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Biomedical subjects

R Finkelstein

Publications and source records attributed to R Finkelstein.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Diagnostic efficacy of a DNA probe in pneumonia caused by Legionella species.

A commercial DNA probe kit (Gen-probe) for the detection of rRNA from legionellae was evaluated for its accuracy in diagnosing Legionnaires' disease in 167 patients with pneumonia. The test was performed on freshly obtained clinical respiratory tract samples. Cultures and direct immunofluorescence antibody (DFA) staining of the samples and serological tests were performed simultaneously for all patients. The probe assay result was positive in six patients; five of them had other laboratory evidence of disease (positive cultures or positive serological results or both). Depending on the diagnostic criteria, the probe test had a sensitivity of 31-67%, a specificity of 99% and positive predictive values of 67-83%. The diagnostic performance of the DNA probe assay in this study was superior to that of the DFA test. The results indicate that the examination of respiratory tract secretions by the Gen-probe kit is a suitable screening test for the diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease.

DNA Probes↗
PubMed1993

Colonization of the respiratory tract with Legionella species.

Pneumonia is the most important manifestation of disease caused by Legionella species. However, it is still not known for certain how these organisms actually enter the lungs. During a 5-month period 318 hospitalized patients without clinical or radiologic features of pneumonia were enrolled in a survey of sputum colonization with Legionella. Diagnostic tests included cultures, direct fluorescent antibody test (DFA) and DNA probe assay of sputum. Colonization was considered to occur when at least one of these tests was positive. According to our definitions, 1.2-10% of of these patients could have been colonized by Legionella spp. However, all cultures were negative and in all but one of these patients the DFA was the only positive test. A case-control study comparing test-positive and test-negative patients failed to identify any different features of disease or epidemiologic characteristics. These findings suggest that a high rate of false-positive DFA results occurred in our study rather than any new evidence of colonization of the respiratory tract with Legionella.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed1992

Anaerobic osteomyelitis in patients with Gaucher's disease.

Bone involvement in patients with Gaucher's disease is common, and some of its clinical manifestations may resemble acute osteomyelitis. In addition, many studies have emphasized the high risk of secondary infection when surgical procedures are performed at the site of the involved bone. Nevertheless, these infections have never been well documented in the literature. Presentation of a patient with Gaucher's disease and osteomyelitis due to Prevotella (Bacteroides) melaninogenica provided us the opportunity to review 10 other similar case reports documented in the literature since 1966. This review suggests that acute hematogenic osteomyelitis is an uncommon complication of Gaucher's disease, but it is of interest that in most cases it is due to unusual organisms, particularly anaerobes.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

orthodenticle activity is required for the development of medial structures in the larval and adult epidermis of Drosophila.

Lethal alleles of orthodenticle (= otd) cause abnormalities in the embryonic head that reflect an early role in anterior pattern formation. In addition, otd activity is required for the development of the larval and adult epidermis. Clonal analysis of both viable and lethal alleles shows that the adult requirement for otd is restricted to medial regions of certain discs. When otd activity is reduced or removed, some medial precursor cells produce bristles and cuticle characteristic of more lateral structures. Similar medial defects are observed in the larval epidermis of embryos homozygous for lethal otd alleles. Antibodies to otd recognize a nuclear protein found at high levels in the medial region of the eye antennal discs, the leg discs, the genital discs and along the ventral midline of the ventral epidermis of the embryo. These results suggest that the otd gene product is required to specify medial cell fates in both the larval and adult epidermis.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

The orthodenticle gene is regulated by bicoid and torso and specifies Drosophila head development.

