Overview of tigecycline efficacy and safety in the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections - a European perspective.

In a randomized, double-blind, multicenter, multinational, controlled trial, 546 patients with complicated skin and skin structure infections received tigecycline 100 mg/day (a 100-mg initial dose and then 50 mg intravenously twice daily) or the combination of vancomycin 2 g/day (1 g intravenously twice daily) and aztreonam 4 g/day (2 g intravenously twice daily) for up to 14 days. Three hundred eighty-five (385) were from Europe. The primary endpoint was the clinical response in the clinical modified intent-to-treat (c-mITT) and clinically evaluable populations at the test-of-cure visit 12 to 92 days after the last dose. The microbiologic response at the test-of-cure visit was also assessed. Safety was assessed by physical examination, laboratory results and adverse event reporting. Of the patients enrolled in Europe, 376 patients were included in the c-mITT population (tigecycline group, n = 189; vancomycin/aztreonam group, n = 187), and 326 were clinically evaluable (tigecycline group, n = 167; vancomycin/aztreonam group, n = 159). The clinical responses in the tigecycline and the vancomycin/aztreonam groups in the clinically evaluable population were 89.8% versus 95.0%. Microbiologic eradication (documented or presumed) occurred in 84.8% of the European patients receiving tigecycline and 93.2% of the European patients receiving vancomycin/aztreonam. The number of European patients reporting adverse events was similar in the two groups, with increased nausea and vomiting rates in the tigecycline group and an increased incidence of rash and increases in alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels in the vancomycin/aztreonam group. Current data support findings from the overall results in the Phase 3 study and suggest that tigecycline is safe and effective for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections.

Tetratrichomonads from the oral cavity and respiratory tract of humans.

To clarify the taxonomy of trichomonads associated with human respiratory diseases, we examined a collection of axenic trichomonad strains isolated from the oral cavity and bronchi of patients from pulmonary diseases clinics in Tallin, Estonia. The oral and bronchial strains were compared mutually as well as with a reference strain of Trichomonas tenax, a common inhabitant of the human oral cavity, and other trichomonad species from humans and animals. Unexpectedly, the morphological studies, as well as DNA sequencing of ITS1-5.8S rRNA-ITS2 regions revealed that the Estonian strains belong to the genus Tetratrichomonas, with a high similarity to the avian species Tetratrichomonas gallinarum. None of the strains belonged to Trichomonas tenax. DNA fingerprinting using the RAPD method separated Estonian strains into 2 distinct groups: 'bronchial' consisting of 5 and 2 strains isolated from bronchi and 'oral' cavity, respectively, and oral consisting of 3 oral strains. Consistent differences between 'bronchial' and 'oral' groups were confirmed by analysis of ITS1-5.8S rRNA-ITS2 sequences. Our results have revealed novel trichomonad species of the human oral cavity and bronchi.

Light and electron microscope observation of virus-induced Tetrahymena pyriformis in newborn mice (Mus musculus albinicus) brain.

Newborn mice were infected intracerebrally with abacterial cultures of the GL strain of Tetrahymena pyriformis, induced experimentally six years ago in vitro with Coxsackie B-5 virus. In the brain of the test animals there were pathologic changes similar to those found in the primary investigation of the pathogenicity of this strain, i.e., after 96 h of contact with the virus. Thus, the pathogenicity acquired by T. pyriformis, as well as the persistence of Coxsackie B-5 virus in this ciliate, can be considered stable. Despite such specific changes in the biological properties of T. pyriformis, the changes were not reflected in the morphology of the protozoon, which was investigated by means of light and electron microscopy.

[Transmission of urogenital trichomoniasis in female prostitutes]. / Zur Verbreitung der Urogenitaltrichomoniasis bei HWG-Frauen.

A group of female prostitutes (n = 41) was found to be infected with Trichomonas vaginalis to 36.6%, diagnosed by using culture methods. The examination of these women for T. vaginalis and their treatment is not obligatory, therefore the transmission of these parasites by infected prostitutes is not properly controlled; transmission of the trichomoniasis continues under nearly optimal conditions. It is urgently necessary to examine female prostitutes for T. vaginalis infections without exception. In these cases culture methods must be used and all infected women must be treated immediately with effective drugs. The last meeting of the German Society of Gynecologists in 1984 has stressed the necessity to control trichomoniasis systematically.

Electron microscope observations on the interaction of Mycoplasma fermentans with Trichomonas vaginalis.

Cultures of Trichomonas vaginalis were found to be contaminated with Mycoplasma fermentans. By means of electron microscopy the interaction between the prokaryotic organisms and the trichomonads was examined. Cells of M. fermentans were observed in the medium; some of them were attached to the surface of the trichomonads and others were observed in membrane-bounded vacuoles of trichomonads. They were also present in the ground substance of the cytoplasm. The mycoplasmas divided by binary fission like other prokaryotes. The most obvious change occurring in the infected trichomonad cells was an increase in number of vacuoles containing mycoplasmas.