Alteration of Endocrine Hormones and Antibody Responses in Different Spectrum of Tuberculosis Disease.

Effective control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection is mediated by multifaceted factors that involve both the endocrine and immune system. Profiling hormones and antibodies in different stages of TB provides insight in the pathogenesis of the disease. In this study, we profiled endocrine hormones (dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), cortisol, testosterone, estradiol, growth hormone and leptins) and Mtb strain H37RV lipoarabinomannan (LAM)-specific antibody levels in plasma samples, collected from pulmonary TB (PTB) patients, TB lymphadenitis (TBLN) patients and latently infected (QFT-positive) or uninfected (QFT-negative) apparently healthy individuals using ELISA. Plasma levels of leptin and DHEA were significantly low in PTB and TBLN patients compared to healthy controls (P<0.0001 and P=0.02, respectively), whereas these levels significantly increased following anti-TB treatment (P=0.002 and P=0.0001, respectively) among TB patients. The levels of estradiol and testosterone significantly improved following anti-TB treatment (P=0.03 and P=0.0003, respectively), whereas cortisol and growth hormones declined significantly (P <0.05). Similarly, LAM-specific IgG, IgM and IgA were significantly higher in PTB patients compared to other groups, whereas levels of IgG1 subtype were significantly higher among LTBI groups compared to both TB patients and QFT-negative individuals (P<0.0001). Overall, we observed significantly variable levels of endocrine hormones as well as immunoglobulins across the spectrum of TB illness and such profiling has a significant contribution in selection of effective biomarkers that have roles in TB treatment monitoring or diagnostics. Although this study did not show a functional association between hormones and antibodies, alterations in the levels of these biomarkers suggest the key roles these markers play in TB pathogenesis.

BCR-ABL Transcript Level as Compared to LDH and Uric Acid Among Chronic Myeloid Leukemic Patients.

BACKGROUND: Chronic myeloid leukemia is characterized by the presence of the Philadelphia chromosome, which is caused by the breakpoint cluster region-Abelson fusion or joined gene. A high concentration of BCR-ABL transcripts level can strongly forecast cytogenetic and hematologic reversion in CML patients. However, the molecular test for BCR-ABL is costly and hardly available in developing countries with low and middle-income. Owing to this, it is required to examine other cost-effective and best diagnostic (prognostic) biomarkers. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to estimate the total LDH and uric acid level as compared to BCR-ABL transcript level among treated and treatment-naive Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) patients. METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional study design was used to include eighty-one (81) CML patients tested for BCR-ABL by GeneXpert RT-PCR transcript level at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital. The current study correlates LDH with BCR-ABL and hematological parameters using the spearman correlation, Mann-Whitney U test, and roc curve data analysis tool. RESULTS: A total of 81 CML patients were assayed; 46(56.8%) of them were in the medically treated group, and the remaining 35 (43.2%) were treatment-naive patients. Significant positive correlations were observed between LDH and BCR-ABL (r=0.79, P<0.001).The correlation coefficient value of uric acid (r=0.295, p<0.008) with BCR-ABL showed a weak correlation between the two test parameters. There was a statistically noteworthy (p<0.05) difference in the median level of BCR-ABL and LDH among patients in the treatment group (median=21%, 350 U/L) and the treatment- naive group (median=57%, 1246 U/L), respectively. For uric acid, there was no statistically significant (p<0.542) difference between the study group. The AUC for LDH, Basophil, and WBC was 0.881, 0.889, and 0.748, respectively, which showed better performance for the follow-up of patients with CML than uric acid (0.695) and platelets (0.70). CONCLUSION: The CML LDH value strongly correlated with BCR-ABL transcript level, whereas uric acid was weakly correlated with BCR-ABL. Hence, in parallel with the BRC-ABL transcript level, these findings could be a patent for confirming the capability of LDH as an alternative cost-- effective diagnostic, prognostic biomarker, and a novel therapeutic target in CML disease.

Assessment of liver and renal function tests among gasoline exposed gas station workers in Mekelle city, Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Volatile organic compounds such as gasoline and other fuels are associated with a wide variety of deleterious health effects including liver and kidney diseases. Gasoline station workers are exposed to a mixture of hydrocarbons during dispensing. However, no published studies investigated the liver and renal function tests of gasoline station workers in Ethiopia. Therefore the aim of this study was to assess liver and renal function tests among gasoline station workers. METHOD: A comparative cross sectional study was conduct from January 2018 to April 2018 at Mekelle city, Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia. Liver and renal function tests were analyzed on gasoline exposed (n = 43) and controls (n = 47) by Pentra C400 automated clinical chemistry analyzer. Student independent t-test and one way-ANOVA statistical methods were employed using SPSS Ver23. P-value < 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant. RESULT: The mean level of ALT, AST, Urea, creatinine, and uric acid was significantly higher among gasoline stations workers when compared to control study participants. There was also a significant increase in ALT, AST, Urea, creatinine and uric acid among gasoline stations with above 6 years exposure when compared with those exposed for ≤2 and3-6years. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that increasing liver and renal parameters may be associated with exposure to gasoline and it is dependent on time of exposure to gasoline.