Pilot study for assessment of prevalence of intrafamilial hepatitis C transmission in relation to salivary viral load among infected patients with and without chronic renal failure

HCV-RNA in saliva of HCV patients provides a biological basis for its potential transmission. HCV viremia is particularly high in HCV patients on hemodialysis. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of HCV in saliva of HCV patients with and without renal failure, and the possible role of intrafamilial transmission of the virus. Twenty HCV patients were enrolled in this study. They were divided into two groups: 10 HCV infected patients without renal failure (Group I) and 10 with renal failure (Group II).  Detection of HCV-RNA by quantitative RT-PCR in serum and saliva of both groups was done. Thirty-eight family members of both groups were included for the detection of serum HCV antibody. The percentage of the saliva-positive patients for HCV was significantly higher in the renal failure group (70%) than the other group (40%) (p<0.05). There was insignificant statistical difference between the two groups as regards infectivity to their family contacts. Also there was insignificant correlation between the level of viremia and the intra familial transmission with a mean + SD (9,33,250 +24,501) in negative relatives and a mean + SD(79,912+26,879) in positive relatives (p> 0.05). But a significant correlation was revealed between the level of viremia and saliva positivity, with a mean + SD(12,95,666 + 1792) in saliva-positive patients and a mean +SD (3,74,465 + 2150) in saliva-negative patients (p< 0.05). There was a highly significant difference between infectivity of HCV saliva-positive patients and saliva-negative patients to their family contacts (p< 0.001). Conclusion: Increased percentage of HCV detection in saliva of HCV patients with renal failure on HD may cause spreading of HCV in HD units among RF patients. Also there was increased percentage of interfamilial infectivity among the saliva-positive patients to their relatives and this suggests that saliva might have an infective role.Keywords: Salivary; HCV; HCV PCR; Intrafamilial transmissio

Salivary PCR detection of Helicobacter pylori DNA in Egyptian patients with dyspepsia

Several methods are available for detecting Helicobacter pylori infection: (1) invasive methods based on gastric biopsies, (2) non invasive methods like Urea Breath Test (UBT), serology and stool antigen tests. Importance of salivary PCR in detection of H. pylori is still questionable. To evaluate the role of salivary PCR technique in detecting H. pylori gastric affection in Egyptian patients with dyspepsia and in differentiating between functional dyspepsia and acid-ulcer syndrome. This study included 60 patients with dyspepsia classified into three groups: (Group 1) patients with gastric H. pylori and ulcers or erosions (n= 20), (Group 2) patients with gastric H. pylori and no ulcers or erosions and had functional dyspepsia (n= 20), (Group 3) patients without H. pylori and had functional dyspepsia (n= 20). All underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with biopsies, rapid urease test and salivary samples for H. pylori PCR. Significant difference between the three groups regarding salivary PCR values. No significant difference between Group 1 and Group 2 but both had significant difference with Group 3, significant difference between gastric H. pylori positive patients (n= 40) and negative ones (n= 20). Salivary PCR test had sensitivity of 85%, specificity of 70% in diagnosing H. pylori. PCR value of 534000 Iu/ml had best sensitivity (75%) and specificity (100%) for diagnosing H. pylori, highly significant positive correlation between H. pylori gastric affection and salivary PCR values. No significant difference between patients with acid ulcer syndrome (n=20) and those with functional dyspepsia (n= 40) as regard salivary PCR mean values. Salivary PCR test showed sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 50% in differentiating between patients with acid ulcer syndrome and those with functional dyspepsia. PCR value of 440000 Iu/ml had best sensitivity (100%) and specificity (55%) in differentiating acid ulcer syndrome from functional dyspepsia with non significant. H. pylori salivary PCR may be of value in diagnosing H. pylori gastric affection and is strongly correlated with it but it is of limited value in differentiating between acid ulcer syndrome and functional dyspepsia.Keywords: Salivary PCR; Helicobacter pylori; Functional dyspepsia; Acid ulcer syndrom

