Review
Clinical Neurology
Arianna Manini, Giacomo Querzola, Carlo Lovati, Leonardo Pantoni
Summary: Whipple's disease is a systemic, chronic, relapsing disease caused by Tropheryma whipplei. Cognitive impairment is one of the most common neurological features associated with this disease. Rapidly progressive dementia is a typical manifestation of Whipple's disease, and clinical suspicion and timely antimicrobial therapy are crucial for patient outcomes.
NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Jun Yan, Binhai Zhang, Zhongdong Zhang, Jinchuan Shi, Shourong Liu, Jianjiang Qi, Mengyan Wang
Summary: This case report describes a 28-year-old male AIDS patient coinfected with T. whipplei and Pneumocystis jirovecii, showing significant clinical improvement after 2 weeks of treatment. It highlights the importance of clinicians being vigilant for T. whipplei infection in AIDS patients, and the necessity of timely diagnosis and antibacterial treatments.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Sylvain Meyer, Xavier Puechal, Gilles Quesne, Isabelle Marques, Anne Jamet, Agnes Ferroni
Summary: This study evaluated the application value of T. whipplei PCR in patients with Whipple disease and carriers. The results showed significant differences in PCR results between WD patients and carriers, with high specificity and moderate sensitivity for the diagnosis of Whipple disease.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Yifan Guo, Lijuan Li, Zhenzhong Li, Lingxiao Sun, Hui Wang
Summary: Tropheryma whipplei is a bacterium associated with Whipple's disease, and this study reports three ILD patients with unknown cause in whom T. whipplei was the most abundant pathogen detected via Nanopore sequencing. The findings confirm that Nanopore sequencing can rapidly detect rare pathogens and improve clinical diagnosis.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Melina Heinemann, Cornelia Strauchs, Marc Luetgehetmann, Martin Aepfelbacher, Eva-Maria Klupp, Ellis Owusu-Dabo, Thierry Rolling, Jakob P. Cramer, Christof D. Vinnemeier
Summary: The study found that the frequency of enteric pathogen detection was higher in Ghanaian infants with diarrhea compared to those without. Additionally, a higher number of pathogens in cases was associated with disease severity. During follow-up, both cases and controls acquired new pathogens without developing new episodes of diarrhea.
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2021)
Review
Infectious Diseases
Petros Ioannou, Marios Kourtidis, Dimitrios-Orestis Mytilinis, Anna Psyllaki, Stella Baliou, Diamantis Kofteridis
Summary: Whipple's disease is a rare chronic systemic disease caused by Tropheryma whippelii. The most common clinical manifestations include diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, and joint pain, but other findings such as lymphadenopathy, fever, neurologic manifestations, myocarditis, and endocarditis can also occur. This systematic review analyzed 72 studies and found that Whipple's disease-associated infective endocarditis mainly affected the aortic and mitral valves. The diagnosis was primarily confirmed through positive PCR or histology, and treatment with trimethoprim with sulfamethoxazole was associated with reduced mortality.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Allergy
Ali Versi, Fransiskus Xaverius I. Ivan, Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz, Stewart Bates, John Riley, Frederic Baribaud, Nazanin Zounemat Kermani, Paolo Montuschi, Sven-Erik Dahlen, Ratko Djukanovic, Peter H. Sterk, Anke H. Maitland-Van Der Zee, Sanjay Chotirmall, Peter M. Howarth, Ian Adcock, Kian Fan Chung
Summary: The study analyzed the bacterial species in sputum of severe asthma patients and found altered airway microbiome in asthma. Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis were more abundant in severe neutrophilic asthma, while Haemophilus influenzae and Tropheryma whipplei were highest in current or ex-smokers. The abundance of these bacteria correlated with the presence of inflammatory cells in the airways.
