Streptococcus mitis bv. 1 is a pioneer colonizer of the human oral cavity. Studies of its population dynamics within parents and their infants and within neonates have shown extensive diversity within and between subjects. We examined the genetic diversity and clonal turnover of S. mitis bv. 1 isolated from the cheeks, tongue, and primary incisors of four infants from birth to 1 year of age. In...

background: galantamine is a drug used for the treatment of alzheimer’s disease and some other cognitive disorders. it is an inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase however, interaction with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors has also been reported. owing to the significant role of cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathways in neuro-immunomodulation, we decided to examine the effect of galantamine on tula...

it is estimated that one third of the world's population is latently infected with tuberculosis (tb). the hiv epidemic fuels the tb epidemic by increasing the risk of reactivation of latent tb infection and by facilitating a more rapid progression of tb disease. although the incidence of tb is constant or decreasing in many regions of the world, rates remain high in developing countries as a co...

BACKGROUND Infections by a variety of pathogens are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality during perinatal period. The susceptibility of neonates to bacterial infections has been attributed to immaturity of innate immunity. It is considered that one of the impaired mechanisms is the phagocytic function of neutrophils and monocytes. The purpose of the present study was to investigate th...

Despite potential clinical importance, target cells for mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 have not yet been identified. Cord blood-derived CD4(+) T cells are largely naive and do not express CCR5, the mandatory coreceptor for transmitted HIV-1 R5 strains in infants. In the present study, we demonstrate that in the human fetal and infant gut mucosa, there is already a large subset of mucosal...

The increase in whooping cough (pertussis) incidence in many countries with high routine vaccination coverage is alarming, with incidence in the US reaching almost 50,000 reported cases per year, reflecting incidence levels not seen since the 1950s. While the potential explanations for this resurgence remain debated, we face an urgent need to protect newborns, especially during the time window ...

tetanus can be only prevented by vaccination because immunity against this disease is rarely acquired, even by natural infections. to maintain long-term protective immunity against tetanus, booster immunization is essential for adolescents and adults. most hospitalized cases and virtually all deaths occur in people over 60 years of age. the purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of...

neopterin, apyrazinopyrimidine compound, is produced by macrophages after induction by interferon gamma (ifn-y) and serves as a marker of cellular immune system activation followed by oxidative stress. the aim of this study was to determine urinary neopterin to creatinine ratio (uncr) as a surrogate marker of cell-mediated immune activation in multiple sclerosis (ms). three weekly early morning...

Background Bacterial colonization during and shortly after birth are common in newborn infants. The aim of this study was to determine the umbilical cord bacterial colonization in newborn infants rooming in with mothers and neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Materials and Methods In a cross-sectional study, 180 newborn infants were studied in three groups including: newbo...