Quantification of lipid bodies in monocytes from patients with periodontitis.

OBJECTIVES: For the first time in the history of periodontics, the production of lipid bodies by monocytes was assessed from blood of patients with periodontitis in comparison to systemically healthy individuals. The purpose of this study was to compare the lipid body frequency within monocytes between healthy patients and those with periodontal disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 30 participants (11 males and 19 females), were divided between orally healthy control subjects (C, n = 16) and periodontitis subjects (P, n = 14), in a cross-sectional study. Both groups were systemically healthy. The following clinical periodontal parameters were assessed: probing depth, clinical attachment level, visible plaque index and gingival bleeding on probing index. Blood samples were collected to obtain monocytes containing lipid bodies, which were analyzed by light microscopy. RESULTS: The periodontitis group demonstrated a higher corpuscular index than the control group (nonopsonized p = .0296 or opsonized p = .0459; Mann-Whitney). The frequency of monocyte cells containing lipid bodies (basal p = .0147, opsonized p = .0084 or nonopsonized, p = .026; Mann-Whitney) was also higher compared to those observed in healthy individuals. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that periodontitis may contribute to a higher production of lipid bodies. It was also hypothesized that a major production of lipid bodies by monocytes in severe periodontitis, compared to orally healthy subjects, could interfere with the innate immune response or represents a higher reservoir of cholesterol esters within macrophages and a major risk to systemic implications, such as atherosclerosis.

Temporal and spatial patterns of diarrhoea in the Mekong Delta area, Vietnam.

This study examined the temporal and spatial patterns of diarrhoea in relation to hydro-meteorological factors in the Mekong Delta area in Vietnam. A time-series design was applied to examine the temporal pattern of the climate-diarrhoea relationship using Poisson regression models. Spatial analysis was applied to examine the spatial clusters of diarrhoea using Global Moran's I and local indicators of spatial autocorrelation (LISA). The temporal pattern showed that the highest peak of diarrhoea was from weeks 30-42 corresponding to August-October annually. A 1 cm increase in river water level at a lag of 1 week was associated with a small [0·07%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·01-0·1] increase in the diarrhoeal rate. A 1 °C increase in temperature at lag of 2 and 4 weeks was associated with a 1·5% (95% CI 0·3-2·7) and 1·1% (95% CI 0·1-2·3) increase in diarrhoeal risk, respectively. Relative humidity and diarrhoeal risk were in nonlinear relationship. The spatial analysis showed significant clustering of diarrhoea, and the LISA map shows three multi-centred diarrhoeal clusters and three single-centred clusters in the research location. The findings suggest that climatic conditions projected to be associated with climate change have important implication for human health impact in the Mekong Delta region.