Serum copper, zinc, calcium and magnesium levels in mothers with offspring affected by neural tube defects: a case-control study

Background: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are important causes of infant mortality, which result from a complex interaction between genetics and environmental factors such as trace elements, which play and crucial role in the epigenetic regulation in the embryo fetal developmental program. Objectives: To measure the maternal serum levels of copper, zinc, calcium and magnesium in mothers with offspring affected by NTDs, and to examine a possible relationship between the serum concentrations of these micronutrients and occurrence of NTDs. Design: Case-controls study. Subjects and Methods: Maternal serum blood samples were obtained from 72 healthy pregnant women and 36 mothers who had NTDs affected offspring, including those alive, stillbirths and elective pregnancy' termination at Centro Provincial de Genetica in Villa Clara. Copper, zinc, calcium and magnesium levels in serum were measured by flame atomic absorption spectrometry and were compared between the two groups of mothers. Results: Serum zinc levels were determined to be significantly lower in the study group compared with the control group, while copper levels were significant elevated in the study group (all p values < .05). There was a negative correlation between serum zinc levels and serum copper levels. However, no association between calcium and magnesium serum levels and increased risk for the development of NTDs was observed. Conclusions: High maternal serum levels of copper and lower level of zinc during pregnancy were associated with NTDs in offspring. If folic acid supplementation is given, additional zinc supplementation should be considered for the further decrease in the recurrence risk of NTDs(AU)

Folic acid intake by pregnant women from Vale do Jequitinhonha, Brazil, and the contribution of fortified foods / Consumo de ácido fólico por gestantes do Vale do Jequitinhonha, Brasil, e a contribuição dos alimentos fortificados

The folate deficiency can result in irreversible health damage, such as the neural tube defects. The aim of this article is to determine the folate intake of pregnant women in Vale do Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, one of the poorest regions in the world. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was done in 2013 with 492 pregnant women attending the basic health units run by the public health service (Sistema Único de Saúde, SUS) in 15 municipalities. A standard questionnaire was used to gather the data, which included socioeconomic indicators and a food frequency questionnaire. The data were analyzed and compared statistically based on prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals. The prevalence of inadequate folate intake was associated with some socioeconomic factors: it was higher amongst the low income and less educated women, in younger women and those who had fewer meals per day. The prevalence of inadequate folate intake in the diet was 94.7% when the contribution of food fortification was not considered, 49.2% taking into account fortified foods, and 17.1% considering food folate, fortified foods, and supplementation with folic acid. We conclude that fortifying foods with folic acid at the current levels reduces the inadequacy of folate intake in the diet, but not enough to assure safe levels and to meet the nutritional requirements of pregnant women in Brazil.

A deficiência de folato pode acarretar prejuízos irreversíveis como os defeitos do tubo neural. O objetivo deste artigo é determinar o padrão de consumo de folato por gestantes no Vale do Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais, Brasil, uma das regiões mais pobres do mundo. A pesquisa descritiva do tipo transversal foi realizada com 492 gestantes atendidas em Unidades Básicas de Saúde do SUS em 15 municípios do Vale do Jequitinhonha no ano de 2013. Para a coleta de dados foi utilizado um questionário padronizado, que inclui um questionário socioeconômico e inquérito de frequência alimentar. Os dados foram analisados e comparados estatisticamente através de razão de prevalências e intervalo de confiança de 95%. A prevalência de consumo insuficiente de folato mostrou-se associada com alguns fatores socioeconômicos: foi maior em gestantes com baixa renda, de baixa escolaridade e em gestantes mais jovens e que realizavam menos refeições por dia. Observou-se que a prevalência de consumo insuficiente de folato na dieta foi de 94,7% desconsiderando a inclusão de alimentos fortificados, 49,2% considerando a dieta com alimentos fortificados e 17,1% considerando a dieta, a fortificação e a suplementação medicamentosa com ácido fólico. Conclui-se que a fortificação de alimentos com ácido fólico nos níveis atuais reduz a inadequação do consumo na dieta, mas não é suficiente para suprir as necessidade e garantir os níveis seguros da oferta deste nutriente entre gestantes brasileiras.

