Nasal carriage of various staphylococcal species in small ruminant lentivirus-infected asymptomatic goats.

The study was carried out in Polish goat population to estimate the prevalence of the nasal cavity infection with various staphylococcal species including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA), investigate the potential permissive role of small ruminant lentivirus (SRLV) infection and determine the level of clonality of S. aureus nasal isolates. Nasal swabs and blood samples were collec-ted from 1300 clinically healthy adult goats from 21 Polish goat herds. Blood samples were serological-ly screened for SRLV. Staphylococci were isolated from nasal swabs and identified using classical microbiological methods, MALDI-TOF, multiplex-PCR, and their clonality was assessed using PFGE. Antimicrobial resistance was determined on the basis of minimum inhibitory concentration and by demonstration of the presence of the mecA gene encoding the multiplex-PCR PBP2a protein and of the five main types of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec. The apparent prevalence of staphylococ-cal and S. aureus infection of the nasal cavity was 29.1% (CI 95%: 26.9%, 31.5%) and 7.3% (CI 95%: 6.1%, 8.8%), respectively. No relationship was found between the SRLV-infection and the presence of any staphylococcal species including S. aureus (p=0.143). Only 9.8% of S. aureus isolates were resistant to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and 5.9% to chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin. All tested isolates proved to be phenotypically and genotypically sensitive to methicillin, which yielded the appar-ent prevalence of MRSA of 0% (CI 95%: 0%, 7.0%). S. aureus isolates show high genetic similarity within goat herds, however vary considerably between herds. Goats do not appear to be an important source of S. aureus for humans in Poland.

Dynamics of LDL oxidation in ischemic stroke patients.

OBJECTIVE: Oxidative modification of human low density lipoprotein (LDL) plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the oxidative modification of LDL in the group of patients with ischemic stroke. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In the group of 43 patients 3 months after ischemic stroke and in the age and sex-matched control group, the kinetics of LDL oxidation and level of vitamin E were estimated. The susceptibility of LDL to oxidation was evaluated in isolated LDL exposed to in vitro oxidation. In 26 patients, after diet change, clinical and laboratory investigations were repeated 9 months later. RESULTS: In the patient group, susceptibility of LDL to oxidation was enhanced, lag phase was significantly shorter in comparison with the control group. After a change in diet, significant elongation of the lag phase was observed. CONCLUSION: Diet change improves LDL resistance to oxidation and may influence prognosis in stroke patients.

[Determination of lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] in patients with ischemic stroke. Preliminary communication]. / Oznaczanie lipoproteiny (a) [Lp(a)] u pacjentow z niedokrwiennym udarem mozgu. Doniesienie wstepne.

The aim of this work was the determination of apolipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] in the patients three months after the onset of ischaemic stroke. A group of 56 patients was investigated. Stroke was diagnosed as caused by atherosclerotic changes in main cerebral arteries in 32 patients and in 11 by changes in cervical arteries. In 13 persons a lacunar stroke was recognised. The mean Lp(a) level and the median value were significantly higher in the group of patients after stroke as compared with 45 controls. A more frequent occurrence of Lp(a) level over 30 mg/dl considered as pathological was observed more often in the patients. No correlation was seen between Lp(a) and the resistance of LDL to oxidation nor between Lp(a) and the amount of products of LDL oxidation in vitro.

Apolipoprotein E genotype, lipid levels and coronary heart disease in a Polish population group.

Genotype of apolipoprotein E has been identified in a group of randomly selected Polish subjects participating in a cross-sectional study performed within the POL-MONICA Program, the part of international study WHO-MONICA Project. The investigated group consisted of 170 persons, 92 males and 78 females aged 41-69 years (mean age 62.0+/-5.11). The observed frequency of apolipoprotein E alleles was: epsilon2 - 7.6%, epsilon3 - 81.8% and epsilon4 - 10.6%, which was similar to frequencies in the neighbouring European countries. Statistically significant lower means of total cholesterol (TC) and of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in epsilon2 carriers and higher means of TC, of LDL-C and of triglycerides in epsilon4 carriers were observed as compared with noncarriers of respective alleles. Some nonlipid cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension (HT) and obesity) and coronary heart disease (CHD) showed a tendency to lower prevalence in the epsilon2 allele carriers as compared to noncarriers. In the epsilon4 allele carriers a tendency to higher prevalence of HT, but not of CHD was observed as compared to noncarriers of this allele.

Familial defective apolipoprotein B-100 in a group of hypercholesterolaemic patients in Poland. Identification of a new mutation Thr3492Ile in the apolipoprotein B gene.

The prevalence of the familial defective apolipoprotein B-100 (FDB) Arg3500Gln mutation in 525 unrelated hypercholesterolaemic Polish subjects was evaluated. DNA samples were screened for FDB mutation using SSCP method. Presence of mutation was confirmed using a mismatch MspI PCR strategy. Plasma lipid levels and clinical characteristics of 13 patients identified as carriers of the mutation and of their 23 affected relatives were analysed and compared with non-affected ones. In the affected individuals a variable expression of lipid concentrations and of atherosclerosis symptoms were observed. The prevalence of FDB Arg3500Gln mutation in hypercholesterolaemic Polish subjects (3.7%) seems to be similar to the frequency reported in other Caucasian hypercholesterolaemic populations. The estimated prevalence of the mutation in general Polish population is relatively high being 1/250. The same haplotype at the apoB locus in the carriers of this mutation in Poland as in other populations from Western Europe suggests its common origin. In one hypercholesterolaemic subject a non-hitherto described mutation was identified. It consisted in C-->T transition in apoB codon 3492 leading to threonine to isoleucine substitution in 3492 position of apoB gene (Thr3492Ile).