Nutritional and Obstetric Determinant of Iron Deficiency Anemia among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care Services in Public Health Hospitals in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire): A Cross-Sectional Study.

Poorly diversified and micronutrient-deficient dietary intakes during pregnancy remain one of the major causes of nutritional anemia in developing countries. However, data on diet and its relation to anemia in pregnant women in Côte d'Ivoire are scarce. The objective of this study was to determine prevalence and iron deficiency anemia associated factors in pregnant women in Abidjan. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 389 pregnant women attending antenatal care services at public health hospitals in Abidjan. Sociodemographic, obstetrical, and dietary data were collected. Blood samples taken by venipuncture were analyzed for hemoglobin and iron biomarkers. Data were subjected to descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression. 47.8% of the pregnant women tested were anemic, 25.8% and 30.4% had iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia, respectively. Based on AORs, the second and third trimesters of pregnancy (6.04 v 4.18, respectively), multiparity (13.18), skipping meals (3.05), inadequate energy (5.369), protein (2.74), and vitamin C (2.43) intakes and low dietary diversity (8.35) are the independent and significant determinants of iron deficiency anemia. The high prevalence of anemia among pregnant women in Abidjan reveals a real public health problem. Iron deficiency anemia is due to multiparity, gestational age, inadequate intake, low dietary diversity, and skipping meals.

[Apolipoprotein(a) isoforms immunoblotting detection: comparative study of two methods]. / Immunorévélation des isoformes d'apolipoprotéine(a) : étude comparée de deux méthodes.

This study reports the comparison between two methods (chemiluminescence and enzymatic colorimetry) for revelation of apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)] isoforms by immunoblotting in 102 Ivorian healthy subjects. Apo(a) isoform sizes were determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-agarose-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) followed by immunoblotting using enzymatic colorimetry or chemiluminescence. Within-run precision was comprised between 4.9% and 9.2% for colorimetry and between 2.9% and 4.6% for chemiluminescence. Both methods have detected apo(a) isoforms in all patients, even when lipoprotein(a) concentrations were under detection limit (0.02 g/L). The two methods were significantly correlated (r = 0.96 to 0.98, p<0.0001). Even though the chemiluminescence method exhibited better performances than the colorimetric method, both techniques could be used indifferently.

Effect of a bis-thiazolium compound on the biosynthesis of Plasmodium falciparum phospholipids.

In the eukaryotic cell, phospholipids can be biosynthesized by two pathways, one from choline and the other one from ethanolamine. The functional effectiveness of each pathway depends on the type of the cell. Thiazolium designed-drugs have shown, under in vivo conditions, antiplasmodial and antimalarial activities with inhibition of the phospholipids biosynthesis. This study aimed to discover the pathways involved in the biosynthesis of phospholipids in Plasmodium and deduce the biochemical steps inhibited by T4, a bis-thiazolium bromide drug. We compared the uptake of radiolabeled precursors and their selective incorporation in the phospholipids of cultured Plasmodium-infected and -uninfected erythrocytes which revealed that phosphatidylcholine of Plasmodium is synthesized both from choline and ethanolamine (4.7 vs 1.9 nmol/10(10) cells x h(-1)). T4 has no effect on the biosynthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine but T4 inhibited, in a selective way, the in vitro uptake of choline. However no enzymes in the biosynthesis of phospholipids seem to be inhibited by T4 but rather an inhibition of choline entry into the parasite.

Relationship between apo(a) length polymorphism and lipoprotein(a) concentration in healthy Ivorian subjects with single or double apo(a) isoforms.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between apo(a) size and Lp(a) concentration in healthy Ivorian subjects. METHODS: Serum Lp(a) was measured by immunonephelometry and electroimmunodiffusion, and apo(a) size determined by immunoblotting. RESULTS: Both assay methods provided comparable information. Lp(a) concentrations showed a non-Gaussian distribution and skewed towards higher values. Apo(a) isoform size distribution exhibited three frequency peaks at 18, 22 and 25 kringles. Single and double apo(a) isoforms were detected in 36% and 64% of subjects, respectively. Lp(a) values were higher in subjects with double isoforms, the major isoform being of lower size. An inverse correlation between apo(a) size and Lp(a) concentration was found, apo(a) size accounting for more than 30% of Lp(a) concentration in "single-band" group, whereas being weaker in "double-band" group. Low size isoforms were associated with higher Lp(a) concentrations, high size isoforms with higher variability. CONCLUSIONS: Lp(a) concentrations were inversely correlated to apo(a) size. This study has shown the relationship between apo(a) size and Lp(a), the influence of apo(a) size varying according to the phenotype. Apo(a) "double isoform" phenotype confers elevated levels to Lp(a) in healthy Ivorian subject.