Effect of oral N-acetyl cysteine on eradication of Helicobacter pylori in patients with dyspepsia.

AIM: Using mucolytic agents that decrease viscosity of the gastric mucous and therefore, increase the permeability of antibiotics through gastric membrane has been offered as an additive treatment to achieve a higher rate of eradication of Helicobacter pylori (H. Pylori) infection. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of oral N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) on eradication of H. pylori infections in patients suffering from dyspepsia. METHODS: In this randomized double-blinded clinical trial, 60 H. pylori positive patients who were suffering from dyspepsia were included. They were divided into two groups. Both groups received three-drug regimen including pantoprazole 40 mg BD, ciprofloxacin 500 mg BD and bismuth subcitrate 120 mg two tablets BD. Experimental group (30 cases) received 600 mg of NAC besides three-drug regimen. Control group received placebo. The results of therapy were tested by 14C-UBT and were compared with each other two months after the first visit. RESULTS: H. pylori infection was eradicated in 21 (70%) and 17 (60.7%) patients in experimental and control groups, respectively (P=0.526). Regarding clinical and endoscopic variables, no significant difference was observed between the two groups except for erosive gastritis (0.041) and erosive esophagitis (0.031). CONCLUSION: Our findings offer that NAC has an additive effect on H. pylori triple therapy with pantoprazole, ciprofloxacin and bismuth subcitrate. Although NAC does not have any known activity against H. pylori, it can reduce the thickness of the mucus layer and increase the permeability of antibiotics at the site of infection. To evaluate this effect, more studies with larger sample size should be performed.

Insulin resistance is an independent correlate of increased urine albumin excretion: a cross-sectional study in Iranian Type 2 diabetic patients.

AIMS: To assess the association of insulin resistance with increased urinary albumin excretion (UAE) in a cohort of Iranian Type 2 diabetic patients. METHODS: Three hundred and sixty-one men and 472 women with Type 2 diabetes were enrolled from three different outpatient clinics (Tehran, Iran) during the period 2005-2008. Patients with obstructive uropathy, severe heart failure, liver disease, cancer, autoimmune disease and macroalbuminuria were not included. Microalbuminuria (MA; defined as UAE >or= 30 mg/day) was found in 242 (29.1%) patients; 591 (70.9%) subjects had normoalbuminuria (UAE < 30 mg/day). Insulin resistance was assessed using homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). RESULTS: HOMA-IR index values were higher in subjects with MA than those with normoalbuminuria (P < 0.00001). Adjusted values (for age, sex and duration of diabetes) of UAE and HOMA-IR were 11.81 +/- 7.51 (mg/day) and 3.30 +/- 2.21 in normoalbuminuric and 75.36 +/- 55.57 (mg/day) and 4.98 +/- 3.22 in the MA group, respectively (P < 0.00001 for all). Multiple regression analysis showed that UAE was predicted by HOMA-IR, independently of age, duration of diagnosed diabetes, triglycerides, waist circumference, metabolic control, blood pressure and related treatments (P < 0.00001). When patients were categorized into quartiles of HOMA-IR, those of the fourth quartile (i.e. the most insulin resistant) were at a higher risk of increased UAE than other quartiles [odds ratio (OR) 3.7 (95% confidence intervals 2.7-6.2)]. CONCLUSIONS: In Iranian Type 2 diabetic patients, albuminuria was strongly associated with insulin resistance. HOMA-IR is an independent predictor of UAE.

Remodeling of renal interstitial and tubular lesions in pancreas transplant recipients.

Tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis, important in progression of renal diseases, including diabetic (D) and cyclosporine-induced (CSA) nephropathy, have been considered irreversible. Normoglycemia for 10 years following pancreas transplantation alone (PTA) reversed D glomerulopathy lesions. This study quantified tubular, interstitial, and arteriolar parameters in PTA recipients. Kidney function studies and biopsies were performed in eight non-uremic type I D patients (pts) at 5 and 10 years after PTA. Renal biopsies were analyzed by morphometric analysis. All pts were normoglycemic and insulin independent and received CSA during the study. Cortical interstitial volume fraction was increased at 5 years (0.31+/-0.07 vs normal 0.15+/-0.02, P<0.01) and decreased at 10 years post-PTA (0.23+/-0.03, P<0.02 vs 5 years). There was a reduction in the volume fraction of interstitial collagen and cells per cortical tissue, measured using electron microscopy, from 5 (0.126+/-0.061 and 0.103+/-0.026, respectively) to 10 years (0.079+/-0.031, P<0.05, and 0.074+/-0.018, P<0.05, respectively). The volume fraction of tubules which were atrophic (AT) was abnormal at 5 years (0.160+/-0.090) and decreased from 5 to 10 years (0.044+/-0.034, P<0.02), apparently due to AT reabsorption. The index of arteriolar hyalinosis did not change during the study (1.30+/-0.22 and 1.34+/-0.33 at 5 and 10 years, respectively, nonsignificant). This study demonstrates, for the first time in humans, that interstitial expansion is reversible and that atrophic tubules can be reabsorbed. In contrast, there was no improvement in the arteriolar lesions. Whether this is due to long-term normoglycemia, reduction of CSA dose or other mechanisms is unclear.