Helicobacter pylori as a protective factor for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

A wide variety of epidemiological studies suggest the increase in incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma which, in turn, might be related to decrease in Helicobacter pylori prevalence, but very few studies have examined this association .The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the relationship between H.pylori and esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma in Urmia in a period of 30 months. In this case-control study 161 patients with pathologically proven esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma were enrolled. Subjects were cancer cases, pathologically proven to have esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma, in medical centers in Urmia in the west of Iran during a 30-months period in 2006 -2007 .Control cases [168 patients] were selected from the patients who were admitted to the ophthalmology department and were matched for sex, age and history of smoking. H .pylori seropositivity was determined by ELISA, using Trinity Biptech capita measuring IgG .Data were analyzed using Chi square and Mantel Hanzel tests. The mean age of patients with esophageal cancer was 61.8[SD=13.4] years. Sixty eight[42.2%] of patients were male and 93[57.8%]were female. In 31[19.2%] cases tumor ware located in the upper, 73 [45.3%] cases in middle and in remaining 57[35.4%] cases in the lower portion of the esophagus. A total of 69 [42.8%] and 105[62.5%] out of 161 cases and 168 controls, respectively, had positive H. pylori infection. Subjects with positive H .pylori infections had a significantly reduced risk [OR= 0.45; 95% CI= 0.28-0.72; P=0.0001] of developing esophageal SCC than those without SCC. Our findings suggest that H .pylori infection may have a protective role against development of esophageal SCC in our area .Additional studies are needed to confirm these findings

Relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and cardiac syndrome X

There is no obvious etiology for cardiac syndrome X [CSX]. Some mechanisms, such as endothelial dysfunction and estrogen deficiency have been involved. In this study, we tried to find the association between Helicobacter pylori [HP] infection and cardiac syndrome X. In this case control study in year 2007, 54 cardiac syndrome X-affected patients and 168 referred patients to the Taleghani hospital for elective surgery were included. Data were collected by interview physical examination, laboratory and angiographic findings. Then, Serum anti-Helicobacter pylori antibody [IgG] was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square, and Mantel- Hanzel tests with SPSS software. According to the results of this study, 54 patients were considered as case group and meeting diagnostic criteria for cardiac syndrome X. The mean age of subjects was 54.54 +/- 8.99 years [range=38 to 72 years]. From the total 54 case group patients, 44 patients [81.5%] were positive for helicobacter pylori and from 168 control patients, 95 patients [56.5%] were positive [P < 0.001]. There was no significant difference between history of diabetes and blood pressure in H.pylori-positive cardiac syndrome X-affected patients. According to the results of this study, a probable role for HP infection seems to be involved in the pathogenesis of CSX

[Epidemiology of helicobacter pylori infection in Kurdistan Province, 2006]

It is estimated that more than half of the world population are infected with H-pylori. Therefore, this infection maybe regarded the most common infection in human being. The organism may be unique among bacterial pathogens in provoking a wide range of sequelae. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence rate of H-pylori infection in Kurdistan Province in the west of Iran, in 2006. In this cross sectional study, the sample size included 1503 people, older than 10 years of age, who were selected randomly out of Kurdistan resident population. Samples were tested by use of ELISA method for detection of H-pylori IgG antibody using kits of Trinity Biptech capita H.pylori IgG. Data were introduced into SPSS software and analyzed by means of Correlation analysis, t-test, and X[2] test. Blood specimens from 1503 subjects were collected. 866 [57.6%] patients were female and 637 [42.4%] were male. 802 [53.35] patients were living in urban and 70 [46.64%] patients in rural areas. The mean age of subjects was 32.15 [SD=14.91] years, with age range of 10 to 100 years. The prevalence of H-pylori infection was 36.5 percent. According to the results of this study the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in our subjects is relatively low which must be considered in clinical evaluation

[Prognostic value of serum T-lymhocyte cytokines for prediction of early acute rejection of renal transplants]

Acute rejection is one of the most important complications after renal transplantation which influences transplant prognosis and survival. This study was conducted to determine the prognostic value of Th1/ Th2 cytokines in acute renal rejection [AR]. This was a cross-sectional study and included 60 kidney transplant recipients [40 male, mean age 38.82], who had received their transplants from live donors. Serum levels of Th-1 dependent cytokines [interleukin- [IL] 2 and interferon-gamma] and Th-2 dependent cytokines [IL-4, IL-10] were measured on the day before, 7th and 14th days post transplantation using ELISA. All the patients received Immunosupressive agents including cyclosporine, mychofenolate mofetile and prednisolon. Acute rejection was defined as a more than 50 percent rise in serum creatinin in the first 20 days after transplantation. Data were introduced into SPSS soft ware and analyzed by means of independent T-test. Among 60 patients, 40 were male. The mean age of the patients were 38.82 years. In our study we diagnosed twelve cases of AR [20% of the cases]. There was no significant relation between the serum levels of IL2, IL4, IL10 and IFN zeta in the patients with acute rejection of the transplant and those without. These data showed that there is no correlation between Th1/ Th2 serum cytokines profile and early AR episodes in kidney transplantation and these cytokines can not be used as prognostic factors in acute renal rejection