Efficacy and safety of arachidonic acid for treatment of school-age children in Schistosoma mansoni high-endemicity regions.

Arachidonic acid (ARA), an omega-6 fatty acid, is a potent schistosomicide that displayed significant and safe therapeutic effects in Schistosoma mansoni-infected schoolchildren in S. mansoni low-prevalence regions. We here report on ARA efficacy and safety in treatment of schoolchildren in S. mansoni high-endemicity areas of Kafr El Sheikh, Egypt. The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02144389). In total, 268 schoolchildren with light, moderate, or heavy S. mansoni infection were assigned to three study arms of 87, 91, and 90 children and received a single dose of 40 mg/kg praziquantel (PZQ), ARA (10 mg/kg per day for 15 days), or PZQ combined with ARA, respectively. The children were examined before and after treatment for stool parasite egg counts and blood biochemical, hematological, and immunological parameters. ARA, like PZQ, induced moderate cure rates (50% and 60%, respectively) in schoolchildren with light infection and modest cure rates (21% and 20%, respectively) in schoolchildren with high infection. PZQ and ARA combined elicited 83% and 78% cure rates in children with light and heavy infection, respectively. Biochemical and immunological profiles were either unchanged or ameliorated after ARA therapy. Combination of PZQ and ARA might be useful for treatment of children with schistosomiasis in high-endemicity regions.

Iron absorption by healthy women is not associated with either serum or urinary prohepcidin.

BACKGROUND: Although hepcidin is proposed as a regulator of iron absorption, this has not been assessed in humans. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to assess the relation between serum or urinary prohepcidin and iron absorption in healthy premenopausal women. DESIGN: The subjects were 28 healthy women aged 22-51 y with normal hemoglobin concentrations (120-152 g/L). Absorption of 0.5 mg Fe with 0.2 microCi 59Fe tracer, both as FeSO4, was measured by whole-body scintillation counting 13 d after oral administration. Fasting blood and urine samples were collected the day of and 16 wk after the absorption measurement. Serum and urinary prohepcidin concentrations were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay by using an antibody against amino acid residues 28-47 of the proregion. RESULTS: Mean (+/-SD) iron absorption was 36 +/- 19% (range: 4-81%), and serum ferritin (geometric x) was 27 microg/L (range: 4-122 microg/L), as commonly observed in healthy premenopausal women. Serum prohepcidin was 196 microg/L (range: 99-376 microg/L) and, in contrast with urinary prohepcidin, was relatively consistent for the women between 0 and 16 wk. Serum prohepcidin correlated directly with serum ferritin (R2 = 0.28, P < 0.01) but was unrelated to 59Fe absorption, in contrast to serum ferritin (R2 = 0.33, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Serum prohepcidin concentrations were relatively stable within subjects and correlated with serum ferritin. However, unlike serum ferritin, neither serum nor urinary prohepcidin concentrations were related to iron absorption in healthy women.