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Abstract Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) affects 50% of the human population. The efficacy of the usual treatments has decreased due to increased antibiotic resistance, except for that of amoxicillin, tetracycline, furazolidone and bismuth. Recently, there has been a new interest in dual therapy with high-dose proton pump inhibitors (PPI) and amoxicillin as initial and rescue treatment. There are no studies on this topic in our setting. Objective: to determine the efficacy of dual therapy with high-dose IPP and amoxicillin for eradicating H. pylori. Materials and methods: this was a quasi-experimental study carried out from December 2019 to July 2020 in people over the age of 18 with histologically confirmed H. pylori. All received 40 mg of esomeprazole half an hour before breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus 1 gram of oral amoxicillin every eight hours for 14 days. Eradication was determined by fecal antigens (OnSiteTM H. pylori Biotech Inc.) after four weeks of treatment. Results: 108 patients with an average age of 67 years were included, 70% of whom were women. Eradication per protocol (PP) and intention to treat (ITT) was 86% (95%CI 79.4-92.5%) for both. In previously treated patients (26%) the efficacy was 85.7% (95%CI 71.8-99.5%). Adverse events were mild in 31%, especially nausea (16%) and abdominal distension (14%). Treatment was not suspended in any patient. Conclusion: Dual therapy is effective, easy to administer, and has few adverse effects. It would be a good option in our setting as initial or rescue therapy. Larger studies are needed to confirm our results. (Acta Med Colomb 2021; 46. DOI:https://doi.org/10.36104/amc.2021.2091).
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Adipsin is a protease produced at high levels by adipose tissue. It is involved in complement activation and metabolic control. The objective of this study was to determine the changes in adipsin levels during different stages of normal pregnancy, and its association with obstetric outcomes, such as preeclampsia. This nested case-control study in a longitudinal cohort included normal pregnant (n = 54) and preeclamptic (n = 18) women, both followed throughout pregnancy. Additionally, some of the normal pregnant women were followed up three months postpartum (n = 18). Healthy non-pregnant women were also studied during their menstrual cycle (n = 20). The results of this study show that in healthy non-pregnant women, adipsin levels did not change significantly during the menstrual cycle. In normal pregnant women, adipsin levels were lower (p < 0.01) when compared with non-pregnant healthy women, but these serum levels increased again during postpartum (p < 0.001). Adipsin levels were significantly elevated in preeclamptic women in late pregnancy (P < 0.01). A significant correlation was not found between leptin and adipsin during the three periods of gestation studied in healthy pregnant and preeclamptic women. Our results suggest that adipsin may be involved in pregnancy-associated metabolic changes. Moreover, the increase of adipsin levels towards late gestation in preeclamptic women could be related to the pathophysiology of this disease.
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Omentin-1 is an adipocytokine with anti-inflammatory activity that has been associated with different metabolic disorders. The aim of this study is to investigate the serum profiles of omentin-1 throughout human and rat pregnancy. Serum omentin-1 levels were determined by ELISA in a prospective cohort study of healthy pregnant women (n=40) during the three trimesters of pregnancy and in twenty healthy non-pregnant women during the follicular and luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. In addition, serum omentin-1 levels were measured in rats during different periods of pregnancy (gestational days 8, 12, 16, 19, and 21) and in an age-matched control (virgin) group of rats (n=12rats/group). Finally, immunohistochemistry was used to demonstrate the presence of omentin-1 protein in human and rat placenta. Omentin-1 immunoreactivity was detected in cytotrophoblasts, syncytiotrophoblasts, sparse Hofbauer cells, and endothelial cells of the stem villi of human placenta. Additionally, it was detected in the labyrinthine trophoblast and yolk sac layer of the rat placenta. Human and rat serum omentin-1 levels were significantly lower in the late gestational period when compared with the non-pregnant women and virgin rats (p<0.05). Serum omentin-1 changes were not significant throughout the gestation in both species (p>0.05). Human serum omentin-1 levels have an inverse relationship with triglyceride levels during pregnancy. Our findings have not determined the exact role of omentin-1 during pregnancy, concerning the metabolic control of triglycerides and other energy sources. Whether omentin-1 decrease implies a regulatory function is still not clear. Further studies are needed to address this issue and determine the role of omentin-1 in metabolic adaptations during normal human and rat pregnancy.