Prevention of Tuberculosis Reactivation

It is not known if screening for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is useful for reducing the risk of tuberculosis reactivation among people at risk (no evidence was found). In people with LTBI, providing treatment for the latent infection may be helpful for preventing the development of active tuberculosis disease. (In addition, LTBI treatments do not appear to increase the risk for hepatotoxicity.) Treatment effectiveness may depend on the specific LTBI treatment regimen used. For people at an increased risk for tuberculosis ― including those from areas with high rates of tuberculosis ― guidelines recommend screening and treatment for LTBI, as this may help prevent TB reactivation. Treatment is recommended for those who are 65 years old or younger and with a positive LTBI result (recommendation from 1 high-quality guideline).

Cytomegalovirus-induced cutaneous ulcer mimicking vasculitis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematous: A case report and review of the literature

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease which can be complicated with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during its course. CMV reactivation can mimic an SLE flare and lead to delay in diagnosis. Here, we reported a previously diagnosed SLE patient who presented with fever, leukopenia, and cutaneous ulcers. Initially, this was diagnosed as an SLE flare and the patient was treated with higher doses of corticosteroids but no improvement was observed. Both nuclear and cytoplasmic inclusions inside the endothelial cells in the skin biopsy as well as positive immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining for CMV antigen were clues to the correct diagnosis of CMV reactivation. Treatment with ganciclovir resulted in clinical resolution. In this report, a very rare clinical form of CMV infection manifesting as cutaneous necrotizing vasculitis on the lower extremity is described and the literature regarding this case is reviewed.

Rise and Survival of Bovine Herpesvirus 1 Recombinants after Primary Infection and Reactivation from Latency

ABSTRACT Recombination is thought to be an important source of genetic variation in herpesviruses. Several studies, performed in vitro or in vivo, detected recombinant viruses after the coinoculation of two distinguishable strains of the same herpesvirus species. However, none of these studies investigated the evolution of the relative proportions of parental versus recombinant progeny populations after coinoculation of the natural host, both during the excretion and the reexcretion period. In the present study, we address this by studying the infection of cattle with bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1). The recombination of two BoHV-1 mutants lacking either glycoprotein C (gC−/gE+) or E (gC+/gE−) was investigated after inoculation of cattle by the natural route of infection. The results demonstrated that (i) recombination is a frequent event in vivo since recombinants (gC+/gE+ and gC−/gE−) were detected in all coinoculated calves, (ii) relative proportions of progeny populations evolved during the excretion period toward a situation where two populations (gC+/gE+ and gC−/gE+) predominated without fully outcompeting the presence of the two other detected populations (gC+/gE− and gC−/gE−), and (iii) after reactivation from latency, no gC+/gE− and gC−/gE− progeny viruses were detected, although gC+/gE− mutants, when inoculated alone, were detected after reactivation treatment. In view of these data, the importance of gE in the biology of BoHV-1 infection and the role of recombination in herpesvirus evolution are discussed.

Reactivation of infant memory

Three-month-old infants learned to activate a crib mobile by means of operant footkicks. Retention of the conditioned response was assessed during a cued recall test with the nonmoving mobile. Although forgetting is typically complete after an 8-day retention interval, infants who received a reactivation treatment--a brief exposure to the reinforcer 24 hours before retention testing--showed no forgetting after retention intervals of either 2 or 4 weeks. Further, the forgetting function after a reactivation treatment did not differ from the original forgetting function. These experiments demonstrate that (i) "reactivation" or "reinstatement" is an effective mechanism by which early experiences can continue to influence behavior over lengthy intervals and (ii) memory deficits in young infants are best viewed as retrieval deficits.