1,721,116 research outputs found
Infezioni opportunistiche e diagnosi di laboratorio in pazienti sottoposti a terapia biologica
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Should Lactobacillus sporogenes and Bacillus coagulans have a future ?
No full textProbiotics are gaining increasing scientific and commercial interest as functional foods. Their success has led to the development and marketing of a broad range of products based on probiotics. In this context, resolution of the taxonomy of microbial species remains a key point, since different species belonging to the same genus may have different beneficial properties. Lactobacillus sporogenes, which should be correctly classified as Bacillus coagulans, represents the archetypal misidentified probiotic and its inclusion among probiotics has often been a matter of debate. Since this bacterium shows characteristics of both genera Lactobacillus and Bacillus, its taxonomic position between the families lactobacillaceae and bacillaceae has often been discussed.This review summarizes the salient probiotic features of L. sporogenes /B. coagulans by examining currently available information. Although the use of L. sporogenes spores as a probiotic has increased in recent years, clinical evidence of its benefits are limited to only a few studies involving small patient populations
Nature and mode of action of probiotics in intestinal infections
No full textProbiotics are increasingly gaining scientific and commercial interest as functional foods in this era of self-care and complementary medicine. They are usually defined as viable microorganisms that beneficially affect the host health when ingested. The microorganisms most frequently used as probiotic agents are lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, and yeasts, particularly Saccharomyces boulardii , usually designated as a biotherapeutic agent. The use of probiotics to ameliorate intestinal health has been proposed for many years and there is a relatively large volume of literature supporting their use in order to prevent or to treat intestinal disorders. Several modes of action by which probiotics may act when used in the prevention and therapy of intestinal infections have been hypothesised, including stimulation of specific and aspecific immunity, competition for nutrients, inhibition of epithelial and mucosal adherence, inhibition of bacterial toxins, and production of antimicrobial substances. In this review, the present knowledge on the mode of action of probiotics deriving from in vitro and in vivo studies is discussed
The safety of cefepime in the treatment of infection
No full textCefepime is a fourth-generation cephalosporin usually reserved for treating severe nosocomial pneumonia, as well as empirical treatment of febrile neutropenia, uncomplicated and complicated urinary tract infections, uncomplicated skin and skin structure infections, and complicated intra-abdominal infections. OBJECTIVE: Since reports of neurotoxic effects and of an all-cause mortality higher with cefepime than with comparators have created some concerns regarding its safety, this paper reviews data available in the PubMed database up to December 2007 on cefepime safety. METHODS: Literature data from PubMed obtained by combining cefepime and safety, or cefepime and clinical trials, were examined. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: Caution in the use of cefepime should be adopted until new evidence on cefepime safety is available
Attività antimicrobica della propoli: cosa c'è di nuovo?
No full textPropolis is a hive product that bees manufacture from balsamic resins actively secreted by plants on leaf buds and barks. Propolis composition is highly variable, depending on the plant species and on the season of collection. However, propolis essentially contains resins, balsams, essential oils, flavonoids, vitamins, minerals and pollen, albeit at different concentrations. Although more than 300 constituents have been identified in propolis samples, biological activity is mainly due to few substances, such as flavonoids, terpens, caffeic, ferulic and cumaric acids and esters. Propolis is characterized by multifactorial activities, but only some of them have been substantiated by clinical and experimental evidence. It is widely acknowledged to exert antimicrobial activity against a wide range of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi and viruses), but also exerts antiinflammatory, anaesthetic, healing, vasoprotective, antioxidant, antitumoral, antiulcer and hepatoprotective activities. The wide spectrum of activities has led in recent years to the development of new technologies to improve propolis properties of the traditional hydroalcoholic extract. This paper reviews the antimicrobial properties of propolis, focusing on respiratory pathogens. These characteristics make propolis a valid option for therapy of upper respiratory tract infections
Use of genomics and proteomics to develop better diagnostic tools for use in infectious diseases
No full textThe genome is a rather constant entity while the proteome is constantly changing through its biochemical interactions with the genome. One organism will have radically different protein expression in different parts of its body and at different stages of its life cycle. The goal in the post-genome era is to determine how the proteome is organized into functional, higher-order networks, by mapping all constitutive and dynamic protein-protein interactions. The availability of complete genome sequences has dramatically changed the opportunities for developing novel and improved diagnosis of infectious diseases. Proteome databases have been developed for Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Haemophilus influenzae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Study of genomics and proteomics of microbial infections, named infectomics, represents the scientific challenge of the future. The study of infectomics is very exciting, with the limitation that determination of bacterial proteomes should be performed when they are growing in association with their host and its immune system. In conclusion, expectations from proteomics mainly concern development of a 'final solution' allowing for direct diagnosis of infectious diseases by analysis of a specimen's proteins
Microbiological Diagnosis of Implant-Related Infections : Scientific Evidence and Cost/Benefit Analysis of Routine Antibiofilm Processing
No full textProsthetic joint infection is one of the most severe complication following joint arthroplasty, producing a significant worsening of patient's quality of life. Management of PJIs requires extended courses of antimicrobial therapy, multiple surgical interventions and prolonged hospital stay, with a consequent economic burden, which is thought to markedly increase in the next years due to the expected burden in total joint arthroplasties. The present review summarizes the present knowledge on microbiological diagnosis of prosthetic joint infections, focusing on aethiological agents and discussing pros and cons of the available strategies for their diagnosis.Intra-operative clinical diagnosis and pathogen identification is considered the diagnostic benchmark, however the presence of bacterial biofilm makes pathogen detection with traditional microbiological techniques highly ineffective. Diagnosis of PJIs is a rather complex challenge for orthopedics and requires a strict collaboration between different specialists: orthopaedics, infectivologists, microbiologists, pathologists and radiologists. Diagnostic criteria have been described by national and international association and scientific societies. Clinicians should be trained on how to use it, but more importantly they should know potential and limitation of the available tests in order to use them appropriately
Microbiological Evaluation of Commercial Probiotic products available in Italy
No full textScientific evidence of the prevention and therapy of some intestinal diseases is accumulating in regard to probiotic products. However, sufficient information on the use of probiotics in specific therapies is not yet available and, above all, there is no clear legislation about these products in Europe. In this study, we evaluated five different probiotic products commercially available in Italy for their qualitative and quantitative microbial content after about 12 and 22 months of storage. We also evaluated the stability of lactobacilli to 0.3% bile salts and to pH of 3.58 and 7.98. There were discrepancies between the declared content and our results found after storage for 4 of the tested products. Bile salts and basic pH did not affect the growth of the lactobacilli tested, while for 2 tested products 6 hours at acid pH produced a complete inhibition of bacterial growth. Our results suggest the need for clear legislation and adequate control of the manufacturing of probiotic products
Phenotypic and genotypic antibiotic resistance in some probiotics proposed for medical use
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