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Staphylococcal toxin test
THE ROLE OF STAPHYLOCOCCI BACTERIA IN CHRONIC MUSCLE PAIN
The ability of staphylococcal species (coagulase positive and negative strains) to cause acute and chronic diseases is now well documented. The coagulase negative staphylococci were the most frequent organisms recovered from newborn babies with necrotising enterocolitis, and were associated with serious infections.
Similarly, in a recent study conducted by Bioscreen, Butt et al. showed that there was a high prevalence of multiple carriage of staphylococcal species in patients with chronic muscle pain. These micro-organisms were shown to produce cytotoxic amounts of membrane damaging toxins. Gemmell and Roberts demonstrated that 65% of staphylococcal isolates from patients with urinary tract infections and 50% from blood, abscess and wound infections produced membrane damaging cytotoxins. © Bioscreen, CPRU, S Ashton and F Bartosy 1999 - 2001
In patients with chronic muscle pain, 51.8% of staphylococcal isolates were also found to produce membrane damaging toxins. Staphylococcal species have known to produce at least three membrane-damaging toxins. Recently, Bioscreen has shown that certain strains of these organisms are capable of producing a different cytotoxin which they tentatively identified as 'horse' cytotoxin.
These cytotoxins had been shown to be directly correlated with their ability to permeabilise cell membranes resulting in channel formation.
It was found that:
1. The greater the tyrosine/leucine ratio, the greater the pain severity.
2. The more toxin producing coagulase negative bacteria carried, the greater the proteolytic response.
3. The more toxin producing coagulase negative bacteria carried, the greater the pain severity.
The activities of these membrane damaging exotoxins, can be neutralised by glycerides and unsaturated fatty acids. (These fatty acids can be inactivated by bacterial lipase, produced by staphylococci and other organisms).
References:
Butt HL et al (1998) J Med Microbiol 47:577-584 McGregor NR et al (1996) J Orofacial Pain 10:339-350 McGregor NR et al (1999) J Pain (under review)
© Bioscreen and F Bartosy 1999
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