Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Infectious arthritis caused by bacteria requires quick treatment
Infectious arthritis caused by bacteria requires quick treatment
By DR. KOMOROFF Universal Uclick
Published: 12/24/2012 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 12/24/2012 3:54 AM
Dear Doctor K: I saw my doctor for pain and inflammation in my knee. He said I have arthritis caused by a bacterial infection. Could this be true?
Dear Reader: Wear and tear on a joint is the main cause of the most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis. In rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis, an overactive immune system causes joint inflammation.
But joints also can become infected with bacteria and fungi. These microbes may directly infect the joint, for example, through a puncture wound or major injury. But more often, the infection spreads to a joint by traveling through the bloodstream from somewhere else in the body. Once the microbe reaches the joint, it can multiply. The immune system recognizes the invading foreigner and tries to wipe it out. The infection and the immune response cause warmth, pain, stiffness and swelling.
Several types of bacteria can cause arthritis. The diagnosis of infectious arthritis is made by removing fluid from the joint through a needle. The microbe causing the infection can usually be identified in that fluid.
Once diagnosed, you'll immediately begin antibiotic treatment. This should eliminate the infection and help prevent permanent joint damage if begun early enough. If your infection is advanced, or if joint damage has already occurred, you may need to be hospitalized.
At the hospital, your affected joint can be drained. Sometimes fluid is repeatedly removed with a needle and syringe. In other cases, a surgeon needs to open the joint and place a drain in it to let the joint fluid constantly leak out of the body. You can also receive antibiotics intravenously if necessary. If your joint is seriously damaged, you may need surgery to remove damaged tissue and reconstruct the joint.
Often you need to briefly immobilize your affected joint while recovering from the infection. But it's best to become active again as soon as you are able.
TulsaWorld
Labels: bacteria, diagnosis, fungus, immune response, immune system, Infectious arthritis, treatment
# posted by Pat O'Connor @ 6:06 AM
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Adaptation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to the cystic fibrosis airway: an evolutionary perspective.
Adaptation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to the cystic fibrosis airway: an evolutionary perspective.
Nov 2012
Source
1] Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark. [2].
Abstract
The airways of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are nearly always infected with many different microorganisms. This environment offers warm, humid and nutrient-rich conditions, but is also stressful owing to frequent antibiotic therapy and the host immune response. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is commonly isolated from the airways of patients with CF, where it most often establishes chronic infections that usually persist for the rest of the lives of the patients. This bacterium is a major cause of mortality and morbidity and has therefore been studied intensely. Here, we discuss how P. aeruginosa evolves from a state of early, recurrent intermittent colonization of the airways of patients with CF to a chronic infection state, and how this process offers opportunities to study bacterial evolution in natural environments. We believe that such studies are valuable not only for our understanding of bacterial evolution but also for the future development of new therapeutic strategies to treat severe chronic infections.
Labels: airway, antibiotic therapy, bacterial evolution, chronic infections, cystic fibrosis, immune response, Pseudomonas aeruginosa
# posted by Pat O'Connor @ 8:11 AM