Ethnic Inequalities in Mortality: The Case of Arab-Americans

BACKGROUND: Although nearly 112 million residents of the United States belong to a non-white ethnic group, the literature about differences in health indicators across ethnic groups is limited almost exclusively to Hispanics. Features of the social experience of many ethnic groups including immigration, discrimination, and acculturation may plausibly influence mortality risk. We explored life expectancy and age-adjusted mortality risk of Arab-Americans (AAs), relative to non-Arab and non-Hispanic Whites in Michigan, the state with the largest per capita population of AAs in the US. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Data were collected about all deaths to AAs and non-Arab and non-Hispanic Whites in Michigan between 1990 and 2007, and year 2000 census data were collected for population denominators. We calculated life expectancy, age-adjusted all-cause, cause-specific, and age-specific mortality rates stratified by ethnicity and gender among AAs and non-Arab and non-Hispanic Whites. Among AAs, life expectancies among men and women were 2.0 and 1.4 years lower than among non-Arab and non-Hispanic White men and women, respectively. AA men had higher mortality than non-Arab and non-Hispanic White men due to infectious diseases, chronic diseases, and homicide. AA women had higher mortality than non-Arab and non-Hispanic White women due to chronic diseases. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Despite better education and higher income, AAs have higher age-adjusted mortality risk than non-Arab and non-Hispanic Whites, particularly due to chronic diseases. Features specific to AA culture may explain some of these findings

Suicide among Arab-Americans

BACKGROUND: Arab-American (AA) populations in the US are exposed to discrimination and acculturative stress-two factors that have been associated with higher suicide risk. However, prior work suggests that socially oriented norms and behaviors, which characterize recent immigrant ethnic groups, may be protective against suicide risk. Here we explored suicide rates and their determinants among AAs in Michigan, the state with the largest proportion of AAs in the US. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: ICD-9/10 underlying cause of death codes were used to identify suicide deaths from among all deaths in Michigan between 1990 and 2007. Data from the 2000 U.S. Census were collected for population denominators. Age-adjusted suicide rates among AAs and non-ethnic whites were calculated by gender using the direct method of standardization. We also stratified by residence inside or outside of Wayne County (WC), the county with the largest AA population in the state. Suicide rates were 25.10 per 100,000 per year among men and 6.40 per 100,000 per year among women in Michigan from 1990 to 2007. AA men had a 51% lower suicide rate and AA women had a 33% lower rate than non-ethnic white men and women, respectively. The suicide rate among AA men in WC was 29% lower than in all other counties, while the rate among AA women in WC was 20% lower than in all other counties. Among non-ethnic whites, the suicide rate in WC was higher compared to all other counties among both men (12%) and women (16%). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Suicide rates were higher among non-ethnic white men and women compared to AA men and women in both contexts. Arab ethnicity may protect against suicide in both sexes, but more so among men. Additionally, ethnic density may protect against suicide among Arab-Americans

Insecticide resistance in the sand fly, Phlebotomus papatasi from Khartoum State, Sudan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Phlebotomus papatasi </it>the vector of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most widely spread sand fly in Sudan. No data has previously been collected on insecticide susceptibility and/or resistance of this vector, and a first study to establish a baseline data is reported here.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sand flies were collected from Surogia village, (Khartoum State), Rahad Game Reserve (eastern Sudan) and White Nile area (Central Sudan) using light traps. Sand flies were reared in the Tropical Medicine Research Institute laboratory. The insecticide susceptibility status of first progeny (F1) of <it>P. papatasi </it>of each population was tested using WHO insecticide kits. Also, <it>P. papatasi </it>specimens from Surogia village and Rahad Game Reserve were assayed for activities of enzyme systems involved in insecticide resistance (acetylcholinesterase (AChE), non-specific carboxylesterases (EST), glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) and cytochrome p450 monooxygenases (Cyt p450).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Populations of <it>P. papatasi </it>from White Nile and Rahad Game Reserve were sensitive to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), permethrin, malathion, and propoxur. However, the <it>P. papatasi </it>population from Surogia village was sensitive to DDT and permethrin but highly resistant to malathion and propoxur. Furthermore, <it>P. papatasi </it>of Surogia village had significantly higher insecticide detoxification enzyme activity than of those of Rahad Game Reserve. The sand fly population in Surogia displayed high AChE activity and only three specimens had elevated levels for EST and GST.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The study provided evidence for malathion and propoxur resistance in the sand fly population of Surogia village, which probably resulted from anti-malarial control activities carried out in the area during the past 50 years.</p

