Comparison between somatostatin analog injections

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: Long-acting depot formulations of somatostatin analogs, i.e., octreotide and lanreotide, are the first-line medical therapies for patients with acromegaly to whom surgery/radiotherapy cannot be performed or who have inadequate response. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the short-term local and systemic adverse reactions developed after the somatostatin analogs injections in the patients with acromegaly, in order to compare the side effects of somatostatin analogs injections. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with acromegaly who were referred to our endocrinology clinic for monthly somatostatin analogs injections were questionnaired. Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale was used to evaluate the injection-site pain at the time of injection. The existence of leg pain, nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain following the previous injection was also investigated during the next injection. RESULTS: A total of 49 patients were included in the study. The statistical difference could not be shown between the injection-site pain, anorexia, and leg pain frequencies of the groups, while the frequency of gastrointestinal disturbances, i.e., diarrhea and abdominal pain, was significantly lower in the octreotide group (p<0.001 and p=0.015, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first prospective study that compared the severity of the injection-site pain by using a scoring scale, following the long-acting somatostatin analogs injections. We have shown that there was no significant association of the injection-site pain severity with the somatostatin analogs regimen nor the dose differences within each somatostatin analogs treatment.

Mutation and association analysis of the PVR and PVRL2 genes in patients with non-syndromic cleft lip and palate

Orofacial clefts (OFC; MIM 119530) are among the most common major birth defects. Here, we carried out mutation screening of the PVR and PVRL2 genes, which are both located at an OFC linkage region at 19q13 (OFC3) and are closely related to PVRL1, which has been associated with both syndromic and non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (nsCLP). We screened a total of 73 nsCLP patients and 105 non-cleft controls from the USA for variants in PVR and PVRL2, including all exons and encompassing all isoforms. We identified four variants in PVR and five in PVRL2. One non-synonymous PVR variant, A67T, was more frequent among nsCLP patients than among normal controls, but this difference did not achieve statistical significance.

Lack of mutations in the PVRL3 gene in North American caucasians with non-syndromic cleft lip/palate

Cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CLP) is one of the most common birth defects. In about 70 percent of cases, CLP occurs as an isolated anomaly, denoted non-syndromic CLP (nsCLP). Genetic linkage and association studies have implicated many loci in susceptibility to nsCLP, including some members of the nectin gene family. We performed mutation screening of the PVRL3 gene that encodes nectin-3 in 73 unrelated Caucasian nsCLP patients and 105 unrelated controls from North America. We detected no sequence variants in the PVRL3 gene in either the nsCLP patients or the controls. These data suggest that PVRL3 is not an important susceptibility gene for nsCLP in the North American Caucasian population.

Detection of Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar in stool specimens by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

Entamoeba histolytica actually comprises two genetically distinct but morphologically indistinguishable species. E. histolytica can cause invasive intestinal and extra intestinal disease, while E. dispar cannot. Identification and differentiation of E. dispar and E. histolytica in stool sample by microscopy is imprecise. Several weeks of culture and isoenzyme analysis are required to differentiate E. histolytica from E. dispar. In this study, we have used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of E. histolytica/E.dispar and compared it with microscopy. Eighty-eight samples were evaluated, trichrome staining was positive in 20.4 percent (18) and ELISA was positive in 29.5 percent (26). Both tests were positive in 14 (15.9 percent) samples, 4 (4.5 percent) only with direct microscopy, and 12 (13.6 percent) only with ELISA. Both tests were negative in 58 (65.9 percent) samples. Microscopy has low sensitivity and high specificity, low negative predictive value and high positive predictive value in comparison with ELISA. E. histolytica/E. dispar antigen detection ELISA tests are inexpensive compared to the specific tests, yield objective results and do not require experienced microscopists and can therefore be recommended for screening of stools worldwide and the results can be taken for treatment that are fitting with its clinic.