[Aeromonas hydrophila as an autochthonous causative agent of infectious enteritis in Germany]. / Aeromonas hydrophila als autochthoner Erreger einer infektiösen Enteritis in Deutschland.

Aeromonas hydrophila was identified by culture technique in diarrhoeal stools and ascites in a patient of 57 years of age who suffered from known alcoholic cirrhosis and additional acute gastroenteritis. No other pathogens that would produce acute diarrhoea were found. The isolated Aeromonas hydrophila strain was characterised by the pathogenic properties known to date as pertaining to this species (formation of haemolysin and enterotoxins). Hence it is evident that Aeromonas hydrophila occurs in Germany also as an autochthonous pathogen of acute infectious enteritis.

Pathogenesis of the mucosal hyperplasia in self-filling blind loops of rat jejunum: a morphometric study in germ free animals.

Bacterial overgrowth and high intraluminal concentrations of deconjugated bile acids are thought to be responsible for mucosal hyperplasia in self-filling blind loops of rat jejunum. To investigate this hypothesis further we have assessed the three dimensional architecture of these loops created in germ free animals without or with di- or mono-association of different bacterial species. It was found that mucosal hyperplasia develops in the absence of any bacterial contamination and that bacterial association does not lead to a more pronounced mucosal proliferation. This implies that other mechanisms provoke this morphological phenomenon. Increased bulk contents in these loops or immunological events are probably the most likely explanation.

[Bacterial colonization of the rat jejunum in long-term nutrition with an elemental diet]. / Die bakterielle Besiedlung des Rattenjejunums unter einer langfristigen Ernährung mit einer Elementardiät.

Elemental diets and peptide diets are increasingly used in the treatment of enteral diseases and as alternatives to parenteral nutrition. Though multiple influences of these diets on the small intestinal bacteria seem possible no long-term studies were hitherto carried out to clarify their actions on the intestinal flora. Therefore, the jejunal flora was assessed qualitatively and quantitatively in a group of rats fed an elemental diet over a period of 60 days and a control group receiving standard pellet food. In both sets of animals similar numbers of colony forming bacteria/ml jejunal juice of the aerobic and anaerobic growing flora were observed. In parallel, the individual genera did not exhibit significant differences in control and experimental animals. According to these findings long-term feeding of a peptide diet to rats does not influence the small intestinal flora.

[Qualitative and quantitative detection of bacterial flora in experimental blind loop syndrome of the rat]. / Die qualitative und quantitative Erfassung der Bakterienflora beim experimentellen Blindsacksyndrom der Ratte.

In the blind loop syndrome bacterial overgrowth--accompanied by an increase in bile acid deconjugation--is thought to be responsible for the observed morphological alterations of the small intestinal mucosa with its concomitant malabsorption syndrome. Since in this chain of events the bacterial overgrowth is of primary importance, we have performed a complete qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the intraluminal flora in rats with surgically created self-filling blind loops. The results show a significant increase in bacteria of the aerobic growing genera E. coli and Streptococcus (Enterococcus), and of the anaerobic growing genus Bacteroides, in one single rat also of the genera Lactobacillus/Bifidobacterium. In order to elucidate which strains of bacteria are predominantly responsible for the morphological and functional alterations observed in the stagnant loop syndrome, germ-free rats with self-filling blind loops should be contaminated selectively with bacteria of these genera.

[Significance of deficient bacterial colonization in the pathogenesis of mucosal lesions in experimental blind loop syndrome]. / Untersuchungen zur Bedeutung der bakteriellen Fehlbesiedlung in der Pathogenese der Schleimhautschädigung beim experimentellen Blindsacksyndrom.

A complete evaluation of the bacterial flora in jejunal self-filling blind loops was performed. The results show a significant increase in bacteria of the genera E. coli, Streptococcus and Bacteroides. In further experiments, jejunal self-filling blind loops were created in germ-free animals. In spite of the germ-free state the mucosa displayed marked hyperplasia. The same was true when the blind loops had been contaminated with aerobic bacteria. These results demonstrate that other factors in addition to bacterial overgrowth contribute to the mucosal damage observed in self-filling blind loops.

[Quantitative and qualitative determination of the bacterial colonization of the rat jejunum following long-term feeding with an elemental diet]. / Die quantitative und qualitative Erfassung der Bakterienbesiedlung des Rattenjejunums nach langfristiger Ernährung mit einer Elementardiät.

Elemental diets are increasingly used in the treatment of enteral diseases, but only limited studies have been hitherto carried out to clarify their actions on the intestinal flora. Therefore, the jejunal flora was assessed in rats fed an elemental diet or standard pellet food over a period of 60 days. In both sets of animals similar numbers of colony-forming bacteria per ml intestinal content of the aerobic and anaerobic flora were found. In addition, the individual genera did not exhibit significant differences in control and experimental animals. Thus, long-term feeding with an elemental diet does not influence the jejunal flora of rats.