CHLAMYDIA PNEUMONIAE AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE.
Campbell LA, Kuo CC, Grayston JT, Department of Pathobiology, University
of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA. lacamp@u.washington.edu Emerg
Infect Dis 1998 Oct-Dec;4(4):571-9
Chlamydia pneumoniae is a ubiquitous pathogen that causes acute respiratory
disease. The spectrum of C. pneumoniae infection has been extended to atherosclerosis
and its clinical manifestations.
Seroepidemiologic studies have associated C. pneumoniae antibody with
coronary artery disease,
myocardial infarction, carotid artery disease, and cerebrovascular
disease. The association of C.
pneumoniae with atherosclerosis is corroborated by the presence of
the organism in atherosclerotic
lesions throughout the arterial tree and the near absence of the organism
in healthy arterial tissue. C.
pneumoniae has also been isolated from coronary and carotid atheromatous
plaques. To determine
whether chronic infection plays a role in initiation or progression
of disease, intervention studies in
humans have been initiated, and animal models of C. pneumoniae infection
have been developed.
This review summarizes the evidence for the association and potential
role of C. pneumoniae in
cardiovascular disease.
CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS AND INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE--A COINCIDENCE?
Orda R, Samra Z, Levy Y, Shperber Y, Scapa E, Department of Surgery
A, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zerifin, Israel. J R Soc Med 1990 Jan;83(1):15-7
Serological tests of 35 patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease
were compared to those
of 35 healthy controls. The tests were performed using the indirect
immunoperoxidase assay.
Ninety-three per cent of 15 patients with Crohn's disease had IgG antibodies
against Chlamydia,
compared to 26% in the control group. In the 20 patients with ulcerative
colitis, 45% had IgG
antibodies against Chlamydia, compared to 10% in the control group.
High serum titres of IgG
antibodies were found in most of the patients with inflammatory bowel
disease, mainly with Crohn's
disease, while weak reactions appeared in most of the controls in which
antibodies were detected.
These results suggest a high incidence of Chlamydia infection in the
studied patients with
inflammatory bowel disease, especially in those with Crohn's disease.
The possible association
between Chlamydia trachomatis and inflammatory bowel disease is discussed.
CROHN’S DISEASE. NEW CONCEPTS OF PATHOGENESIS AND CURRENT APPROACHES
TO TREATMENT.
James SP, Strober W, Quinn TC, Danovitch SH, Mucosal Immunity Section,
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland
20892. Dig Dis Sci 1987 Nov;32(11):1297-310
One theory of the pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease is that rather than being caused by a unique environmental agent, it is the result of an abnormal immune response in the gastrointestinal tract. Recent studies indicate that Crohn’s disease in its early stages is frequently associated with the presence of circulating antigen-non-specific suppressor T cells. Such T cells are also found in experimental inflammation caused by Chlamydia organisms in the gastrointestinal tract of nonhuman primates. Taken together, these data suggest that the suppressor T cells are markers of an underlying and persistent, antigen-specific immune response to an as yet unidentified antigen or set of antigens. We postulate that this underlying antigen-specific response is the result of a primary immunoregulatory abnormality involving an imbalance between the effects of antigen-specific helper and suppressor T cells which recognize a common antigen or antigens present in the mucosal environment.