In the Drosophila embryo, cell fate along the anterior-posterior axis is determined by maternally expressed genes. The activity of the bicoid (bcd) gene is required for the development of larval head and thoracic structures, and that of maternal torso (tor) for the development of the unsegmented region of the head (acron). In contrast to the case of thoracic and abdominal segmentation, the hierarchy of zygotically expressed genes controlling head development has not been clearly defined. The bcd protein, which is expressed in a gradient, activates zygotic expression of the gap gene hunchback (hb), but hb alone is not sufficient to specify head development. Driever et al. proposed that at least one other bcd-activated gene controls the development of head regions anterior to the hb domain. We report here that the homeobox gene orthodenticle (otd), which is involved in head development, could be such a gene. We also show that otd expression responds to the activity of the maternal tor gene at the anterior pole of the embryo.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

The orthodenticle gene encodes a novel homeo domain protein involved in the development of the Drosophila nervous system and ocellar visual structures.

The orthodenticle (otd) locus of Drosophila is required for embryonic development, and null mutations of otd cause defects in head development and segmental patterning. We show here that otd is necessary for the formation of the embryonic central nervous system (CNS). otd mutations result in the formation of an abnormal neuropil and in the disappearance of identified neurons associated with the midline of the CNS. In addition, otd is allelic to ocelliless (oc), a mutation that causes the deletion of the ocelli of the adult fly. We have identified a transcription unit corresponding to the otd locus and find that it is expressed early in a stripe near the anterior pole of the cellular blastoderm and later in the region of the CNS from which these neurons normally arise. The predicted otd protein contains a well-conserved homeo domain and is therefore likely to be a transcriptional regulator involved in specifying cell fate both in the embryonic CNS and in the ocelli.

Alleles↗
PubMed1989

[Nontropical pyomyositis].

Pyomyositis of the pectoralis major was diagnosed in a 79-year-old man and Staphylococcus aureus was grown from pus drained from the infected muscle. Bacteremia and overwhelming sepsis accompanied the infection, and the patient died despite early diagnosis, combined chemotherapy and surgical drainage. The incidence of pyomyositis has been increasing lately in temperate climates. To our knowledge, this is the first report of nontropical pyomyositis in Israel.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

The emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in an Israeli hospital.

Between July 1984 and August 1985, 200 cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) occurred in a large, tertiary care, medical school-affiliated hospital. During this period, a limited outbreak, causing serious infections, was identified in the Intensive Care Unit and was contained by appropriate infection control measures. Bacteriophage typing and surveillance cultures failed to identify a common or single source of dissemination of these strains. It appears that MRSA strains have emerged in Israel as endemic pathogens in hospitals, capable of causing serious nosocomial outbreaks.

Cross Infection↗
PubMed1989

Bone and joint infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa: clinical aspects and treatment.

The occurrence of nine cases of Pseudomonas septic arthritis and osteomyelitis within a 12-month period may be considered an uncommon experience even in a large, tertiary referral center. These cases are reported here and the various clinical patterns and therapeutic implications associated with Pseudomonas bone infections are discussed. Epidemiologic serotyping of the isolated strains indicated that they do not represent a single nosocomial outbreak.

Arthritis, Infectious↗
PubMed1988

Waterborne typhoid fever in Haifa, Israel: clinical, microbiologic, and therapeutic aspects of a major outbreak.

A major outbreak of waterborne typhoid fever involving 77 verified cases occurred in 1985 in a large suburban area of Haifa, Israel. The authors summarize the clinical, microbiologic, and therapeutic aspects of these patients. Fever, usually higher than 39 degrees C, was the hallmark of the disease. Other manifestations of typhoid, although relatively frequent, are presented as part of a mild nonspecific symptom complex, often found only in the prodromal period. An elevated level of serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (mean, 81 IU/ml) was the most characteristic laboratory abnormality, occurring in 94% of the patients. Blood cultures were positive in 46 of the 50 patients (92%), and were not affected by prior outpatient antibiotic therapy. The first blood culture was diagnostic in 93% of the cases. Although fever tended to disappear more rapidly among patients receiving ampicillin than among those treated with chloramphenicol, results of therapy were similar in both groups. Nevertheless, the relapse rate of 36% among 25 chloramphenicol-treated patients was significantly higher than the 9% noted among 22 patients treated with ampicillin. Except for one case of hemolytic anemia, serious complications were conspicuously absent, and outcomes were uniformly favorable.

Adolescent↗