Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii, rubella and cytomegalovirus among pregnant women in southern Turkey

Primary infections caused by Toxoplasma gondii, rubella and cytomegalovirus (CMV) can lead to serious complications in pregnant women. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma, rubella and CMV infections through antenatal screening. In this study, the consecutive records of 1652 pregnant women examined between the period March 2004 to January 2006 were included. The results of the antenatal screening for Toxoplasma, rubella and CMV during the first trimester of pregnancy were evaluated. Anti-Toxoplasma, anti-rubella and anti-CMV IgG and IgM antibodies were assayed using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay method. Of the 1652 pregnant women tested, anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibody was found in 860 (52.1%) of the cases, while 9 (0.54%) of the subjects tested positive for anti-Toxoplasma IgM. Anti-rubella IgG and IgM antibodies were reactive in 1570 (95.0%), and in 9 (0.54%) of the tested women, respectively. Moreover, 1568 (94.9%) of them were found to be positive for anti-CMV IgG, while 7 (0.4%) tested positive for anti-CMV IgM. Consequently, because of the high seropositivity of T. gondii, rubella and CMV in the pregnant women, the country's health authorities should be alerted, and preventive measures should be taken.     

Primary antibody deficiencies in Turkey: molecular and clinical aspects

Primary antibody deficiencies (PAD) are the most common subtype of primary immunodeficiencies, characterized by increased susceptibility to infections and autoimmunity, allergy, or malignancy predisposition. PAD syndromes comprise of immune system genes highlighted the key role of B cell activation, proliferation, migration, somatic hypermutation, or isotype switching have a wide spectrum from agammaglobulinemia to selective Ig deficiency. In this study, we describe the molecular and the clinical aspects of fifty-two PAD patients. The most common symptoms of our cohort were upper and lower respiratory infections, bronchiectasis, diarrhea, and recurrent fever. Almost all patients (98%) had at least one of the symptoms like autoimmunity, lymphoproliferation, allergy, or gastrointestinal disease. A custom-made next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel, which contains 24 genes, was designed to identify well-known disease-causing variants in our cohort. We identified eight variants (15.4%) among 52 PAD patients. The variants mapped to BTK (n?=?4), CD40L (n?=?1), ICOS (n?=?1), IGHM (n?=?1), and TCF3 (n?=?1) genes. Three novel variants were described in the BTK (p.G414W), ICOS (p.G60*), and IGHM (p.S19*) genes. We performed Sanger sequencing to validate pathogenic variants and check for allelic segregation in the family. Targeted NGS panel sequencing can be beneficial as a suitable diagnostic modality for diagnosing well-known monogenic PAD diseases (only 2–10% of PADs); however, screening only the coding regions of the genome may not be adequately powered to solve the pathogenesis of PAD in all cases. Deciphering the regulatory regions of the genome and better understanding the epigenetic modifications will elucidate the molecular basis of complex PADs.

     

Correction to: Primary antibody deficiencies in Turkey: molecular and clinical aspects

Immunologic Research -     

Effect of hygiene promotion on the risk of reinfection rate of intestinal parasites in children in rural Uzbekistan

A controlled prospective cohort study was designed to assess the effectiveness of hygiene promotion on the risk of reinfection by intestinal parasites in children in 276 rural Uzbek households over a 1-year period. The study included three groups: seasonality (no medicine, no hygiene promotion activity), treatment (medicine provided, no hygiene promotion activity) and hygiene promotion (medicine provided and hygiene promotion activity). The Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation methodology was utilized as the key tool in hygiene promotion activities. Three hygiene behaviors were targeted: hand washing with soap, safe feces disposal and boiling drinking water. On average, more than 80% of all children tested were infected with Enterobius vermicularis, Hymenolepis nana, Ascaris lumbricoides, Giardia lamblia or Entamoeba coli. There were statistically significant differences between the three groups for the risk of reinfection rate: the risk of reinfection by parasites was 30% lower in the hygiene promotion group than in the treatment group and 37% lower than in the seasonality group. If properly designed and carried out, hygiene promotion is an effective tool in reducing the risk of intestinal parasite reinfection in children, thus improving children's health in rural communities.     

Twin pregnancy with a complete hydatidiform mole and co-existent live fetus: two case reports and review of the literature

Introduction  The aim of this study was to report the clinical features, management, and outcome of two cases of complete hydatidiform mole with a coexisting viable fetus and to review the literature. Case reports  In this article, we report on the well-documented follow-up of two cases of twin pregnancies with complete hydatidiform mole and a normal fetus. Genetic amniocentesis showed normal fetal karyotype in both of two cases. In the first case, a live male infant was delivered by a cesarean section because of severe maternal bleeding at 29 weeks of gestation. In the second case, termination of pregnancy was performed due to early onset of severe preeclampsia and vaginal hemorrhage. Conclusion  The chances of a live birth have been estimated between 30 and 35% and the risk of persistent trophoblastic disease is similar to singleton molar pregnancies in complete mole with coexisting fetus pregnancy. Therefore, in these pregnancies, expectant management instead of termination of pregnancy can be suggested.     

The effect of obesity on inflammatory markers in patients with PCOS: a BMI-matched case–control study

Background

Previous studies have shown increased inflammatory activity in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS); however, it remains uncertain whether this increased inflammatory activity is a consequence of the disorder itself or of the accompanying obesity. We therefore aimed to test the inflammatory marker levels in obese and lean patients with PCOS by using two separate control groups with matching body mass index (BMI).

Method

A total of 120 women in reproductive age with (n = 62) and without (n = 60) PCOS were recruited for the study. Patients with PCOS were divided into two groups as obese (n = 32) and lean (n = 30) PCOS groups according to BMI. Two BMI-matched control groups were created. Furthermore, high sensitive CRP protein (hsCRP), neutrophils, lymphocytes, white blood cell count (WBC) and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were evaluated with complete blood count.

Results

The hsCRP (5.5 ± 0.8 vs. 3.1 ± 0.7, p < 0.001), neutrophil count (3.8 ± 0.4 vs. 2.9 ± 0.7, p < 0.001), leukocyte count (7.2 ± 1.8 vs. 5.6 ± 1.6, p < 0.001), and NLR (2.6 ± 1.4 vs. 1.5 ± 0.4, p < 0.001) were higher in patients with PCOS compared to the control group while lymphocyte count was lower (1.71 ± 0.65 vs. 1.98 ± 0.39, p = 0.008). Similarly, both obese and lean patients with PCOS had higher levels of hsCRP, neutrophils, leukocytes and NLR ratios compared to BMI-matched controls. The correlation analysis revealed a moderate correlation between NLR and hsCRP (r 0.459, p < 0.001), and between HOMA-IR (r 0.476 p < 0.001) and BMI (r 0.310, p 0.001).

Conclusion

Our study results demonstrated that both lean and obese patients with PCOS have increased inflammatory markers compared to BMI-matched control groups indicating that the inflammation seen in PCOS might be related with the presence of the disorder rather than with obesity.