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North American Patients (north + american_patient)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	75%

Selected Abstracts

Cuterebra cutaneous myiasis: case report and world literature review

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2008
Elizabeth Delshad MD
Background, Most cases of myiasis in North America are caused by fly larvae from South America or Africa, as these cases represent travelers returning from endemic regions. The etiology of creeping eruptions and furuncular lesions in North American patients who have no history of recent travel can therefore be a diagnostic problem. Among cases acquired in North America, Cuterebra species are the usual cause. Dermatologists and dermatopathologists should be aware that this unusual infestation may occur without a travel history. Method, Here we report a case of Cuterebra cutaneous myiasis acquired in New Jersey. A world literature review of articles on Cuterebra myiasis in humans, without age or year restriction, was performed. The pertinent references of those articles were also searched. Results, Most cases occur in the skin, as a furuncle. Sometimes a cutaneous creeping eruption is present. Children account for at least half of the reported cases. The infestations tend to occur in the late summer, and most frequently in the north-eastern and southern states of the United States. An overview of the clinical and histopathologic diagnostic features are presented. Conclusions, Though rare, myiasis can occur in North America without a travel history. Awareness of this entity, its epidemiologic patterns and diagnostic characteristics, can prevent lengthy delays in diagnosis and unnecessary treatments. [source]

Molecular and serological aspects of HBsAg-negative hepatitis B virus infections in North America

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 1 2003
C.C. Hsia
Abstract A few hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections are characterized by the presence of HBV DNA in serum or liver tissue, or both, in the absence of detectable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in serum. However, such infections have rarely been described previously in North American patients. In the present study, 31 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients from the United States and Canada who had no detectable HBsAg in their serum were studied. In these 31 HBsAg-negative HCC patients, HBV DNA was detected in HCC and/or in adjacent nontumorous liver tissue using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 5/9 (56%) patients from the United States and in 12/22 (55%) from Canada. The 17 HBV DNA-positive/HBsAg-negative patients from the United States and Canada included 9 without any serological markers for HBV and 8 with detectable antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen. In these patients, HBV genotype C was the most prevalent genotype (11/17; 64%). HBV genotypes have not been previously reported in HCC patients from North America. Replicative intermediate forms of HBV (covalently closed circular HBV DNA) were detected in 2/17 (12%) HBV DNA-positive/HBsAg-negative patients, indicating that at least two of these patients had actively replicating HBV infections. The use of tests to detect HBV DNA permitted the identification of HBV infections in HBsAg-negative HCC patients from North America. Among these patients, those with antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV) would otherwise have been designated "HCV-associated HCCs" based on serological tests alone. These findings provide a new perspective on determining the possible viral etiologies of HCCs in North America. J. Med. Virol. 70: 20,26, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Assessing the role of DRD5 and DYT1 in two different case,control series with primary blepharospasm

MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 2 2007
Jordi Clarimon PhD
Abstract Primary blepharospasm is a common adult-onset focal dystonia. Polymorphisms of the genes encoding TorsinA (DYT1) and the D5 dopamine receptor (DRD5) have previously been associated with lifetime risk for focal dystonia. We describe here experiments testing common variability within these two genes in two independent cohorts of Italian and North American patients with primary blepharospasm. We have failed to identify a consistent association with disease in the two patient groups examined here; however, analysis of the Italian group reveals an association with the same risk genotype in DYT1 as previously described in an Icelandic population. We have also found global significant DYT1 haplotype differences between patients and controls in the Italian series. These data suggest that further examination is warranted of the role genetic variability at this locus plays in the risk for primary dystonia. © 2006 Movement Disorder Society [source]

Psoriasis genomics: analysis of proinflammatory (type 1) gene expression in large plaque (Western) and small plaque (Asian) psoriasis vulgaris

BRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2004
W. Lew
Summary Background, Type 1 T cells are hypothesized to be central in the immunopathogenesis of psoriasis. Through elaboration of interferon (IFN)-,, type 1 T cells regulate the expression of many ,downstream' inflammatory genes, including an array of chemokines that regulate leucocyte trafficking and activation in skin lesions. Accordingly, disease progression and/or severity might be controlled by the degree to which differing cytokines and chemokines are overexpressed in focal skin regions. To examine this possibility, we studied two forms of chronic psoriasis vulgaris that differ significantly in overall severity and progression: small plaque (SP) psoriasis occurring in Korean patients, and large plaque (LP) psoriasis occurring in North American patients. Objectives, To characterize LP and SP psoriasis vulgaris with respect to expression of proinflammatory genes that define the type 1 T-cell axis in skin lesions [genes encoding interleukin (IL)-12, IFN-,, and IFN-,-regulated chemokines or inflammatory mediators]. Methods, Total cellular RNA of skin samples from groups of patients with LP or SP psoriasis was analysed by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (TaqMan analysis) to compare the differences in mRNA expression of genes related to the IFN-, pathway. Results, The mRNA expression of keratin 16, CD25, IFN-,, IL-12 p40, signal transducer and activator of transcription-1, inducible nitric oxide synthase, IL-8, macrophage inflammatory protein-3,, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, S100A12, IFN-,-inducible protein of 10 kDa, IFN-inducible T-cell ,-chemoattractant and monokine induced by IFN-, was increased in the lesions of both LP psoriasis and SP psoriasis. However, IL-18 mRNA expression was significantly different in the lesions of LP psoriasis in comparison with those of SP psoriasis. Conclusions, The results indicate that proinflammatory type 1 genes regulated by IFN-, are similarly increased in both SP and LP psoriasis, but a potential difference in IL-18 exists between these disease forms. The consistent activation of this set of genes argues for a central role of IFN-, as a molecular regulator of inflammation in these distinct subtypes of psoriasis vulgaris. In contrast, disease extent/severity must be controlled by yet other factors. [source]