Long-term results with biosynthetic absorbable P4HB mesh in ventral abdominal wall repair: a multicentre analysis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this multicentre study was to analyse the outcomes of biosynthetic absorbable poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB) prosthesis implantation in patients undergoing ventral hernia repair (VHR) in the context of different degrees of contamination. METHODS: From May 2016 to December 2021, a multicentre retrospective analysis of patients who underwent elective or urgent hernia repair with P4HB prosthesis was performed in seven hospitals in Spain and Portugal. Patients with a postoperative follow-up of less than 20 months and those within the theoretical period of prosthesis resorption were excluded from the study. Regarding the degree of contamination, patients were assessed according to the modified Ventral Hernia Working Group (VHWG) classification. Epidemiological data, hernia characteristics, surgical and postoperative variables (Clavien-Dindo classification) of these patients were analyzed. Risk factors related to long-term recurrence were studied by a multivariate analysis. RESULTS: In 236 cases of P4HB prosthesis implantation, repair in cases of Grade 3 was the most frequent (49.1%), followed by Grade 2 in 42.3% of cases and Grade 1 in 8.4%. The most frequent complications were Grade 1, with the majority occurring during the first year. The overall rate of surgical site occurrences (SSO) was 30%. The hernia recurrence rate was 14.4% (n = 34), with a mean postoperative follow-up time of 41 months (22-61). The multivariate analysis showed that the onlay location of the mesh (OR 1.07; CI 1.42-2.70, p = 0.004) was a significant independent risk factor for recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a P4HB bioresorbable mesh for the VHR with different degrees of contamination leads to favourable results overall, with an acceptable rate of hernia recurrence. The onlay location of the P4HB prosthesis is the main factor in recurrence in both elective and emergency settings.

The rs2165241 polymorphism of the Loxl1 gene in postmenopausal women with pelvic organ prolapse.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to verify the presence of polymorphism rs2165241 of the lysyl oxidase-like 1 (Loxl1) gene and its association with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in Brazilian women and determine risk factors for POP development. METHODS: The study was previously approved by the local research and ethics board. Postmenopausal women were included and divided into POP (stages III and IV) and control (stages 0 and I) groups. Peripheral blood samples were collected, and the DNA sequence of interest was analyzed by real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. We used logistic regression and considered a recessive model of inheritance for the analysis, with p < 0.05 for significance. RESULTS: A total of 836 women were assessed: 426 POP cases and 410 controls. The frequencies of CC, CT and TT genotypes were similar in both groups. Age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.07; 1.14), number of vaginal births (OR = 17.06, 95% CI = 5.94; 48.97), family history (OR = 2.87, 95% CI = 1.57; 5.22) and weight of largest newborn (OR = 1.001, 95% CI = 1.0003; 1.001) were independent risk factors for POP, while multiple cesarean sections (two or more) was protective (OR = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.07; 0.42). CONCLUSION: No association was detected between rs2165241 of the Loxl1 gene and POP.

Biosynthesis of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles: a review.

Nanoparticles promise to revolutionize the way we think of ordinary materials thanks to the new features such small structures exhibit which include strength, durability, optical and magnetics properties. Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are a prominent class of NMs because of their potential application in magnetic separation, hyperthermia, targeted drug delivery, and catalysis. Most synthetic nanoparticulate platforms rely on the use of tough chemical procedures associated with unfriendly, harmful and costly reactants. For this reason, bio-inspired approaches have become the most successful alternatives to fabricate nanomaterials in an "eco-friendly" manner, and many bio-protocols that make use of substrates from plants and microorganisms have been successfully applied in the synthesis of magnetic IONPs. In this review, the main biosynthesis protocols applied in the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles are discussed. A discussion on the challenges for a second stage perspective which would be a large scale production is also given.

Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales in hospital drains in Southern Ontario, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Hospital drains may be an important reservoir for carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE). AIM: To determine prevalence of CPE in hospital drains exposed to inpatients with CPE, relatedness of drain and patient CPE, and risk factors for drain contamination. METHODS: Sink and shower drains in patient rooms and communal shower rooms exposed to 310 inpatients with CPE colonization/infection were cultured at 10 hospitals. Using short- and long-read whole-genome sequencing, inpatient and corresponding drain CPE were compared. Risk factors for drain contamination were assessed using multi-level modelling. FINDINGS: Of 1209 exposed patient room and communal shower room drains, 53 (4%) yielded 62 CPE isolates in seven (70%) hospitals. Of 49 CPE isolates in patient room drains, four (8%) were linked to prior room occupants. Linked drain/room occupant pairs included Citrobacter freundii ST18 isolates separated by eight single nucleotide variants (SNVs), related blaKPC-containing IncN3-type plasmids (different species), related blaKPC-3-containing IncN-type plasmids (different species), and related blaOXA-48-containing IncL/M-type plasmids (different species). In one hospital, drain isolates from eight rooms on two units were Enterobacter hormaechei separated by 0-6 SNVs. Shower drains were more likely to be CPE-contaminated than hand hygiene (odds ratio: 3.45; 95% confidence interval: 1.66-7.16) or patient-use (13.0; 4.29-39.1) sink drains. Hand hygiene sink drains were more likely to be CPE-contaminated than patient-use sink drains (3.75; 1.17-12.0). CONCLUSION: Drain contamination was uncommon but widely dispersed. Drain CPE unrelated to patient exposure suggests contamination by undetected colonized patients or retrograde (drain-to-drain) contamination. Drain types had different contamination risks.

Changes in cardiac biomarkers in goats naturally affected by pregnancy toxemia.

Pregnancy toxemia (PT) is considered one of the most common metabolic diseases with high impact on the production of small ruminants. The objective of this study was investigate possible myocardial damage in goats affected with PT by the determination of serum myocardial biomarkers CK-MB and cTnI. A total of 44 goats affected with PT, and 10 apparently healthy goats (control group or CG) were used in the study. In goats with PT, the serum concentrations of cTnI (0.43 ng/mL) were significantly higher than that in CG goats (0.06 ng/mL). Although CK-MB showed no significant difference, it was approximately three times higher in animals with PT. The serum concentrations of insulin were significantly lower in PT goats (5.03 ppmol/L) compared to CG goats (10.66 pmol/L). The serum concentrations of cortisol in PT goats (155.41 nmol/L) were significantly higher than that in CG goats (36.58 nmol/L). Results of this study indicate that a clinically significant myocardial damage might occur in goats affected with PT leading to significant elevations in values of cTnI and CK-MB. Therefore, these parameters could be used as a potential prognostic indicator in goats affected with this important disease.

Fluoride removal from natural volcanic underground water by an electrocoagulation process: Parametric and cost evaluations.

Excessive fluoride content in groundwater can cause serious risks to human health, and sources of groundwater intended for human consumption should be treated to reduce fluoride concentrations down to acceptable levels. In the particular case of the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain), the water supply comes mainly from aquifers of volcanic origin with a high content of fluorides that make them unacceptable for human consumption without prior conditioning treatment. The treatments that generate a high rejection of water are not acceptable because water is a scarce natural resource of high value. An electrocoagulation process was investigated as a method to treat natural groundwater from volcanic soils containing a hazardously high fluoride content. The operating parameters of an electrocoagulation reactor model with parallel plate aluminum electrodes were optimized for batch and continuous flow operations. In the case of the batch operation, acidification of the water improved the removal efficiency of fluoride, which was the highest at pH 3. However, operation at the natural pH of the water achieved elimination efficiencies between 82 and 92%, depending on the applied current density. An optimum current density of 5 mA/cm2 was found in terms of maximum removal efficiency, and the kinetics of fluoride removal conformed to pseudo-second-order kinetics. In the continuous-flow operation, with the optimal residence time of 10 min and a separation of 0.5 cm between the electrodes, it was observed that the current density that would be applied would depend on the initial concentration of fluoride in the raw water. Thus, an initial fluoride concentration of 6.02 mg/L required a current density >7.5 mA/cm2 to comply with the legal guidelines in the product water, while for an initial concentration of 8.98 mg/L, the optimal current density was 10 mA/cm2. Under these operating conditions, the electrocoagulation process was able to reduce the fluoride concentration of natural groundwater to below 1.5 mg/L according to WHO guidelines with an operating cost between 0.20 and 0.26 €/m3 of treated water.

The impact of depuration on mussel hepatopancreas bacteriome composition and predicted metagenome.