Enfermedades raquimedulares congénitas en Teletón Santiago: factores demográficos, sociales, clínicos y funcionales asociados / Congenital spine pathologies in Teleton Santiago: associated demographic factors, social, clinical and functional

Introduction: In our country there is no information on factors related to independence and participation in children with congenital spine pathology. Objective: To describe the demographic, clinical, social and functional characteristics of patients aged 2 to 18 years with neural tube defects, explore the association between age and neurological level and compare with international literature. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study were we review the clinical protocolized evaluation forms from the Integral Spine Polyclinic of Teletón Santiago Institute, from children seen between March 2008 and March 2009. 255 individuals with chronic spine pathology met the inclusion criteria. The data was processed using SPSS version 17.0. Association tests were applied between variables based on a x2 distribution with p < 0.05. Results: Of the 255 patients studied, 92 percent of the patients had myelomeningocele, 50 percent of them with a thoracic level; 58 percent were women; 49 percent were in the group of 8-13 years; 82.4 percent attended school. Thirty three percent of them were obese; 89 percent used intermittent bladder catheterization and 77 percent achieve regular bowel movements; 60-80 percent were independent in feeding and minor hygiene, but less than 40 percent were independent in dressing, bathing and transfers; 62 percent used a wheelchair, 50 percent did not leave their home alone and 30.6 percent did not have any participation in household tasks. Conclusion: Demographic profile similar to patients with the same disease and age in other countries, high neurological level prevalence, obesity tendency in the group from 2-7 years, poor independence in more complex daily life activities and social participation.

Introducción: En el país se carece de información sobre factores relacionados con independencia, participación en el hogar y comunidad, en niños con patología raquimedular congénita. Objetivo: Describir las características demográficas, clínicas funcionales y sociales de pacientes entre 2 y 18 años con mielodisplasia y explorar asociación con edad y nivel neurológico. Materiales y Método: Estudio descriptivo transversal, mediante revisión de formularios de evaluación clínica protocolizados del Policlínico Integral Raquimedular de Instituto Teletón Chile, de niños atendidos entre marzo 2008 y marzo 2009. Doscientos cincuenta y cinco individuos con patología raquimedular cumplieron con requisitos de inclusión. Los datos se procesaron con SPSS versión 17.0. Se aplicaron pruebas de asociación entre variables basado en distribución X2 con p < 0,05. Resultados: De los 255 pacientes estudiados, 92 por ciento eran portadores de mielomeningocele siendo el 50 por ciento clasificados en nivel torácico; 58 por ciento fueron mujeres; 49 por ciento en el grupo de 8-13 años, el 82,4 por ciento asistía al colegio. El 33 por ciento era obeso; 89 por ciento usaba cateterización intermitente y 77 por ciento tenía ritmo intestinal normal; 60-80 por ciento eran independientes en alimentación e higiene menor, pero menos del 40 por ciento eran independientes en vestuario, baño y transferencias, el 62 por ciento usaba silla de ruedas, el 50 por ciento no salía sólo de su casa y el 30,6 por ciento no tenía tareas en el hogar. Conclusión: Perfil demográfico similar a pacientes con igual patología y edad en otros países; nivel neurológico alto, mayor a lo habitual; la independencia en actividades diarias y participación en el hogar y comunidad, fueron bajas en esta población.

