Seroprevalence of five neglected parasitic diseases among immigrants accessing five infectious and tropical diseases units in Italy: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: This multicentre cross-sectional study aims to estimate the prevalence of five neglected tropical diseases (Chagas disease, filariasis, schistosomiasis, strongyloidiasis and toxocariasis) among immigrants accessing health care facilities in five Italian cities (Bologna, Brescia, Florence, Rome, Verona). METHODS: Individuals underwent a different set of serological tests, according to country of origin and presence of eosinophilia. Seropositive patients were treated and further followed up. RESULTS: A total of 930 adult immigrants were enrolled: 477 men (51.3%), 445 women (47.9%), eight transgender (0.8%); median age was 37.81 years (range 18-80 years). Most of them had come from the African continent (405/930, 43.5%), the rest from East Europe, South America and Asia, and 9.6% (89/930) were diagnosed with at least one of the infections under study. Seroprevalence of each specific infection varied from 3.9% (7/180) for Chagas disease to 9.7% (11/113) for toxocariasis. Seropositive people were more likely to be 35-40 years old and male, and to come from South East Asia, sub-Saharan Africa or South America. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study confirm that neglected tropical diseases represent a substantial health problem among immigrants and highlight the need to address this emerging public health issue.

DNA damage in outdoor workers occupationally exposed to environmental air pollutants.

BACKGROUND: Health concerns about the exposure to genotoxic and carcinogenic agents in the air are particularly significant for outdoor workers in less developed countries. AIMS: To investigate the association between personal exposure to a group of air pollutants and severity of DNA damage in outdoor workers from two Mexican cities. METHODS: DNA damage (Comet assay) and personal exposure to volatile organic compounds, PM(2.5), and ozone were investigated in 55 outdoor and indoor workers from México City and Puebla. RESULTS: In México City, outdoor workers had greater DNA damage, reflected by a longer tail length, than indoor workers (median 46.8 v 30.1 mum), and a greater percentage of highly damaged cells (cells with tail length > or =41 microm); in Puebla, outdoor and indoor workers had similar DNA damage. There were more alkali labile sites in outdoor than indoor workers. The DNA damage magnitude was positively correlated with PM(2.5) and ozone exposure. Outdoor and indoor workers with > or =60% of highly damaged cells (highly damaged workers) had significantly higher exposures to PM(2.5), ozone, and some volatile organic compounds. The main factors associated with the highly damaged workers were ozone, PM(2.5), and 1-ethyl-2-methyl benzene exposure. CONCLUSIONS: With this approach, the effects of some air pollutants could be correlated with biological endpoints from the Comet assay. It is suggested that the use of personal exposure assessment and biological endpoints evaluation could be an important tool to generate a more precise assessment of the associated potential health risks.

Dietary vitamin E supplementation does not inhibit Candida albicans intestinal translocation in rats.

Candida albicans translocation was determined in rats receiving a normal or vitamin E-supplemented and deficient diet submitted to mesenteric ischemia and reperfusion (MIR). The antioxidant effect of vitamin E on lipid peroxidation was also assessed. The animals were divided into six groups submitted to different diets for 30 d. Groups N, NI, NC and NIC were submitted to a normal diet and used as controls, and groups VITE and DEFE received a vitamin E-supplemented and vitamin E-deficient diet, respectively. Groups NIC, VITE and DEFE were submitted to MIR, inoculated with Candida albicans and sacrificed 24 h after the surgical procedure. The antioxidant effect of vitamin E was determined in the liver and gut mucosa using the TBARS method. Candida albicans translocation was assessed in lymph node, liver and kidney specimens. The results showed that lipid peroxidation was lower (p < 0.05) in the vitamin E-supplemented group. However, vitamin E supplementation did not protect the rats against Candida albicans translocation (the translocation in the Group VITE was 100% for lymph nodes).

Effect of different dietary levels of vitamin E on lipid peroxidation in rats.

The regulation of normal oxidative balance include the maintenance of adequate levels of dietary antioxidants such as vitamin E. The objective of this investigation was to study the effect of three different dietary levels of vitamin E (normal, supplemented 20 times higher and deficient) on plasma and liver lipid peroxidation, assayed by determination of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and vitamin E in plasma and liver and hepatic reduced glutathione. Administration of dietary vitamin E caused a dose-dependent increase in liver and plasma concentration of this vitamin to 42.11 micrograms/g liver and 29.52 mumol/l respectively, in the supplemented group, and a low concentration of TBARS, 0.67 nmol/mg protein, in liver. The group receiving the diet without vitamin E showed high values of hepatic TBARS, 2.95 nmol/mg protein, and low values of reduced glutathione and reduced concentration of hepatic and plasma vitamin E (1.75 micrograms/g liver and 3.67 mumol/l, respectively). In conclusion, the vitamin E deficiency alone induces the liver lipid peroxidation in rats, and maintenance of adequate or higher vitamin E levels acts as a protective factor against free radical generation.