Effects of intense exercise on biochemical and histological changes in rat liver and pancreas.

Background: Exercise has various effects on hepatic and pancreatic function. There is little information available for effects of exercise on histopathological changes in the liver and pancreas. Objective: Investigate the effect of intensive exercise on blood biochemical changes and histopathology in rat liver and pancreas. Materials and methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: 1 (normal control): no exercise, 2 (exercise 75% VO2max): running on treadmill at 75% VO2max and sacrificed immediately after exercise, 3 (exercise 75% VO2max+6 hours): running on treadmill at 75% VO2max and sacrificed at six hours after exercise, 4 (exercise 90% VO2max): running on treadmill at 90% VO2max and immediately sacrificed after exercise, 5 (exercise 90% VO2max+6 hours): running on treadmill at 90% VO2max and sacrificed at six hours after exercise. Samples of blood, liver and pancreas were collected at the end of each experiment. Results: The levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) increased significantly in group 2 and 4, compared with normal control. Serum total bilirubin (TB) and enzyme lipase increased significantly in group 4 compared with normal control. In all group of exercise, liver histopathology showed hepatocyte edema and necroinflammation, and pancreas showed congestion and edema. Conclusion: High-intensity exercise at 75% and 90% VO2max caused an increase of biochemical parametes in liver and pancreas. The levels of exercise also caused histopathology changes in the liver and pancreas.

Incidence of Helicobacter pylori recurrent infection and associated factors in Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of H. pylori recurrent infection after successful eradication in 4-year follow-up study, and to evaluate the influencing factors for re-infection. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Thirty-seven patients (age range 20-74 years; average 49.06 +/- 14.03 years) were recruited of which 64.9% were females. The H. pylori infection was proved to be successfully eradicated in all patients. Annually, urea breath test (UBT) was assessed to determine H. pylori status after eradication. Age, sex, eating habit, water drinking, number of children, and treatment regimens against H. pylori were recorded A breath test was also performed on the patient's spouse. RESULTS: The H. pylori recurrence occurred in 5/37 (13.51%) of patients observed There were two patients in the first year, one patient each in the second, third, and fourth year The cumulative re-infection rate was 5.41% at 1-year 8.11% at 2-year 10.81% at 3-year and 13.51% at 4-year H. pylori infection of spouse was also frequent (80%). Even if the spouse was infected, 88.89% of patients will remain uninfected after 4-years of H. pylori eradication. No influencing factor for infection recurrence was detected. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of re-infection after H. pylori eradication was low in Thai patients after 4-year follow up. Annual re-infection rate was 3.38%. No dependent factors were associated with a recurrence.

Effects of N-acetylcysteine on oxidative stress in rats with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

OBJECTIVE: Prove the attenuated effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on oxidative stress in rats with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). MATERIAL AND METHOD: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups. Group I (normal control) was fed regular dry rat chow (RC) for 6 weeks. Group 2 (NASH) was fed 100% fat diet for 6 weeks. Group 3-5 were fed 100% fat diet for 6 weeks, and then switched to RC alone (NASH + diet ; group 3), to RC + 20 mg/kg/day of NAC orally (NASH + diet + NAC20; group 4) or to RC + 500 mg/kg/day of NAC orally (NASH + diet + NAC500; group 5) for 4 weeks, respectively. They were sacrificed to collect blood and liver samples at the end of the present study. RESULTS: Levels of total glutathione (GSH), serum cholesterol, and hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) were increased significantly in the NASH group compared with normal control. Liver histopathology from group 2 showed moderate to severe macrovesicular steatosis, hepatocyte ballooning, and necroinflammation. Treatment with diet or diet plus NAC reduced the levels of GSH, cholesterol, and hepatic MDA back to normal. Liver sections from group 3-5 showed a decrease in fat deposition and necroinflammation in hepatocytes. However, no differences on all variables existed between diet alone and diet plus NAC groups. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that diet or diet plus NAC treatment could attenuate oxidative stress and improve liver histopathology of NASH. However the addition of NAC is not better than diet treatment alone.