Due to the rapid elimination of bacteria through normal behaviour of filter feeding and excretion, the decontamination of hazardous contaminating bacteria from shellfish is performed by depuration. This process, under conditions that maximize shellfish filtering activity, is a useful method to eliminate microorganisms from bivalves. The microbiota composition in bivalves reflects that of the environment of harvesting waters, so quite different bacteriomes would be expected in shellfish collected in different locations. Bacterial accumulation within molluscan shellfish occurs primarily in the hepatopancreas. In order to assess the effect of the depuration process on these different bacteriomes, in this work we used 16S RNA pyrosequencing and metagenome prediction to assess the impact of 15 h of depuration on the whole hepatopancreas bacteriome of mussels collected in three different locations.

A genetic cluster of patients with variant xeroderma pigmentosum with two different founder mutations.

BACKGROUND: Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) is a rare human syndrome associated with hypersensitivity to sunlight and a high frequency of skin tumours at an early age. We identified a community in the state of Goias (central Brazil), a sunny and tropical region, with a high incidence of XP (17 patients among approximately 1000 inhabitants). OBJECTIVES: To identify gene mutations in the affected community and map the distribution of the affected alleles, correlating the mutations with clinical phenotypes. METHODS: Functional analyses of DNA repair capacity and cell-cycle responses after ultraviolet exposure were investigated in cells from local patients with XP, allowing the identification of the mutated gene, which was then sequenced to locate the mutations. A specific assay was designed for mapping the distribution of these mutations in the community. RESULTS: Skin primary fibroblasts showed normal DNA damage removal but abnormal DNA synthesis after ultraviolet irradiation and deficient expression of the Polη protein, which is encoded by POLH. We detected two different POLH mutations: one at the splice donor site of intron 6 (c.764 +1 G>A), and the other in exon 8 (c.907 C>T, p.Arg303X). The mutation at intron 6 is novel, whereas the mutation at exon 8 has been previously described in Europe. Thus, these mutations were likely brought to the community long ago, suggesting two founder effects for this rare disease. CONCLUSIONS: This work describes a genetic cluster involving POLH, and, particularly unexpected, with two independent founder mutations, including one that likely originated in Europe.

Genetic characterization of canine parvovirus type 2 subtypes in Maputo, Mozambique.

Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) comprises three antigenic subtypes (2a, 2b and 2c) that have been reported in many countries. These subtypes cause serious disease in dogs with characteristic gastroenteritis signs. Little information has been documented in Africa about the genetic characterization of CPV-2. The aim of this study was to detect and to characterize the CPV-2 subtypes circulating in dogs admitted to Veterinary Clinics from two cities of Mozambique, Maputo and Matola, in 2010. A total of 40 field fecal samples were collected and tested for CPV-2 by polymerase chain reaction assay. The partial length VP2 gene of the positive samples were sequenced and genetically analyzed. Twenty-six (65%) fecal samples were positive for CPV-2. The restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was also performed from positive samples and did not reveal the presence of CPV-2c subtype. The results of the sequencing revealed the presence of CPV-2a (n = 9) and CPV-2b (n = 17). No CPV-2 and CPV-2c were detected. Sequence analysis comparison showed nucleotide identities of 99.6-100% among our CPV-2 isolates. Amino acid analysis showed predicted amino acid changes. Phylogenetically, all of the CPV-2a strains isolated formed a cluster together with South African and Nigerian isolates. Most of Mozambican CPV-2b isolates also tended to cluster together with South African isolates; however, four were more closely related to French strain and one isolates to the American strain. The present study was the first to characterize the CPV-2 circulating in the Mozambican dog population.

Andreev Bound States Formation and Quasiparticle Trapping in Quench Dynamics Revealed by Time-Dependent Counting Statistics.

We analyze the quantum quench dynamics in the formation of a phase-biased superconducting nanojunction. We find that in the absence of an external relaxation mechanism and for very general conditions the system gets trapped in a metastable state, corresponding to a nonequilibrium population of the Andreev bound states. The use of the time-dependent full counting statistics analysis allows us to extract information on the asymptotic population of even and odd many-body states, demonstrating that a universal behavior, dependent only on the Andreev state energy, is reached in the quantum point contact limit. These results shed light on recent experimental observations on quasiparticle trapping in superconducting atomic contacts.

Electrochemical characteristics of bioresorbable binary MgCa alloys in Ringer's solution: Revealing the impact of local pH distributions during in-vitro dissolution.

