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Monoclonal antibodies for prophylaxis and treatment of respiratory viral infections
Purpose of review Monoclonal antibody (mAb) administration represents an important strategy for preventing and treating respiratory viral infections in vulnerable populations, including immunocompromised individuals. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of mAbs in clinical use against respiratory viruses, highlight factors that modulate mAb clinical efficacy, and provide a perspective on future innovations in the field. This review focuses on publications from the last year. Recent findings Historically, clinical development of a single mAb has taken over a decade. The COVID-19 pandemic has demon...
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - July 21, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: INFECTIONS OF THE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED HOST: Edited by Genovefa A. Papanicolaou and Dionysios Neofytos Source Type: research

Long and persistent COVID-19 in patients with hematologic malignancies: from bench to bedside
We describe the incidence, clinical characteristics, risk factors, and outcomes of persistent COVID-19 infection in patients with hematologic malignancies. Recent findings The syndrome of persistent COVID-19 in patients with hematologic malignancies manifests as a chronic protracted illness marked by waxing and waning or progressive respiratory symptoms and prolonged viral shedding. Immunosuppressed patients with lymphoid malignancies may serve as partially immune reservoirs for the generation of immune-evasive viral escape mutants. Summary Persistent COVID-19 infection is a unique concern in patients with he...
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - July 21, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: INFECTIONS OF THE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED HOST: Edited by Genovefa A. Papanicolaou and Dionysios Neofytos Source Type: research

Editorial: Friends and foes: “The quarrels of friends are the opportunities of foes”
No abstract available (Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases)
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - July 21, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: INFECTIONS OF THE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED HOST: Edited by Genovefa A. Papanicolaou and Dionysios Neofytos Source Type: research

Editorial introductions
No abstract available (Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases)
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - July 21, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: EDITORIAL INTRODUCTIONS Source Type: research

Hyperammonemia syndrome in immunosuppressed individuals
Purpose of review Hyperammonemia syndrome is an increasingly recognized and often fatal condition that occurs in immunosuppressed individuals, most commonly lung transplant recipients. Growing evidence suggests hyperammonemia syndrome is associated with systemic infections caused by urease-producing organisms, namely Ureaplasma spp., an organism unable to grow with routine culturing techniques. This review will summarize the epidemiology and clinical manifestations of hyperammonemia syndrome, as well as diagnostic and management strategies once hyperammonemia syndrome is suspected. Recent findings Hyperammonemia...
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - June 1, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: CNS INFECTIONS: Edited by Adarsh Bhimraj and Rodrigo Hasbun Source Type: research

Updates in central nervous system malaria: literature review and considerations
Purpose of review Cerebral malaria (CM) represents one of the most common and severe complications of Plasmodium falciparum infection, leading to high morbidity and mortality along with challenging sequelae, especially in children. Recent findings Although CM pathogenesis remains unclear due to the few studies made and the difficulty to analyze affected patients, there are valid theories involving P. falciparum endothelium interactions, and clinical manifestations have been better investigated and differentiated between adults and children. Summary At the time of writing, diagnostic management is based on...
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - June 1, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: CNS INFECTIONS: Edited by Adarsh Bhimraj and Rodrigo Hasbun Source Type: research

Neurocysticercosis: an update on diagnosis, treatment, and prevention
Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is an important cause of neurological disease worldwide, including imported cases in nonendemic countries. Purpose of review The purpose of this review is to update information on diagnosis, management, and prevention of neurocysticercosis Recent findings WHO and Infectious Diseases Society of America/American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene guidelines emphasize the importance of corticosteroids and antiparasitic drugs for viable parenchymal disease and single enhancing lesions. Subarachnoid NCC is associated with a high fatality rate unless optimally treated. Advances in sub...
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - June 1, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: CNS INFECTIONS: Edited by Adarsh Bhimraj and Rodrigo Hasbun Source Type: research

Brain abscess in immunocompetent patients: recent findings
Purpose of review We conducted a systematic review of the literature to update findings on the epidemiology and the management of cerebral abscesses in immunocompetent patients. Recent findings Observational studies suggest that the overall prognosis has improved over the last decades but mortality rates remain high. Several parameters may contribute to a better prognosis, including the identification of common risk factors for brain abscess, the systematic use of brain MRI at diagnosis, the implementation of appropriate neurosurgical and microbiological techniques for diagnosis, the optimization of the antibact...
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - June 1, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: CNS INFECTIONS: Edited by Adarsh Bhimraj and Rodrigo Hasbun Source Type: research

