Relationship between levels of DNA damage in lymphocytes and histopathological severity of chronic hepatitis C and various clinical forms of hepatitis B.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: A significant proportion of cancer is attributable to DNA damage caused by chronic infection and inflammation. Because both hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV, respectively) cause chronic infection and inflammatory disease, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether there is a difference in peripheral DNA damage in patients with chronic HCV compared with patients with chronic HBV; and whether there is an association in the level of peripheral DNA damage with a natural history of HBV infection. METHODS: Twenty patients with chronic hepatitis C, 20 patients with chronic hepatitis B, 11 patients with cirrhosis secondary to hepatitis B, 12 inactive hepatitis B s antigen (HBsAg) carriers and 21 healthy subjects were included in the study. The DNA damage in lymphocytes was determined using the alkaline comet assay. RESULTS: Although the chronic hepatitis C group had similar levels of DNA damage compared with patients with cirrhosis due to hepatitis B (P > 0.05) and non-cirrhotic patients with chronic hepatitis B (P > 0.05), they had higher levels of DNA damage compared with inactive HBsAg carriers (P = 0.021) and controls (P = 0.001). Hepatitis B cirrhotic patients and patients with chronic hepatitis B had significantly higher levels of DNA damage than inactive HBsAg carriers (P = 0.002 and P = 0.012, respectively) and controls (both P = 0.001). Linear logistic regression analysis showed that chronic hepatitis C and HBV-related cirrhosis were discriminators in determining DNA damage in lymphocytes (beta 0.424 and P = 0.013, beta 0.393 and P = 0.016, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Chronic hepatitis C, based on the severity of liver disease, or cirrhosis as an advanced form of HBV infection increase DNA damage in lymphocytes independently of confounding factors such as age, gender, body mass index and smoking habits.

Comparison of two methods (microscopy and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) for the diagnosis of amebiasis.

Diagnosis of amebiasis is usually performed on a clinical basis alone in most endemic countries having limited economic resources. This epidemiological study was conducted using modern diagnostic tests for amebiasis in the southeastern region of Turkey, an endemic area for amebiasis. The population of this study included patients with symptomatic diarrhea/dysentery attending both Yuzuncu Yil University, Van and Harran University, Sanliurfa, Turkey. A total of 380 stool specimens were collected and examined for Entamoeba by light microscopy (fresh, lugol, and trichrome staining) and stool antigen detection based- enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (EIA) test (TechLab Entamoeba histolytica II). 24% (91/380) of stool specimens were positive for E. histolytica/Entamoeba dispar trophozoites/cysts microscopically using trichrome staining. 13% (51/380) of the stool specimens were found to be positive for E. histolytica by the EIA test, including 15% (14/91) of microscopy (+) stool specimens and 13% (37/289) of microscopy (-) stool specimens. Enteric parasites were common in these populations with 66% (251/380) of the study population harboring more than one parasite. In addition to the 13% (51/380) of patients determined to have E. histolytica by EIA, eighty-six patients (22.6%) had Blastocystis hominis, 54 (14.2%) Entamoeba coli, 44 (11.5%) Giardia lamblia, 16 (4.2%) Chilomastix mesnili, 15 (3.9%) Iodamoeba bütschlii, 12 (3.1%) Hymenolepis nana, 9 (2.3%) Endolimax nana, 9 (2.3%) Dientamoeba fragilis, and 8 (2.1%) had Ascaris lumbricoides. We concluded that E. histolytica infection was found in 13% of the patients presenting with diarrhea in Van and Sanliurfa Turkey.

Antimonial therapy induces circulating proinflammatory cytokines in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between antimonial therapy and circulating levels of proinflammatory cytokines in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). Patients were treated with conventional chemotherapy by using pentavalent antimonium salts (Glucantime) for 3 weeks. Circulating plasma levels of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) were determined for CL patients and healthy subjects before and 3 weeks after the treatment was started. Plasma IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-alpha levels were significantly higher for pretreatment CL patients than for healthy subjects. Proinflammatory cytokines significantly increased after 21 days postinfection compared to levels for the pretreatment patients. These increments were approximately 3-fold for IL-1beta and TNF-alpha levels, 10-fold for IL-6 levels, and 20-fold for IL-8 levels in patients with CL. Taken together these results indicate that circulating proinflammatory cytokine levels were increased in patients with CL as a consequence of host defense strategies, and antimonial therapy may induce these cytokines by affecting the macrophage or other components of the host defense system.

Environmental pollution with soil-transmitted helminths in Sanliurfa, Turkey

Soil transmitted helminth (STH) infection are endemic in developing countries. A study was carried out of sewage farms, streams and vegetables to determine the sources and routes of STH infection in Sanliurfa, Turkey. Stool samples from farmhouse inhabitants as well as soil and vegetable samples from the gardens were collected and examined. In addition, water samples from streams and vegetable samples from the city market were collected and examined. One hundred and eighty-seven (59.5 percent) of a total of 314 samples, including 88.4 percent of the stool samples, 60.8 percent of the water samples, 84.4 percent of the soil samples and 14 percent of the vegetable samples, were found to be positive for STH eggs. These results indicate that the water, soil and vegetables are heavily contaminated, and suggest a vicious circle between humans and the environment. Improving environmental sanitation is imperative for the control of soil-transmitted helminthiasis in Sanliurfa

Diagnostic performance characteristics of rapid dipstick test for Plasmodium vivax malaria

We compared the diagnostic performance characteristics of newly developed method, the rapid dipstick test, which provides colorimetric determination by developing antibody to the lactate dehydrogenase enzyme of parasites, with conventional standard thick-blood film examination. For the rapid test, OptiMAL commercial kits were used. The results were also evaluated with clinical findings from patients. The parasites were determined by microscopic examination of thick-blood films from 81 patients with vivax malaria from southeastern Anatolia, Turkey. The OptiMAL test results were found to be negative in five patients who were diagnosed clinically and through thick-film testing as having vivax malaria. There was no false positivity observed with the OptiMAL test. We concluded that this rapid malaria test has a lower level of sensitivity than the classical thick-blood-film test for malaria, but that these methods have equal specificity