Article
Cell Biology
Nicholas S. Rhoades, Michael Davies, Sloan A. Lewis, Isaac R. Cinco, Steven G. Kohama, Luiz E. Bermudez, Kevin L. Winthrop, Cristina Fuss, Julie A. Mattison, Eliot R. Spindel, Ilhem Messaoudi
Summary: Older individuals are more susceptible to severe respiratory infections. A cross-sectional study on rhesus macaque model reveals age-related changes in lung function, microbial composition, and immune landscape, explaining the increased prevalence and severity of respiratory diseases in the elderly.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Ryan Choi, Alexander Pazevic, Kevin Pak, Michael Skaret, Angela Bachmann, Rashad Wilkerson
Summary: Whipple's Disease is a rare disease caused by Tropheryma whipplei infection, leading to immunosuppression and various effects on different organ systems. Although treatment may seem straightforward, eradicating T. whipplei can be challenging.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Francois-Regis Duss, Katia Jaton, Peter Vollenweider, Nicolas Troillet, Gilbert Greub
Summary: Whipple disease (WD) is a chronic multisystemic disease with frequent pulmonary involvement. Patients with WD often have underlying immunodeficiency, leading to more complex clinical presentation. Positive T. whipplei PCR in both stool and saliva has a high positive predictive value, and patients with WD present higher bacterial load in feces, with a threshold of >32,200 copies/mL predicting ongoing infection.
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Shirin Sayyahfar, Mina Latifian, Parisa Esmaeili, Neda Baseri, Fahimeh Bagheri Amiri, Bita Bakhshi, Abdoulreza Esteghamati, Saber Esmaeili
Summary: A study conducted in Iran indicated a possible association between T. whipplei and childhood diarrhea, with a significant number of positive samples detected in children with acute diarrhea, and infected children showing a longer duration of diarrhea compared to non-infected ones.
BMC INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Sheng Wang, Demeng Xia, Jianghong Wu, Dandan Jia, Lei Li, Shuogui Xu
Summary: Whipple's disease is a rare systemic infectious disease with majority of cases in middle-aged men, characterized by digestive and nervous system symptoms. While respiratory symptoms are rare, they can be serious, especially when complicated by Acinetobacter baumannii infection.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhixiong Fang, Qiong Liu, Wei Tang, Hongyin Yu, Min Zou, Haiming Zhang, Haiyan Xue, Sha Lin, Yi Pei, Jingwen Ai, Jun Chen
Summary: This study conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical data from five patients in Hunan Province, China, demonstrating the potential of BALF-mNGS in diagnosing pneumonia caused by TW infection.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Davide Scalvini, Patrizia Cambieri, Annalisa Schiepatti, Stiliano Maimaris, Francesca Lusetti, Claudia Vattiato, Piero Marone, Laura Villani, Federico Biagi
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and related disorders in patients with Whipple's disease. The study found that H. pylori infection, H. pylori-related gastritis, and gastric atrophy were significantly more common in patients with Whipple's disease compared to the control group. Interestingly, a higher proportion of patients on long-term trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole therapy had synchronous occurrence of H. pylori infection and Whipple's disease.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INTERNAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Paula Sancho, Amparo Andres-Borderia, Nerea Gorria-Redondo, Katia Llano, Dolores Martinez-Rubio, Maria Eugenia Yoldi-Petri, Luba Blumkin, Pablo Rodriguez de la Fuente, Fernando Gil-Ortiz, Leonor Fernandez-Murga, Ana Sanchez-Monteagudo, Vincenzo Lupo, Belen Perez-Duenas, Carmen Espinos, Sergio Aguilera-Albesa
Summary: This study identified a non-progressive congenital ataxia (NPCA) phenotype caused by mutations in the beta-III spectrin (SPTBN2) gene, which resembles spinocerebellar ataxia but has an inheritance pattern similar to autosomal dominant classical spinocerebellar ataxia. The patients displayed characteristic symptoms of NPCA, including hypotonia, developmental delay, cerebellar syndrome, and cognitive deficits, along with progressive cerebellar volume loss and cortical hyperintensities on imaging. The novel de novo SPTBN2 substitutions detected in the patients were found to potentially disrupt actin spectrin-based membrane skeleton organization and contribute to the disease mechanism.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Emilie Javelle, Aurelie Mayet, Rodrigue S. Allodji, Catherine Marimoutou, Chrystel Lavagna, Jerome Desplans, Matthieu Million, Didier Raoult, Gaetan Texier
Summary: This study evaluated the impact of doxycycline (DOXY) on body weight in military international travelers. The results showed that DOXY did not cause significant weight gain in soldiers. However, other factors such as fatty food, sedentary lifestyle, and strain-specific probiotics may contribute to weight gain.
