It has been proposed that ovale malaria in humans is caused by two closely related but distinct species of malaria parasites: P. ovale curtisi and P. ovale wallikeri. We have extended and optimized a Real-time PCR assay targeting the parasite's small subunit ribosomal RNA (ssrRNA) gene to detect both these species. When the assay was applied to 31 archival blood samples from patients diagnosed ...

In a small screening study topical lithium succinate ointment was observed to produce a striking improvement in several patients with seborrhoeic dermatitis of the face. We therefore performed a double blind controlled study of this effect. As pityrosporum yeasts can cause seborrhoeic dermatitis' and lithium inhibits the growth of some fungi2 we also tested the inhibitory effect of lithium succ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE A patent foramen ovale has been reported to be significantly more frequent in young stroke patients than in matched control subjects, and paradoxical embolism has been suggested as the main mechanism of stroke in this situation. The present study was designed to test this hypothesis. METHODS Sixty-eight consecutive patients under 55 years of age presenting with an ische...

BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to evaluate the echocardiographic follow-up of patent foramen ovale, which is considered a potential etiological factor in various diseases, and to determine the factors affecting spontaneous closure. METHODS Between January 2000 and June 2012, records of 918 patients with patent foramen ovale were retrospectively reviewed. Patency of less than 3 mm...

Plasmodium ovale curtisi and Plasmodium ovale wallikeri are distinct species of malaria parasite which are sympatric throughout the tropics, except for the Americas. Despite this complete overlap in geographic range, these two species do not recombine. Although morphologically very similar, the two taxa must possess distinct characters which prevent recombination between them. We hypothesised t...

BACKGROUND Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are used widely in the diagnosis of malaria. Although the effectiveness of RDTs for malaria has been described in many previous studies, the low performance of RDT particularly for Plasmodium ovale malaria in traveller has rarely been reported. METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study conducted on Japanese travellers diagnosed with malaria at the ...

Background and Purpose Paradoxical embolism through a patent foramen ovale is a recognized cause of stroke, but clinical predictors, recurrence rate, and prevention of brain infarcts in patients with patent foramen ovale have not been determined. We reviewed transesophageal echocardiographic records to ascertain echocardiographic predictors and optimal prophylaxis for patent foramen ovale-relat...