ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Reinfection, a common occurrence with gonorrhea, may result from a lack of protective immune response, or from the tremendous gonococcal strain variation. GOAL: A two-phase study in human volunteers tested whether experimental infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae MS11mkC would protect against reinfection with the same organisms. STUDY DESIGN: In phase 1, an intraurethral inoculum of 57,000 piliated, transparent (opacity protein-negative [Opa-]) MS11mkC N gonorrhoeae infected 14 of 15 (93%) volunteers. The volunteers were encouraged to delay treatment for at least 5 days. In phase 2, which began 2 weeks after treatment for the initial infection, volunteers were inoculated with 7,100 piliated, Opa- MS11mkC. RESULTS: The phase 2 challenge infected 6 of 14 (43%) previously infected volunteers and 5 of 10 (50%) naïve control subjects. Phase 1 volunteers who resisted reinfection were significantly more likely to have had a fourfold or greater increase in lipooligosaccharide immunoglobulin G during phase 1 than those who did not resist reinfection (P = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS: Although infection did not provide protection from reinfection under the conditions used, the results suggest that immunity to reinfection is more complex than anticipated by the experimental design.
Subject(s)
Gonorrhea/immunology , Gonorrhea/microbiology , Neisseria gonorrhoeae/pathogenicity , Urethritis/immunology , Urethritis/microbiology , Adolescent , Adult , Antibodies, Bacterial/blood , Antibodies, Bacterial/urine , Blotting, Western , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Gonorrhea/urine , Humans , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Lethal Dose 50 , Lipopolysaccharides/biosynthesis , Lipopolysaccharides/immunology , Male , Middle Aged , Neisseria gonorrhoeae/growth & development , Neisseria gonorrhoeae/immunology , Recurrence , Urethritis/urineABSTRACT
Causal heterogeneity of anencephaly and spina bifida has been demonstrated; in rare families the neural tube defect may be caused by a single gene. We report a family in which four cases of anencephaly or spina bifida may represent X-linked inheritance.
Subject(s)
Abnormalities, Multiple/genetics , Anencephaly/genetics , Sex Chromosomes , Spina Bifida Occulta/genetics , X Chromosome , Adult , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Male , PedigreeABSTRACT
A rare ectodermal dysplasia with the acronym CHANDS (Curly Hair, Ankyloblepharon, Nail Dysplasia Syndrome) was described by Baughman (1971) as being a new autosomal dominant condition. Additional pedigree data obtained after the original report indicate that the mode of inheritance is more likely to be autosomal recessive, with an instance of quasi-dominant transmission as a result of multiple consanguineous matings in the family. These data are provided in this report.