Evaluation of Helicobacter pylori stool antigen test in Thai patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

OBJECTIVE: Stool antigen test was evaluated in comparison with other diagnostic tests for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection in Thai patients presented with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Fifty-six patients were enrolled and fecal specimen was obtained from 34 patients. The presence of H. pylori was considered if the culture was positive or at lease two of the other diagnostic tests (urea breath test, serology, rapid urease test or histology) were positive. Stool antigen test was performed by using commercially available monoclonal enzyme immunoassay (Amplified IDEIA HpStAR, Dako, Denmark). RESULTS: Of the 56patients, 35 (62.5%0) were considered H. pylori infected, while in 34patients tested by stool antigen test, 22 (64.71%) were infected. The prevalence of H. pylori infection as determined by each test is considered low (47.06% from stool antigen test; 42.50%from UBT, 65.85%from serology; 51.78%0from RUT- and 46.34% from histology). The sensitivity/specificity/accuracy (%) of stool antigen test was 69.56/100/ 79.41 compared to 73.91/100/85 of UBT 79.17/52.94/68.29 of serology, 80/95.23/85.71 of RUT and 82.61/ 100/90.24 of histology, respectively. CONCLUSION: In summary, the results of this study reveal that the prevalence of H. pylori was relatively low in upper gastrointestinal bleeding patients. Yielding a low sensitivity and accuracy, the stool antigen test is therefore not reliable for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

14-day quadruple therapy with ranitidine bismuth citrate after Helicobacter pylori treatment failure in Thailand.

BACKGROUND: A quadruple therapy with a proton pump inhibitor, bismuth, metronidazole and tetracycline is recommended as a second line therapy after Helicobacter pylori treatment failure. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of 14-day ranitidine bismuth citrate (RBC) base quadruple therapy after H. pylori treatment failure in Thai patients. METHOD AND MATERIAL: Between June 2003-May 2005, thirty-four patients who were H. pylori positive after first line (Omeprazole, Amoxicillin, Clarithromycin or Metronidazole) treatment failure received 14-day quadruple therapy with RBC (400 mg bid), Rabeprazole (20 mg bid), Metronidazole (500 mg tid) and Tetracycline (500 mg qid). Four weeks after completion of treatment, eradication was confirmed with 14C-urea breath test. RESULTS: There were 18 males (52.9%) and 16 females (47.1%) with a mean age of 47.3 +/- 14.6 years. Four patients dropped out due to side effects. Per-protocol eradication rate was 86.7% and the intention-to-treat eradication rate was 76.5%. Adverse effects were found in 38.2% with a bitter taste, nausea, and dizziness. The mean age in the treatment failure group was younger than that in the successful group (35.3 +/- 13.9 vs 51.1 +/- 13.9 years, p = 0.046, 95%CI, 0.3-31.5%). The abdominal symptoms were improved after eradication (82.4%). CONCLUSION: The 14-day quadruple therapy with ranitidine bismuth citrate is effective and well tolerated for the patients who failed with the Helicobacterpylori treatment. The patients with older age may receive a more favorable outcome of the treatment.

Efficacy of clarithromycin-based triple therapy for treating Helicobacter pylori in Thai non-ulcer dyspeptic patients with clarithromycin-resistant strains.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance of H. pylori is problematic because it reduces the efficacy of eradication therapy. The objective of the present study was to assess the eradication rates of triple therapy against clarithromycin-sensitive and clarithromycin-resistant strains of H. pylori in Thai non-ulcer dyspeptic patients. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital between September 2002 and December 2003 were included. The patients who had positive urease test and culture were enrolled for antimicrobial resistance. Isolates were considered resistant when the MIC was more than 1 mcg/ml for clarithromycin. The patients received a combination of pantoprazole 40 mg BID, clarithromycin MR 1 gm OD, and amoxicillin 1 gm BID, for 7 days. Urea [14C] breath test was performed for evaluation of H. pylori eradication at least 1 month after treatment. RESULTS: Of the 470 patients, H. pylori were identified by positive rapid urease test in 282 patients (69.0%). Of these, cultures for H. pylori were achieved in 113 patients (54.6%) and E-tests for clarithromycin were successfully placed in 69 isolations. There were 29 males and 40 females, mean age was 38.7 +/- 13.3 years. Primary H. pylori resistance to clarithromycin was observed in 16 of 69 patients (23.2%). The eradication rates were 90.6% (48/53) and 56.3% (9/16) in patients with clarithromycin sensitive and clarithromycin resistant H. pylori strains, respectively (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: The authors reported a high rate of clarithromycin resistant H.pylori isolates in Thailand. Pretreatment resistance to clarithromycin has a significant impact on treatment failure with clarithromycin-based regimen.

Pattern of drug resistant Helicobacter pylori in dyspeptic patients in Thailand.

