Multiple Infectious Agents Research Articles

Learning about Kawasaki disease from COVID-19 and the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children.

Purpose of reviewMultisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) is a novel syndrome that has appeared in the wake of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus -2 pandemic, with features that overlap with Kawasaki disease (KD). As a result, new interest and focus have arisen in KD, and specifically mechanisms of the disease.Recent findingsA major question in the literature on the nature of MIS-C is if, and how, it may be related to KD. This has been explored using component analysis type studies, as well as other unsupervised analysis, as well as direct comparisons. At present, the answer to this question remains opaque, and several studies have interpreted their findings in opposing ways. Studies seem to suggest some relationship, but that MIS-C and KD are not the same syndrome.SummaryStudy of MIS-C strengthens the likelihood that KD is a postinfectious immune response, and that perhaps multiple infectious agents or viruses underlie the disease. MIS-C and KD, while not the same disease, could plausibly be sibling disorders that fall under a larger syndrome of postacute autoimmune febrile responses to infection, along with Kawasaki shock syndrome.

Phenolic Content and Antimicrobial and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Solidago virga-aurea, Phyllanthus niruri, Epilobium angustifolium, Peumus boldus, and Ononis spinosa Extracts

Prostatitis is an inflammatory condition that is related to multiple infectious agents, including bacteria and fungi. Traditional herbal extracts proved efficacious in controlling clinical symptoms associated with prostatitis. In this context, the aim of the present study was to explore the efficacy of extracts from Solidago virga-aurea, Ononis spinosa, Peumus boldus, Epilobium angustifolium, and Phyllanthus niruri against bacterial (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus) and fungi strains (Candida albicans; C. tropicalis) involved in prostatitis. Additionally, anti-mycotic effects were tested against multiple species of dermatophytes (Trichophyton rubrum, T. tonsurans, T. erinacei, Arthroderma crocatum, A. quadrifidum, A. gypseum, A. currey, and A. insingulare). Antioxidant effects were also evaluated in isolated rat prostates challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and phytochemical analyses were conducted to identify and quantify selected phenolic compounds, in the extracts. Finally, a bioinformatics analysis was conducted to predict putative human and microbial enzymes targeted by extracts’ phytocompounds and underlying the observed bio-pharmacological effects. The phytochemical analysis highlighted that rutin levels could be crucial for explaining the highest antibacterial activity of P. boldus extract, especially against E. coli and B. cereus. On the other hand, in the E. angustifolium extract, catechin concentration could partially explain the highest efficacy of this extract in reducing lipid peroxidation, in isolated rat prostates stimulated with LPS. Concluding, the results of the present study showed moderate antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects induced by water extracts of S. virga-aurea, P. boldus, E. angustifolium, P. niruri, and O. spinosa that could be related, at least partially, to the phenolic composition of the phytocomplex.

GRAFTED COLON IN INTESTINAL TRANSPLANTATION: DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN PATIENTS OUTCOME?

Introduction: To include the colon as part of an intestinal or multivisceral graft is still a matter of debate. While some groups consider that it might be important for water absorption and residue breakdown without posing risks to patients, others state that its inclusion could result in an increase in infectious complications. Our aim was to analyze if the presence of the grafted colon in our patients has meant differences in their outcome. Methods: Retrospective review of our historical series of intestinal and multivisceral transplants comparing patients that received a colon as part of the graft to those that didn’t. A total of 107 patients received an intestinal or multivisceral graft between 1999-2018. Main indications were short gut syndromes (60 patients, 56.1%), motility disorders (16 patients, 15%) and untreatable diarrheas (14 patients, 13.1%). It was used a graft without colon in 61[group no colon(33 M, 28 F)] and with colon in 46 [group colon (27 M, 19 F)].We compared the appearance of complications (such as rejection or infections) and survival curves adjusted by treatment protocol. A p-value below 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Average ages and weights at transplant were similar in both groups, with 67.5 months (6-361) and 17.2 Kg (4-52.7) in patients without a grafted colon and 64 months (6-216) and 16 Kg (3-59.2) in patients with colon. One hundred and two patients had a small bowel stoma. Timing of stoma take-down was similar in no colon group compared to colon group, with a median of 9.5 (1-125) months and 8 (1-50) months respectively. Rates of acute and chronic rejection were similar in both groups (39%/10% no colon vs35%/4%colon).Rates of GVHD (15% no colon vs15% colon) and PTLD (20% no colon vs13% colon)were also similar. Median of septic episodes was 2 in both [no colon (0-8),colon (0-6)].Among the multiple infectious agents analyzed, only clostridium showed a statistically significant higher rate of infection in colon group (2% no colon vs15% colon). Patient and graft survival, adjusted by immunosuppression protocols, did not show differences. Conclusion: Colon inclusion as part of the intestinal graft does not produce a higher rejection, GVHD or PTLD rates, nor a survival decrease. Even though the infection rate is also similar, there are differences in the infectious agents between the groups.

