[Rapid identification of Yersinia enterocolitica by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS)]. / Identyfikacja paleczek Yersinia enterocolitica z wykorzystaniem spektroskopii mas typu MALDI-TOF.

INTRODUCTION: Yersinia enterocolitica includes both human pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains. The pathogenic strains belong to two evolutionary lineages: European and American, of mild- and high- pthogenicity, respectively. Y. enterocolitica European bioserotypes 4/O3 and 2/O9 are one of the major etiological agents of human yersiniosis worldwide. American lineage Y. enterocolitica bioserotype 1B/O8 has recently emerged in Europe. Since 2004 this high-pathogenicity bioserotype is increasingly isolated from humans in Poland. The rapid and accurate identification of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica strains is essential for diagnostic purposes. The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of commercially available MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy for Y. enterocolitica identification and subtyping. METHODS: A total of 33 strains of Y. enterocolitica belonging to bioserotype: 1B/O8 (n=2), 4/O3 (n=25) and 2/O9 (n=6) isolated from clinical specimens in Poland and 10 reference Y. enterocolitica 1B/O8 strains (Institute Pasteur, France) were used in this study. The identification of the Y. enterocolitica strains by MALDI-TOF MS was performed on MALDI Biotyper system (Bruker Daltonics, USA) with flexControl 3.0 software (Bruker Daltonics) according with the manufacturer's instruction. RESULTS: All of the tested Y. enterocolitica strains were correctly identified at the species level. However, American and European strains were not differentiated. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that MALDI-TOF MS can be used as a first-line method for rapid identification of Y. enterocolitica strains at the species level in clinical microbiology laboratories.

[Acute, idiopathic, bilateral uveitis with periphlebitis--case report]. / Ostre, idiopatyczne, obustronne zapalenie blony naczyniowej z towarzyszacym zapaleniem okolozylnym--opis przypadku.

The purpose of this paper is to present the case of a 35 years old healthy male suffering from acute, bilateral uveitis with periphlebitis which despite broad ophthalmic and internal diagnosis remained of unknown origin. Despite anti-inflammatory treatment with acyclovir, ciprofloxacin and Encorton remission of inflammation was not achieved. Due to the failure of steroid treatment the decision of immunosuppressive therapy with Rapamycine and Endoxan was made. New therapeutic regimen caused the remission of inflammation and preserved patient's useful visual acuity.

P-glycoprotein expression influences the result of 99mTc-MIBI scintigraphy in tertiary hyperparathyroidism.

Precise localization of parathyroid glands using 99mTc-labeled hexakis-2-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (99mTc-MIBI) scintigraphy could be affected by various biological factors. There is increasing evidence that radiotracer retention could be controlled by members of multidrug resistance (MDR) system, especially P-glycoprotein (P-gp). Since the role of P-gp in tertiary hyperparathyroidism (T-HPTH) scintigraphic studies is poorly recognized, the aim of the study was to compare the correlation between parathyroid P-gp expression and results of their scintigraphy in T-HPTH versus primary hyperparathyroidism (P-HPTH). P-HPTH (n = 19) and T-HPTH (n = 18) patients were subjected to 99mTc-MIBI scintigraphy followed by surgical treatment. The parathyroid glands were assessed in routine hematoxylin-eosin staining and P-gp expression was analyzed using immunohistochemistry. Parathyroids collected during cadaver donor multi-organ harvesting were used as a control. It has been found that P-HPTH-derived parathyroid glands with predominating adenoma morphology expressed less P-gp, as compared to P-gp-rich T-HPTH glands, mainly displaying nodular or diffused hyperplasia phenotype. This finding reversely correlated with results of 99mTc-MIBI scintigraphy. However, we did not observe any difference in P-gp expression nor scintigraphy result between nodular or diffused hyperplasia. Altogether, these data suggest that P-gp overexpression in T-HPTH could be responsible for decreased sensitivity of 99mTc-MIBI scintigraphy in those patients. Therefore, the recently proposed reduced neck exploration or limited parathyroid resection on the basis of scintigraphy could create the risk of persisted/recurrent hyperparathyroidism. However, this problem requires further study.

[The assesment of health status of adolescents exposed to tobacco smoke with cotinine as an exposure biomarker]. / Ocena stanu zdrowia mlodziezy narazonej na dzialanie dymu tytoniowego z wykorzystaniem kotyniny jako biomarkera narazenia.

The aim of the study was the assessment of the health status of adolescents exposed to tobacco smoke. The questionnaire and internal examination covered 202 of Lodz high school students. The tobacco smoke exposure was assessed by cotinine measurement in urine with the HPLC method. The results indicate intensive passive and active exposure to tobacco smoke among the examined adolescents, which was reflected in the cotinine levels in urine, 30-40 times higher in smokers than in the remaining subjects. The active smokers more frequently manifested problems of respiratory nad neurovegetative systems, however there were no differences in the subjective study results as well as in the frequency rate of using health care services by the active smokers and the remaining subjects.