Emergence of drug resistant Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has occurred in various countries and could compromise the efficacy of current treatment regimens. The aim of the study was to identify the pattern of antibiotic resistant H. pylori in Thailand and evaluate various factors associated with drug resistance. Between June 2001 and December 2002, a total of 560 dyspeptic patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital were included in this study. Antral gastric biopsies were obtained for H. pylori cultures and susceptibility tests using Epsilometer test (E-test). The value of antibiotic resistant breakpoints were amoxicillin 0.5 microg/ml, clarithromycin 1.0 microg/ml, metronidazole 8 microg/ml, and tetracycline 4 microg/ml, respectively. H. pylori were detected in 315 patients using the rapid urease test (56.25%). Cultures for H. pylori were positive in 172 patients. E-test for all four antibiotics was successfully placed in 79 isolations. The prevalence of antibiotic resistant H. pylori were amoxicillin 13.9 per cent (11/79), clarithromycin 19.0 per cent (15/79), metronidazole 30.4 per cent (24/79), tetracycline 5.1 per cent (4/79), and multi-drugs 16.5 per cent (13/79), respectively. However, age, sex, or endoscopic findings did not differ between the patients with H. pylori resistant strains and sensitive strains. The emergence of antibiotic and multi-drug resistant H. pylori in Thailand were relatively high and these could compromise the efficacy of current treatment regimens. The factors associated with drug resistant H. pylori could not be demonstrated in the present study. Further study in a larger number of patients might be necessary to identify factors associated with resistant H. pylori.

Caffeine clearance in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after transcatheter oily chemoembolization treatment.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common neoplasm worldwide, particularly in Asia, with a grave prognosis. Transcatheter Oily Chemoembolization (TOCE) is now universally accepted as the method of choice for the treatment of inoperable HCC. The purpose ofthis study was to evaluate caffeine clearance, a quantitative liver function assessment, in HCC patients before and after treatment with TOCE. METHOD: Both conventional liver function test (LFT) and caffeine clearance were evaluated in twelve patients. Each patient took a 3.5 mg/kg single oral dose of caffeine solution before TOCE, 1 day and 5 weeks after treatment. Blood samples were subsequently collected at 0.5, 1.5, 3, 5, 10 and 24 hours after each dose of caffeine administration and assayed for serum caffeine level by the HPLC technique. Clearance (Cl) was calculated using the equation of Cl = Kel x Vd (Kel = elimination rate constant, Vd = volume of distribution) and half-life was determined using pharmacokinetic analysis. RESULTS: The mean caffeine clearance 1 day after TOCE (0.51 +/- 0.096) and 5 weeks after TOCE treatment (0.43 +/- 0.07) was significantly reduced compared with the mean caffeine clearance before treatment (0.79 . 0.2 ml/min x kg) with the p = 0.06 and p = 0.03, respectively. No significant changes (p > 0.05) in most conventional LFT were observed 5 weeks after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, the authors found that caffeine clearance was reduced after TOCE in patients with HCC inspite of no changes in conventional LFT. Thus, the determination of caffeine clearance can serve as a useful parameter for the assessment of hepatic functional reserve in HCC patients post TOCE treatment.

Effectiveness of ranitidine bismuth citrate based triple therapy for treating Helicobacter pylori.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy, safety and tolerance of a one week regimen of RBC, clarithromycin, and amoxicillin for H. pylori eradication in Thai patients. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Patients who were undergoing endoscopy for dyspeptic symptoms. On the day of endoscopy, three biopsies were taken for H. pylori diagnosis. The patients who had the presence of H. pylori infection by positive from rapid urease test or histologic examination were invited to take part in an open, prospective study. Patients received a combination of RBC 400 mg, clarithromycin 500 mg, and amoxicillin 1 g twice daily for 7 days. Repeated endoscopy was performed to evaluate H. pylori eradication at least 1 month after the end of treatment. Clinical symptoms, side effects and compliance were assessed by interview during the study and at follow-up. RESULTS: Thirty nine patients with H. pylori infection were included. Male and female rates was 27:12 with a mean age of 42.8 +/- 11.4 years (range 21-68). There was a 89.74 per cent eradication rate by intent-to-treat and 94.59 per cent by per-protocol analysis. There were no serious adverse events during the study. Two patients (5.13%) stopped the medication because of side effects. Two patients had failure to eradication after complete treatment. Subjective improvement of the clinical symptoms was found in 92.3 per cent. CONCLUSION: One week's regimen of RBC, clarithromycin, and amoxicillin triple therapy resulted in a relatively high efficacy, safety and tolerance for H. pylori eradication in Thai patients.

Evaluation of inhouse rapid urease test for detection of Helicobacter pylori from gastric biopsy specimens.

Inhouse rapid urease test for detecting Helicobacter pylori was evaluated. Biopsy specimens were taken for inhouse urease test, commercial rapid urease CLO test, culture, gram stain and histology from the antrium or duodenum of patients who had peptic ulcer. The culture and/or histologic examination and CLO test were used as the gold standard. One hundred and twelve specimens were evaluated. The sensitivity and specificity of the inhouse urease test was 100 per cent and 90 per cent respectively. The inhouse urease test was suitable for detecting Helicobacter pylori from gastric antral biopsy specimens. The medium can be kept in a refrigerator for up to 6 months.