[Prevalence of helicobacter pylori infection and gastroscopic finding in diabetic patients: case control study]

Current data on the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in dyspeptic diabetic patients are contradictory in the literature. The aim was to assess the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection, gastroscopic lesions, and gastric histopathological lesions, in dyspeptic diabetic patients. It was a case-control study collecting 394 dyspeptic patients [194 diabetic and 200 nondiabetic patients]. The average age of patients was 47 years. 144 patients [47%] were male and 150 patients [53%] were female. The two patient groups were matched for age and sex. The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection was comparable between the two groups of patients [85% in diabetics versus 90% in the controls]. The frequency of gastroscopic lesions was 50% in diabetics and 55% in controls with no significant difference between the two groups. At histology, the prevalence of chronic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and gastric atrophy was 85%, 13% and 39% respectively in the group of diabetic patients. These results were comparable to those found in patients without diabetes. Our work shows no difference between diabetics and non-diabetics on the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection, gastroscopic, and gastric histopathological lesions

[Hepatic steatosis in chronic hepatitis B: Prevalence, risk factors, and impact on fibrosis and therapeutic response]

Steatosis is a common injury in chronic hepatitis C, but this association has not been sufficiently studied in chronic hepatitis B. To evaluate the prevalence of hepatic steatosis in chronic hepatitis B and determine its association with various histologic, biochemical, virological, and metabolic diseases, and its effect on fibrosis and therapeutic response. Our study was compiled 133 patients with chronic hepatitis B who received no antiviral therapy and who had a liver biopsy. Our patients were divided into 2 groups: 51 patients [38.3%] had steatosis [Group I], while 82 [61.7%] had no steatosis [Group II]. In group l, the average age, BMI, cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose were significantly higher than the group without steatosis in univariate study [P <0.05]. In multivariate analysis, only high BMI and hypertriglyceridemia were included. No significant difference between the two groups was observed in the rate of transaminases, HBeAg status, viral load [P> 0.05]. Steatosis doesn't influence fibrosis stage and therapeutic response. During chronic hepatitis B, steatosis appears to be the result of metabolic factors of the host rather than the effect of the virus. Hepatic steatosis does not seem to influence the progression of liver fibrosis, or therapeutic response, however, the role of steatosis should be better studied by prospective longitudinal clinical studies on large populations of patients

[Importance of vaccination chronic hepatitis B]

Weak therapeutic responses and weak immune cytotoxic CD8 and CD4 response in chronic hepatitis B emphasize the necessity to find new therapeutic strategies especially as specific immunotherapy. Vaccination, whose principle was to widen immune repertoire, was used as a curative treatment of chronic hepatitis B. It would be the therapeutic procedure with the lowest cost and the potentially greatest benefit. Our purpose was to enhance the interest of therapeutic vaccination in chronic hepatitis B in order to debate later its usefulness in developing countries