RESUMEN
Hepcidin is a peptide produced by hepatocytes and detectable in blood and urine. Urinary hepcidin excretion appeared to be significantly increasing in humans with acute and chronic infections or inflammatory diseases. However, the effects of common tropical parasitic infections on hepcidin have not been sufficiently examined. We carried out a study in school children from Mali living in a neighborhood where Plasmodium falciparum malaria and Schistosoma haematobium infections are prevalent. Anemia (hemoglobin < 120 g/l) prevalence was very high among these children (68%); 24% had iron deficiency anemia. The prevalence of infections was also high (65% had at least one infection and 41% had C-reactive protein (CRP) levels > 10 mg/L). S. haematobium was diagnosed in 64%. We assessed first morning urine hepcidin excretion in a sub-sample of 15 children with either S. haematobium, P. falciparum malaria or none; 14 of these 15 children were included in the analyses. Children with P. falciparum malaria excreted significantly higher levels of hepcidin than those with S. haematobium (chi2 = 3.86; p = 0.05) or without any infection (chi2 = 5.95; p = 0.01). Urinary hepcidin correlated significantly with CRP (Spearman's r = 0.59; p = 0.001) and serum ferritin (Spearman's r = 0.73; p = 0.003). Our study confirms the still limited evidence of an association between human malaria and increased urinary hepcidin and points out the need for further studies to define the contribution of hepcidin to anemia associated with this disease.
Asunto(s)
Anemia/etiología , Péptidos Catiónicos Antimicrobianos/orina , Malaria Falciparum/complicaciones , Anemia/epidemiología , Anemia/orina , Anemia Ferropénica/epidemiología , Anemia Ferropénica/etiología , Anemia Ferropénica/orina , Péptidos Catiónicos Antimicrobianos/fisiología , Proteína C-Reactiva/análisis , Niño , Estudios Transversales , Enfermedades Endémicas , Femenino , Hepcidinas , Humanos , Absorción Intestinal/fisiología , Hierro de la Dieta/farmacocinética , Hígado/metabolismo , Hígado/parasitología , Malaria Falciparum/sangre , Malaria Falciparum/epidemiología , Malaria Falciparum/orina , Masculino , Malí/epidemiología , Modelos Biológicos , Prevalencia , Esquistosomiasis Urinaria/sangre , Esquistosomiasis Urinaria/complicaciones , Esquistosomiasis Urinaria/epidemiología , Esquistosomiasis Urinaria/orinaRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Although knee malalignment is assumed to correlate with knee osteoarthritis (OA), it is still unknown whether malalignment precedes the development of OA or whether it is a result of OA. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between malalignment and the development of knee OA as well as progression of knee OA. METHODS: A total of 1,501 participants in the Rotterdam study were randomly selected. Knee OA at baseline and at followup (mean followup 6.6 years) was scored according to the Kellgren/Lawrence (K/L) grading system. Alignment was measured by the femorotibial angle on radiographs at baseline. Multivariable logistic regression for repeated measurements was used to analyze the association of malalignment with the development and progression of OA. RESULTS: Of 2,664 knees, 1,012 (38%) were considered to have normal alignment, 693 (26%) had varus alignment, and 959 (36%) had valgus alignment. A comparison of valgus alignment and normal alignment showed that valgus alignment was associated with a borderline significant increase in development of knee OA (odds ratio [OR] 1.54, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.97-2.44), and varus alignment was associated with a 2-fold increased risk (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.28-3.32). Stratification for body mass index showed that this increased risk was especially seen in overweight and obese individuals but not in non-overweight persons. The risk of OA progression was also significantly increased in the group with varus alignment compared with the group with normal alignment (OR 2.90, 95% CI 1.07-7.88). CONCLUSION: An increasing degree of varus alignment is associated not only with progression of knee OA but also with development of knee OA. However, this association seems particularly applicable to overweight and obese persons.
Asunto(s)
Artrografía , Desviación Ósea/epidemiología , Hallux Varus/diagnóstico por imagen , Articulación de la Rodilla/diagnóstico por imagen , Osteoartritis de la Rodilla/epidemiología , Anciano , Desviación Ósea/diagnóstico por imagen , Desviación Ósea/fisiopatología , Comorbilidad , Progresión de la Enfermedad , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Hallux Varus/fisiopatología , Humanos , Articulación de la Rodilla/fisiopatología , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Países Bajos/epidemiología , Osteoartritis de la Rodilla/diagnóstico por imagen , Osteoartritis de la Rodilla/fisiopatología , Estudios Prospectivos , Factores de RiesgoRESUMEN
Male and female rats with two permanently indwelling intravenous catheters were infused for 2 hours with ovine prolactin. During equilibrium conditions the effects of intravenously injected L-DOPA and benzerazide (a blocker of dopa-decarboxylase) on steady state levels of ovine prolactin were measured. A dose of 4.5 mg L-DOPA per 100 gr body weight (b.w.) caused a transient increase of plasma ovine prolactin. A dose of 0.3 mg L-DOPA/100 gr b.w. had no effect, neither in males nor in females, while benzerazide (20 mg/100 gr b.w.) had only a slight effect. The experiments suggest that L-DOPA does not affect the peripheral uptake of prolactin from the plasma.