We analyzed the performance characteristics of the qualitative AMPLICOR CMV Test (Roche Molecular Systems, Pleasanton, Calif.) and quantitative COBAS AMPLICOR CMV MONITOR Test (Roche Molecular Systems) assays and compared the performance of the AMPLICOR quantitative assay with an in-house-developed cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA PCR assay. The quantitative AMPLICOR assay was found to be more sensiti...

C YTOMEGALOVIRUS (CMV) LlSUdly CiXlSeS ZiSyIllptOmatic or clinically insignificant infection in the immunocompetent host. Thereafter, the virus persists in a latent state, but may be reactivated by immunosuppression. Reactivation of latent infection most commonly occurs in the context of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and allogeneic organ transplantation, but has also been describ...

Traditionally, leukoreduction and selection of blood products from seronegative donors have been used as alternative strategies to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted cytomegalovirus infections (TT-CMV) in atrisk patients. After the introduction of universal leukoreduction for red blood cell and platelet concentrates in Germany, a controversy evolved as to whether the additional selectio...

BACKGROUND A causal relation between atherosclerosis and chronic infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae and/or cytomegalovirus (CMV) has been suggested. Whether the unresolved problem of venous coronary artery bypass graft occlusion is related to infection with C pneumoniae and/or CMV has not been addressed. METHODS AND RESULTS Thirty-eight occluded coronary artery vein grafts and 20 native saph...

Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6), human herpesvirus-7 (HHV-7), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and human cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA were repeatedly assayed in peripheral blood leukocytes from 37 allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients by polymerase chain reaction. Before BMT, HHV-6 DNA was detected in 8 (22%) patients. HHV-7, EBV, and CMV DNA were detected in 21 (57%), 10 (27%), and 1 (3%) patient...

BACKGROUND We present a small longitudinal study of how demographic factors and persistent burdens of HIV and cytomegalovirus (CMV) influence cardiovascular health in young adults beginning ART in an inner-city clinic in Jakarta, Indonesia. METHODS ART-naïve HIV patients [n = 67; aged 31 (19 to 48) years] were enrolled in the JakCCANDO Project. Echocardiography and carotid Doppler ultrasonogr...

Although virus-specific CD4(+) T cells have been characterized extensively in latently infected individuals, it is unclear how these protective T-cell responses develop during primary virus infection in humans. Here, we analyzed the kinetics and characteristics of cytomegalovirus-specific (CMV-specific) CD4(+) T cells in the course of primary CMV infection in kidney transplant recipients. Our d...

(CMV) reactivation has been widely documented in the past 10 years in critically ill patients [1]. Conversely, few data are available on burn patients despite experimental studies showing that these patients are predisposed to herpes virus infections [2]. To our knowledge, only two studies reported the incidence of CMV infection in burn patients using a modern technique , such as PCR, which has...

Due to its negative impact on the outcome of stem cell transplant (SCT) and solid organ transplant patients (SOT) CMV has been called "the troll of transplantation". One of the greatest advances in the management of SCT has been the introduction of the preemptive strategy. Since its introduction, the incidence of the viremia, as expected, remains unchanged but there has been a marked decline in...