Cell mediated immunity before and after treatment by praziquantel, in schistosoma mansoni patients

Humoral and cellular components of immune responses had been thought to have role in developing resistance to re-infection with S. mansoni. This case-control study included 30 S. mansoni cases [active or inactive]; age ranged from 23 to 47 years. They were selected from outpatient clinic of internal medicine department, Benha Faculty of Medicine. Ten healthy control subjects from same area were also included in study. IL-2 and IFN-gamma were measured by ELISA procedures for both patients and controls. A non-statistically significant difference was shown between the levels of IL-2 or IFN-gamma, between the [control group] and [active S. group after treatment] while the difference was highly significant between inactive S group and active group after treatment [p<0.01]. Females showed higher levels of IL-2 in the [active S. group after treatment] while among the [control cases] the levels were higher in males. The [active S. group after treatment] showed a highly significant difference and the [below 40 years of age group] showing higher IL-2 levels. The [active S. group after treatment] showed a significant difference, and the [over 40 years of age] showed higher IFN-gamma levels. Praziquantel had increased the levels of IL-2 and IFN-gamma in the [active Schistosomiasis group after treatment by PZQ] closer to the level of [control group] but not in the [inactive S. mansoni group]

Detection of gastric epithelium in the duodenum in patients with duodenal ulcer

Detection or gastric epithelium was studied in 20 patients with symptomatic and endoscopically proven duodenal ulcer. HistopathoIogic study of biopsies taken from the mucosa close to ulcers showed that five patients [25%] had normal villi, 12 patients [60%] had atrophic villi and 3 had snort blunt villi [15%]. Gastric epithelium was detected in 15.9% of the total villi. Gastric cells were more prevalent in women than in men, present in clusters, more in the stunted villi and near the tips and sides, they appear when free acidity is higher than 20 mEq/L. It could be suggested that the appearance of gastric epithelium in duodenal ulcers may be a metapIasia from intestinal cells which play may play a protective role against high acidity. The greater prevalence in women may play a part in relative immunity of that sex to the development of duodenal ulcer