[Evolution of antibiotic resistance and serogroups of Streptococcus pneumoniae over the 1997-2003 period in Brittany]. / Evolution de la résistance aux antibiotiques et des sérogroupes de Streptococcus pneumoniae en Bretagne entre 1997 et 2003.

At this time, many antibiotics have decreased activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae, a major agent of infectious disease. In this study, we evaluated antibiotic susceptibility and serogroups of strains isolated from bacteraemia, meningitis and acute otitis media in adults and children over the 1997-2003 period in Brittany, France. In 2003, 62% of the isolates were not susceptible to penicillin and 11% were fully resistant. The prevalence of erythromycin resistance was 63%. Resistance rates were higher among isolates recovered from children than adults. Serogroups 19 and 14 were the most frequently isolated, especially the 19 one among children. The emergence of this serogroup might be a consequence of the use of heptavalent conjugate vaccine introduced in 2001 in France. Future surveillance after vaccination will be needed to detect emerging serogroups and resistance among S. pneumoniae.

[Antibiotics resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Results from the Brittany registry for 1999]. / Etat de la résistance aux antibiotiques de Streptococcus pneumoniae dans la région Bretagne. Résultats de l'Observatoire Régional du Pneumocoque pour l'année 1999.

Throughout 1999, clinical microbiology laboratories of 13 hospitals in Brittany have recovered Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in 832 patients, 312 (37.5%) female and 518 (62.2%) male. Two hundred fifty five of them (30.6%) were children. One hundred eighty eight isolates were recovered from blood cultures (22.6%), 16 from CSF (1.9%), 449 from lungs (54%), and 88 from ear exsudates (10.6%).A 5 microgram oxacillin-disk test was used to detect isolates with reduced susceptibility to penicillin G. Determination of MICs of penicillin G, amoxicillin and cefotaxime were then performed by agar dilution method on 402 strains previously categorized resistant or intermediate. Five hundred forty six isolates were PSDP, 33.5% of them were resistant to penicillin G, 2.2% to amoxicillin and 0.2% to cefotaxime. As expected, a decreased susceptibility to beta-lactamins was frequently associated with resistance to macrolides, cotrimoxazole and tetracycline. Among PSDP, the most prevalent serotypes were 23 (23.7%), 14 (23.5%) and 19 (19.1%). In Brittany, the constant rise of PSDP (1993-1994: 28.5%; 1997: 56.4%; 1999: 65.6 %) could be perhaps explain by analysis of social and demographic data.

[Changes in blood levels of haptoglobin and ceruloplasmin in vitamin A deficiency in Sprague-Dawley rats]. / Etude des variations du taux sérique d'haptoglobine et de céruloplasmine au cours d'une carence en vitamine A chez le rat de souche Sprague-Dawley.

The aim of the present study was to find out whether the elevation of the serum ceruloplasmin level, previously described in vitamin-A-deficient rats, is a specific phenomenon. Quantitative variations of serum ceruloplasmin, albumin and haptoglobin (whose concentration increased during inflammation) were determined in normal and vitamin-A-deficient rats. Concentrations of ceruloplasmin, haptoglobin, and the value of the haptoglobin to albumin ratio are increased in the serum of vitamin-A-deficient rats compared to normal rats. The results suggested that the increased serum level of ceruloplasmin in vitamin-A-deficient rats was due to the presence of inflammation.

[Isolation and physico-chemical properties of rat ceruloplasmin]. / Isolement et propriétés physico-chimiques de la céruloplasmine de rat.

Ceruloplasmin was isolated from inflammatory rat serum after two chromatographies, employing column chromatography with D.E.A.E. cellulose and Sephadex G 200, and after electrophoresis. The determination of phys'co chemical constants allows to compare the human ceruloplasmin.

[Relation between ceruloplasmin and vitamin A in Sprague-Dawley rats]. / Relation entre céruloplasmine et vitamine A chez le rat de souche Sprague-Dawley.

The Moore's hypothesis concerning a relationship between the metabolism of copper and that of vitamin A led us to consider a possible relationship between this vitamin and ceruloplasmin, the carrier protein for copper. Experiments were carried out on Sprague-Dawley rats. The ceruloplasmin level of control animals and vitamin A - deficient rats was determined An average increase between 22 and 33% was observed in the animals with vitamin A deficiency, the highest levels being observed in the females. These results are in agreement with Peterson's previous work. A second type of experiment was carried out to confirm these results. The rats were raised in a copper-deficient diet and the vitamin A level was regularly determined. In these conditions serum and liver levels of vitamin A are normal and do not vary, ceruloplasmin level is zero; however apoceruloplasmin is still being synthetized : Nevertheless at the ultime state of the deficiency vitamin A level decreases while apoceruloplasmin increases. These results raise the following question. Could the relationship between ceruloplasmin and vitamin A be possibly due to an inflammatory state in vitamin A deficient rats. In this respect a third series of experiments were undertaken and are in progress; the vitamin A and ceruloplasmin levels are regularly determined.

[Alterations in the proteins found in the amniotic fluid in the course of normal pregnancy. A study carried out by immunoprecipitation tests on the amniotic fluid (author's transl)]. / Variations des protéines du liquide amniotique au cours de la grossesse normale. Etude par immunoprécipitation en milieu liquide.

A fluonephelometric technique was used to study the proteins in amniotic fluid. 113 samples taken between the 8th and the 44th week of amenorrhoea from pregnancies without any fetal abnormality were tested. The levels of 8 protein fractions were estimated: albumen, IgG, IgA, alpha 1 antitrypsin, transferrin, orosomucoid, alpha 2 macro-globulin and IgM. 6 of these fractions could be estimated in almost every sample of amniotic fluid, but alpha 2 macroglobulines and IgM could only be found in a few cases. Furthermore, the fractions of the proteins most clearly shown appeared in a parallel way more or less as the total levels of proteins as estimated by Lowry's method.