Biodegradable magnesium-calcium (MgCa) alloy is a very attractive biomaterial. Two MgCa alloys below the solid solubility of Ca were considered, as to solely investigate the effect of Ca content on the behavior of magnesium and the pH changes associated to metal dissolution. X-ray diffraction analysis and optical microscopy showed that both Mg-0.63Ca and Mg-0.89Ca alloys were solely composed of α(Mg) phase. Degradation characteristics and electrochemical characterization of MgCa alloys were investigated during exposure to Ringer's solution at 37 °C by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and scanning electrochemical microscopy. The impedance behavior showed both capacitive and inductive features that are related to the alloy charge transfer reaction and the relaxation of the absorbed corrosion compounds, and can be described in terms of an equivalent circuit. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to view the surface morphology of the MgCa samples after 1 week immersion in Ringer's solution showing extensive precipitation of corrosion products, whereas the substrate shows evidence of a non-uniform corrosion process. Energy dispersive analysis showed that the precipitates contained oxygen, calcium, magnesium and chlorine, and the Mg:Ca ratios were smaller than in the alloys. Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) was used to visualize local pH changes associated to these physicochemical processes with high spatial resolution. The occurrence of pH variations in excess of 3 units between anodic and cathodic half-cell reactions was monitored in situ.

Vaccine Potential of Two Previously Uncharacterized African Swine Fever Virus Isolates from Southern Africa and Heterologous Cross Protection of an Avirulent European Isolate.

African swine fever (ASF) is a mostly fatal viral infection of domestic pigs for which there is no vaccine available. The disease is endemic to most of sub-Saharan Africa, causes severe losses and threatens food security in large parts of the continent. Naturally occurring attenuated ASF viruses have been tested as vaccine candidates, but protection was variable depending on the challenge virus. In this study, the virulence of two African isolates, one from a tick vector and the other from an indigenous pig, was determined in domestic pigs to identify a potential vaccine strain for southern Africa. Neither isolate was suitable as the tick isolate was moderately virulent and the indigenous pig virus was highly virulent. The latter was subsequently used as heterologous challenge in pigs first vaccinated with a naturally attenuated isolate previously isolated in Portugal. Although a statistically significant reduction in death rate and virus load was observed compared with unvaccinated pigs post-challenge, all pigs succumbed to infection and died.

Ex vivo antimicrobial efficacy of the EndoVac system plus photodynamic therapy associated with calcium hydroxide against intracanal Enterococcus faecalis.

AIM: To evaluate the ex vivo efficacy of the EndoVac system and photodynamic treatment (PDT) as adjuncts to chemomechanical debridement associated with calcium hydroxide (CaOH2 ) in reducing the levels of intracanal Enterococcus faecalis. METHODOLOGY: One hundred and twenty-five sterile premolar teeth were conventionally accessed, prepared and then contaminated with E. faecalis (ATCC 29212) for 30 days. Teeth were randomly divided into 4 groups: Control (chemomechanical debridement with conventional irrigation); Endovac (chemomechanical debridement with EndoVac system); PDT (chemomechanical debridement with conventional irrigation and PDT) and Endovac+PDT (chemomechanical debridement with EndoVac and PDT). The irrigants used in all groups were 5.25% sodium hypochlorite and 17% EDTA. After treatment, an intracanal dressing (CaOH2 ) was applied in all canals for 7 days. Samples were obtained before (T1) and after the therapeutic procedures (T2) and, after intracanal medication (T3), plated onto BHI media and incubated (37 °C, 48 h) to determine the colony-forming units (CFU mL(-1) ). RESULTS: The overall mean cell counts (CFU mL(-1) ) of E. faecalis were high at the initial contamination (T1). A significant reduction (P < 0.05) of E. faecalis mean counts was observed in all groups from baseline (T1) to both post-therapy samplings (T2 and T3); no differences amongst the groups were detected. No significant change in bacterial counts from T2 to T3 was detected. CONCLUSION: The adjunctive use of the EndoVac system and the photodynamic treatment, in combination or not, was as effective as the conventional chemomechanical debridement associated with CaOH2 on reducing the counts of intracanal E. faecalis.

Ziprasidone in the treatment of delusional parasitosis.

