cystic fibrosis new bacterias and genetic bacteria tests

[Guest guest]

can anyone comment on this genetic bacteria tests???

has anyone had this?

amy

> Science News

> Unexpected Bacteria Identified In Cystic Fibrosis Patients

>

> ScienceDaily (Dec. 6, 2007) — Molecular technology developed by a

> University of Colorado at Boulder professor to probe extreme life

> forms in undersea hydrothermal vents has been used to identify

> unexpected bacteria strains in the lung fluid of Denver children

> suffering from cystic fibrosis, findings that may lead to more

> effective therapies.

>

> Instead of standard culturing techniques, researchers used nucleic

> acid gene sequencing to rapidly detect, identify and classify

> pathogens found in the lungs of cystic fibrosis sufferers, said

> CU-Boulder Professor Norman Pace, who pioneered the method in the

> 1990s using microbes from Pacific Ocean hydrothermal vents. Pace and

> his colleagues at CU-Denver's Health Sciences Center and Denver's

> Children's Hospital identified more than 60 species of bacteria in

> samples of 28 cystic fibrosis patients in Denver. Thirteen samples

> contained bacteria that are not routinely assessed by culturing.

>

> The presence of the unexpected bacteria may help explain cases of

> unidentified lung inflammation and the consequent failure of

patients

> -- primarily children -- to respond to standard treatments, said

Pace.

> " The results show molecular sequencing is a more effective, faster

and

> far less expensive way to assess airway bacteria than routine

clinical

> cultures and better identifies targets for further clinical

> evaluation, " said Pace.

>

> Cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening genetic disease affecting about

> 30,000 people in the United States, is marked by a build-up of mucus

> in the lungs and pancreas that can clog organs, according to the

> Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In addition to causing difficulty

> breathing, the thick mucus acts as a breeding ground for bacteria in

> the lungs that causes swelling, inflammation and infections that can

> lead to lung damage. Most deaths from cystic fibrosis are caused by

> such infections, said Pace.

>

> About 80 percent of pathogens identified in cystic fibrosis patients

> using the novel gene sequencing technology belong to three common

> bacterial groups, including the group that causes strep infections,

> said Pace. But the remaining 20 percent were from unexpected

bacterial

> strains that would not normally be cultured in cystic fibrosis lab

tests.

>

> In one child in the test group, all of the pathogens in the mucus

were

> from a bacterium genus known as " Lysobacter, " which is commonly

found

> in soils but not tested for in humans through standard cultures. " In

> cases like this, doctors could go back and re-test individual

children

> for specific bacterial infections, " he said. " This would be another

> advantage for clinicians using this technology for cystic fibrosis

> patients. "

>

> Pace said the molecular method involves isolating and amplifying

> bacterial nucleic acid samples from the lung fluids, then sequencing

> them to census individual pathogens by where they fit on the

> phylogenetic, or family, tree.

>

> A paper on the subject was published the week of Dec. 3 in the

> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Co-authors on the

> study included Kirk and Ann De Groote of CU-Boulder's

MCD

> biology department, Sagel, Edith Zemanick, Robin Deterding and

> Acurso of CU-Denver's Health Sciences Center and

Kapsner,

> Churee Penvari and Heidi Kaess of the Mike Mc Cystic Fibrosis

> Research and Treatment Center at Denver's Children's Hospital.

>

> The research was funded by the University of Colorado Butcher

Genomics

> Biotechnology Initiative, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the

National

> Institutes of Health and the Clinical Proteomics Center in Childhood

> Lung Disease at Children's Hospital.

>

> Adapted from materials provided by University of Colorado at

Boulder.

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> the following formats:

> APA

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> MLA

> University of Colorado at Boulder (2007, December 6). Unexpected

> Bacteria Identified In Cystic Fibrosis Patients. ScienceDaily.

> Retrieved December 6, 2007, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­

> /releases/2007/12/071203173034.htm

>

[Guest guest]

This is probably a general PCR that covers multiple bacterial

species. If so, it's not just a whole bunch of species-specific PCRs

done at once - rather, it's one or more PCR reactions *each* of which

is capable of demonstrating a range of species.

I can probably say more if you can find the abstract on pubmed or

PNAS. I can't, for some reason.

I've heard of N Pace before but don't feel like looking him up.

Denver CO is probably on the cutting edge of cystic fibrosis because

it is a leading center for respiratory disease.

I don't know if you have a dx - mine is CFS and I have never heard of

these broad-spec PCRs being run on CFS. They have been run on RA with

mixed and more or less vague results - which I think is one of the

strongest points of evidence against the idea of persistent bacterial

infection *in the lesion site* causing RA.

> can anyone comment on this genetic bacteria tests???

> has anyone had this?

>

> amy