Kawasaki syndrome: role of superantigens revisited.

Kawasaki syndrome (KS) is an acute vasculitis in children complicated by the development of heart disease. Despite its description over 50years ago, the etiology of coronary artery disease in KS is unknown. High dose intravenous immunoglobulin is the most effective approach to reduce cardiovascular complications. It remains unclear why patients with KS develop coronary artery aneurysms. A subset of patients is resistant to immunoglobulin therapy. Given the heterogeneity of clinical features, variability of history, and therapeutic response, KS may be a cluster of phenotypes triggered by multiple infectious agents and influenced by various environmental, genetic, and immunologic responses. The cause of KS is unknown, and a diagnostic test remains lacking. A better understanding of mechanisms leading to acute KS would contribute to a more precision medicine approach for this complex disease. In the current viewpoint, we make the case for microbial superantigens as important causes of KS.

Antibiotics in Apis mellifera Hemolymph

The western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is a large contributor to the food supply for humans. Over the past decades, there has been a decrease in bee colonies caused by multiple stress factors. A possible contributor to this decline is due to multiple infectious agents being introduced to the honey bees. In some hives, more than 90% of the dying bees contained a gram‐negative bacterium [1]. Honey bees’ immunities against diseases are not fully understood, so to better understand their immunity a method was devised to test for useful proteins and antibodies in Apis mellifera’s hemolymph. Our research begins by extracting the bee’s hemolymph while they are in a comatose state and freezing it. Next, the hemolymph is used in an aggravate solution and injected into mice over a period of several months several months for their bodies to start producing the unknown antibodies. After the immunization process is completed, the mice are sacrificed by extracting their spleen where it is homogenized and the supernatant is extracted and incubated into a media. The hybridoma cells are duplicated into monoclonal colonies and frozen in liquid nitrogen for further testing or continuously grown for immediate testing. The supernatant from the hybridoma cells is taken for analysis where multiple analytical tests are performed to identify which supernatants contain antibodies. Through analytical testing, we hope to discover antibodies that will help researchers better understand honey bee immunity to combat in the decline of honey bee colonies.

Is Salmonella Infection Another Possible Trigger for Polyarteritis Nodosa?

Polyarteritis nodosa is a systemic necrotizing vasculitis that typically affects medium-sized muscular arteries, with occasional involvement of small muscular arteries. Most cases of polyarteritis nodosa are idiopathic but multiple infectious agents have been associated with this disease. We present a clinical case of a 72-year-old male with fever, diarrhoea and haemodynamic instability, diagnosed with a bacterial infection caused by Salmonella Typhi. One week after clinical resolution of the infection, the patient developed purpuric lesions with ulcers, pustules and necrotic areas accompanied by testicular pain and weight loss of 5 kg over the previous 15 days. A skin biopsy was performed and it revealed typical histologic signs of polyarteritis nodosa. The aetiologic association between bacteria of the genus Salmonella and polyarteritis nodosa has been previously described in the scientific literature but seldom meeting classification criteria and with histologic confirmation.LEARNING POINTSPolyarteritis nodosa is a systemic necrotizing vasculitis associated with a multitude of aetiologic agents.Salmonella infection might be a possible trigger for the development of polyarteritis nodosa.A high index of suspicion and awareness is essential for a swift diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

A LEGO inspired fiber probe analytical platform for early diagnosis of Dengue fever.

