BACKGROUND The relationship among cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and the serum level of chemokines and soluble adhesion molecules is not well studied. This study aimed to assess chemokines and soluble adhesion molecules in CMV-positive Saudi renal transplant recipients. METHODOLOGY The study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Eastern Saudi Arabia over a 12-month period. All kidney trans...

To the Editor—Boivin et al. [1] compared the diagnostic value of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) with qualitative plasma PCR to monitor human immunodeficiency virus–infected individuals at risk for cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease. Symptomatic patients had significantly higher CMV DNA copies in both leukocytes and plasma than asymptomatic indi...

BACKGROUND The amount of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA in the blood (CMV load) may be a marker for detection of resistant CMV.METHODS. A total of 165 patients with AIDS and CMV retinitis had CMV load measurements (plasma and leukocyte) and cultures performed every 3 months; these measurements were correlated with CMV resistance to antiviral drugs and CMV retinitis progression (from masked readings ...

We report the cases of two lung transplant recipients (one heart-lung and one single lung) who eventually developed cytomegalovirus (CMV) pneumonitis after documentation of increasing CMV DNA titers in sequential bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. To our knowledge, this is the first report that semiquantitation of PCR-amplified DNA can detec...

Commutability of quantitative standards allows patient results to be compared across molecular diagnostic methods and laboratories. This is critical to establishing quantitative thresholds for use in clinical decision-making. A matrix effect associated with the 1st cytomegalovirus (CMV) WHO international standard (IS) was identified using the Abbott RealTime CMV assay. A commutability study was...

BACKGROUND Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic debilitating disease known as one of the most common neurological dysfunctions in young adults. Recent studies suggest that infections with herpesviruses play a critical role in the pathogenesis of MS. OBJECTIVES The present investigation aimed to detect the presence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) in patients with MS using polymerase chain reaction (P...

OBJECTIVES To describe the abnormalities in CSF from HIV infected patients with acute lumbosacral polyradiculopathy (ALP) caused by cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. METHODS Retrospective case notes and laboratory records were reviewed for 17 consecutive patients with CMV associated ALP admitted to specialist HIV/AIDS units at UCL Hospitals and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. RESULTS Infec...

Psoriasis is probably a T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease. Infectious models of autoimmune diseases have been proposed and in psoriasis, it has been suggested that there may be molecular mimicry between streptococcal antigens and epidermal keratins. The immunological profile of stable psoriasis plaques suggests, however, that viral antigens may be important. We investigated, using polymerase c...