Serum copper concentration in newborns with neural tube defects in northern Iran; A case control study

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the eventual association between copper deficiency in newborns with neural tube defects (NTD) in Northern Iran. A high prevalence of neural tube defects has been reported from this region. Methods: This hospital based case control study was carried out on 13 newborns having neural tube defects and 35 healthy controls in Northern Iran during 2005-2006. Serum copper was measured by spectrophotometery. Findings: Serum copper level in newborns with NTD and healthy normal newborns was 16.5 (±7.2) μmol/l and 16.7 (±6.6) μmol/ l, respectively. In case group 38.5% of newborns and in control group 28.6% had copper deficiency. Logistic regression analysis showed no association between the presence of NTD and copper deficiency (OR:1.6, 95% CI=0.3-7.1, P=0.5). Conclusion: This study showed no association between NTD and copper deficiency in newborns. © 2009 by Center of Excellence for Pediatrics, Children's Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, All rights reserved

Maternal and neonatal serum magnesium concentrations in neural tube defects pregnancies in Gorgan (North of Iran) - A case control study

Objective: Neural tube defects (NTD) comprise a group of congenital malformations that include spinabifida, anencephaly and encephalocele. Previous studies have reported the embryotoxic and teratogenic effects of Magnesium deficiency in animal models. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine an association between Magnesium deficiency and neural tube defects in Northern Iran, which was reported to have a high prevalence of neural tube defects. Methods: This hospital based case control study was conducted on 13 mothers with newborns having neural tube defects and 35 healthy mothers as controls in Northern Iran during 2005-2006. Serum Magnesium was measured by spectrophotometery. Results: Serum Magnesium levels in mothers with NTD affected newborns and in mothers with healthy newborns were 1.5±0.6 and 1.32±0.3 micromol/litter, respectively. Overall, 46.2% mothers in the case group and 48.6 % mothers in the control group had Magnesium deficiency. Logistic regression analysis showed no association between the presence of NTD and Magnesium deficiency (OR =0.9, 95% Cl: 0.2-3.9, p=0.88). Serum Magnesium levels in newborns with NTD and healthy normal newborns were 1.4±0.6 micromol/litter and 1.3±0.4 micromol/litter, respectively. Overall, 30.8% newborns in the case group and 37.1 % newborns in the control group had Magnesium deficiency. Logistic regression analysis showed no association between the presence of NTD and Magnesium deficiency (OR =0.8, 95% Cl: 0.1-3.4 p=0.68). Conclusion: The present study did not find any association between the occurrence of NTD and Magnesium deficiency

Production of a subunit vaccine candidate against porcine post-weaning diarrhea in high-biomass transplastomic tobacco

Post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) in piglets is a major problem in piggeries worldwide and results in severe economic losses. Infection with Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is the key culprit for the PWD disease. F4 fimbriae of ETEC are highly stable proteinaceous polymers, mainly composed of the major structural subunit FaeG, with a capacity to evoke mucosal immune responses, thus demonstrating a potential to act as an oral vaccine against ETEC-induced porcine PWD. In this study we used a transplastomic approach in tobacco to produce a recombinant variant of the FaeG protein, rFaeG(ntd/dsc), engineered for expression as a stable monomer by N-terminal deletion and donor strand-complementation (ntd/dsc). The generated transplastomic tobacco plants accumulated up to 2.0 g rFaeG(ntd/dsc) per 1 kg fresh leaf tissue (more than 1% of dry leaf tissue) and showed normal phenotype indistinguishable from wild type untransformed plants. We determined that chloroplast-produced rFaeG(ntd/dsc) protein retained the key properties of an oral vaccine, i.e. binding to porcine intestinal F4 receptors (F4R), and inhibition of the F4-possessing (F4+) ETEC attachment to F4R. Additionally, the plant biomass matrix was shown to delay degradation of the chloroplast-produced rFaeG(ntd/dsc) in gastrointestinal conditions, demonstrating a potential to function as a shelter-vehicle for vaccine delivery. These results suggest that transplastomic plants expressing the rFaeG(ntd/dsc) protein could be used for production and, possibly, delivery of an oral vaccine against porcine F4+ ETEC infections. Our findings therefore present a feasible approach for developing an oral vaccination strategy against porcine PWD

Replication and exploratory analysis of 24 candidate risk polymorphisms for neural tube defects.

