Background: There is increased worldwide concern about the consequences of folic acid and vitamin B 12 deficiencies on health, which include megaloblastic anemia, neural tube defects and cardiovascular disease. Objective: This study intended to determine the prevalence of folic acid and vitamin B 12 deficiencies in vulnerable groups in labor and poor socioeconomic strata of the Venezuelan population. Methods: A total of 5658 serum samples were processed to determine folic acid and vitamin B 12 concentrations. The study involved three surveys performed during 2001-2002 and included infants, children, adolescents and pregnant women from labor and poor socioeconomic strata of the population. The method used was a radio immunoassay designed for the simultaneous measurement of serum folic acid and vitamin B 12 .Results: The prevalence of folic acid deficiency was higher than 30% for all groups studied, reaching 81.79% in adolescents. Vitamin B 12 deficiency was 11.4% in samples collected nationwide, but there was also a similar prevalence of high serum levels. The prevalence of folic acid and vitamin B 12 deficiencies in pregnant women reached 36.32 and 61.34%, respectively. Conclusion: This work shows that there is a high prevalence of folic acid deficiency, especially in women of reproductive age, pregnant adolescents and in the whole population studied in Vargas state. This situation requires immediate intervention as supplementation or food fortification programs.
Serotonin receptors are present in lymphocytes and might be related to the functionality of these cells in health and in pathology. The serotonergic system is affected in the brain and in peripheral immune cells of depressed patients. The objectives of this work were to evaluate the basal proliferation of lymphocytes, the response to the mitogen concanavalin A, and the role of serotonin 5-HT1A receptors. Twenty-nine patients, 19–52 years old, were diagnosed for a major depression episode with the Statistical and Diagnostic Manual-IV of the American Psychiatric Association, approved by ethic committees and gave written consent. The Hamilton depression score was 30.60 ± 2.65. An apparently healthy group without a family history of psychiatric illness was included. Blood peripheral lymphocytes were isolated by density gradients with Ficoll/Hypaque and differential adhesion to plastic, cultured in 96-well plaques with RPMI-1640 medium with or without 4 µg/ml of concanavalin A. 8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (5–40 nM) and WAY-100,478 (0.1–100 µM), agonist and antagonist of 5-HT1A receptors, serotonin (12.5–100 nM) or imipramine (0.1–100 µM) were also added. Proliferation was evaluated at 72 h with 3-[4,5-dimethythiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, and the optical density was 570 nm. Basal proliferation was three times higher in depressed patients than in controls, whereas no response to mitogen was obtained, and 5-HT1A receptors significantly reacted to the agonist, with increases of about 31–54% at 10, 20 and 40 nM of the specific agonist, indicating initial activation probably in relation to autoimmunity and overreactivity of these receptors in depression. The antagonist reduced proliferation in mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes, 50% in controls and 70% in depressed patients, with a differential concentration dependency; probably, these receptors are more sensitive in depression due to increased 5-HT1A receptor transduction. The antagonist also reduced the stimulation produced by the 5-HT1A agonist. Imipramine caused biphasic effects according to concentrations, showing a possible dual role for serotonin, although all values were significantly higher in depressed subjects. The described alterations might be of relevance in the pathophysiology of depression.
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