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Biomedical subjects

F Mihalcu

Publications and source records attributed to F Mihalcu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

The combined value of chemoprophylaxis and pneumococcal vaccine in the prevention of recurrent pneumococcal meningitis.

We report the case of an immunocompetent patient who has been the subject of 39 episodes of recurrent pneumococcal meningitis over a 20 year period. The recurrences of bacterial meningitis due to cerebrospinal fluid leakage and the presence of chronic sinusitis were not influenced by the surgical repair of a fistula and the repeated surgical draining interventions on suppurating chronic sinusital foci. Phenoxymethylpenicillin treatment reduced the number of recurrences and the combination of pneumococcal vaccine and penicillin prophylaxis allowed a 5 year period free of any recurrences.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Carriage of antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae by children in eastern and central Europe--a multicenter study with use of standardized methods.

With use of standardized techniques, a study of nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage in children in six Central and Eastern European cities was undertaken during the winter of 1993-1994. Nasopharyngeal swab specimens were collected from 954 children (predominantly under the age of 5 years) who were hospitalized or attending outpatient clinics or day-care centers. Susceptibility of isolates was determined by disk diffusion (on Mueller-Hinton agar with 5% sheep blood). Disks containing 1 micrograms of oxacillin were used to screen for susceptibility to penicillin G. Pneumococci were recovered from 258 (27.0%) of the 954 children. A variety of strains were recovered, and most penicillin-resistant strains were ŕesistant to multiple agents. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of penicillin for selected resistant strains were 0.125-8 micrograms/mL. Resistance to penicillin was common in strains from Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovakia. Resistance to erythromycin and chloramphenicol occurred in Bulgarian and Romanian strains. Strains from Poland were all susceptible to penicillin, but many were resistant to tetracycline. Resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was common in Bulgarian, Romanian, and Slovak strains. Czech and Russian strains were predominantly susceptible to antibiotics. Most resistant strains were of serotypes 6, 14, 19, and 23.

Carrier State↗
PubMed1977

Autoantibodies detected in rabbits hyperimmunized with group A, C, and G streptococcal vaccines.

Rabbits hyperimmunized with group A, C, and G streptococcal vaccines developed autoantibodies with affinities for different tissues (smooth muscle, cytoplasmic, and myocardial antibodies) and for autologous proteins (anti-albumin and anti-immunoglobulin antibodies). The presence of anti-albumin and smooth muscle antibodies, associated with a high level of immunoglobulin, suggests the development of hepatic disorders in the hyperimmunized rabbits.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

The immune cellular response tested by lymphocyte transformation in the streptococcal infections.

Thirty-five children between 6 and 17 years treated in the clinic for scarlet fever, rheumatic fever and other non-streptococcal infections as controls, were tested by lymphocyte transformation to four streptococcal antigens. In all cases of scarlet fever and especially of rheumatic fever the lymphocytes were better stimulated by streptococcal products than in the control group. The SO and the MAP fraction showed a good stimulating activity. The response in the rheumatic fever patients was not influenced by the steroid treatment, nor by the stage of the illness. A parallelism with high humoral and cellular responses to SO at the beginning of the acute rheumatic fever was observed, followed by a dissociation of both responses during the evolution with the maintenance of the cellular one and the decrease of the ASO titre.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

The anti-MAP and anti-group A carbohydrate antibodies response in streptococcal human infections.

The streptococcal infection cases from two outbreaks were serologically examined against two components of the streptococcal cellular wall; the M associated protein (MAP), by a latex agglutination test and the group A carbohydrate (A-CHO), by passive hemagglutination technique. Many positive cases with high levels of both antibodies were found, in rheumatic fever and glomerulo-nephritis, comparatively with the acute streptococcal infections. The differences were statistically significant. The results were correlated with the ASO titres and with the dermic cellular response.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

A latex agglutination test for meningococcal infection diagnosis.

Immunodiagnosis is very useful especially in cases where bacteriological diagnosis cannot be made because of the high sensitivity of Neisseria meningitidis. A sensitive reaction is described for the detection of antimeningococcal antibodies using as antigen a latex suspension specifically sensitized with saline extracts from N. meningitidis groups A, B and C. The results prove the genus, species and serotype specificity of this reaction. The method is quick and easy to carry out, even in laboratories which do not possess elaborate equipment. The latex-antigen has the advantages of stability and possibility of standardization.

Animals↗