f Human exposure to Bartonella clarridgeiae has been reported only on the basis of antibody detection. We report for the first time an asymptomatic human blood donor infected with B. clarridgeiae, as documented by enrichment blood culture, PCR, and DNA sequencing. CASE REPORT

The objective of this study was to test the relationship between histological changes in minor salivary glands (MSG) and chronic GVHD (cGVHD) severity and OS of hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) patients, and to discriminate the participation of events preceding HSCT that damage MSG, from those linked to cGVHD. The MSG of 57 HSCT patients who were divided into two groups-oral cGVHD (36 cases) and non-cGVHD (21 cases)-were compared with the MSG of a control group of 19 non-HSCT individuals. cGVHD changes were assessed according to National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus and the systems of Horn et al. Acinar areas and mononuclear cell subsets were set through morphometry. Horn's 'periductal lymphocytic infiltrate' correlated with an extensive form of cGVHD and NIH 'periductal lymphocytes with exocytosis into duct' correlated with global survival. Measurements of the acinar area differed between the three groups, being the lowest in cGVHD patients, but also reduced in non-cGVHD patients. Significant differences among CD45, CD45RO, CD4 and CD8 immunomarked cells/mm 2 were found by comparing the two groups of HSCT patients. In brief, periductal lymphocytic infiltrate and exocytosis implies inflammatory activity and, consequently, might reflect the cGVHD status and influence survival. Acini loss in non-cGVHD patients may be due to pre-transplant events, but massive lymphocyte infiltrate is part of the cGVHD process.

Our results confirm increased expression of granzyme B and perforin in oral LP lesions as compared to cutaneous LP. The increased expression suggests a relationship with the clinical behavior of the disease.

BACKGROUND Bartonella spp. are neglected fastidious Gram-negative bacilli. We isolated Bartonella henselae from 1.2% of 500 studied blood donors and demonstrated that the bacteria remain viable in red blood cell units after 35 days of experimental infection. Now, we aim to evaluate the possibility of B. henselae transmission by blood transfusion in a mouse model. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Eight BALB/c mice were intraperitoneal inoculated with a 30μLof suspension with 104 CFU/mL of B. henselae and a second group of eight mice were inoculated with saline solution and used as control. After 96 hours of inoculation, the animals were euthanized. We collected blood and tissue samples from skin, liver, and spleen. Thirty microliters of blood from four Bartonella-inoculated animals were transfused into a new group (n=4). Another group received blood from the control animals. B. henselae infection was investigated by conventional and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS Blood samples from all 24 mice were negative by molecular tests though half of the tissue samples were positive by nested PCR in the intraperitoneal Bartonella-investigated animals. Tissues from two of the four mice that received blood transfusions from Bartonella-inoculated animals were also nested PCR positives. CONCLUSIONS Transmission of B. henselae by transfusion is possible in mice even when donor animals have undetectable bloodstream infection. The impact of human Bartonella sp. transmission through blood transfusion recipients must be evaluated.

Histomorphometric results establish CTE as a distinct disorder, separate from FPHL from its outset. Its pathogenic mechanisms are also distinct. These findings support the proposed mechanism of 'immediate telogen release' for CTE, leading to cycle synchronization. For FPHL, accelerated anagen follicular mitotic rates and, thus, higher Ki-67 and VEGF values, would leave less time for differentiation, resulting in hair miniaturization.