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posted by mrpg on Friday November 23 2018, @09:43AM   Printer-friendly
from the always-use-trojans dept.

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

The Trojan horse of Staphylococcus aureus: The infectious bacterium diverts to its advantage a structure set up by human cells, in order to destroy them and invade the organism

Staphylococcus aureus causes different types of infections in humans, some of which are lethal. One of its most powerful weapons is α-toxin, which destroys host cells by forming pores in their membranes. Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, have identified the mechanism that allows these pores to be particularly harmful, by being anchored to contacts sites between cells. The study, published in the journal Cell Reports, uncovers how different proteins of human cells assemble into a complex to which pores are docked, and then molecularly "locked" to stabilize them. The biologists also demonstrate that blocking the assembly of the complex by removing one or the other of its elements allows pores to be removed from the membrane and cells to survive. Identifying the host's cellular mechanisms that contribute to the virulence of toxins is essential to develop therapeutic approaches against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.


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  • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Saturday November 24 2018, @05:45AM (2 children)

    by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Saturday November 24 2018, @05:45AM (#765817) Homepage Journal

    -h.

    Depakote (sodium divalproate) made me itch furiously. I don't think this was an actual allergy, because to stop taking Depakote did not give me any relief from the itching. I might well be scratching myself furiously for the rest of my days.

    Sometimes I am so desperate to relieve the itch that I make myself bleed. This mostly happens to my lower legs, ankles and the tops of my feet.

    At some point I had a whole bunch of sores there that seeped blood continuously. It was very, very painful to stand on my own feet. My normally stand-offish cat Lyra seemed to sense that I was ill and so would lie on top of me whenever I was in bed, which really was a great comfort to me.

    Triple Antibiotic Ointments such as Neosporing, Rubbing Alcohol and Hydrogen Peroxide made no difference whatsover, Eventually the sores all started oozing pus.

    I requested a Fasting Blood Sugar Test from my witch doctor as Diabetes is more common among the mentally ill then in the general population; it can be a side effect of our medicine.

    The psych nurse who gave me my sugar test results told me my sugar was normal, so I pulled up the cuff of one of my pantlegs then ask, "Would you have any idea what's causing this?"

    And She Totally Freaked.

    Clearly she knew what was causing it but not being a physician was not qualified to diagnose it nor to prescribe medicine for it - in most US States, "Nurse Practitioner" _can_ diagnose medicine but she wasn't a nurse practitioner.

    Rather, with a very frightened tone of voice she _demanded_ I get into her car so she could drive me to an urgent care clinic. At that clinic, the doctor took one quick look at it then said, "You have a Staph Infection".

    MRSA - Methocillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus - is a form of Staph that can _kill_ you in a uniquely unpleasant way.

    He prescribed two antibiotics that I'd never heard of, oral tablets for one the other an ointment that I put on my sores. Cleared it right up.

    I dodged a bullet that day.

    A hour ago while preparing to hang up the one pair of my pants that don't have blood all over them, I found a blood stain. That particular pair of pants was a gift from someone who doesn't know that I bleed all over my clothes - while I itch all over my body, even on my scalp, that itch is most common on my lower legs.

    I sprayed some Shout liquid stain remover on them than sadly put those pants in my dirty laundry pile. Such stain removers are always Hail Mary Passes because if I don't spot the blood right away they don't work.

    --
    Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 24 2018, @12:58PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 24 2018, @12:58PM (#765864)

    Oxy-clean works wonders for blood stains (don't bother with the real stuff, the off/store brand copies work just as well).

  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 25 2018, @04:27AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 25 2018, @04:27AM (#766089)

    I had a problem with itching on the tops of my feet and generally all over my body, but I would have sold my soul to have stopped the itching at that point. My right leg doubled in size, and for quite a while I felt like I was hung over. My doctor took one look at my leg and said "Whoa... You either have a blood clot or you have had a spider bite." It was spider bites! I live in Canada, and I didn't believe him because who would have thought that spiders would attack me here. Go, and get yourself tested for that right away!