Clostridium difficile in the elderly.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Aged↗
Biomedical subjects
F E Barclay
Publications and source records attributed to F E Barclay.
Thyrotrophin (TSH)-binding proteins in bacteria and their cross-reaction with autoantibodies against the human TSH receptor.
A screen of a range of bacteria normally found in gut flora identified eight with the ability to bind TSH specifically. These included the previously reported Yersinia enterocolitica, Gram-positive, Gram-negative, pathogenic and commensal organisms. Eleven preparations of TSH-receptor autoantibodies strongly able to displace 125I-labelled TSH from the mammalian TSH receptor differed in their ability to displace the tracer from binding to bacterial extracts. None could displace the tracer from E. coli 06-1, four displaced 125I-labelled TSH from E. coli V21/1 and five displaced the tracer from Y. enterocolitica. Of those immunoglobulin preparations which did react with the bacterial protein, their apparent potency compared with that of TSH in displacing tracer from bacterial binders was an order of magnitude greater than with the mammalian receptor. This is consistent with the autoantibodies having a relatively better fit with the bacterial antigen than with the receptor when compared with TSH. The bacterial-binding activity and mammalian receptor-binding activities in each of two samples co-chromatographed on a Remazol yellow GGL-Sepharose affinity column strongly indicated that the same immunoglobulin species reacts with both antigens. These results are consistent with the proposal that a bacterial protein is the primary immunogen for the TSH-receptor antibodies in at least some patients with Graves' disease.
Animals↗
Epidemiology of diarrhoea caused by enterotoxigenic Clostridium perfringens.
Enterotoxigenic strains of Clostridium perfringens have recently been implicated in some cases of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. We present here the results of an epidemiological study of this disease. Five cases of diarrhoea caused by C. perfringens serotype 41 occurred during a 9-week period, and then during a 6-week period there were three cases due to serotype 27 and two due to serotype 24; in all but one case two geriatric wards were involved. In total there were 16 cases in 22 months. All cases were identified by the detection of C. perfringens enterotoxin in the faeces. The mean number of C. perfringens in these cases was 10(8.8) cfu/g of faeces. Of 37 patients who had negative test results for C. perfringens enterotoxin, 18 had positive cultures for C. perfringens, with mean faecal counts of 10(5.3) cfu/g, and nine of these patients had diarrhoea. Thirteen different serotypes were isolated from these 18 patients, including type 41 from seven patients and type 27 from one. Hand carriage of the offending serotype was demonstrated in three of four infected patients, none of four controls and two of 14 ward staff. C. perfringens of serotypes causing disease was isolated from 59% of environmental areas where there was active disease, 27% of areas where there had been disease which had since resolved and 9% of areas where there was no history of disease. The findings imply that cross infection may occur.
Aged↗