Based on the concept of LEGO toys, a fiber probe analytical platform (FPAP) was developed as a powerful diagnostic tool offering higher sensitivity in detection of infectious agents compared to established methods. Using the form and the function of LEGO toys, this protocol describes a fiber-based, 96-well plate, which suspends a new class of chemically-designed, electrospun fibers within the assay. This clamping strategy allows both sides of the developed fiber mats to interact with biomolecules within the assay thus benefiting from the tailored chemical and physical properties of these fiber-based bioreceptors in attracting the biomolecules to the surface. The fabrication method of FPAP involves one-step electrospinning of the chemically designed fibers, 3D printing of the LEGO-like probing segments, and assembly of the device followed by ELISA procedure. FPAP follows the same principles of operation as that of a conventional enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), therefore, it can be run by lab technicians, expert in ELISA. FPAP was used for early diagnosis of Dengue fever and provided an 8-fold higher sensitivity while the limit of detection (LOD) was recorded to be in femto-gram per milliliter range which is significantly low when compared to other existing techniques or conventional assay. This platform allows different types of paper/fiber bio-receptive platforms to be incorporated within the design that promises simultaneous recognition of multiple infectious agents.

The Current Status of Veterinary Vaccinology: A Review

This paper was done starting from February 2017 to July 2017 in Jimma University College of Agriculture and School of Veterinary Medicine. The suffering of different animal species from multiple infectious agents in and around the university leads us to be conscious and enabled us to write this scientific paper which can be acts as the source of information for Veterinary vaccinology. Louis Pasteur in the 19th century demonstrated the ability to protect chickens against fowl cholera (Pasteurella multocida) and thus demonstrated the benefit of vaccination in animals and paved the way for the development of the array of veterinary vaccines which are in use today. Since Pasteur’s work, vaccination against infectious disease have been used successfully to protect animals from many serious diseases some of which were also significant risks to humans. Veterinary vaccine has a parallel way of development in research and development of vaccines in the human field vaccinology today also. Vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. Vaccine contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins. The general information concerning veterinary vaccination such as common vaccination, common methods of veterinary vaccination, principles of vaccination; standardization of veterinary vaccines, generation of vaccine, vaccine formulation, new approaches to veterinary vaccines and few other information were roughly reviewed from scientific journals, experiment results, proceedings, reference books and manuals. The objectives of this paper are to highlight the general current information of Veterinary Vaccinology and to give specific recommendations based on the facts obtained.

The use of laser-based diagnostics for the rapid identification of infectious agents in human blood.

To investigate the use of a laser-based method of detection as a potential diagnostic test for the rapid identification of infectious agents in human blood. In this study, the successful differentiation of blood spiked with viruses, bacteria or protozoan parasites to clinically relevant levels is demonstrated using six blood types (O+, O-, AB+, A+, A-, B+) using blood from different individuals with blood samples prepared in two different laboratories. Experiments were performed using various compositions of filters, experimental set-ups and experimental parameters for spectral capture. The potential for developing a laser-based diagnostic instrument to detect the presence of parasites, bacteria and viruses in human blood capable of providing analysis results within minutes was demonstrated. There is an ongoing need for clinical diagnostics to adapt to newly emerging agents and to screen simultaneously for multiple infectious agents. A laser-based approach can achieve sensitive, multiplex detection with minimal sample preparation and provide rapid results (within minutes). These properties along with the flexibility to add new agent detection by simply adjusting the detection programming make it a promising tool for clinical diagnosis.

Etiology of Continuous-Flow LVAD (CF-LVAD) Infections

Purpose Infection is a frequent problem following CF-LVAD implantation. We were interested in determining the spectrum of infectious complications following implantation of HeartMate II (HMII) and Heartware (HW) CF-LVADs. Methods We reviewed 893 HMII and HW implants from 1999 to 2018 performed at our institution. Infections were classified as device-specific (superficial/deep driveline infection or pocket/device infection) or as device-related (bacteremia). Other infections, such as urinary tract infections, central line infections, and pneumonia were recorded, but are not analyzed here. Etiology of the infection was also recorded. In some infections, multiple infectious agents were cultured. Results 801 CF-LVADs were implanted; 542 HMIIs, and 256 HWs. 180/542 (33.2%) of HMII, and 70/256 (27.3%) of HW pumps developed an infection. The incidence of infection / support year was 20.6% for HMII pumps and 20.3% for HW pumps. Driveline infections (superficial or deep) occurred in 136/542 (25.1%) HMII implants and in 53/250 (21.2%) HW implants. Pocket/device infections occurred in 102/542 (18,8%) HMII pumps and in 23/256 (9.0%) HW pumps. Bacteremia occurred in 84/542 (15.1%) HMII pumps and in 28/256 (10.9%) HW pumps. Staph aureus, pseudomonas, and coagulase negative species were the most common isolates (see Table). Median time to first infection was not statistically different (p=748) between HMII (1021 days) and HW devices (1273 days); (See Figure). Conclusion Infection continues to be a major problem after CF-LVAD implantation. Driveline infections, both superficial and deep, as well as pocket and device infections occur commonly after both HMII and HW implants.

