Efficacy and Safety of Single and Double Doses of Ivermectin versus 7-Day High Dose Albendazole for Chronic Strongyloidiasis

Strongyloidiasis, caused by an intestinal helminth Strongyloides stercoralis, is common throughout the tropics. We conducted a prospective, clinical study to compare the efficacy and safety of a 7-day course of oral albendazole with a single dose of oral ivermectin, or double doses, given 2 weeks apart, of ivermectin in Thai patients who developed this infection. Patients were regularly followed-up after initiation of treatment, until one year after treatment. Ninety patients were studied (30, 31 and 29 patients in albendazole, single dose, and double doses ivermectin group, respectively). The average duration of follow-up were 19 (range 2–76) weeks in albendazole group, 39 ( range 2–74) weeks in single dose ivermectin group, and 26 ( range 2–74) weeks in double doses ivermectin group. Parasitological cure rate were 63.3%, 96.8% and 93.1% in albendazole, single dose oral ivermectin, and double doses of oral ivermectin respectively. No serious adverse event associated with treatment was found in any of the groups. Therefore this study confirms that both a single, and a double dose of oral ivermectin taken two weeks apart, is more effective than a 7-day course of high dose albendazole for patients with chronic infection due to S. stercoralis

Elevation of Plasma Malondialdehyde Levels Associated with The Severity of Coronary Atherosclerosis in Coronary Artery Disease Patients

The present study aims to investigate the relationship between plasma MDA and the severity of coronary artery disease in CAD patients. A total of 159 newly diagnosed CAD patients were enrolled in the study with an average age of 65.5 ± 11.3 years old and 63% were male. Participants underwent an investigation of blood biochemistry and plasma MDA before the measurement of coronary artery angiography. They were then divided into four groups as control (non-CAD), single vessel disease (SVD), double vessel disease (DVD), and triple vessel disease (TVD) groups. The results showed high plasma MDA levels were observed in SVD, DVD, and TVD patients (1.64 ± 0.56, 2.32 ± 0.57, 2.52 ± 0.76, respectively) when compared with the control group (1.44 ± 0.54, P < 0.001). Interestingly, plasma MDA was associated with fasting blood glucose (r = 0.183, P = 0.024), total cholesterol (r = 0.231, P = 0.004), triglyceride levels (r = 0.269, P < 0.001), HDL-cholesterol levels (r = -0.221, P = 0.006), and LDL-cholesterol levels (r = 0.164, P = 0.044). ROC analysis was performed using both control and CAD patients as subjects. The cut-off for plasma MDA was 1.624 ?mol/L with 83.6% sensitivity and 28.0% specificity. The findings of this research showed that plasma MDA levels were associated with the severity of CAD