Aim To estimate the hepatitis C virus (HCV) vertical transmission rate, the effect of potential risk factors, and the pattern of HCV antibody response and viremia in HCV-infected infants in Benha, Egypt.Methods A total of 1224 pregnant women who were treated at Benha University Hospital, Egypt, were included in the study. They completed a questionnaire about risk factors for HCV acquisition and suspected risk factors for mother-to-infant transmission and were tested for HCV antibody using a third-generation ELISA test. Women positive for HCV antibody were tested for HCV RNA by polymerase chain reaction. Peripheral blood of infants of positive HCV-RNA women was tested for HCV antibody and HCV-RNA at 1 and after 6 months of age.Results Out of 1224 pregnant women, 105 (8.6%; 95% confidence interval, 7.05-10.17) were positive for HCV antibody. Only 83 (6.8%; 5.39-7.21) were positive for HCV-RNA. HCV infection was associated with older age (1.16; 1.1-1.2, P = 0.001), blood transfusion (2.69; 1.2-6.0, P = 0.016), and HCV infection of the husband (5.47; 1.4-21, P = 0.014) or other household members (2.29; 1.2-4.6, P = 0.019). Out of 53 infants tested at first month, 43 (81%; 71-92%) were positive for HCV antibody, but only 7 (13%; 4.1-22%) were positive for HCV-RNA. After 6 months, only 2 (3.8%; 0-8.95%) remained positive for HCV RNA. ConclusionsThe prevalence of HCV in pregnant women in Egypt is lower than previously reported and the potential risk factors associated with HCV infection suggest intra-familial transmission. The frequency of vertical transmission of HCV in Egypt is not substantially different from other countries and does not play a role in the high prevalence of HCV in Egypt. CLINICAL SCIENCES doi: 10.3325/cmj.2010.51.219 CLINICAL SCIENCE 220Croat Med J. 2010; 51: 219-28 www.cmj.hrWorldwide, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the most prevalent causes of liver diseases. There are estimated 300 million carriers of the virus all over the world (1). In the USA, the overall prevalence of HCV antibodies in the general population is 1.8%, the prevalence in children 6-11 years is 0.2%, and in adolescents 12-19 years old is 0.4% (2). In most developed countries, HCV infection is associated with percutaneous blood exposure, primarily as a result of blood transfusion and intravenous drug addiction (3).Egypt has the highest prevalence of hepatitis C in the world. Studies have found widely varying levels (10-50%) of the prevalence, depending on the populations covered; overall, estimates of the HCV rate in the general population range between 10 and 20% (4,5). Geographically, hepatitis C prevalence is higher in Lower Egypt (Nile delta) than Upper Egypt, and it is lower in urban than rural areas (6).In Egypt, the use of contaminated needles and syringes during mass schistosomiasis treatment campaigns during the period the 1960s-1980s has been identified as a key mode of transmission for HCV infection, suggesting that parenteral exposure continues to cause infections (7). Evidence of high interfamili...
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is causally associated with peptic ulcer disease and gastric carcinoma. Typically, children get infected during the first decade of life, but diseases associated with H. pylori are seen mainly in adults. Multiple diagnostic methods are available for the detection of H. pylori infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation and diagnostic accuracy of three invasive methods [rapid urease test (RUT), histology and bacterial culture] and one non-invasive method (IgG serology) for diagnosis of H. pylori infection in a prospective cohort study conducted on 50 symptomatic children between two and eighteen years of age. Endoscopies with gastric biopsies were performed for RUT, culture and histopathological examination, respectively. IgG antibodies were measured in patient sera using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RUT and positive H. pylori IgG antibodies were concordant in 88% (44/50) of patients. Both tests were negative in 32% (16/50), and both were positive in 56% (28/50). Disagreement occurred in 12% (6/50) of the patients: three of them (6%) had positive RUT and negative H. pylori IgG, and another three (6%) had negative RUT and positive H. pylori IgG. A combination of RUT with non-invasive serology constituted the optimum approach to the diagnosis of H. pylori infection in symptomatic children. The non-invasive serological test (ELISA) could not be used alone as the gold standard because it cannot distinguish between active and recently treated infection; and bacterial culture could not be used alone because of its low sensitivity.