The occurrence of three tick-borne pathogens in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from the area of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (Southern Poland)

The common tick Ixodes ricinus is the main vector of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti in Europe. The aim of this study was to estimate the potential risk of exposure to common tick-borne diseases in the recreational areas of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, Poland with particular emphasis on the city of Częstochowa. The DNA from 459 I. ricinus ticks was used to detect B. burgdorferi s. l., A. phagocytophilum and B. microti by PCR and nested PCR methods. Generally, infectious agents were found in 26.3% of all the examined ticks: B. microti was found in 23.3%, and A. phagocytophilum in 2.4% of the ticks. The protozoan was found mainly in females and nymphs, while A. phagocytophilum was detected mainly in adults. The co-existence of B. microti and A. phagocytophilum was found in 2.1% of the examined ticks. The presence of B. burgdorferi s. l. was not revealed in the examined material. The conducted studies demonstrate the high potential risk of exposure of tourists and pilgrims to B. microti, and a low risk of exposure to A. phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi s.l. in the examined areas of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. Furthermore, the possible co-existence of A. phagocytophilum and B. microti in 3 individual ticks means that infection by multiple infectious agents is possible. The obtained results highlight the need to conduct further research on tick-borne pathogens in this region of Poland.

Demographic and seasonal characteristics of respiratory pathogens in neonates and infants aged 0 to 12 months in the Central-East region of Tunisia.

BackgroundThis study aimed to characterize the epidemiology of pathogenic respiratory agents in patients aged 0 to 12 months and hospitalized for acute respiratory infections in Tunisia between 2013 and 2014.MethodsA total of 20 pathogens, including viruses, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae, were detected using molecular sensitive assays, and their associations with the patient’s demographic data and season were analyzed.ResultsViral infectious agents were found in 449 (87.2%) of 515 specimens. Dual and multiple infectious agents were detected in 31.4% and 18.6% of the samples, respectively. Viral infection was predominant in the pediatric environment (90.8%, P < 0.001), male patients (88.0%), and spring (93.8%). Rhinovirus was the most detected virus (51.8%) followed by respiratory syncytial virus A/B (34.4%), coronavirus group (18.5%), adenovirus (17.9%), and parainfluenza viruses 1‐4 (10.9%). Respiratory Syncytial virus A/B was significantly associated with gender (38.0% male cases vs 28.3% female cases, P = 0.02). Infections by Adenovirus, Bocavirus, and Metapneumovirus A/B increased with increasing age of patients (predominated cases aged 6‐12 months, P < 0.001). S. pneumoniae was detected in 30.9% of th tested samples. In 18.2% of the negative viral infections, only S. pneumoniae was identified.ConclusionA predominance of the rhinovirus infection was observed in this study. Coronavirus subtypes were described for the first time in Tunisia. The observed different pathogenic profiles across age groups could be helpful to avoid the misclassification of patients presenting with ARIs at the triage level when no standardized protocol is available. This study will provide clues for physicians informing decisions regarding preventive strategies and medication in Tunisia.

Anti-Obesity Effects of Medicinal and Edible Mushrooms.

Obesity is a group of metabolic disorders caused by multiple factors, including heredity, diet, lifestyle, societal determinants, environment, and infectious agents, which can all lead to the enhancement of storage body fat. Excess visceral fat mass in adipose tissue generate several metabolic disorders, including cardiovascular diseases with chronic inflammation based pathophysiology. The objective of the current review is to summarize the cellular mechanisms of obesity that attenuate by antioxidant potentials of medicinal and edible mushrooms. Studies have showed that mushrooms potentially have antioxidant capacities, which increase the antioxidant defense systems in cells. They boost anti-inflammatory actions and thereby protect against obesity-related hypertension and dyslipidemia. The practice of regular consumption of mushrooms is effective in the treatment of metabolic syndrome, including obesity, and thus could be a good candidate for use in future pharmaceutical or nutraceutical applications.