Perspectives of the Apiaceae Hepatoprotective Effects - A Review

The liver has the crucial role in the regulation of various physiological processes and in the excretion of endogenous waste metabolites and xenobiotics. Liver structure impairment can be caused by various factors including microorganisms, autoimmune diseases, chemicals, alcohol and drugs. The plant kingdom is full of liver protective chemicals such as phenols, coumarins, lignans, essential oils, monoterpenes, carotenoids, glycosides, flavonoids, organic acids, lipids, alkaloids and xanthenes. Apiaceae plants are usually used as a vegetable or as a spice, but their other functional properties are also very important. This review highlights the significance of caraway, dill, cumin, aniseed, fennel, coriander, celery, lovage, angelica, parsley and carrot, which are popular vegetables and spices, but possess hepatoprotective potential. These plants can be used for medicinal applications to patients who suffer from liver damage

The Trypanosoma cruzi Sylvio X10 strain maxicircle sequence: the third musketeer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chagas disease has a diverse pathology caused by the parasite <it>Trypanosoma cruzi</it>, and is indigenous to Central and South America. A pronounced feature of the trypanosomes is the kinetoplast, which is comprised of catenated maxicircles and minicircles that provide the transcripts involved in uridine insertion/deletion RNA editing. <it>T. cruzi </it>exchange genetic material through a hybridization event. Extant strains are grouped into six discrete typing units by nuclear markers, and three clades, A, B, and C, based on maxicircle gene analysis. Clades A and B are the more closely related. Representative clade B and C maxicircles are known in their entirety, and portions of A, B, and C clades from multiple strains show intra-strain heterogeneity with the potential for maxicircle taxonomic markers that may correlate with clinical presentation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To perform a genome-wide analysis of the three maxicircle clades, the coding region of clade A representative strain Sylvio X10 (a.k.a. Silvio X10) was sequenced by PCR amplification of specific fragments followed by assembly and comparison with the known CL Brener and Esmeraldo maxicircle sequences. The clade A rRNA and protein coding region maintained synteny with clades B and C. Amino acid analysis of non-edited and 5'-edited genes for Sylvio X10 showed the anticipated gene sequences, with notable frameshifts in the non-edited regions of Cyb and ND4. Comparisons of genes that undergo extensive uridine insertion and deletion display a high number of insertion/deletion mutations that are likely permissible due to the post-transcriptional activity of RNA editing.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Phylogenetic analysis of the entire maxicircle coding region supports the closer evolutionary relationship of clade B to A, consistent with uniparental mitochondrial inheritance from a discrete typing unit TcI parental strain and studies on smaller fragments of the mitochondrial genome. Gene variance that can be corrected by RNA editing hints at an unusual depth for maxicircle taxonomic markers, which will aid in the ability to distinguish strains, their corresponding symptoms, and further our understanding of the <it>T. cruzi </it>population structure. The prevalence of apparently compromised coding regions outside of normally edited regions hints at undescribed but active mechanisms of genetic exchange.</p

