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High frequency of systemic mycoplasmal infections in Gulf War veterans and civilians with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

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High frequency of systemic mycoplasmal infections in Gulf War veterans and civilians with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). / Nicolson, Garth L; Nasralla, Marwan Y; Haier, Joerg; Pomfret, John.

In: J CLIN NEUROSCI, Vol. 9, No. 5, 09.2002, p. 525-9.

Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Nicolson, GL, Nasralla, MY, Haier, J & Pomfret, J 2002, 'High frequency of systemic mycoplasmal infections in Gulf War veterans and civilians with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)', J CLIN NEUROSCI, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 525-9.

APA

Nicolson, G. L., Nasralla, M. Y., Haier, J., & Pomfret, J. (2002). High frequency of systemic mycoplasmal infections in Gulf War veterans and civilians with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). J CLIN NEUROSCI, 9(5), 525-9.

Vancouver

Nicolson GL, Nasralla MY, Haier J, Pomfret J. High frequency of systemic mycoplasmal infections in Gulf War veterans and civilians with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). J CLIN NEUROSCI. 2002 Sep;9(5):525-9.

Bibtex

@article{23930b7511e54679b0f1a2a50a67200a,
title = "High frequency of systemic mycoplasmal infections in Gulf War veterans and civilians with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)",
abstract = "The presence of systemic mycoplasmal infections in the blood of Gulf War veterans (n=8) and civilians (n=28) with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and age matched controls (n=70) was investigated by detecting mycoplasma gene sequences with forensic Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and back hybridization with a radiolabeled internal oligonucleotide probe. Almost all ALS patients (30/36 or approximately 83%) showed evidence of Mycoplasma species in blood samples, whereas <9% of controls had blood mycoplasmal infections (P<0.001). Using PCR ALS patients with a positive test for any mycoplasmal infection were investigated for the presence of M. fermentans, M. pneumoniae, M. hominis and M. penetrans in their blood. All Gulf War veterans with ALS were positive for M. fermentans, except one that was positive for M. genitalium. In contrast, the 22/28 civilians with detectable mycoplasmal infections had M. fermentans (13/22, 59%) as well as other Mycoplasama species in their blood, and two of the civilian ALS patients had multiple mycoplasma species (M. fermentans plus M. hominis). Of the few control patients that were positive, only two patients (2/70, 2.8%) were positive for M. fermentans (P<0.001). The results support the suggestion that infectious agents may play a role in the pathogenesis and/or progression of ALS, or alternatively ALS patients are extremely susceptible to systemic mycoplasmal infections.",
keywords = "Adult, Aged, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Blotting, Southern, Chronic Disease, DNA Probes, DNA, Bacterial, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Mycoplasma Infections, Persian Gulf Syndrome, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction",
author = "Nicolson, {Garth L} and Nasralla, {Marwan Y} and Joerg Haier and John Pomfret",
year = "2002",
month = sep,
language = "English",
volume = "9",
pages = "525--9",
journal = "J CLIN NEUROSCI",
issn = "0967-5868",
publisher = "Churchill Livingstone",
number = "5",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - High frequency of systemic mycoplasmal infections in Gulf War veterans and civilians with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

AU - Nicolson, Garth L

AU - Nasralla, Marwan Y

AU - Haier, Joerg

AU - Pomfret, John

PY - 2002/9

Y1 - 2002/9

N2 - The presence of systemic mycoplasmal infections in the blood of Gulf War veterans (n=8) and civilians (n=28) with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and age matched controls (n=70) was investigated by detecting mycoplasma gene sequences with forensic Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and back hybridization with a radiolabeled internal oligonucleotide probe. Almost all ALS patients (30/36 or approximately 83%) showed evidence of Mycoplasma species in blood samples, whereas <9% of controls had blood mycoplasmal infections (P<0.001). Using PCR ALS patients with a positive test for any mycoplasmal infection were investigated for the presence of M. fermentans, M. pneumoniae, M. hominis and M. penetrans in their blood. All Gulf War veterans with ALS were positive for M. fermentans, except one that was positive for M. genitalium. In contrast, the 22/28 civilians with detectable mycoplasmal infections had M. fermentans (13/22, 59%) as well as other Mycoplasama species in their blood, and two of the civilian ALS patients had multiple mycoplasma species (M. fermentans plus M. hominis). Of the few control patients that were positive, only two patients (2/70, 2.8%) were positive for M. fermentans (P<0.001). The results support the suggestion that infectious agents may play a role in the pathogenesis and/or progression of ALS, or alternatively ALS patients are extremely susceptible to systemic mycoplasmal infections.

AB - The presence of systemic mycoplasmal infections in the blood of Gulf War veterans (n=8) and civilians (n=28) with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and age matched controls (n=70) was investigated by detecting mycoplasma gene sequences with forensic Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and back hybridization with a radiolabeled internal oligonucleotide probe. Almost all ALS patients (30/36 or approximately 83%) showed evidence of Mycoplasma species in blood samples, whereas <9% of controls had blood mycoplasmal infections (P<0.001). Using PCR ALS patients with a positive test for any mycoplasmal infection were investigated for the presence of M. fermentans, M. pneumoniae, M. hominis and M. penetrans in their blood. All Gulf War veterans with ALS were positive for M. fermentans, except one that was positive for M. genitalium. In contrast, the 22/28 civilians with detectable mycoplasmal infections had M. fermentans (13/22, 59%) as well as other Mycoplasama species in their blood, and two of the civilian ALS patients had multiple mycoplasma species (M. fermentans plus M. hominis). Of the few control patients that were positive, only two patients (2/70, 2.8%) were positive for M. fermentans (P<0.001). The results support the suggestion that infectious agents may play a role in the pathogenesis and/or progression of ALS, or alternatively ALS patients are extremely susceptible to systemic mycoplasmal infections.

KW - Adult

KW - Aged

KW - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

KW - Blotting, Southern

KW - Chronic Disease

KW - DNA Probes

KW - DNA, Bacterial

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Mycoplasma Infections

KW - Persian Gulf Syndrome

KW - Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 12383408

VL - 9

SP - 525

EP - 529

JO - J CLIN NEUROSCI

JF - J CLIN NEUROSCI

SN - 0967-5868

IS - 5

ER -