Immunomodulatory activity of 2-deoxyguanosine nanoparticles in DNA vaccines

Abstract DNA vaccines induce protective immune responses against several pathogens and tumor cells, but strategies to improve their effectiveness are still under study. Only two adjuvants have been licensed by the FDA, which increases the needs for the discovery of novel adjuvants for HIV vaccines and other infectious diseases. In this regard, we study the immunomodulatory properties of 2-Deoxyguanosine-based nanoparticles (SHS) in DNA vaccines coding for HIV Gag (NL4-3 clone) and Vaccinia Virus Western Reserve (VVWR) A27 proteins. The sequence of A27L was codon optimized and linked to the Outer Domain-1 (OD1) of gp120 HIV-1 protein sequence serving as an additional molecular adjuvant. In this study, female Balb/c mice were immunized three times intramuscularly with plasmids (pGag and pOD1-A27L). Then, seven days after the last dose, cellular and humoral immunity were evaluated through ELISpot and ELISA assays. We found significantly higher frequencies of IFN-γ-producing cells in mouse immunized with pGag and pOD1-A27L co-formulated with SHS versus controls. We also found higher significant levels of IFN-γ over IL-4 in supernatant of splenocytes isolated from mice receiving pGag and pOD1-A27L combined with SHS. Moreover, administration of pOD1-A27L+SHS stimulated a significant higher production of total IgG in mice when compared to Naïve group. Here, we demonstrated that pGag and pOD1-A27L vaccines co-formulated with SHS nanoparticles successfully activate adaptive immunity through production of Th-1 cytokines and/or IgG antibodies. As this type of immunity is essential to clear many viral infections, these data support the evaluation of SHS nanoparticles as a novel adjuvant for DNA vaccines against multiple viral infectious agents.

Pharmacodynamics of amoxicillin against field isolates ofStreptococcus parauberisfrom olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)

Olive flounder is the most important species for the Northeast Asian fish farming industry. However, this species is substantially affected by multiple infectious agents, including Streptococcus parauberis. Evaluation of antibiotics before their application is critical to treat infections and prevent drug resistance. Therefore, in this study, the pharmacodynamics of amoxicillin (AMX) and other antimicrobials against the planktonic- and biofilm-forming bacteria were assessed. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and Time–kill curve assay were analysed using micro-dilution method. The minimum biofilm eradicating concentration (MBEC) was determined using the Calgary Biofilm device. The effects of temperature, pH, hardness and salinity were detected for both planktonic- and biofilm-forming bacteria. The MIC of AMX ranged from 0.015 to 2 μg/ml, whereas that of cephalexin (CEP), enrofloxacin (ENR) and oxytetracycline (OTC) ranged from 0.125 to 256, 0.125 to >512 and 0.25 to >512 μg/ml respectively. No bacteria were resistant against AMX, while the percentage of resistance to CEP, OTC and ENR were 68.7%, 52.6% and 11.1% respectively. The IC50 of AMX, CEP, ENR and OTC was 0.03, 0.091, 0.015 and 0.213 μg/ml respectively. The MBEC of amoxicillin against S. parauberis ranged from 0.5 to 16 μg/ml. Higher rates of bacterial growth were obtained at 30°C, pH = 8 and salinity of 7.5–10 ppt. The hardness of the media suppressed the bacterial growth. In conclusion, AMX was found to be effective against both the planktonic and the biofilm forms of the prominent fish pathogen, S. parauberis.

A novel combination adjuvant platform for human and animal vaccines.