Diagnostic approach and update on encephalitis
Purpose of review The present article gives an update and outlines the fundamental principles of clinical reasoning and a diagnostic approach to a patient suspected to have acute encephalitis. Recent findings Encephalitis remains to be associated with significant mortality and neurological morbidity. Unfortunately, the etiologic diagnosis remains elusive for the majority of the patients with encephalitis preventing targeted therapies. Clinicians could utilize clues such as duration of symptoms, exposure history, cerebrospinal fluid profile, neuroimaging findings and locations, and entertain certain opportunistic...
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - June 1, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: CNS INFECTIONS: Edited by Adarsh Bhimraj and Rodrigo Hasbun Source Type: research

Biotypes of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders based on viral and immune pathogenesis
Purpose of review HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) continues to be prevalent in people living with HIV despite antiretroviral therapy. However, understanding disease mechanisms and identifying therapeutic avenues has been challenging. One of the challenges is that HAND is a heterogeneous disease and that patients identified with similar impairments phenotypically may have very different underlying disease processes. As the NeuroAIDS field is re-evaluating the approaches used to identify patients with HIV-associated neurological impairments, we propose the subtyping of patients into biotypes based on viral...
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - June 1, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: CNS INFECTIONS: Edited by Adarsh Bhimraj and Rodrigo Hasbun Source Type: research

The microbiota in respiratory tract infections: from association to intervention
Purpose of review The respiratory microbiota has a role in respiratory tract infection (RTI) pathogenesis. On the mucosa, the respiratory microbiota interacts with potential pathogenic viruses, bacteria and the host immune system, including secretory IgA (sIgA). This review discusses the role of the respiratory microbiota and its interaction with the (mucosal) immune system in RTI susceptibility, as well as the potential to exploit the microbiota to promote health and prevent RTIs. Recent findings Recent studies confirm that specific microbiota profiles are associated with RTI susceptibility and during susceptib...
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - June 1, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: PATHOGENESIS AND IMMUNE RESPONSE: Edited by Dennis L. Stevens and Dimitri A. Diavatopoulos Source Type: research

Escherichia coli 0157:H7 virulence factors and the ruminant reservoir
Purpose of review This review updates recent findings about Escherichia coli O157:H7 virulence factors and its bovine reservoir. This Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing E. coli belongs to the Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) pathotype causing hemorrhagic colitis. Its low infectious dose makes it an efficient, severe, foodborne pathogen. Although EHEC remains in the intestine, Stx can translocate systemically and is cytotoxic to microvascular endothelial cells, especially in the kidney and brain. Disease can progress to life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) with hemolytic anemia, acute kidney failure, and thrombocyt...
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - June 1, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: PATHOGENESIS AND IMMUNE RESPONSE: Edited by Dennis L. Stevens and Dimitri A. Diavatopoulos Source Type: research

Drivers of melioidosis endemicity: epidemiological transition, zoonosis, and climate change
Purpose of review Melioidosis, caused by the soil-dwelling bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, is a tropical infection associated with high morbidity and mortality. This review summarizes current insights into melioidosis’ endemicity, focusing on epidemiological transitions, zoonosis, and climate change. Recent findings Estimates of the global burden of melioidosis affirm the significance of hot-spots in Australia and Thailand. However, it also highlights the paucity of systematic data from South Asia, The Americas, and Africa. Globally, the growing incidence of diabetes, chronic renal and (alcoholic) liver d...
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - June 1, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: PATHOGENESIS AND IMMUNE RESPONSE: Edited by Dennis L. Stevens and Dimitri A. Diavatopoulos Source Type: research

Contributions of Yersinia pestis outer membrane protein Ail to plague pathogenesis
Purpose of review Pathogenic Yersinia have been a productive model system for studying bacterial pathogenesis. Hallmark contributions of Yersinia research to medical microbiology are legion and include: (i) the first identification of the role of plasmids in virulence, (ii) the important mechanism of iron acquisition from the host, (iii) the first identification of bacterial surface proteins required for host cell invasion, (iv) the archetypical type III secretion system, and (v) elucidation of the role of genomic reduction in the evolutionary trajectory from a fairly innocuous pathogen to a highly virulent species. ...
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - June 1, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: PATHOGENESIS AND IMMUNE RESPONSE: Edited by Dennis L. Stevens and Dimitri A. Diavatopoulos Source Type: research

Editorial: Pathogenesis and immune response – editorial
No abstract available (Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases)
Source: Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases - June 1, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: PATHOGENESIS AND IMMUNE RESPONSE: Edited by Dennis L. Stevens and Dimitri A. Diavatopoulos Source Type: research