Article
Virology
Philippe Colson, Philippe Gautret, Jeremy Delerce, Herve Chaudet, Pierre Pontarotti, Patrick Forterre, Raphael Tola, Marielle Bedotto, Lea Delorme, Wahiba Bader, Anthony Levasseur, Jean-Christophe Lagier, Matthieu Million, Nouara Yahi, Jacques Fantini, Bernard La Scola, Pierre-Edouard Fournier, Didier Raoult
Summary: This study investigated the dynamics of the French variant Marseille-4 of SARS-CoV-2 over a 10-month period, identifying two subvariants and analyzing their mutations and lifetimes. The findings suggest that beneficial mutations can initiate new outbreaks, while the accumulation of other mutations can result in the disappearance of lineages.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Alissa Hammoud, Meriem Louni, Florence Fenollar, Hubert Bassene, Masse Sambou, Nathalie Duclos, Georges Diatta, Cheikh Sokhna, Anthony Levasseur, Didier Raoult, Oleg Mediannikov
Summary: The current paradigm of trench fever transmission by body lice is challenged by the isolation of identical strains of Bartonella quintana from patients and head lice. Confirmation of head lice as a vector will have implications for the treatment and prevention of louse-borne diseases. This study provides evidence of head lice vectorial capacity by detecting live B. quintana in head lice and finding genetic identity between strains from patients' blood and head lice during an outbreak.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Imene Ikram Hassani, Ines Quadri, Archana Yadav, Sonia Bouchard, Didier Raoult, Hocine Hacene, Christelle Desnues
Summary: This study analyzed and compared the diversity of halophilic archaea in Zehrez-Chergui (Saharian chott), Algeria, using both PCR amplification and cultivation approaches. A total of 45 distinct strains were characterized, indicating their membership in the class Halobacteria. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 23 strains were related to 6 genera of halophilic archaea, including Halopiger which was dominant in this hypersaline environment. The molecular analysis identified a diverse range of archaeological species, highlighting the importance of combining both methods to obtain comprehensive information.
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Rossella Maria Benvenga, Christophe Tribouilloy, Hector I. Michelena, Angelo Silverio, Florent Arregle, Helene Martel, Seyhan Denev, Yohann Bohbot, Sandrine Hubert, Sebastien Renard, Laurence Camoin, Anne Claire Casalta, Jean Paul Casalta, Frederic Gouyier, Alberto Riberi, Hubert Lepidi, Frederic Collart, Didier Raoult, Michel Drancourt, Gennaro Galasso, Daniel C. DeSimone, Rodolfo Citro, Gilbert Habb
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of different bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) morphology in infective endocarditis (IE). Patients were divided into two groups based on echocardiographic definition: right-left coronary (RL type) and right noncoronary or left noncoronary (non-RL type) cusp fusion. The study found that patients with BAV and IE may have different clinical and echocardiographic features according to valve morphology, and they tend to be referred late, even with pre-existing BAV disease.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Reham Magdy Wasfy, Malak Zoaiter, Melhem Bilen, Maryam Tidjani Alou, Cheikh Ibrahima Lo, Sara Bellali, Aurelia Caputo, Stephane Alibar, Claudia Andrieu, Didier Raoult, Pierre Edouard Fournier, Matthieu Million
Summary: This article reports a novel bacterial strain Marseille-P4005(T) isolated from a stool sample of a healthy donor. It is a Gram-stain negative, non-motile, non-spore-forming rod that grows optimally at 37 degrees C and at pH 7.0. Genomic analysis revealed it as a new species within the genus Agathobaculum, named Agathobaculum massiliense sp. nov. The strain showed resistance to several antibiotics and exhibited specific metabolic capabilities.
