Diagnóstico de la infección por Helicobacter pylori mediante serología, histología y cultivo / Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection by serology, histology and culture

Introducción: la infección por Helicobacter pylori es la enfermedad bacteriana crónica más prevalente en el ser humano. Objetivo: determinar la prevalencia general de esta infección. Método: se realizó un estudio descriptivo, longitudinal y prospectivo en 138 pacientes dispépticos. Para la identificación de la bacteria se emplearon tres métodos diagnósticos: serológico, histológico y cultivo. Resultados: la prevalencia del Helicobacter pylori fue de un 83,3 por ciento. La serología tuvo sensibilidad de 98 por ciento y especificidad de 34 por ciento. La histología fue de 83 por ciento y 25 por ciento, respectivamente. La infección predominó en el sexo femenino (44,2 por ciento) y en el grupo de edad de 31-40 años (18,8 por ciento). La epigastralgia fue el síntoma más referido (81,2 por ciento), la gastritis eritematosa fue el diagnóstico endoscópico más frecuente (76,8 por ciento) y la gastritis crónica moderada fue el diagnóstico histológico que más prevaleció (39,9 por ciento). Conclusiones: el estudio mostró que la prevalencia de la infección fue elevada(AU)

Introduction: Helicobacter pylori infection is the chronic bacterial disease most prevalent in humans. Objective: To Search the overall prevalence of this infection. Methods: A descriptive, longitudinal and prospective study was made in 138 dyspeptic patients. The diagnosis was made by serological, histological and culture methods. Results: The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori was 83.3 percent. Serology had 98 percent sensitivity and 34 percent of specificity, while histology had 83 percent and 25 percent respectively. Predominated in females (44.2 percent) and in the 31-40 years of age (18.8 percent). Epigastralgia was the most frequent symptom (81.2 percent), erythematous gastritis was the most common endoscopic diagnosis (76.8 percent) and moderate chronic gastritis histological was the most prevalent diagnosis (39.9 percent). Conclusions: The prevalence of infection was showed to be high in this study(AU)

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of live oral cholera vaccine 638 in Cuban adults.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the safety, reactogenicity and the immunogenicity of a 2 x 10(9)CFU dose of the 638 lyophilized live attenuated cholera vaccine for oral administration, formulated and produced at Finlay Institute, City of Havana, Cuba. Thirty-six healthy female and male adult volunteers from 18 to 40 years old were involved, clinically examined and laboratory tested after the informed consent signature. Adverse events were monitored and seroconversion rates and geometrical mean titer (GMT) of vibriocidal antibodies were tested in volunteer's sera samples. Neither serious adverse events nor other damages to the volunteers due to vaccine or placebo feeding were reported during the clinical follow-up period of this study; none of the adverse events registered within the first 72 h after inoculation were life-threatening for volunteers. Neither severe nor moderate adverse events were reported. Sixty-one percent of subjects showed mild expected adverse events in an interval lower than 24h up to the first 72 h, 75% of these in the vaccinated group and 18% in the placebo group. Fourteen days after inoculation the GMT of vibriocidal antibodies in the vaccine group significantly increased in comparison to the placebo group. All subjects in the vaccine group (24) seroconverted (100%). Results show that this vaccine is safe, well tolerated and immunogenic in healthy female and male volunteers.

Anaerobic growth promotes synthesis of colonization factors encoded at the Vibrio pathogenicity island in Vibrio cholerae El Tor.

Pathogenesis of the facultative anaerobe Vibrio cholerae takes place at the gut under low oxygen concentrations. To identify proteins which change their expression level in response to oxygen availability, proteomes of V. cholerae El Tor C7258 grown in aerobiosis, microaerobiosis and anaerobiosis were compared by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Twenty-six differentially expressed proteins were identified which are involved in several processes including iron acquisition, alanine metabolism, purine synthesis, energy metabolism and stress response. Moreover, two proteins implicated in exopolysaccharide synthesis and biofilm formation were produced at higher levels under microaerobiosis and anaerobiosis, which suggests a role of oxygen deprivation in biofilm development in V. cholerae. In addition, six proteins encoded at the Vibrio pathogenicity island attained the highest expression levels under anaerobiosis, and five of them are required for colonization: three correspond to toxin-coregulated pilus biogenesis components, one to soluble colonization factor TcpF and one to accessory colonization factor A. Thus, anaerobiosis promotes synthesis of colonization factors in V. cholerae El Tor, suggesting that it may be a key in vivo signal for early stages of the pathogenic process of V. cholerae.