Assuntos
Animais Lactentes/sangue , Doenças dos Bovinos , Colostro/química , Criptosporidiose , Imunoglobulina G/análise , Animais , Animais Recém-Nascidos/sangue , Bovinos , Doenças dos Bovinos/sangue , Doenças dos Bovinos/epidemiologia , Criptosporidiose/sangue , Criptosporidiose/epidemiologia , Suscetibilidade a Doenças/sangue , Suscetibilidade a Doenças/veterinária , Feminino , Imunidade Materno-Adquirida , Imunoglobulina G/sangueRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To determine prospectively plasma levels of vitamin B12 and folic acid in children with intestinal parasitic infection before and three months after antiparasitic treatment. METHODS: 3036 stool samples were collected from 1959 children and 939 cello-tape anal swabs were taken from 688 children for intestinal parasite investigation. Of these, 155 children were identified as having a parasitic infection; however, only 86 were followed up during this study: 26 children with Giardia lamblia infection were treated with tinidazole and metronidazole, pyrantel pamoate was used in the treatment of 40 children with Enterobius vermicularis, and 20 patients infected with Cryptosporidium parvum received only symptomatic treatment. Vitamin B12 and folic acid levels were measured by radioimmunoassay, before and three months after the completion of treatment. RESULTS: Vitamin B12 serum concentrations did not show any significant differences among the three groups. There was a significant increase in vitamin B12 serum concentrations after three months of anti-parasitic treatment (630.57+/-200.97 vs. 667.97+/-181.55 pg/dL, p = 0.002, n = 86). Paired analysis in each group showed only significant increases for vitamin B12 in the Giardia lamblia group and in the Enterobius vermicularis group. No statistically significant differences were found for folic acid serum concentrations before and three months after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with symptomatic infection by Giardia lamblia and Enterobius vermicularis have lower vitamin B12 levels than asymptomatic patients. This could reflect a more affected intestinal mucous. These results could present the opportunity to treat these parasitic infections and to use vitamin B12 supplementation in symptomatic children with Giardia lamblia and Enterobius vermicularis infection.
Assuntos
Ácido Fólico/sangue , Enteropatias Parasitárias/sangue , Vitamina B 12/sangue , Adolescente , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Criptosporidiose/sangue , Criptosporidiose/terapia , Tratamento Farmacológico , Enterobíase/sangue , Enterobíase/tratamento farmacológico , Fezes/parasitologia , Feminino , Giardíase/sangue , Humanos , Lactente , Masculino , EspanhaRESUMO
A statistical analysis of clinical, nutritional, and immunological data gathered in a previous study suggest that nutritional factors, and in particular, iron status, appeared to be of significance in mounting an effective immune response to Cryptosporidium infection in young children. The primary protective mechanism seemed to be cell-mediated; humoral immunity was intact in all the study subjects, however, CMI was initially impaired but improved over six weeks.