ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Chlamydia trachomatis is one of the most common identifiable infectious agents in neonatal conjunctivitis. It also causes pneumonitis, that is preceded by conjunctivitis in one third of cases. AIM: To asses the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis in newborns with conjunctivitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In 162 newborns, coming from 14 Primary Health Centers from Santiago de Chile, C. trachomatis was detected by indirect fluorescence and two polymerase chain reaction (PCR 1 and 2), which amplified different sequences from the common endogenous plasmid. Those patients with positive indirect fluorescence and PCR 2 were defined as infected: RESULTS: The prevalence of C. trachomatis was 8%, and the distribution of the positive cases was similar in the different Health Centers. Other isolates were: S. aureus (9.8%), S. pneumoniae (8%), S. viridans (6.2%) y H. influenzae (5.5%). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of C. trachomatis in neonatal conjunctivitis in Chile is similar to that of developed countries. Therefore, C. trachomatis should be considered in the election of antimicrobials for the treatment of neonatal conjunctivitis, to avoid ocular and respiratory complications.
Subject(s)
Chlamydia trachomatis/isolation & purification , Conjunctivitis, Inclusion/microbiology , Chile/epidemiology , Chlamydia trachomatis/genetics , Conjunctivitis, Inclusion/diagnosis , Conjunctivitis, Inclusion/epidemiology , DNA, Bacterial/analysis , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Female , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Gene Amplification , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Male , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Prevalence , Risk Factors , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
We have investigated the effect of folic and folinic acids on intestinal zinc absorption in humans, using zinc tolerance tests. Zinc (30 mg) as the gluconate was given by mouth to 10 healthy subjects, alone (1), with 200 mg of folic acid (2) or with 200 mg of folinic acid (3). The zinc/folate molar ratio was 1:1. These three oral loading doses were given after overnight fasting to each of the 10 subjects, at weekly intervals. Serum zinc was measured at 0, 1, 2, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h. Zinc was also determined in urine collected for a 6-hour period following the ingestion of oral loading dose. The results do not indicated any inhibition of zinc absorption and urinary zinc excretion by folates. The areas under the curves varied from 48.2 +/- 20.0 mumol/6 h (1) to 57.0 +/- 10.3 mumol/6 h (3), peak zinc concentration from 28.8 +/- 7.3 mumol/l (1) to 32.1 +/- 4.1 mumol/l (3), half-life from 3.12 +/- 1.12 h (3) to 3.42 +/- 1.48 h (1), elimination rate constant from 0.22 +/- 0.08 (1) to 0.24 +/- 0.07 (3), mean urinary zinc excretion from 58.1 mumol/6 h (2) to 98.7 mumol/6 h (1) and mean zinc clearance from 1.15 l/h (3) to 3.26 l/h (1). All these indices were not statistically significantly different among the three different loading doses.
Subject(s)
Folic Acid/pharmacology , Leucovorin/pharmacology , Zinc/pharmacokinetics , Absorption , Adult , Humans , Kinetics , Male , Zinc/blood , Zinc/urineABSTRACT
The comparative efficacy of the pure diastereoisomers of leucovorin, the natural (6S) and the unnatural (6R) forms was compared to the racemic form (6RS). A protective effect in methotrexate-treated CCRF-CEM cells was obtained with 6S at concentrations 100-fold higher than those of methotrexate and with 6RS at concentrations 2-fold greater than those of 6S; however, at low concentrations of methotrexate, 6S was more effective than 6RS in preventing the cytotoxicity of methotrexate; on the opposite, 6R exhibited a protective effect at concentrations 10(4) higher than those of methotrexate. On the same cell line, 6S was shown to enhance the cytotoxic effect of 5 Fluorouracil exactly as 6RS while 6R did not exhibit any enhancing effect on cells exposed to 5 Fluorouracil.
