follow up patients treated for metastatic breast cancer, monitoring their disease status and treatment response.

Variability of indication criteria in knee and hip replacement: an observational study

BACKGROUND. Total knee (TKR) and hip (THR) replacement (arthroplasty) are effective surgical procedures that relieve pain, improve patients' quality of life and increase functional capacity. Studies on variations in medical practice usually place the indications for performing these procedures to be highly variable, because surgeons appear to follow different criteria when recommending surgery in patients with different severity levels. We therefore proposed a study to evaluate inter-hospital variability in arthroplasty indication. METHODS. The pre-surgical condition of 1603 patients included was compared by their personal characteristics, clinical situation and self-perceived health status. Patients were asked to complete two health-related quality of life questionnaires: the generic SF-12 (Short Form) and the specific WOMAC (Western Ontario and Mcmaster Universities) scale. The type of patient undergoing primary arthroplasty was similar in the 15 different hospitals evaluated.The variability in baseline WOMAC score between hospitals in THR and TKR indication was described by range, mean and standard deviation (SD), mean and standard deviation weighted by the number of procedures at each hospital, high/low ratio or extremal quotient (EQ5-95), variation coefficient (CV5-95) and weighted variation coefficient (WCV5-95) for 5-95 percentile range. The variability in subjective and objective signs was evaluated using median, range and WCV5-95. The appropriateness of the procedures performed was calculated using a specific threshold proposed by Quintana et al for assessing pain and functional capacity. RESULTS. The variability expressed as WCV5-95 was very low, between 0.05 and 0.11 for all three dimensions on WOMAC scale for both types of procedure in all participating hospitals. The variability in the physical and mental SF-12 components was very low for both types of procedure (0.08 and 0.07 for hip and 0.03 and 0.07 for knee surgery patients). However, a moderate-high variability was detected in subjective-objective signs. Among all the surgeries performed, approximately a quarter of them could be considered to be inappropriate. CONCLUSIONS. A greater inter-hospital variability was observed for objective than for subjective signs for both procedures, suggesting that the differences in clinical criteria followed by surgeons when indicating arthroplasty are the main responsible factors for the variation in surgery rates.