Plasma concentrations of carotenoids, retinol, and tocopherols in preeclamptic and normotensive pregnant women.

This case-control study was conducted in Lima, Peru, from June 1997 through January 1998 to assess whether plasma concentrations of carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, beta-cryptoxanthin), retinol, and tocopherols (alpha-tocopherol and gamma-tocopherol) are decreased in women with preeclampsia. A total of 125 pregnant women with preeclampsia and 179 normotensive pregnant women were included. Plasma concentrations of antioxidants were determined using high performance liquid chromatography. After adjusting for maternal demographic, behavioral, and reproductive characteristics and total plasma lipid concentrations, the authors found a linear increase in risk of preeclampsia with increasing concentrations of alpha-tocopherol (odds ratio of the highest quartile = 3.13; 95% confidence interval: 1.06, 9.23, with the lowest quartile as the reference group; p value of the test of linear trend = 0.040). The risk of preeclampsia decreased across increasing quartiles of concentrations for retinol (odds ratio of the highest quartile = 0.32; 95% confidence interval: 0.15, 0.69, with the lowest quartile as the reference group; p value of the test of linear trend = 0.001). Some of these results are inconsistent with the prevailing hypothesis that preeclampsia is an antioxidant-deficient state. Preliminary findings confirm an earlier observation of increased plasma concentrations of alpha-tocopherol among women with preeclampsia as compared with normotensive pregnant women.

Study of diet, biomarkers and cancer risk in the United States, China and Costa Rica.

One striking paradox in epidemiologic research is the strong association between diet and cancer in ecologic studies compared with the weaker associations reported in many within-country case-control and cohort studies. However, most ecologic studies have relied on indirect measures of dietary intake, such as food disappearance data. The objectives of our study were to assess the feasibility of collecting dietary and biomarker data from individuals living in countries having markedly different dietary patterns and cultures and to examine the magnitude of the between-country variation in their measurement. Adults surveyed in Shanghai (China), Costa Rica and King County (Washington, USA) completed a 24-hr dietary recall, a cancer risk factor survey, and provided a blood sample. We analyzed a subset of the blood specimens for vitamins C, E, carotenoids and phospholipid fatty acids. We observed substantial differences in nutrient intakes and in mean plasma concentrations of dietary biomarkers across the study populations. For example, King County participants had the highest daily intake of vitamin C (mean 78.3 +/- 12.2 mg compared with 42.6 +/- 38.3 mg in Shanghai and 34.8 +/- 43.8 mg in Costa Rica). The mean plasma vitamin C level in King County was also the highest of the 3 study sites: 927.9 +/- 43.9 microg/dl in King County, 585.7 +/- 35.9 microg/dl in Shanghai and 461.1 +/- 33.1 microg/dl in Costa Rica. Plasma trans fatty acids (a biomarker of a diet high in hydrogenated fats) were highest in King County and lowest in Shanghai.

Plasma lipid concentrations in pre-eclamptic and normotensive Peruvian women.

OBJECTIVES: Dyslipidemia is thought to be of etiological importance in pre-eclampsia. We studied the relationship between maternal plasma lipid concentrations and risk of pre-eclampsia. METHODS: A total of 125 pre-eclampsia cases and 179 normotensive control subjects were included in this case-control study conducted in Lima, Peru, between August 1997 and January 1998. Postdiagnosis, antepartum plasma lipid profiles were determined by standard enzymatic methods. Logistic regression procedures were used to calculate odds ratios (OR) adjusted for potential confounders. RESULTS: Mean plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were, on average, 6% and 21% higher in pre-eclamptics than controls, respectively. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentrations were, on average, 9% lower in cases than controls. After adjusting for maternal age, prepregnancy body mass index, education, parity and other potential confounders, the risk of pre-eclampsia increased with successively higher quartiles of plasma triglyceride (adjusted OR: 1.00, 1.62, 2.21, 5.00, with the lowest quartile as referent; P-value for trend < 0.001). The association between pre-eclampsia risk and plasma total cholesterol was much less pronounced. In general, there was an inverse association between pre-eclampsia risk and HDL cholesterol concentration (adjusted OR: 1.00, 0.41, 0.50, 0.38, with the first quartile as the referent group; P-value for trend = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that high triglyceride and low HDL cholesterol concentrations are important risk factors for pre-eclampsia among Peruvian women.

Immunologically determined prevalence rates of antibodies to toxocara canis in school children in Trinidad, West Indies - abstract

Preliminary observations of a high frequency of serum antibodies to Toxocara canis in patients attending Eye Clinic at the General Hospital, Port of Spain, Trinidad led to the hypothesis that children with pet dogs may have as high a frequency. Hence, the sera of 339 school children, randomly selected from the school register, were tested by ELISA for the presence of IgG and IgM antibodies to T. canis. The prevalence rate of T. canis antibodies in schoolchildren in Countries Victoria and St. Patrick (32.5 percent) were similar but higher than that in Country Caroni (12.7 percent). Overall, a prevalence rate for Trinidad was determined (77.6 percent) which was similar to that found in Dominica (78.9 percent), St. Kitts/Nevis (75.3 percent) and Grenada (78.5 percent). Apart from Toxocara, other helminths only, 12 had helminths and protozoan parasites and 26 had protozoan parasites only. Of 31/83 students without antibodies to T. canis, 7 had helminths only, 2 had helminths and protozoan parasites and 22 had protozoan parasites only (AU)

Blastocystis hominis in immunocompetent children in Trinidad - abstract

Blastocystis hominis, formerly described as an enteric yeast, was reclassified as a protozoan parasite. The organism has elicited tremendous interest as reports have been controversial regarding its status as a pathogen or non-pathogen. Between March and August, 1990, we examined the formed stools of 894 asymptomatic children (age range 1-14 years) by the modified Ritchie-formalin-ethylacetate method for ova and cysts of parasites. Fourteen of the 73 under-five (19.2 percent) had B. hominis with 8/10 having B.hominis only. Seventy-one of 96 (74 percent) orphans had parasites, 64 (66.7 percent) of whom had B.hominis with 22/64 (34.4 percent) having B.hominis only. In the survey sample of 705 school children 158 (22.4 percent) had parasites with 98 having B.hominis and 74/98 (75.55 percent) had B.hominis only. It was noted that 13 children who had heavy B.hominis burdens did not present with diarrhoea. Children 8-12 years old appeared to be most frequently colonised. From our experience, we conclude that B.hominis in immunocompetent children is not a pathogen (AU)