Adjuvants are crucial components of many vaccines. They are used to improve the immunogenicity of vaccines with the aim of conferring long-term protection, to enhance the efficacy of vaccines in newborns, elderly or immunocompromised persons, and to reduce the amount of antigen or the number of doses required to elicit effective immunity. Novel combination adjuvants have been tested in both candidate animals and humans vaccines and have generated encouraging results. Recently, we developed a combination adjuvant platform (TriAdj) comprising of three components, namely a TLR agonist, either polyI:C or CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN), host defense peptide and polyphosphazene. This adjuvant platform is stable and highly effective in a wide range of animal and human vaccines tested in mice, cotton rats, pigs, sheep, and koalas. TriAdj with various vaccines antigens induced effective long-term humoral and cellular immunity. Moreover, the adjuvant platform is suitable for maternal immunization and highly effective in neonates even in the presence of maternal antibodies. This novel vaccine platform, offers excellent opportunity for use in present and future generations of vaccines against multiple infectious agents and targets challenging populations.

Circulating microRNAs as Potential Biomarkers of Infectious Disease.

microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding endogenous RNA molecules that regulate a wide range of biological processes by post-transcriptionally regulating gene expression. Thousands of these molecules have been discovered to date, and multiple miRNAs have been shown to coordinately fine-tune cellular processes key to organismal development, homeostasis, neurobiology, immunobiology, and control of infection. The fundamental regulatory role of miRNAs in a variety of biological processes suggests that differential expression of these transcripts may be exploited as a novel source of molecular biomarkers for many different disease pathologies or abnormalities. This has been emphasized by the recent discovery of remarkably stable miRNAs in mammalian biofluids, which may originate from intracellular processes elsewhere in the body. The potential of circulating miRNAs as biomarkers of disease has mainly been demonstrated for various types of cancer. More recently, however, attention has focused on the use of circulating miRNAs as diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers of infectious disease; for example, human tuberculosis caused by infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, sepsis caused by multiple infectious agents, and viral hepatitis. Here, we review these developments and discuss prospects and challenges for translating circulating miRNA into novel diagnostics for infectious disease.

Diagnosing Borreliosis

Borrelia species fall into two groups, the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl) complex, the cause of Lyme borreliosis (also known as Lyme disease), and the relapsing fever group. Both groups exhibit inter- and intraspecies diversity and thus have variations in both clinical presentation and diagnostic approaches. A further layer of complexity is derived from the fact that ticks may carry multiple infectious agents and are able to transmit them to the host during blood feeding, with potential overlapping clinical manifestations. Besides this, pathogens like Borrelia have developed strategies to evade the host immune system, which allows them to persist within the host, including humans. Diagnostics can be applied at different times during the clinical course and utilize sample types, each with their own advantages and limitations. These differing methods should always be considered in conjunction with potential exposure and compatible clinical features. Throughout this review, we aim to explore different approaches providing the reader with an overview of methods appropriate for various situations. This review will cover human pathogenic members of Bbsl and relapsing fever borreliae, including newly recognized Borrelia miyamotoi spirochetes.

Herpes Virus Prevalence in Patients with Chronic Periodontal Disease and Aggressive Periodontal Disease

Periodontitis is defined as an inflammatory disease of the supporting tissues of teeth caused by microorganisms or groups of specific microorganisms, which result in progressive destruction of the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone, caused by multiple infectious agents and is interconnected with the humoral and cellular immune responses of the host. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 and cytomegalovirus in patients with chronic and aggressive periodontits and healthy subjects. Biopsies samples were taken from patients presenting to the clinic of the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon diagnosed with chronic periodontitis o aggressive periodontitis and control patients. The samples taken were submitted to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the presence of the virus. The presence of the different kinds of virus was negative in the evaluated subjects.

Multiple Infectious Agents and the Origins of Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Disease.

Although deaths due to atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (ACAD) have fallen dramatically during the past 50 years, ACAD remains as the leading cause of death in all continents, except Africa, where deaths due to infections are still dominant. Although food and nutrition have a proven role in atherosclerosis, the underlying causes of ACAD remain unknown. This is despite a century of intensive research dominated by investigations into the saturated fat hypothesis. In this review, it is hypothesized that the rise and fall in ACAD during the past 100 years is primarily due to the parallel rise and fall in the prevalence of coronary atheroma, the underlying disease. It is further hypothesized that infectious pathogens initiate atherosclerosis mainly during infancy and childhood. It is speculated that widespread use of antibiotics and vaccines against bacterial and viral infections may be the reason for the dramatic fall in coronary atheroma and ACAD during the past 50 years. The relevant evidence and a working hypothesis are included in this review.