Treponema pallidum infections

Subramanian G, Koonin EV, Aravind L. Comparative genome analysis of the pathogenic spirochetes Borrelia burgdorferi and Treponema pallidum. Infect Im-mun 2000 68(3] 1633-1648. 

Chloroquine (Aralen) is also used in die treatment of extraintestinal amebiasis (see section on Amebicides). Doxycycline is also used to treat infections caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Treponema pallidum, Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium, and Bacillus anthracis when penicillin is contraindicated. Quinine also may be used for die prevention and treatment of nocturnal leg cramps. 

Chamberlain, N.R., Deogny, L., Slaughter C., Radolf, J.D., and Norgard, M.V. (1989) Acylation of the 47-kilodalton major membrane immunogen of Treponema pallidum determines its hydrophobicity. Infect. Immun. 57, 2878-2885. 

Alternative therapy for the following infections when penicillin is contraindicated Uncomplicated gonorrhea due to Neisseria gonorrhoeae] syphilis due to Treponema pallidum, yaws due to T. pertenue] Listeria monocytogenes] anthrax due to Bacillus anthracis] Vincent s infection due to Fusobacterium fusiforme] actinomycosis due to Actinomyces sp. Clostridium sp. 

Infections of the external eye can be caused by viruses and by bacteria from the respiratory tract such as pneumococci and Haemophilus influenzae. Infections of the internal eye can be caused by the same bacteria through spread from a corneal (traumatic) ulcer or by S. aureus. The same pathogens are responsible for periorbital spread in severe sinusitis. Treponema pallidum, CMV and Toxoplasma cause intra-ocular infections. 

Because Treponema pallidum is sensitive to penicillin G, this antibiotic is the drug of choice for treatment of syphilis and syphilitic eye disease (see Table 11-1). Syphilitic eye disease can include interstitial keratitis (stromal inflammation and vascularization), episcleritis, scleritis, nongranulomatous or granulomatous iritis, iris papules (collections of dilated capillaries in the iris), chorioretinitis, papillitis, retinal vasculitis, and exudative retinal detachment. Probenecid can be added to procaine penicillin to decrease excretion of the penicillin by the kidneys, thus causing an increase in penicillin plasma levels. Penicillins are not used for the treatment of minor ocular infections such as blepharitis and conjimctivitis... 

There are three categories of bacterial pathogens. Obligate pathogens are those bacteria that must cause disease in order to be transmitted from one host to another. These bacteria must also infect a host in order to survive, in contrast to other bacteria that are capable of survival outside of a host. Examples of obligate bacterial pathogens include Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Treponema pallidum. 

Erythromycin is an effective alternative choice for penicillin-allergic patients infected with Staphylococcus aureus. Streptococcus pyogenes. Streptococcus pneumoniae or Treponema pallidum. 

Biological psychiatry got a shot in the arm in the late 1800s, as two discoveries were made. At the time, probably one half of those housed in asylums suffered from a type of psychotic-organic brain syndrome which ultimately was found to be caused by the Treponema pallidum bacteria (a central nervous system infection seen in the late stages of syphilis). It was also eventually discovered that some organic mental... 

For his new work with Treponema, Ehrlich was joined in 1909 by another Japanese collaborator, Sahachiro Hata, an expert on syphilis, who had been the first researcher to succeed in infecting rabbits with the disease. He retested all the arsenic derivatives against Treponema pallidum and identified compound 606 as a particularly potent analogue, which possessed curative activity for infected rabbits. Compound 606 had been prepared in 1907, but it had not exhibited any activity against trypanosomes, and Ehrlich subsequently claimed that this had been due to the incompetence of a former collaborator. This lapse and the problems with hypersensitivity reactions seen in some patients receiving arsenophenylglycine persuaded Ehrlich to proceed with great caution. As a result, very extensive animal tests were carried out before 606 was released to selected hospitals for clinical trials. 

Matthews, H. M., Yang, T. K., and Jenkin, H. M. (1979) Unique Upid composition of Treponema pallidum (Nichols virulent strain). Infect. Immun. 24, 713-719. 

Any disease that is passed (tom one individual to another during sexual intercourse or other types of sexual activity. These diseases have b n traditionally referred to as venereal diseases. They include gonorrhoea, caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonor-rhoeae, syphilis, due to infection by the bacterium Treponema pallidum genital herpes, which Is caused by a herpesvirus and AIDS, resulting from infection with HIV, a retrovirus. The transmission of sexually transmitted diseases can be reduced by limiting the number of sexual partners and by the use of condoms (see birth control), which reduces the risk of contact with body fluids that harbour the microorganisms that cause these diseases. 

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