Nutritional consequences related to “mad cow disease” among homemakers and medical care practitioners in Lebanon

VITAMINS IN THERAPY AND PREVENTION: CURRENT ASPECTS IN RISK GROUPS. International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, 1984, Supplement No. 24. Edited by A. Hanck, Hans Huber, Bern 205 pgs.

THE GROWTH CHART, A TOOL FOR USE IN INFANT AND CHILD HEALTH CARE, World Health Organisation, Geneva, 1986. 33 pp. ISBN 92 4 154208 X, Price: Sw.Fr. 12.‐/USS 7.20. Available in English. Arabic, French and Spanish versions in preparation

FOOD, SOCIETY AND CULTURE, edited by R.S. Khare and M.S.A. Rao. Carolina Academic Press, Durham N.C. 336 pp. (No price provided).

EVALUATION OF CERTAIN FOOD ADDITIVES AND CONTAMINANTS. Thirtieth Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, Technical Report Series, No.751 World Health Organization 1987, 57 pages. Also available in French; Spanish edition in preparation. ISBN 92 4 120751 5, Price: Sw.fr. 9.‐/US$ 5.40     

Human Bocavirus in Children with Acute Gastroenteritis,Chile, 1985–2010

We detected human bocavirus in 89 (19.3%) of 462 fecal samples collected during 3 periods from 1985 through 2010 from children <5 years of age in Chile who were hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis. Our findings confirm the long-term circulation of human bocavirus in Chile.     

Epidemic Clostridium difficile Ribotype 027 in Chile

TO THE EDITOR: The increased severity of Clostridium difficile infection is primarily attributed to the appearance of an epidemic strain characterized as PCR ribotype 027 (1). The only report that identified epidemic C. difficile ribotype 027 in an American country outside of North America comes from Costa Rica, raising the possibility that strains 027 might also be present in other countries of Latin America (2). Several studies between 2001 and 2009 have been conducted in South American countries to detect the incidence of C. difficile infection in hospitalized patients, but they did not identify which C. difficile strains were causing these infections (3).     

Clinical features of chromosome 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome in 208 Chilean patients

Patients with chromosome 22q11 deletion syndrome exhibit significant phenotypic variability. Epidemiologic data suggest a higher incidence in Hispanics, but limited clinical information is available from Latin-American patients. We describe the clinical features of Chilean patients with 22q11 deletion syndrome and compare their findings with those reported in large European, Japanese and US series. Data were obtained from 208 patients from five medical centers. Mean age at diagnosis was 5.2 years, with a median of 2.3 years. Congenital heart defects were present in 59.6%, lower than other large series that averaged 75.8%. Palate abnormalities were present in 79%, higher than previous reports averaging 56%. Patients with congenital heart disease were diagnosed earlier (median 0.3 years of age) than those without heart defects (median 5.6 years) and had greater mortality attributable to the syndrome (9.8% vs 2.4%, respectively). The differences in frequencies of major anomalies may be due to growing awareness of more subtle manifestations of the syndrome, differences in clinical ascertainment or the presence of modifier factors. These observations provide additional data useful for patient counseling and for the proposal of health care guidelines.     

Enfermedad celiaca en adultos chilenos

Introduction and aimTo characterize a university hospital population of Chilean adult patients with celiac disease.Patients and methodWe retrospectively reviewed the records of patients under control that were diagnosed with celiac disease through clinical characteristics, serology, and histology.ResultsA total of 149 patients were included, 119 (79.9%) of whom were women. Mean patient age was 42 years at diagnosis and 13.4% of patients had a family history of celiac disease. Mean body mass index was 24.3 kg/m², 55.3% presented with normal weight, 37.9% with overweight and obesity, and 6.8% with underweight. The main reasons for consultation were diarrhea (47%), weight loss (31%), dyspepsia (43%), and fatigue (26.1%). Anemia (26.1%), elevated transaminases (17.4%), low ferritin (11.4%), and hypovitaminosis D (9.3%) stood out, among others, in the initial laboratory work-up. The more frequent associated diseases were hypothyroidism (15.4%) and depressive disorder (11.4%). Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth was found in 10.1% and lactose malabsorption in 15.4%. The primary histologic diagnosis was celiac disease, with Marsh stage 3a villous atrophy (34.9%).ConclusionOur results were similar to those of other case series on adults, finding that celiac disease was more frequent in women, disease began in the fourth decade of life, extraintestinal symptoms predominated, and there was an association with other autoimmune diseases. An important percentage of patients were also overweight and obese.     

Diferencias epidemiológicas podrían explicar la mayor mortalidad infantil de Chile comparada con Cuba

IntroductionCuba has the lowest infant mortality rate in Latin America, while Chile has an infant mortality rate above the average of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.ObjectiveTo compare the epidemiology of infant mortality between Chile and Cuba in order to find characteristics that may explain the differences found.MethodComparative analysis between Chile and Cuba of infant mortality rate, causes of mortality, live birth weight, and maternal age, in 2015.ResultsCuba had a lower infant, neonatal, early and late mortality than Chile, with no differences in post-neonatal mortality. Chile had a higher infant mortality due to, alterations of the nervous system, urinary system, chromosomal alterations, respiratory distress syndrome, and disorders related to the short duration of gestation. Chile had a higher frequency of mothers ≥ 35 years old and live births weighing <2,500 g. The possible effects of health inequities could not be analyzed due to lack of data.ConclusionsIt is possible to attribute the lower infant mortality rate in Cuba to: selective abortion due to congenital malformations and chromosomal anomalies, lower epidemiological risk of the Cuban pregnant population, and lower frequency of live births with low birth weight.