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BackgroundTo provide accurate prevalence information of thalassemia in northeast Thailand, authors performed thalassemia screening in newborns after 20 years implementation of a prevention and control program.MethodsStudy was done on 350 cord blood specimens collected consecutively at Maternal and Child Hospital, Regional Health Promotion Center 7, Khon Kaen, Thailand. All kinds of α- and β-thalassemias were identified using combined hemoglobin (Hb) and DNA analyses.ResultsAmong 350 newborns examined, subjects with thalassemia genes were identified in 184 (52.6%) cases with as many as 22 different genotypes. The most prevalent one was Hb E (39.1%). The incidence of 3.1% α0-thalassemia, 25.9% α+-thalassemia, 5.4% Hb Constant Spring and 1.4% of Hb Paksé were encountered. Heterozygous β-thalassemia was found in 2 cases (0.6%). Hb capillary electrophoresis could demonstrate Hb E in all cases with Hb E and detected different levels of Hb Bart’s for different α-thalassemia genotypes but not in all cases with α-thalassemia. No newborn with severe thalassemia diseases was encountered.ConclusionThis study reveals that α-thalassemia, β-thalassemia, and Hb E carriers as well as complex thalassemia syndromes are still prevalence and indicates a need for continuing a prevention and control program in the region.

The beneficial physiological effects of traditional Thai massage (TTM) have been previously documented. However, its effect on immune status, particularly in the elderly, has not been explored. This study aimed to investigate the effects of multiple rounds of TTM on senescent CD4+ T cell subsets in the elderly. The study recruited 12 volunteers (61–75 years), with senescent CD4+ T cell subsets, who received six weekly 1-h TTM sessions or rest, using a randomized controlled crossover study with a 30-day washout period. Flow cytometry analysis of surface markers and intracellular cytokine staining was performed. TTM could attenuate the senescent CD4+ T cell subsets, especially in CD4+28null NKG2D+ T cells (n = 12; p < 0.001). The participants were allocated into two groups (low < 2.75% or high ≥ 2.75%) depending on the number of CD4+28null NKG2D+ T cells. After receiving TTM over 6 sessions, the cell population of the high group had significantly decreased (p < 0.001), but the low group had no significant changes. In conclusion, multiple rounds of TTM may promote immunity through the attenuation of aberrant CD4+ T subsets. TTM may be provided as a complementary therapy to improve the immune system in elderly populations.

In the aging process, the presence of interleukin (IL)-17-producing CD4+CD28-NKG2D+T cells (called pathogenic CD4+ T cells) is strongly associated with inflammation and the development of various diseases. Thus, their presence needs to be monitored. The emergence of attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy empowered with machine learning is a breakthrough in the field of medical diagnostics. This study aimed to discriminate between the elderly with a low percentage (LP; ≤3%) and a high percentage (HP; ≥6%) of pathogenic CD4+CD28-NKG2D+IL17+ T cells by utilizing ATR-FTIR coupled with machine learning algorithms. ATR spectra of serum, exosome, and HDL from both groups were explored in this study. Only exosome spectra in the 1700–1500 cm−1 region exhibited possible discrimination for the LP and HP groups based on principal component analysis (PCA). Furthermore, partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) could differentiate both groups using the 1700–1500 cm−1 region of exosome ATR spectra with 64% accuracy, 69% sensitivity, and 61% specificity. To obtain better classification performance, several spectral models were then established using advanced machine learning algorithms, including J48 decision tree, support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and neural network (NN). Herein, NN was considered to be the best model with an accuracy of 100%, sensitivity of 100%, and specificity of 100% using serum spectra in the region of 1800–900 cm−1. Exosome spectra in the 1700–1500 and combined 3000–2800 and 1800–900 cm−1 regions using the NN algorithm gave the same accuracy performance of 95% with a variation in sensitivity and specificity. HDL spectra with the NN algorithm also showed excellent test performance in the 1800–900 cm−1 region with 97% accuracy, 100% sensitivity, and 95% specificity. This study demonstrates that ATR-FTIR coupled with machine learning algorithms can be used to study immunosenescence. Furthermore, this approach can possibly be applied to monitor the presence of pathogenic CD4+ T cells in the elderly. Due to the limited number of samples used in this study, it is necessary to conduct a large-scale study to obtain more robust classification models and to assess the true clinical diagnostic performance.

Natural killer group 2, member D (NKG2D) is a potent activating receptor of the immune system that can express on most of T cells. The NKG2D expression on CD 4 T cells have elucidated as pathogenic immune cells in chronic inflammatory diseases also elderly. A possible effect of traditional Thai massage (TTM) on immunity via inflammatory response and homeostasis was supposed. TTM is an exclusive technique of deep tissue massage by acupressure along ten meridian lines and combined muscle stretching. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effect of TTM on pathogenic immune cells in elderly. A randomized crossover trial was performed in 12 Thai elderly participants aged 67.7±5.12 years. Each of them underwent 6 sessions of 1-hour TTM/rest (once weekly) for 5 weeks with a 30-day washout period. The immunophenotyping was specifically investigated on cell surface markers using monoclonal antibody conjugated with different fluorochromes staining by flow cytometry. The results showed that the participants had risen NKG2D expression on CD 4 T cells before having TTM. The pathogenic immune cells were considerably reduced after having the sessions accumulated of TTM. The pairwise comparison between before and accumulated effect of NKG2D expressions on CD4+ T cells, CD4+28+ T cells, and CD4+28null T cells were significantly decreased (p=0.003, p=0.005, and p=0.005, respectively) in the TTM period whereas no significantly change was found during the control period. We conclude that TTM might promote immunity by selectively decreasing pathogenic immune cells in elderly. However, the mechanism should be clarified in the future.