Delusional parasitosis is characterized by a patient's fixed false belief of being infested with parasites or small creatures. The first-line treatment options are typical antipsychotics such as pimozide. However, the accompanying extrapyramidal side effects might limit their use. We report on a patient with a good response to pimozide combined with ziprasidone. Ziprasidone is an atypical antipsychotic drug with a lower risk of extrapyramidal symptoms; thus, it might be considered a good first or second treatment option for delusional parasitosis.

Insecticidal activity of Piper essential oils from the Amazon against the fire ant Solenopsis saevissima (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Pepper plants in the genus Piper (Piperales: Piperaceae) are common in the Brazilian Amazon and many produce compounds with biological activity against insect pests. We evaluated the insecticidal effect of essential oils from Piper aduncum, Piper marginatum (chemotypes A and B), Piper divaricatum and Piper callosum against workers of the fire ant Solenopsis saevissima (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), as well as their chemical composition by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The lowest median lethal concentration (LC50) in 48 h was obtained with the oil of P. aduncum (58.4 mg/L), followed by the oils of P. marginatum types A (122.4 mg/L) and B (167.0 mg/L), P. divaricatum (301.7 mg/L), and P. callosum (312.6 mg/L). The major chemical constituents were dillapiole (64.4%) in the oil of P. aduncum; p-mentha-1(7),8-diene (39.0%), 3,4-methylenedioxypropiophenone (19.0%), and (E)-ß-ocimene (9.8%) in P. marginatum chemotype A and (E)-isoosmorhizole (32.2%), (E)-anethole (26.4%), isoosmorhizole (11.2%), and (Z)-anethole (6.0%) in P. marginatum chemotype B; methyleugenol (69.2%) and eugenol (16.2%) in P. divaricatum; and safrole (69.2%), methyleugenol (8.6%), and ß-pinene (6.2%) in P. callosum. These chemical constituents have been previously known to possess insecticidal properties.

Efficacy of infliximab rescue therapy in patients with chronic refractory pouchitis: a multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: Despite medical therapy, 30% of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) need to undergo surgery. Around 50% of patients with proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) develop complications of the pouch. Clinical evidence for the use of infliximab (IFX) in refractory pouchitis is limited. The aim of this study was to report efficacy of IFX in these patients. METHODS: A retrospective, multicenter study was designed. Patients older than 18 years with chronic refractory pouchitis treated with IFX (5 mg/kg) were included. Short-term IFX efficacy was evaluated at week 8 and mid-term efficacy at weeks 26 and 52. Complete response was defined as cessation of diarrhea and urgency and partial response as marked clinical improvement but persisting symptoms. The modified Pouchitis Disease Activity Index (mPDAI) without endoscopy was calculated when available. RESULTS: Thirty-three consecutive UC patients with chronic refractory pouchitis were included (18 male, mean age 45 years, range 21-67). At week 8, 21% patients achieved complete response and 63% showed partial clinical response. At weeks 26 and 52, 33% and 27% achieved complete response and 33% and 18% showed partial clinical response, respectively. Thirteen patients (39%) withdrew treatment (four for lack of efficacy, four for loss of response and five for adverse events). None of the potential factors analyzed had an influence on response to IFX. CONCLUSIONS: IFX was effective in the short- and mid-term in patients with chronic refractory pouchitis. However, medication had to be discontinued in a high number of patients.

Emigration to western industrialized countries: A risk factor for developing inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND: A higher incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in industrialized areas has been previously reported, but the effect of emigrating to western industrialized countries for a period of time and returning to the country of origin is unknown. Aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of emigrating to another country and returning to the place of origin on the risk of IBD. METHODS: A prospective case-control study was performed. Inclusion criteria were all patients >18 years diagnosed with Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) in the last 10 years. Healthy, unrelated controls, matched by sex, age and smoking habits, with no family history of IBD were included. All patients and controls were interviewed and emigration was defined as living for at least one year in another country. RESULTS: 242 consecutive patients with IBD (105 CD and 137 UC) and 242 controls were included. Patients who had previously emigrated developed more frequently IBD than controls (OR 1.93, 95%CI 1.19-3.15, p<0.01). Patients who emigrated to European countries developed more frequently IBD than controls (OR 1.91, 95%CI 1.07-3.47, p=0.02), but not those who had emigrated to Latin America (OR 1.48, 95%CI 0.67-3.27, p=0.32). Emigration plays a significant role in the development of UC (OR 2.24, 95%CI:1.29-3.88, p<0.01), but not in CD (OR 1.56, 95%IC:0.83-2.92, p=0.15). CONCLUSIONS: People who emigrate to westernised countries have a higher risk for developing IBD, especially UC. Environmental factors related with industrialization seem to play an important role in the pathogenesis of these diseases.

