PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D M De Villiers

Publications and source records attributed to D M De Villiers.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1986

Relationship between non-antigen-specific immunodepression and persisting immune complexes induced by pertussis in mice.

A temporal relationship has been demonstrated between persisting immune complexes and non-antigen-specific immunodepression. Mice were given intraperitoneal injections of Bordetella pertussis at weekly intervals. After 7 weeks they developed circulating immune complexes, the levels of which increased with continued administration of pertussis. The increase in immune complex levels was accompanied by a diminished primary immune response to intraperitoneally injected sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) as judged by a reduction in their direct and indirect plaque-forming cell response and serum agglutination titres. Spleen cells from immunodepressed pertussis-treated mice were transferred to irradiated normal recipients and displayed a normal response to SRBC. By contrast, spleen cells transferred from normal donors to irradiated pertussis-treated recipients had an impaired response to SRBC. Thus, the immunodepression caused by pertussis treatment is a property of the environment and not the lymphocytes themselves. It is considered that chronic circulating immune complexes induced by pertussis administration may cause non-antigen-specific immunodepression.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Nocardiosis. Case report and review of the diagnosis and treatment.

Purulent draining skin sinuses are a striking clinical finding when Nocardia organisms infect skin or deeper tissues and the lesion is often mistakenly ascribed to actinomycotic infection. This distinction is important because in contrast to actinomycosis, nocardiosis does not respond to treatment with penicillin or most antibiotics, and a fulminating systemic infection may occur. Smears made from purulent discharges do not always show the organism and microbiological culture may likewise prove fruitless. This article reports a patient suffering from nocardiosis and the pitfalls in diagnosis are illustrated. Successful culture of the organism was obtained by inoculating media with fresh biopsy material and a plea is made for routine use of this method. The need to use sulphadiazine in high doses initially, followed by maintenance treatment for considerable time, is emphasized.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The prevalence of Herpes simplex virus type-2 infection in blood donors in Harare, Zimbabwe.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of HSV-2 infections in a population of blood donors. DESIGN: Cross sectional study. SETTING: Harare Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) Centre. SUBJECTS: 314 serum specimens of voluntary blood donors. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: HSV-2 sero-prevalence. RESULTS: The median age (Q1, Q3) of the blood donors was 18 (17,27) years and 65% of them were males. HSV-2 infection was detected in 29 (9.7%) of the 299 specimens that were analyzed. There was a strong association between age of blood donors and HSV-2 seropositivity (p < 0.001). Older blood donors tended to be positive while younger donors tended to be negative for HSV-2 antibodies. Though not as strong, there was also an association between HSV-2 and HIV seropositivity (p = 0.048). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of HSV-2 infections in blood donors in Harare is high, considering the nature of the population studied. Therefore, the testing for HSV-2 in the serum of prospective blood donors should be included in the screening profiles used at the BTS centre in Harare, Zimbabwe to improve blood and blood products.

Adult↗