Relación entre los niveles de ácido fólico, vitamina B12 y homocisteína materna y los defectos de tubo neural y labio hendido / Relation between levels of folic acid, vitamin B12 and maternal homocysteine with neural tube defects and cleft lip

El objetivo del trabajo fue determinar la asociación entre los niveles de ácido fólico, vitamina B (Vit B12) y homocisteína (Hci) maternos, con defectos del tubo neural (DTN) y labio hendido (LH) con y sin paladar hendido (c/s PH). Se realizó un estudio tipo casos y controles. Casos, con diagnóstico de DTN y LH c/s PH (n=36) y cuatro controles hospitalarios por caso (n=141). Se incluyeron recién nacidos (RN) y lactantes hasta 12 meses de edad. Las variables de pareamiento fueron: edad del RN o lactante, etnia y hospital. Un 23 por ciento de etnia Tarahumara y 77 por ciento mestizos. Se determinó ácido fólico intraeritrocitario (AFI), plasmático (AFP) y Vit B12 por radioinmunoensayo, la Hci por inmunoensayo de fluorescencia polarizada. Se consideró deficiencia si el AFI fue <160 ng/mL, AFP <3.5 ng/ mL y la Vit B12 <200 pg/mL e hiperhomocisteinemia, si Hci >15 J.mol/L. El análisis estadístico se realizó a través de regresión logística condicionada. Se identificó deficiencia de AFI en el 22 por ciento de las mujeres cuyos recién nacidos o lactantes presentaron algún tipo de defecto congénito y en el 12 por ciento de los controles. La relación entre AFI y DTN, LH c/s PH ajustada por edad materna, exposición a plaguicidas y zona de residencia fue RM 2,96 (IC 95 por ciento 0,92-9,46). No se encontraron diferencias en los niveles de Hci ni de Vit B12. Conclusiones: Nuestros resultados sugieren que RN cuyas madres cursan con una deficiencia de AFI tienen mayor riesgo de presentar DTN y LH c/s PH.

Objective: To determine the association between maternal folate deficiency, neural tube defects (NTDs), and cleft lip, with and without cleft palate (CL/P). Material and methods: A case/control study was conducted. The cases included subjects with diagnoses of NTD and CL/P (n=36) and four hospital controls per case (n=141); the study included newborns (NBs) and nursing babies up to 12monthsof age. The parameter variables were the following: the age of the NB or nursing baby, the ethnic group, and the hospital of origin. The Tarahumara ethnic group made up 23 percent of the cases, while 77 percent were mestizos. The red cell folate (RCF), the plasma folie acid (PFA), and the vitamin B12 levels were determined by radioimmunoassay and the homocysteine levels by polarized fluorescence immunoassay. A deficiency was considered to be present if the RCF were <160 ng/mL, the PFA <3.5 ng/mL and the vitamin B <200 pg/ mL; hyperhomocysteinemia was defined as HC >15 J,mol/L. The statistical analysis was carried out through of conditional logistic regression. Results: An RCF deficiency was identified in 22 percent of the women whose newborn or nursing babies presented with some type of congenital defect and in 12 percent of the controls. The correlation adjusted by maternal age, exposure to pesticides and zone of residence was OR 2.96 (CI 95 percent 0.92-9.46). There was no difference in vitamin B12 or homocysteine levels between groups. Conclusions: Our results suggest that newborns whose mothers present with an RCF deficiency have an increased risk of displaying NTD and CL/P.

Impacto de la fortificación con ácido fólico sobre el estado nutricional en mujeres y la prevalencia de defectos del tubo neural / Impact of folic cid fortification on women nutritional status and on the prevalence of neural tube defets

