Low prevalence of IgG antibodies against antigens of HEV genotypes 1 and 3 in women with a high-risk pregnancy.

The aim of the study was to assess whether high-risk pregnant women have a higher prevalence of HEV during the perinatal period. This was a cross-sectional study of 428 patients: Group 1, 127 women with a high-risk pregnancy; Group 2, 97 asymptomatic people with reactivity to HCV or HBV; Group 3, 94 patients with clinical symptoms suggestive of HEV infection; and Group 4, 110 healthy blood donors from an urban area of Mexico City. ELISA was used to measure antibody to HEV genotypes 1 and 3. The prevalence rates of anti-HEV IgG antibodies were 0.79% in Group 1, 2.1% in Group 2, 7.4% in Group 3, and 0% in Group 4. Women with a high-risk pregnancy did not have a higher prevalence of HEV infection in this clinical setting.

Evaluation of iron overload in healthy adult residents of Mexico City.

BACKGROUND: We described the effects of age, gender and body mass index (BMI) on the prevalence of iron overload (IO) in blood donors from Mexico City. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of clinically healthy adults was performed. We evaluated serum ferritin (SF) concentration to allow us to establish groups with normal iron stores (SF >30 microg/L) and with IO (SF >200 microg/L and >300 microg/L for women and men), in the following ages groups: 18-29 years, 30-49 years, and 50-64 years, divided by gender. RESULTS: The study included 1757 subjects. Prevalence of IO was 12% in men and 4.8% in women, and prevalence increased in parallel with increasing age (15.6, 25.0 and 29.9% and 3.5, 5.2 and 9.6%, for men and women, respectively). Regression analysis showed that in men there was a significant association of SF and IO with age, BMI and recent blood donation (p <0.01). In women, no differences were seen for BMI and recent blood donation. CONCLUSIONS: IO is highly prevalent in blood donors residing in Mexico City, more so in men than in women. Age, gender and BMI had a positive association with iron stores. This report is the initial contribution towards the study of IO in the Mexican population.

Diferencias en el crecimiento y neurodesarrollo en el lactante menor deficiente de hierro no anémico

Introducción. Objetivo: evaluar el desarrollo neuroconductual en lactantes de 6-8 meses de edad, no anémicos con deficiencia de Fe (DeFe) en relación con la velocidad de crecimiento. Material y métodos. Se evaluaron a lactantes de 6-8 meses de edad, estratificados en grupo 1 ó DeFe (ferritina sérica -FS- ≤ 20 mg/L) y grupos 2 ó lactantes con reserva normal de Fe, comparándose la velocidad de crecimiento y el puntaje de las áreas motora (IDP) y mental (IDM) de la Escala de Bayley (EB). Resultados. Se estudiaron a 51 lactantes, con 22 y 29 casos, respectivamente. En el IDP, hubo mayor proporción de casos con valores anormales en el grupo 1 (0.41 vs 0.07). En el IDM, hubo diferencias en la puntuación global (86 vs 99 puntos) y en la proporción de lactantes con valores bajos (0.54 vs 0.07). El grupo 1 mostró mayor riesgo de presentar puntuaciones bajas en la EB (razón de momios (RM) 13.5). Adicionalmente, en los lactantes con DeFe severa (FS < 12 µg/L), presentan valores más bajos aún en IDP e IDM, con mayor riesgo de presentar puntuaciones bajas en la EB (RM 83.5), asociada con mayor velocidad de crecimiento en peso. Conclusiones. La deficiencia de Fe en lactantes no anémicos se asocia a menor puntuación de la EB, especialmente del área mental. El crecimiento corporal acelerado es una variable indepediente en el aumento del consumo de Fe.

Introduction. The aim of this work was to evaluate the growth velocity and neuroconductal development of non-anemic iron deficient infants. Material and methods. Infants aged 6 to 8 months were stratified in 2 groups: in group 1 infants (n =22) with serum ferritin (SF) < 20 ug/L were included in group 2 infants (n =29) with normal iron store (SF > 20 µg/L) were studied. Growth velocity, motor area (PDI) and mental area (MDI) using the Bayley Scale (BS) were evaluated. Results. The proportion of cases with abnormal PDI score was greater in group 1 (0.41 vs 0.07); the global MDI score was 86 vs 99, and the proportion of abnormal values were also greater in group 1 (0.54 vs 0.07) group 1 had a greater risk to exhibit a lower BS score (OR 13.5). In addition, infants with SF < 12 µg/L presented lower values of PDI and MDI scores (OR =13.5) and a higher risk for low, BS score (OR =83.5) was associated with greater growth velocity in weight and weight gain with respect to birth. Conclusions. Iron deficiency, even in non-anemic infants, may be associated to a significant score decrease in neurodevelopment scales, particularly in the mental area. The accelerated body growth observed is and independent variable that increases iron consumption in infants.