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Biomedical subjects

E Brander

Publications and source records attributed to E Brander.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

Rapid decrease in tuberculin skin test reactivity at preschool age after newborn vaccination.

A study of tuberculin sensitivity was performed in 353 children aged 4-6 years, all vaccinated at birth with British BCG vaccine. Significant waning of tuberculin reactions with increasing age was found (p < 0.05). In the age group < 4.5 years, the mean tuberculin reaction was 6.6 mm, in the age group 4.5-5.5 years 5.2 mm and in the age group of > 5.5 years 3.5 mm. The number of children with positive reactions (> or = 5 mm) was 165 (40%) and those with strong reactions (> or = 10 mm) 49 (14%). None of the latter children had active tuberculosis during a follow-up period of 12 months. Eighty-three (24%) of the children had no reaction. The children who had been revaccinated with the MPR vaccine against measles, rubella and parotitis (n = 31) had significantly larger tuberculin reactions than the non-revaccinated children. Atopic dermatitis or infections during the preceding six months did not have any significant influence on reaction sizes. Our results demonstrate that the variation in size of tuberculin reactions after BCG vaccination at birth is large. We conclude that tuberculin sensitivity wanes rapidly by the age of 4.0-6.3 years.

Age Factors

Characterization of a distinct group of slowly growing mycobacteria by biochemical tests and lipid analyses.

A group of slowly growing mycobacterial strains (n = 14) isolated from respiratory tract specimens was collected from 1971 to 1990 on the basis of growth characteristics and uncommon biochemical and glycolipid profiles. Growth at 25 to 45 degrees C, a negative Tween 80 hydrolysis test, a strong positive reaction in a 14-day arylsulfatase test, and susceptibility to ethambutol in combination with resistance to cycloserine were important for the initial separation. The strains had a distinctive glycolipid pattern which was unlike those of other mycobacterial species. Analyses of cellular fatty acids by gas-liquid chromatography and mycolic acids by thin-layer chromatography further characterized this homogeneous group of mycobacteria. The presence of 2-eicosanol (2-OH-20:0alc) and hexacosanoic acid (26:0) combined with the lack of 2-docosanol (2-OH-22:0alc) differentiated this group from other slowly growing mycobacteria.

Bacteriological Techniques

Chemotypes of Mycobacterium malmoense based on glycolipid profiles.

Thin-layer chromatographic analysis of 72 Finnish clinical mycobacterial isolates presumptively identified as Mycobacterium malmoense revealed four major glycolipid profiles with two minor variations. An additional glycolipid profile was found in three British M. malmoense-like strains. No clear distinction between the strains could be made by means of gas chromatography of cellular fatty acids. The two M. malmoense-specific constituents, 2-methyleicosanoate and 2,4,6-trimethyltetracosanoate, were detected in all strains. The frequency of chemotypes other than that of the type strain was 8% among the Finnish isolates. This variation should be recognized when confirmative identification of mycobacteria is based on thin-layer chromatography of glycolipid extracts.

Bacterial Typing Techniques

Enhancement of growth of Mycobacterium malmoense by acidic pH and pyruvate.

The growth of Mycobacterium malmoense is dysgonic and slow on ordinary mycobacterium media. The effect of pH and pyruvate on the growth of ten strains was studied on a modification of Löwenstein-Jensen medium. Growth appeared sooner and was more abundant at pH less than 6.5. At pH 7 or higher, it was scarcely or not at all visible after six weeks of incubation. Pyruvate enhanced the growth of five strains that grew only poorly on glycerol-containing medium, even at acidic pH. The parallel use of both pyruvate and glycerol-containing media, pH 6 to 6.5, and an incubation period of seven weeks or longer are recommended for the isolation of Mycobacterium malmoense on Löwenstein-Jensen medium.

Culture Media

Crystalline cell surface layer of Mycobacterium bovis BCG.

A paracrystalline surface layer (S layer) was found as the outermost layer of the cell wall of five Mycobacterium bovis BCG strains. An oblique arrangement of the subunits in the S layer was only clearly seen in thin-sectioned and shadowed preparations, and the unit constant was about 5.5 nm.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins

Neonatal BCG vaccination and mycobacterial cervical adenitis in childhood.

Mycobacterial cervical adenitis is an uncommon disease in children in Finland. During 10 years, from 1977-1986, its incidence was of the order of 0.3/year/100,000 children. Of the 12 bacteriologically verified cases, M. avium-intracellulare was isolated in nine, M. malmoense in two and M. tuberculosis in only one case. Neonatal BCG vaccination seemed to protect children against non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection, especially at 1-4 years of age. In Sweden, where neonatal BCG vaccination has been discontinued, the incidence of non-tuberculous mycobacterial adenitis is at least 30 times greater.

Adolescent

Tuberculosis of the cervical lymph nodes : a clinical, pathological and bacteriological study.

Biopsies taken from the lymph nodes of 59 consecutive patients with cervical lymph node tuberculosis were examined bacteriologically and histologically. The series consisted of 18 men (mean age 40 years) and 41 women (mean age 46 years). Mycobacteria were isolated from 41 specimens (69 per cent), M. tuberculosis from 40 patients and a mycobacterium of the M. avium-M. intracellulare complex from one. All the M. tuberculosis strains were sensitive to streptomycin, isoniazid and PAS. No mycobacteria were isolated from the biopsy specimens of the 10 patients who had received anti-tuberculosis drug previously. Mycobacteria were isolated equally often from caseating and non-caseating lymph nodes. In 10 specimens acid-fast bacilli could be demonstrated by staining, but attempts at isolation were unsuccessful. Nine of these 10 patients had been treated with anti-tuberculosis drugs previously. Histological examination of the specimen from which a growth of 'atypical' mycobacteria had been obtained failed to show any distinctive features. The results of treatment are given over a follow-up period of 2 years. Primary chemotherapy was not entirely successful. Of 52 patients treated in this way only 38 responded well. By contrast 19 patients were treated by a combination of chemotherapy and surgery and the outcome was satisfactory in all but one.

Adult