Introducción. Se evaluó el efecto de la fortificación de la harina de trigo con ácido fólico (iniciada en 2003) sobre la ingesta de folatos en la población demujeres en edad reproductiva y en embarazadas y los niveles séricos de folato y vitamina B12 en los mismos grupos. Asimismo, se analizaron los cambios ocurridos en las tasas de defectos del tubo neural antes de la fortificación y después de ella.Población y métodos. Se analizaron datos de la Encuesta Nacional de Nutrición y Salud sobre ingesta(recordatorio de las 24 h previas) y niveles séricos de folatos y vitamina B12 en una muestra probabilística de la población de mujeres de 10-49años, incluso embarazadas, de todo el país.Se analizaron datos de mortalidad y egresos hospitalarios por defectos congénitos asociados a ácidofólico prefortificación o posfortificación en las Series de Estadísticas de Salud oficiales.Resultados. Las medianas de ingesta de folatos fueron 532 y 821 μg/día en mujeres de 10-49 años y embarazadas, respectivamente. La ingesta de ácidofólico de fortificación fue de 245 y 331 μg/día. Se realizaron determinaciones bioquímicas en 5.322 mujeres en edad reproductiva y 1.321 embarazadas.El 0,8 por ciento de las mujeres y el 2,7 por ciento de las embarazadas presentaron niveles de folato sérico menores de 3 ng/ml. La tasa de mortalidad por anencefalia en el período 2000-2003 fue de 53,1 y en 2005-2006 fue de 23,3 por 100.000, con un descenso de 56. La mortalidad por espina bífida disminuyó un 67 por ciento en el mismo período. Los egresos hospitalarios del sector público en 2005 disminuyeron con respecto al 2000 en 54 por ciento para anencefalia, 33 por ciento para encefalocele y 45 por ciento para espina bífida. Conclusión. La fortificación de la harina con ácido fólico se asocia con ingestas y niveles séricos adecuados de folatos en las mujeres.

Prevenção de defeitos do tubo neural: prevalência do uso da suplementação de ácido fólico e fatores associados em gestantes na cidade de Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil / Prevention of neural tube defects: prevalence of folic acid supplementation during pregnancy and associated factors in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

Com o objetivo de determinar a prevalência do uso do ácido fólico e fatores associados na gestação e no período periconcepcional, realizou-se um estudo transversal de base populacional nas cinco maternidades da cidade de Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. A coleta de dados ocorreu no período de 1° de abril a 15 de agosto de 2006, com 1.450 mulheres. As entrevistas foram realizadas em nível hospitalar por questionário padronizado. A análise estatística se realizou por regressão de Poisson. A prevalência do uso de ácido fólico na gestação foi de 31,8 por cento, e no período periconcepcional, foi de 4,3 por cento. Os fatores associados ao uso de ácido fólico foram: cor branca, escolaridade acima de nove anos, renda acima de 600 Reais, idade acima de trinta anos, gestação planejada, sete ou mais consultas de pré-natal, consultas na rede privada de saúde e conhecimento sobre o ácido fólico. Para diminuir a prevalência de defeitos do tubo neural, é importante promover-se o uso do ácido fólico nas mulheres em idade fértil, nas mulheres sócio-economicamente menos favorecidas e torná-lo disponível na rede pública de saúde.

To determine folic acid use and associated factors, a cross-sectional population-based study was conducted in all five maternity hospitals in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Data were collected from April 1 to August 15, 2006 (n = 1,450 women). A standard questionnaire was applied in the hospitals. Statistical analysis used Poisson regression. Prevalence of folic acid consumption during pregnancy was 31.8 percent, and periconceptional use was 4.3 percent. The following were associated with folic acid use: white skin color, schooling > 9 years, family income > R$600, age > 30 years, planned pregnancy, > 7 prenatal visits, knowledge on folic acid, and prenatal care in the private health system. In order to prevent neural tube defects, it is important to promote folic acid use among childbearing-age women and to supply folic acid to poor women.

