Juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus onset patterns in Vietnamese children: a descriptive study of 45 children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Incidence and disease pattern of childhood-onset SLE is reported to differ among ethnic groups.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To describe disease pattern and 6 month follow-up in a referral based cohort of 45 Vietnamese children with SLE. Forty-five children who were subsequently diagnosed to have systemic lupus erythematosus (f/m = 4/1) were referred to the Ho Chi Minh City Children’s Hospital No.1 during a 12-month period in 2009.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age at diagnosis was 12.8 years (SD = 2.5). Thirty-seven (82%) fulfilled criteria for lupus nephritis (LN). At diagnosis, impressively high SLEDAI and ECLAM scores were recorded (mean and SD), 23.8 (11.6) and 6 (2.3), respectively. The mean renal SLEDAI score was 8.2. The mean haemoglobin (g/dL, SD) was 8.5 (2.1). The Coombs test was positive in 30 of 36 children (83%). The mean plasma creatinine was 0.98 (SD 1.2) and mean Westergren sedimentation rate was 83.6 (SD 37.4). The patient age at diagnosis was positively correlated to the SLEDAI (p = 0.034) and ECLAM (p = 0.022). At 6 month follow-up of the 45 children, 15 patients were in complete remission, 5 were in partial remission, 6 had stable disease, 3 had relapsed, 3 had evolving disease, 2 had ongoing resistant disease and 4 had died. Seven patients were lost to follow-up. A second renal biopsy showed an improved ISN class in 13 of 15; in 2 cases the ISN class remained unchanged.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Forty-five Vietnamese children with SLE were referred to Ho Chi Minh Children’s Hospital No. 1 during a16 month period from 2008–2009. These patients had a strikingly high prevalence of Coombs positive anaemia, a high prevalence of lupus nephritis, and very high SLEDAI and ECLAM scores at the time of diagnosis. While there may be referral biases, our Vietnamese SLE patients appear to have severe disease upon presentation but do reasonably well in the short-term.</p

Gelatin Encapsulated Curcumin Nanoparticles Moderate Behavior of Human Primary Gingival Fibroblasts In Vitro

Objective. Currently, there is no study evaluating the effect of nano-curcumin on human oral cells in vitro. In this study, we developed gelatin encapsulated curcumin nanoparticles (GelCur) and cultured the primary human gingival fibroblasts (hGFs) to verify the effect of GelCur on the cellular events related to oral wound healing capacities, such as cell migration and proliferation of gingival fibroblasts. Materials and Methods. GelCur was produced by the sonoprecipitation method. Particle size, zeta potential, SEM morphological observation, entrapment efficiency, and drug loading were used to characterize new GelCur. Primary hGFs were cultured from the attached gingival tissue of healthy third molar teeth. The effect of different concentrations of GelCur on hGFs was investigated by cell toxicity assay (MTT), cell proliferation assay, and cell migration assays by scratch test and transwell migration assay. Results. The average particle size of GelCur was around 356 nm with a moderate zeta potential of 26.5 mV. The mean PdI value of GelCur was 0.2, while the entrapment efficiency and drug loading of curcumin in this study were around 57% and 2.4%, respectively. IC30 of GelCur on hGFs was 3.96 mg/ml, while IC50 was 12,37 mg/ml. More than 70% of cells were viable after 24 hours incubated with 1, 2, and 3 mg/ml GelCur. At the concentration of 2 mg/ml GelCur virtually limited cell proliferation and migration. Conclusions. GelCur remained physically stable and did not alter cell proliferation and migration. The concentration of GelCur <3.96 mg/ml did not cause hGF cytotoxicity. Our study showed that within appropriate doses, GelCur can be used safely for hGFs