Background: Nephrotic syndrome (NS) defined by massive continued losses of urinary proteins, resulting in hypoalbuminemia and edema. These are associated with complications such as increased susceptibility to infections, thromboembolism, altered lipid and carbohydrate metabolism and losses in binding proteins in the urine. Aim of the study: To evaluate the cytokines levels in different stages of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) and to determine the histopathological pattern of INS. Patients and Methods: Fifty two children with INS were divided into; steroid-sensitive group I (SS) (18/52) and steroid-resistant group II (SR)(34/52). Both groups subdivided into SS in relapse IA (8/18), SS in remission IB (10/18), and SR in relapse group IIA (25/34) and in remission group IIB (9/34). Twenty age-matched controls compared with data. The following parameters had assessed; serum levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-13 and IL-18 by using quantitative colorimetric ELISA test. Renal biopsy specimens were histopathologicaly studied. Results: Serum IFN-γ levels were significantly lower in the relapse phase of SS compared with the remission phase and controls. On the contrary, serum IL-4 and IL-13 levels were significantly higher in the relapse phase of SS and SR compared with the remission phases and controls. IL-18 levels were significantly higher in the relapse phase of SS and SR subgroups compared with the remission phases and the controls respectively. IL-4 and IL-13 significantly correlated with IL-18. All 34 SR nephrotic patients were submitted to renal biopsies, which showed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)(59%) the most common diagnosed entities of INS. Conclusions: Type-2 cytokines predominate in relapse phase of SS and SR patients and one could predict a good response to steroid therapy. IL-18 expression significantly correlated with this type-2 immune response. The primary glomerular diseases in Saudi children and FSGS are the most common diag-nosed entities. [J Interdiscipl Histopathol 2013; 1(2.000): 62-73
ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the biochemical and histopathological effects of estrogen replacement therapy on the heart of ovariectomized female rats subjected to myocardial infarction. Methods Sixty young (30 days old) and adult (60 days old) female rats weighing 150-200 g were taken for the study and divided into three groups: group I, sham-operated rats; group II, ovariectomized (OVX) and isoproterenol (ISO) induced myocardial infarction (MI) rats; and group III, OVX and ISO induced MI rats treated with 17b-estradiol (E2), with each group comprising 20 rats (n = 20). Four weeks after ovariectomy, isoproterenol was injected subcutaneously at a dose of 150 mg/kg/day for 2 successive days into the rats to induce MI. The rats in group III were injected intraperitoneally with 10 mg/kg/day E2 for 10 weeks. Electrocardiograms (ECG) was conducted 12 h after the second dose of isoproterenol. Biochemical estimation of plasma creatine kinase (CPK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels was carried out. The hearts of the rats were collected for clinical biochemical analyses, which include measuring the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) in tissue, enzymatic antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), and nonenzymatic antioxidants such as reduced glutathione (GSH), and were studied histopathologically by light and electron microscopy, as well as by immunohistochemical analysis. ResultsPlasma CPK, LDH and MDA levels were highly significantly increased in the ovariectomy and ISO induced MI group II compared with the control group I, but significantly decreased in ovariectomy and ISO induced MI treated E2 group III. In contrast, levels of SOD, CAT and GSH were highly significantly decreased in the ovariectomy and ISO induced MI group II compared with the control group I, but significantly increased in the ovariectomy and isoproterenol induced MI treated E2 group III. Histopathological analysis of the hearts of ovariectomized and ISO induced MI rats showed pathological changes. However, treatment with E2 attenuated the histopathological changes and corrected the biochemical parameters mentioned above. Conclusion 17b-estradiol E2 has a cardioprotective effect; it has been shown to inhibit structural and functional aspects of MI and attenuate the oxidative stress involved in isoproterenol-induced MI.
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