Genome of the Avirulent Human-Infective Trypanosome—Trypanosoma rangeli

Background: Trypanosoma rangeli is a hemoflagellate protozoan parasite infecting humans and other wild and domestic mammals across Central and South America. It does not cause human disease, but it can be mistaken for the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. We have sequenced the T. rangeli genome to provide new tools for elucidating the distinct and intriguing biology of this species and the key pathways related to interaction with its arthropod and mammalian hosts.  Methodology/Principal Findings: The T. rangeli haploid genome is ,24 Mb in length, and is the smallest and least repetitive trypanosomatid genome sequenced thus far. This parasite genome has shorter subtelomeric sequences compared to those of T. cruzi and T. brucei; displays intraspecific karyotype variability and lacks minichromosomes. Of the predicted 7,613 protein coding sequences, functional annotations could be determined for 2,415, while 5,043 are hypothetical proteins, some with evidence of protein expression. 7,101 genes (93%) are shared with other trypanosomatids that infect humans. An ortholog of the dcl2 gene involved in the T. brucei RNAi pathway was found in T. rangeli, but the RNAi machinery is non-functional since the other genes in this pathway are pseudogenized. T. rangeli is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, a phenotype that may be explained by a smaller number of anti-oxidant defense enzymes and heatshock proteins.  Conclusions/Significance: Phylogenetic comparison of nuclear and mitochondrial genes indicates that T. rangeli and T. cruzi are equidistant from T. brucei. In addition to revealing new aspects of trypanosome co-evolution within the vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, comparative genomic analysis with pathogenic trypanosomatids provides valuable new information that can be further explored with the aim of developing better diagnostic tools and/or therapeutic targets

Fractional dynamics pharmacokinetics–pharmacodynamic models

While an increasing number of fractional order integrals and differential equations applications have been reported in the physics, signal processing, engineering and bioengineering literatures, little attention has been paid to this class of models in the pharmacokinetics–pharmacodynamic (PKPD) literature. One of the reasons is computational: while the analytical solution of fractional differential equations is available in special cases, it this turns out that even the simplest PKPD models that can be constructed using fractional calculus do not allow an analytical solution. In this paper, we first introduce new families of PKPD models incorporating fractional order integrals and differential equations, and, second, exemplify and investigate their qualitative behavior. The families represent extensions of frequently used PK link and PD direct and indirect action models, using the tools of fractional calculus. In addition the PD models can be a function of a variable, the active drug, which can smoothly transition from concentration to exposure, to hyper-exposure, according to a fractional integral transformation. To investigate the behavior of the models we propose, we implement numerical algorithms for fractional integration and for the numerical solution of a system of fractional differential equations. For simplicity, in our investigation we concentrate on the pharmacodynamic side of the models, assuming standard (integer order) pharmacokinetics

Advances in the field of nanooncology

Nanooncology, the application of nanobiotechnology to the management of cancer, is currently the most important chapter of nanomedicine. Nanobiotechnology has refined and extended the limits of molecular diagnosis of cancer, for example, through the use of gold nanoparticles and quantum dots. Nanobiotechnology has also improved the discovery of cancer biomarkers, one such example being the sensitive detection of multiple protein biomarkers by nanobiosensors. Magnetic nanoparticles can capture circulating tumor cells in the bloodstream followed by rapid photoacoustic detection. Nanoparticles enable targeted drug delivery in cancer that increases efficacy and decreases adverse effects through reducing the dosage of anticancer drugs administered. Nanoparticulate anticancer drugs can cross some of the biological barriers and achieve therapeutic concentrations in tumor and spare the surrounding normal tissues from toxic effects. Nanoparticle constructs facilitate the delivery of various forms of energy for noninvasive thermal destruction of surgically inaccessible malignant tumors. Nanoparticle-based optical imaging of tumors as well as contrast agents to enhance detection of tumors by magnetic resonance imaging can be combined with delivery of therapeutic agents for cancer. Monoclonal antibody nanoparticle complexes are under investigation for diagnosis as well as targeted delivery of cancer therapy. Nanoparticle-based chemotherapeutic agents are already on the market, and several are in clinical trials. Personalization of cancer therapies is based on a better understanding of the disease at the molecular level, which is facilitated by nanobiotechnology. Nanobiotechnology will facilitate the combination of diagnostics with therapeutics, which is an important feature of a personalized medicine approach to cancer