BackgroundNeural tube defects (NTDs), which are among the most common congenital malformations, are influenced by environmental and genetic factors. Low maternal folate is the strongest known contributing factor, making variants in genes in the folate metabolic pathway attractive candidates for NTD risk. Multiple studies have identified nominally significant allelic associations with NTDs. We tested whether associations detected in a large Irish cohort could be replicated in an independent population.MethodsReplication tests of 24 nominally significant NTD associations were performed in racially/ethnically matched populations. Family-based tests of fifteen nominally significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were repeated in a cohort of NTD trios (530 cases and their parents) from the United Kingdom, and case-control tests of nine nominally significant SNPs were repeated in a cohort (190 cases, 941 controls) from New York State (NYS). Secondary hypotheses involved evaluating the latter set of nine SNPs for NTD association using alternate case-control models and NTD groupings in white, African American and Hispanic cohorts from NYS.ResultsOf the 24 SNPs tested for replication, ADA rs452159 and MTR rs10925260 were significantly associated with isolated NTDs. Of the secondary tests performed, ARID1A rs11247593 was associated with NTDs in whites, and ALDH1A2 rs7169289 was associated with isolated NTDs in African Americans.ConclusionsWe report a number of associations between SNP genotypes and neural tube defects. These associations were nominally significant before correction for multiple hypothesis testing. These corrections are highly conservative for association studies of untested hypotheses, and may be too conservative for replication studies. We therefore believe the true effect of these four nominally significant SNPs on NTD risk will be more definitively determined by further study in other populations, and eventual meta-analysis

Maternal serum zinc deficiency in cases of neural tube defect in Gorgan, north Islamic Republic of Iran

Previous studies have shown a high rate of neural tube defects (NTD) in Gorgan, northern Islamic Republic of Iran. This case-control study during 2003-04 compared serum zinc levels and other variables in 23 mothers of neonates affected with NTD and 36 mothers with normal healthy neonates in Dezyani hospital in Gorgan. Mean serum zinc levels in the case and control groups were 13.43 μmol/L (SD 6.3) and 11.41 μmol/L (SD 6.3) respectively. Zinc deficiency was found in 13 (36.5%) of the cases and 7 (19.4%) of the controls. Logistic regression analysis showed an association between the presence of NTD and zinc deficiency (OR 5.06; 95% CI: 1.51-16.94)

A mixed methods approach to evaluating community drug distributor performance in the control of neglected tropical diseases

BACKGROUND: Trusted literate, or semi-literate, community drug distributors (CDDs) are the primary implementers in integrated preventive chemotherapy (IPC) programmes for Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) control. The CDDs are responsible for safely distributing drugs and for galvanising communities to repeatedly, often over many years, receive annual treatment, create and update treatment registers, monitor for side-effects and compile treatment coverage reports. These individuals are 'volunteers' for the programmes and do not receive remuneration for their annual work commitment. METHODS: A mixed methods approach, which included pictorial diaries to prospectively record CDD use of time, structured interviews and focus group discussions, was used to triangulate data on how 58 CDDs allocated their time towards their routine family activities and to NTD Programme activities in Uganda. The opportunity costs of CDD time were valued, performance assessed by determining the relationship between time and programme coverage, and CDD motivation for participating in the programme was explored. RESULTS: Key findings showed approximately 2.5 working weeks (range 0.6-11.4 working weeks) were spent on NTD Programme activities per year. The amount of time on NTD control activities significantly increased between the one and three deliveries that were required within an IPC campaign. CDD time spent on NTD Programme activities significantly reduced time available for subsistence and income generating engagements. As CDDs took more time to complete NTD Programme activities, their treatment performance, in terms of validated coverage, significantly decreased. Motivation for the programme was reported as low and CDDs felt undervalued. CONCLUSIONS: CDDs contribute a considerable amount of opportunity cost to the overall economic cost of the NTD Programme in Uganda due to the commitment of their time. Nevertheless, programme coverage of at least 75 %, as required by the World Health Organisation, is not being achieved and vulnerable individuals may not have access to treatment as a consequence of sub-optimal performance by the CDDs due to workload and programmatic factors