Second allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplants with reduced-intensity conditioning / Segundos trasplantes hematopoyéticos con esquemas de acondicionamiento de intensidad reducida

In two institutions in México, twelve patients were given a second allogeneic stem cell transplantation, using the "Mexican" non-myeloablative preparative regimen. Eight had a malignant condition (six acute leukemias, one myelofibrosis and one myelodysplasia), eleven individuals were allografted twice from the same donor and in one case, cells from two different umbilical cords were used. The median time to conduct the second allograft after the first one was 6 months (range 1-41). The five patients who failed to engraft after the first transplant failed also to engraft after the second one; all of them had been heavily transfused. Only three patients were successfully rescued with the second transplant, two with acute leukemia and one with aplastic anemia. Seven patients are alive 10-41 months (median 35) after the second transplant, but only three (25%) remain disease-free. The 52-month overall survival (SV) of the patients is 58%, whereas the median overall SV has not been reached, being above 52 months. Conducting a second allograft may be useful to rescue some individuals relapsing after a first hematopoietic allotransplant.

En dos instituciones en México se llevaron a cabo doce segundos trasplantes de células hematopoyéticas usando el "método mexicano" de acondicionamiento no mieloablativo. Ocho pacientes tenían una enfermedad maligna (seis leucemias agudas, una mielofibrosis y una mielodisplasia). Once sujetos se retrasplantaron del mismo donador y en un caso se emplearon células hematopoyéticas de dos diferentes cordones umbilicales. La mediana del tiempo transcurrido entre los dos trasplantes fue de seis meses (rango 1 a 41). Los cinco pacientes que no se injertaron con el primer trasplante tampoco se injertaron con el segundo; todos ellos habían sido multitransfundidos antes de los trasplantes. Sólo tres pacientes se pudieron rescatar con el segundo trasplante, dos con leucemia aguda y uno con anemia aplástica. Siete pacientes están vivos 10 a 41 meses (mediana 35) después del segundo trasplante, pero sólo tres (25%) se encuentran libres de enfermedad. La supervivencia (SV) global a 52 meses es de 58%, en tanto que la mediana de SV no se ha alcanzado y es mayor de 52 meses. Hacer un segundo trasplante hematopoyético puede rescatar a algunos pacientes quienes recaen después de un trasplante de médula ósea.

Frecuencia y algunos factores de riesgo de mortalidad en el estado de Hidalgo, México, por defectos de cierre del tubo neural / Frequency and some mortality risk factors in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico, due to neural tube closure defects

OBJECTIVE: To calculate the risk of fetal death due to neural tube defects and estimate associated factors in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data were abstracted from death certificates registered during 1990-1995 in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. The design was a proportional mortality study, which is considered as a variant of the case control design. Cases were deaths with any type of neural tube defect, and controls were fetal deaths due to other causes. RESULTS: A total of 3,673 fetal death certificates were analyzed; 8.06 had neural tube defects and the remaining died of other causes. Fetal death was associated with fetal weight less than 2500 grams (OR 5.0, 95 CI 3.6-6.8), being female (OR 1.7, 95 CI 1.3-2.3), and death during the late fetal period (OR 5.5, 95 CI 3.8-8.1). CONCLUSIONS: Results show that the risk of fetal death due to neural tube defects is greater among low birth weight babies, females, and during the late fetal period.

Trasplante de células hematopoyéticas de sangre periférica utilizando quimioterapia inmunosupresora sin destrucción de la médula ósea: "minitrasplante" / Peripheral blood hematopoietic cell transplant using immunosuppressive chemotherapy without bone marrow destruction: minitransplant

Using a nonmyeloablative, immunosuppressive, fludarabine (FLU)-base conditioning regimen, we have performed allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplants in 17 patients (six with chronic granulocytic leukemia, four with acute myelogenous leukemia, five with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, one with myelodysplasia and one, with thalassemia major). Conditioning regimen consisted of FLU/busulfan/cyclophosphamide or FLU melphalan. To avoid graft vs. host disease (GVHD), cyclosporine and methotrexate were used. Median granulocyte recovery time to 0.5 x 10(9) was 11 days, whereas median platelet recovery time to 20 x 10(9) was 12 days. Seven patients did not need red blood cell transfusions and four did not need platelet transfusions. In thirteen individuals (76), the procedure could be completed fully on an outpatient basis. Follow-up times range between 1 and 14 months. Five of 17 patients developed acute GVHD whereas 4/10 developed chronic GVHD. The 14-month survival (SV) is 70 and median SV is not reached. Five patients (29) have died, three due to relapse of the disease and two due to GVHD. The transplant-related mortality was 5.8. This procedure is substantially less costly than its counterpart, using in-hospital myeloablative conditioning regimens, and may represent another approach in management of patients requiring allogeneic stem cell transplant.

