Biospecimens and Biobanking in Global Health.

Biobanks provide a critical infrastructure to support research in human health. Biospecimens and their accompanying data are increasingly needed to support biomedical research and clinical care. The original text was initially published in the Handbook for Cancer Research in Africa. The value of this publication is great as it underlines the importance of biobanks in Africa as a key resource to increase quality scientific research and participate in global health research. Therefore, a revision to extend these principles to other low resource contexts, to include updated material and references and add the topic of biobank sustainability were relevant.

Circulating markers of oxidative stress and liver fibrosis in Sudanese subjects at risk of schistosomiasis and hepatitis.

Epidemiological studies in the developing world are frequently biased by the simultaneous presence of several infectious pathogens. In the present study, we examined the usefulness of circulating markers of oxidative stress and liver fibrosis to investigate the distinct forms of chronic liver inflammations associated with schistosomiasis and viral hepatitis, respectively. The study was performed in a Sudanese population exposed to Schistosoma. Circulating hyaluronic acid (HA) was used as a marker of liver fibrosis; the severity of schistosomiasis was determined by ultrasonic examination; viral hepatitis infection was ascertained by circulating anti-hepatitis antibodies. Serum markers were examined also in Sudanese subjects not exposed to Schistosoma infection and in French control subjects. We found a drastic decrease of lycopene levels in the subjects exposed to schistosomiasis in comparison with non-exposed Sudanese and French control subjects. Retinol, alpha-tocopherol and five carotenoids were unchanged. Lycopene depletion was unlikely to be due to variations of nutritional origin, since the lycopene/beta-carotene ratio was five-fold lower in the population at risk of schistosomiasis than in the other groups. We found that high HA serum levels were associated with severe periportal fibrosis but not with viral infection. Conversely, levels of the oxidized lipid malondialdehyde (MDA) were associated with viral infection but not with the severity of schistosomiasis, even though the two infections had additive effects. We concluded that serum markers are valuable tools for investigating the complex effects of co-existing factors of chronic liver inflammation.

Plasma levels of six carotenoids in nine European countries: report from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

BACKGROUND: In addition to their possible direct biological effects, plasma carotenoids can be used as biochemical markers of fruit and vegetable consumption for identifying diet-disease associations in epidemiological studies. Few studies have compared levels of these carotenoids between countries in Europe. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to assess the variability of plasma carotenoid levels within the cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). METHODS: Plasma levels of six carotenoids--alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin--were measured cross-sectionally in 3043 study subjects from 16 regions in nine European countries. We investigated the relative influence of gender, season, age, body mass index (BMI), alcohol intake and smoking status on plasma levels of the carotenoids. RESULTS: Mean plasma level of the sum of the six carotenoids varied twofold between regions (1.35 micromol l(-1) for men in Malmö, Sweden vs. 2.79 micromol l(-1) for men in Ragusa/Naples, Italy; 1.61 micromol l(-1) for women in The Netherlands vs. 3.52 micromol l(-1) in Ragusa/Naples, Italy). Mean levels of individual carotenoids varied up to fourfold (alpha-carotene: 0.06 micromol l(-1) for men in Murcia, Spain vs. 0.25 micromol l(-1) for vegetarian men living in the UK). In multivariate regression analyses, region was the most important predictor of total plasma carotenoid level (partial R(2)=27.3%), followed by BMI (partial R(2)=5.2%), gender (partial R(2)=2.7%) and smoking status (partial R(2)=2.8%). Females had higher total carotenoid levels than males across Europe. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma levels of carotenoids vary substantially between 16 different regions in Italy, Greece, Spain, France, Germany, the UK, Sweden, Denmark and The Netherlands. Compared with region of residence, the other demographic and lifestyle factors and laboratory measurements have limited predictive value for plasma carotenoid levels in Europe.