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Helicobacter pylori infection of the lining of the stomach induces an array of inflammatory cytokine production leading to gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of curcumin on the production of interleukin (IL)-8, IL-1beta, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 in gastric mucosa from H. pylori-infected gastritis patients. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either OAM (Omeprazole, Amoxicillin and Metronidazole) treatment or a course of curcumin. Gastric biopsies were collected before and after treatment and were examined for the level of inflammatory cytokines mRNA by semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The eradication rate of H. pylori in patients that received OAM treatment was significantly higher than the patients that received curcumin (78.9% versus 5.9%). The levels of IL-8 mRNA expression in the OAM group significantly decreased after treatment, but no changes of other cytokines were found. This emphasizes an important role of IL-8 in H. pylori infection. The decreases of cytokine production were not found in the curcumin group. We concluded that curcumin alone may have limited anti-bactericidal effect on H. pylori, and on the production of inflammatory cytokines. Nevertheless, other studies have reported that patients treated with curcumin had relieved symptoms. Further investigation should be carried out as the use of curcumin in combination with therapeutic regimens may be beneficial as an alternative treatment., (2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Helicobacterpylori, a common infectious bacterium, has been linked to chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. Gastric biopsy specimens were obtained from 58 northern Thai patients with gastritis, 28 with gastric ulcer, 45 with duodenal ulcer and 4 with gastric cancer. cagA, vacA s1 and iceA gene was found in 88, 98, and 89% of the specimens, respectively. For vacA, the frequency of subtype s1a, s1c and combined sla and s1c was 40, 16, and 41%, respectively. The frequency of subtype s1a/m1 and s1a/s1c/m1 was 27 and 20%, respectively. Fifty-three patients (39%) were infected with multiple vacA genotypes but there was no association with clinical outcome. cagA positive and mixed vacA s1a and s1c strains were found in significantly more cases of duodenal ulcer than gastritis (p < 0.05). For iceA, subtype iceA1 reached a frequency of 60%, whereas subtype iceA2 was only 24%.

Four different DNA loci were assessed for the detection of H. pylori by PCR on gastric biopsy specimens. PCR, with a primer specific 860 bp DNA fragment, was the most sensitive, with a detection limit of 0.02 pg H. pylori DNA, corresponding to approximately 10 organisms. Nested-PCR of the 860-bp DNA fragment was 10-fold more sensitive than single-step PCR. The sensitivity and specificity of the four PCR methods, in comparison to the results obtained from histology and the urease test, are as follows: 80.7% and 76% for the hpaA gene; 100% and 76% for the 16S rRNA gene; 84.6% and 80.0% for the 860-bp DNA fragment; 61.5% and 84.0% for the ureC (glmM) gene, respectively. The sensitivity of nested-PCR for the 860-bp DNA fragment was 100%. This nested-PCR gave positive results for eight specimens which were negative by conventional methods. PCR can be performed on gastric biopsy specimens obtained from the CLO test.

Recurrent aphthous ulceration (RAU) is the most common lesion of the oral mucosa. Although many factors have been postulated as etiological factors for RAU, the role of Helicobacter pylori as a causative agent of RAU remains controversial. We therefore investigated the association of H. pylori and RAU by a highly sensitive technique, nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in 22 patients with RAU with ages ranging from 12-36 years. Samples were brushed from the lesions and the dorsum of the tongue of each patient. In addition, samples from the dorsum of the tongue of 15 normal individuals with ages ranging from 13-40 years were used as controls. The results showed that only one sample from a lesion (4.5%) and one sample from the tongue (4.5%) of two different patients with RAU were positive for H. pylori. In the control group, 3 samples (20%) were positive for H. pylori. These findings suggest that H. pylori does not play a role in the pathogenesis of RAU and the dorsum of the tongue may be a reservoir of H. pylori in some individuals.

This article presents the case of a 46-year-old vegetarian who had a painful dry socket in the left third molar areas. Since the patient's general appraisal was anaemic, investigations for haematological status, folic acid and vitamin B12 were performed. The results revealed that the patient was severely iron deficient and slightly vitamin B12 deficient.

To assess the effectiveness of hepatitis B immunization as an incentive to retention in HIV seroincidence studies and future HIV vaccine trials in northern Thailand, subjects enrolled in three HIV seroincidence cohorts were screened for hepatitis B markers and seronegatives were offered free hepatitis B immunization. Cohorts studied included female commercial sex workers (CSWs), male sexually transmitted disease (STD) patients, and recently discharged military conscripts. Subjects who agreed to the immunization program were compared with those not enrolled to determine the utility of immunization as an incentive to cohort retention. Full immunization was achieved for 273 (89.5%) of 305 vaccinees; only 323 (60.6%) of 533 subjects not immunized completed the same follow-up visits (OR = 1.49, 95% and CI = 1.27, 1.75). Hepatitis B vaccination was a significant incentive for completion of the follow-up program. The vaccination program had the greatest effect on the CSWs; a similar effect was seen for male STD patients, but not for discharged conscripts. Despite the immunization program, follow-up rates at 12 months were similar in the immunized and nonimmunized groups.

To elucidate the effects of iron on lipid peroxidation, three kinds of assays were done. (i) The effects of intravenous injection of single doses of iron dextran (100 mg iron) on lipid peroxidation in various tissues and the blood plasma of rats were examined by the thiobarbituric acid reaction. Malondialdehyde concentrations were significantly elevated in the spleen, heart, and plasma 3 h after injection, whereas significant increases were observed in the liver and adipose tissue at 24 and 48 h, respectively. In the liver and spleen, the elevated malondialdehyde concentrations persisted until Day 28. In contrast, levels were reduced in the heart and adipose tissue within 4 weeks after iron injection. Plasma malondialdehyde concentrations were 70-times that of controls at 24 h after iron injection. The level subsequently decreased sharply by Day 6. In red blood cells, lipid peroxidation was not affected by iron. Malondialdehyde levels were correlated with the iron contents of the liver, spleen, heart, adipose tissue, and plasma (r value range 0.39-0.88, p less than 0.05). Furthermore, there was a strong correlation in the liver and spleen at iron levels below 2,000 micrograms/g (r = 0.94, p less than 0.0001; r = 0.94, p less than 0.0001, respectively). (ii) In vitro experiments demonstrated that the addition of iron as ferric chloride, iron dextran, ferritin, and hemosiderin to normal liver homogenate accelerated malondialdehyde production. However, such increases were less than 10% of those caused by equivalent iron in the liver homogenate of iron treated rats. (iii) Compared to controls, spleens from eight thalassemia patients showed a high level of malondialdehyde and iron.

A solid-phase sandwich enzyme immunoassay for serum ferritin is described. The assay procedure was simple, showed good precision, and was suitable for the routine determination of serum ferritin concentration in a clinical laboratory. The assay compared well with a conventional radioimmunoassay for ferritin. The assay was extremely sensitive and had a detection limit of 2.2pg.

The iron status of voluntary and professional male donor groups was investigated. The study indicated that serum ferritin level was lower significantly in those who donated three times per year compared to the first time donors (p less than 0.05) in voluntary donor group. Similar results were observed among the professional donors. Whereas haemoglobin, haematocrit and transferrin saturation were not altered by donating blood in both groups. It also showed that, in general, the body iron stores of professional donors were lower to those of voluntary donors. Supplementation with iron over a period of three months produced a rise in serum ferritin levels and the percentage prevalence of iron depleted subjects decreased from 23.6% to 6.4%. Haemoglobin, haematocrit and transferrin saturation levels also improved.