Coronary artery disease is one of the largest causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It has been estimated to account for 1.5 million hospital admissions and 900,000 deaths annually in the United States alone. There are several well-known risk factors for coronary artery disease that are modifiable by changes in behavior or medication, including tobacco use, hypertension, hypercholesterol...

J Med Virol 1999; 57:186–192 52 Tsitoura DC, Kim S, Dabbagh K, et al. Respiratory infection with influenza A virus interferes with the induction of tolerance to aeroallergens. J Immunol 2000; 165:3484–3491 53 Makela MJ, Kanehiro A, Dakhama A, et al. The failure of interleukin-10-deficient mice to develop airway hyperresponsiveness is overcome by respiratory syncytial virus infection in allergen...

Nature 1993;362:801–809. 5. Libby P, Egan D, Skarlatos S. Roles of infectious agents in atherosclerosis and restenosis: an assessment of the evidence and need for future research. Circulation 1997;96:4095–4103. 6. Saikku P, Leinonen M, Mattila K, Ekman MR, Nieminen MS, Makela PH, Huttunan JK, Valtonen V. Serological evidence of an association of a novel Chlamydia, TWAR, with chronic coronary ar...

While criteria for serodiagnosis of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection are well established, isolation of the organism is often difficult. To increase detection of this organism, C. pneumoniae-specific sequences were identified to permit amplification of C. pneumoniae by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A cloned C. pneumoniae 474-bp PstI fragment was shown by dot blot and Southern hybridization to ...

the role of chlamydia pneumoniae in asthma has drawn much attention in recent years. in this study we assessed the prevalence of c. pneumoniae infections in patients with chronic stable and acute exacerbation of asthma and compared it with normal population. twenty adult patients with chronic stable asthma and 21 patients with acute exacerbations of asthma and 41 matched control subjects were s...

In order to evaluate the role of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae in reactive airway disease, 71 children aged 2-14 yrs with an acute episode of wheezing and 80 age-matched healthy children were studied. Sera for the determination of specific antibody levels and nasopharyngeal aspirates for the detection of M. pneumoniae and C. pneumoniae deoxyribonucleic acid were obtained on adm...

We describe a patient with Chlamydia pneumoniae infection who presented with cerebellar dysfunction, followed by respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. C. pneumoniae is an important respiratory pathogen, and other clinical manifestations, including neurological syndromes, are being increasingly recognized. Meningoencephalitis and other neurological complications have also been de...

Pneumonia is one of the most frequent complications in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-patients with Pneumocystis carinii as the leading cause. The true prevalence of atypical agents such as Chlamydia pneumoniae, C. trachomatis, Legionella pneumophila and Mycoplasma pneumoniae in this population of patients is unknown as the currently used method for diagnosing these agents is measurement of...

Laboratory Centre for Disease Control (Canada). Clin Infect Dis 2001; 33: 492–503. 3 Kern DG, Neill MA, Schachter J. A seroepidemiologic study of Chlamydia pneumoniae in Rhode Island. Evidence of serologic cross-reactivity. Chest 1993; 104: 208–213. 4 Johnston SL, Blasi F, Farrell DJ, Nieman RB. Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in patients with acute exacerbations of asthma: the TELICAST study. A...

BACKGROUND The metabolic syndrome together with insulin resistance and their consequences are basic factors in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Chronic infections with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and Chlamydia pneumoniae are associated with the development of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. The infectious aspects of metabolic syndrome have not been in...