Cryptosporidium parvum is an apicomplexan parasite that can cause serious watery diarrhea, cryptosporidiosis, in human and other mammals. C. parvum invades gastrointestinal epithelial cells, which have abundant glycosaminoglycans on their cell surface. However, little is known about the interaction between C. parvum and glycosaminoglycans. In this study, we assessed the inhibitory effect of sul...

It has been recognized recently that human cryptosporidiosis is usually caused by Cryptosporidium parvum genotype I ("human" C. parvum), which is not found in animals. Compared to C. parvum genotype II, little is known of the biology of invasion of the human-restricted C. parvum genotype I. The aims of the present study were (i) to explore and compare with genotype II the pathogenesis of C. par...

A 38-year-old patient developed meningitis after a complicated kidney transplantation and organ rejection. Ureaplasma urealyticum was identified as the etiological agent by molecular and microbiological analyses of the cerebrospinal fluid. The patient was successfully treated with doxycycline and chloramphenicol. This is the first report of Ureaplasma urealyticum meningitis in an adult.

Infectious pericardial effusion with tamponade is an uncommon but life-threatening disease. We report an unusual case of spontaneous Ureaplasma pericardial effusion with tamponade associated with pneumonia, pleural effusion, and urinary tract infection. All published cases of clinically invasive Ureaplasma infections in the adult population are also reviewed.

In 17 out of 102 patients with clinically diagnosed chronic prostatitis the disease could be attributed to known urogenital tract pathogens. Of the remaining 85 patients, Ureaplasma urealyticum was isolated from 38, Chlamydia trachomatis from five, and both organisms together from two. The results of antimicrobial treatment of the patients suggest an etiological relationship between Ureaplasma ...

A murine model of implanted CNS neoplasia was used to study a new form of brain tumor immunotherapy with intralesional Corynebacterium parvum (C. parvum). Assessment of treatment protocols has been limited by the inability to assess, noninvasively, tumor burden and/or the inflammatory reaction induced in the murine brain by treatment with C. parvum. This study demonstrates that contrast-enhance...

We studied the growth and feeding response of the ciliate Euplotes affinis when exposed to algal cultures of Prymnesium parvum and Rhodomonas cf. baltica as monocultures or as mixtures. Cultures of P. parvum grown under nutrient-limited (N or P) or nutrient-sufficient conditions were tested for toxicity against E. affinis. Ciliates grew well when fed R. cf. baltica, but avoided grazing on monoc...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Ureaplasmas have been implicated in a variety of clinical conditions. However, only certain serovars of ureaplasmas are disease associated. Only a few classes of antimicrobial agents are available for the treatment of mycoplasmal infections in humans. Increase of resistance of genital mycoplasmas to antimicrobials has been reported worldwide. The aim of the present study...

BACKGROUND Urogenital mycoplasmas are potentially pathogenic species causing genitourinary tract infections that may be initially asymptomatic but can progress and lead to severe complications and threaten reproductive health. However, the overall prevalence rate of this bacterium and its probable impacts on fertility potential have yet to be determined. METHODS We searched both English and P...