ECLAMC: estudio de 30 años de vigilancia epidemiológica de defectos de tubo neural en Chile y en Latinoamérica / ECLAMC: results of 30 years of epidemiological surveillance of neural tube defects in Chile and Latin America

Background: There is an urgent need to assess the impact, on the incidence of neural tube defects, of the recently implanted flour fortification with folic acid in Chile. The Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations in Latin America (ECLAMC) has carried out an uninterrupted register of congenital malformations in the last thirty years Aim: To assess the epidemiology of neural tube defects in Chile and determine the most adequate base period to evaluate the effects of Folic acid fortification. Material and methods: analysis of ECLAMC database that has registered all births over 500 g from 1967. Results: From 1967 to 1999, there were 434.624 births in 18 hospitals in Chile and 3.586.569 births in 155 hospitals in the rest of Latin America. The rate of neural tube defects in Chile was 17.03 per 10.000, significantly higher than the rest of ECLAMC (14.88 per 10.000). The prevalence of neural tube defects has a statistically significant secular tendency to increase in the study period and is higher among stillbirths, newborns with a birth weight of less than 1500 g, women and offspring of mothers aged less than 19 years old. Conclusions: The period 1982-1999 is considered the best period for reference comparisons of the effects folic acid supplementation

Hiperhomocist(e)inemia / Hyperhomocyst(e)inemia

A través de numerosos datos derivados de observaciones epidemiológicas y experimentales, se ha establecido que existe una correlación positiva entre la hiperhomocist(e)inemia (HH(e)) y las enfermedades vasculares. Los datos clínicos confirman que la homocisteína (Hcy) es un factor de riesgo independiente de afecciones arteriales oclusivas (coronaria, cerebrovascular y periféricovascular) así como también trombosis venosa periférica. Este aminoácido contiene un sulfhidrilo y se forma por la desmetilación de la metionina. Es normalmente catalizado a cistationina por la enzima cistationina ß-sintetasa (CBS), dependiente de fosfato de piridoxal. Homocisteína también es remetilada a metionina por las enzimas 5-metiltetrahidrofolato-Hcy metiltransferasa (metionina sintetasa), dependiente de vitamina B12 y betaína-Hcy metiltransferasa. Estados nutricionales tales como deficiencias en vitamina B12, vitamina B6 o folato y defectos genéticos de las enzimas CBS o 5,10-metilentetrahidrofolato reductasa, pueden contribuir al aumento de los niveles plasmáticos de Hcy. La patogénesis del daño vascular inducido por Hcy puede ser multifactorial: daño directo sobre el endotelio, aumento de la peroxidación de lipoproteínas de baja densidad, incremento de tromboxano A2 plaquetario o menor activación de la proteína C. En el presente trabajo, se describen los más recientes estudios acerca de la patogénesis de la HH(e) y las implicancias para una óptima terapia

Mortalidad perinatal y su relación con los defectos del tubo neural / Perinatal mortality and its relation with the neural tube deffects

Las estadísticas nacionales de la mortalidad perinatal se revisaron entre el quinquenio 1973-77 en la Maternidad Concepción Palacios y se halló 47 casos con defecto del tubo neural y se estudiaron las variables sexo, edad gestacional, edad materna. Los defectos fueron anencefalia 40,81 por ciento , hidrocefalia: 27,21 por ciento ; espinas bífidas con o sin hidrocefalia: 19,72 por ciento , anomalías diversas (iniencefalia, ciclopia, cebocefalia, etc.)