High rate of Helicobacter pylori reinfection in children and adolescents

AIMS: Primary Helicobacter pylori infection occurs predominantly in childhood. The aims of this study were to establish the rate of H. pylori reinfection after successful eradication in children and adolescents and to determine the risk factors associated with reinfection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study involved 45 children (20 girls, 25 boys) who met the following criteria: eradication of H. pylori confirmed at least 4 weeks after the completion of therapy, and the search for reinfection at least one year after control of eradication of H. pylori. Demographic data, socioeconomic status and living conditions were recorded. RESULTS: Forty-five children aged 1.2-17.6 years (median, 10.9 years) at the time of H. pylori treatment were reviewed 1 to 9 years after H. pylori eradication. Eight children (18%) had been reinfected (5.4% to 6% per patient-year). Six of 25 (24%) children older than 10 years at the time of diagnosis became reinfected. None of the studied risk factors was associated with reinfection. However, having a sibling younger than 5 years was found in four of seven (57%) reinfected children versus five of 24 (21%) nonreinfected children (p = .08). CONCLUSION: Children become reinfected more frequently than adults. Adolescents become reinfected, whereas acquisition of primary H. pylori infection occurs predominantly in early childhood. Close contact with young children, especially siblings, younger than 5 years could be a more important risk factor than the age of the patient at the time of treatment for the high rate of reinfection in childhood.     

Zur systematischen Einordnung von Cyanophora paradoxa,Gloeochaete wittrockiana und Glaucocystis nostochinearum1

Die Morphologie und Feinstruktur (einschließlich Pellicula, Geißelapparat, Mitose und Cytokinese) von Cyanophora paradoxa, Gloeochaete wittrockiana und Glaucocystis nostochinearum, drei apoplastidalen Algen mit blaugrünen Endosymbionten (Cyanellen), wurde vergleichend untersucht. Gloeochaete und Glaucocystis sind in allen systematisch bedeutsamen Merkmalen gleich, während Cyanophora insbesondere durch seine andersartige Struktur der Geißelwurzeln abweicht. Die bei Gloeochaete und Glaucocystis vorkommende Kombination von Merkmalen, in geringerem Maße gilt das auch für Cyanophora, ist bei keiner anderen Klasse der Algen vorhanden. Es wird vorgeschlagen, Gloeochaete und Glaucocystis (und mit gewissen Einschränkungen auch Cyanophora) als Glaucophyceen zu führen, wie das bereits Skuja (1954) vorgeschlagen hat.     

THE OCCURRENCE OF TWO MYELIN BASIC PROTEINS IN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF RODENTS IN THE SUBORDERS MYOMORPHA AND SCIUROMORPHA

Extracts containing myelin basic proteins have been prepared from CNS tissue of representatives of the three suborders of Rodentia—Myomorpha, Hystricomorpha and Sciuro-morpha. Analyses of the extracts by electrophoresis at low pH showed that one type (L) of myelin basic protein is present in the CNS of all of the rodents examined (rat, mouse, hamster, guinea pig, chinchilla, prairie dog, woodchuck and squirrel). This protein is comparable in molecular size and charge to the CNS myelin basic proteins found in several other mammalian orders. In the CNS of the myomorphs (rat, mouse, hamster) and sciuro-morphs (prairie dog, woodchuck, squirrel) there is an additional type (S) of myelin basic protein of higher cathodic mobility and smaller molecular size. This additional protein is absent from the CNS of the hystricomorphs (guinea pig, chinchilla). These findings indicate that the presence of two myelin basic proteins originally reported in the CNS of the inbred rat is not an anomaly of inbreeding. These data further suggest that the presence of a single L-type CNS myelin basic protein might be a general characteristic of hystricomorphs, while the presence of both L- and S-type CNS myelin basic proteins might be a general characteristic of the myomorphs and sciuromorphs. Analyses by electrophoresis at low pH failed to reveal differences in mobility among either the L-type or the S-type CNS myelin basic proteins of the different species. In contrast, when electrophoresis was carried out cathodically at high pH, species-related differences in mobility were observed among the L- and S-type CNS myelin basic proteins.     

Large Scale Preparation of Myelin Basic Protein from Central Nervous Tissue of Several Mammalian Species

The wide-spread use of and demand for myelin basic protein for immunologic studies has prompted us to re-examine the details of its isolation from CNS tissue of various species. The procedure described in this communication for the isolation and purification of myelin basic protein does not require column chromatography and is therefore suitable for large scale preparation of a reasonably pure product with simple laboratory equipment. If certain precautions are taken, the yield and quality of the product are reproducible. Certain contaminants which may accompany myelin basic protein during purification by procedures currently in use are pointed out, and their possible influence on the immunologic behavior of myelin basic protein is discussed. Suitable electrophoretic techniques for the detection of these contaminants as well as details for their removal from the myelin basic protein are described.