ANTONIE VAN LEEUWENHOEK INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GENERAL AND MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Infectious Diseases
Myrto Koutantou, Konstantinos Kambas, Sofia Makka, Pierre-Edouard Fournier, Didier Raoult, Emmanouil Angelakis
Summary: Cat scratch disease (CSD) is difficult to diagnose, and serological assays have limitations in terms of sensitivity and specificity. Molecular assays should be considered as the gold standard for confirming CSD, and lymph node biopsy may be necessary in suspicious cases.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES & MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Bekir Celebi, Derya Karatas Yeni, Yusuf Yilmaz, Ferhat Matur, Cahit Babur, Mehmet Ali Oktem, Mustafa Sozen, Ahmet Karatas, Didier Raoult, Oleg Mediannikov, Pierre Edouard Fournier
Summary: This study examined Borrelia species in rodents captured from rural areas of Turkey. Borrelia miyamotoi was discovered in 1.7% of the blood samples collected from wild rodents. This is the first report of B. miyamotoi presence in rodents in Turkey.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Afaf Hamame, Reham Magdy Wasfy, Cheikh Ibrahima Lo, Florence Fenollar, Didier Raoult, Pierre-Edouard Fournier, Linda Houhamdi
Summary: Two new bacterial strains, Marseille-P2698(T) and Marseille-P2260(T), were isolated from human stools using the culturomic method. These two strains were fully described using the taxonogenomic approach. Marseille-P2698(T) was identified as a Gram-negative, motile, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium, while Marseille-P2260(T) was identified as a Gram-positive, motile, spore-forming rod-shaped bacterium.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Letter
Infectious Diseases
Philippe Brouqui, Michel Drancourt, Didier Raoult
NEW MICROBES AND NEW INFECTIONS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Akiko Hisada, Erino Matsumoto, Ryo Hirano, Mami Konomi, Jacques Yaacoub Bou Khalil, Didier Raoult, Yusuke Ominami
Summary: Rapid determination of drug efficacy against bacterial pathogens is crucial for detecting potentially resistant bacteria and optimizing the use of antimicrobials. This study proposes a simplified method for assessing antimicrobial efficacy by detecting immediate damage to bacterial cells using tabletop SEM. The method involves staining unaffected bacterial cell envelopes and whole affected cells, with brighter images indicating lethal damage. By quantifying single-cell images based on brightness, the efficacy of antimicrobials in causing bacterial-cell-envelope damage can be determined.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Correction
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Thi Loi Dao, Van Thuan Hoang, Amal Magmoun, Tran Duc Anh Ly, Sophie Alexandra Baron, Linda Hadjadj, Naomie Canard, Tassadit Drali, Frederique Gouriet, Didier Raoult, Philippe Parola, Pierre Marty, Jean-Marc Rolain, Philippe Gautret
TRAVEL MEDICINE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Sabrina Naud, Camille Valles, Abdourahim Abdillah, Linda Abou Chacra, Fatima Zouina Mekhalif, Ahmad Ibrahim, Aurelia Caputo, Jean-Pierre Baudoin, Frederique Gouriet, Fadi Bittar, Jean-Christophe Lagier, Stephane Ranque, Florence Fenollar, Maryam Tidjani Alou, Didier Raoult
Summary: In this study, TM7 were found to be ubiquitous members of the human oral microbiota and were also detected in other human samples, including fecal, breast milk, vaginal, and urine samples. TM7 were also detected in infectious samples, such as blood cultures and cardiac valves, at a low prevalence. The findings suggest that TM7 are human commensals and may have a role in a pathological setting, warranting further investigation.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Omar Zmerli, Sara Bellali, Gabriel Haddad, Akiko Hisada, Yusuke Ominami, Didier Raoult, Jacques Bou Khalil
Summary: Phosphotungstic acid (PTA) staining is a commonly used negative staining method in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for assessing the viability of microorganisms. This study demonstrates that PTA staining can effectively differentiate between live and dead bacteria, providing a rapid, cost-effective, and efficient viability assay for microbiome investigations and antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
COMPUTATIONAL AND STRUCTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2023)
Correction
Microbiology
Cheikh Ibrahima Lo, Niokhor Dione, Aminata Mbaye, Patricia Fernandez-Mellado Gomez, Issa Isaac Ngom, Camille Valles, Stephane Alibar, Jean-Christophe Lagier, Florence Fenollar, Pierre-Edouard Fournier, Didier Raoult, Seydina M. Diene
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS
(2023)