Intercorrência entre leucose enzoótica e tuberculose em bovinos leiteiros do estado de Pernambuco / Assessment of intercurrence of enzootic leucosis and bovine tuberculosis in dairy cows in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil

Objetivou-se com este estudo avaliar a intercorrência entre leucose enzoótica e tuberculose em rebanhos bovinos leiteiros em oito municípios do Estado de Pernambuco, pelo estabelecimento da prevalência de bovinos reagentes às provas diagnósticas específicas. Foram analisados sorologicamente 662 animais, pela técnica de imunodifusão dupla em gel de agarose e 612 foram avaliados imunoalergicamente, por meio do teste de tuberculinização. Nos 15 rebanhos examinados, as prevalências de bovinos que apresentaram positividade aos testes IDGA e tuberculina foram 32,2% (213/662) e 14,1% (86/612), respectivamente. Os resultados obtidos nesta pesquisa permitiram concluir que as doenças estudadas encontram-se amplamente disseminadas na população avaliada, com crescimento em níveis significativos da leucose, e as infecções pelo vírus da leucose bovina (VLB) e Mycobacterium bovis encontram-se ativas e em expansão, com risco do comprometimento da saúde dos rebanhos bovinos e, pelo caráter zoonótico da tuberculose bovina, das pessoas que lidam com os bovinos.

We carried out this study to evaluate the intercurrence of tuberculosis and enzootic leukosis in dairy cattle herds in 8 districts of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil, by establishing the prevalence of bovines reagent to specific diagnostic tests, and to also verify the correlation between enzootic leucosis, cattle tuberculosis, the leukocytes count and lymphocytes count among the cattle studied. A total of 662 animals were tested serologically and hematologically, by the techniques of double immunodiffusion in agarose gel and the white blood cell count with the total and differential leukocyte count, respectively, and 612 were evaluated immunoallergically by the tuberculin test. In the 15 herds examined, the prevalence of cattle that were positive to the AGID and tuberculin tests were 32.2% (213/662) and 14.1% (86/612), respectively. Analyzing the correlation between the variables total leukocytes and lymphocytes, we found that total leukocyte is highly related to the variable lymphocytes (72%). The results in this study indicated that the diseases studied are widespread in the population studied, with significant levels of growth in leukemia, and infections of bovine leukosis virus (VLB) and Mycobacterium bovis are active and growing, with risk of impairment of the health of cattle herds, and, due to the zoonotic nature of bovine tuberculosis, of the health of people who work with cattle.

Detection of Helicobacter pylori, Enterococcus faecalis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the subgingival biofilm of HIV-infected subjects undergoing HAART with chronic periodontitis.

This study compared the frequency of Helicobacter pylori, Enterococcus faecalis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the subgingival microbiota of HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative subjects with periodontitis or clinically healthy periodontal tissues. Fifty-four subjects were distributed into two HIV-seropositive groups (chronic periodontitis [HCP = 13] and periodontal health [HH = 10]) and two HIV-seronegative groups (chronic periodontitis [CP = 17] and periodontal health [H = 14]). The detection of bacterial species was carried out by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). CP patients showed significantly more periodontal destruction, inflammation, and supragingival plaque than HCP patients (P < 0.05). All species were detected at a higher prevalence in CP and HCP than H individuals (P < 0.01). In the HIV groups, H. pylori was significantly more prevalent in periodontitis compared to healthy patients (P < 0.01). A higher frequency of E. faecalis and P. aeruginosa was observed in the subgingival biofilm of HH than H subjects (P < 0.01). Moreover, E. faecalis was detected significantly more often in HIV-seropositive compared to HIV-seronegative patients, regardless of periodontal status (P < 0.01). These data indicate that H. pylori is frequently detected in the subgingival microbiota of periodontitis subjects. In contrast, HIV-seropositive patients with either periodontitis or periodontal health present a high prevalence of E. faecalis.