Subject(s)
Chediak-Higashi Syndrome , Hermanski-Pudlak Syndrome , Blood Platelets/metabolism , Chediak-Higashi Syndrome/blood , Chediak-Higashi Syndrome/genetics , Chediak-Higashi Syndrome/immunology , Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Hermanski-Pudlak Syndrome/blood , Hermanski-Pudlak Syndrome/genetics , Hermanski-Pudlak Syndrome/immunology , Humans , Leukocytes/immunology , PhenotypeABSTRACT
Alcohol abuse is an important public health problem, with major implications in patients with a pre-existing liver pathology of viral origin. Hepatitis C, for example, is one of the diseases in which alcohol consumption can lead to the transition from a fairly benign outline to a potentially life-threatening liver disease. Alcohol abuse is usually identified on the basis of clinical judgment, alcoholism related questionnaires, laboratory tests and, more recently, biomarkers. Also on this list of tests, carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) is widely available and useful for determining recent alcohol consumption, particularly when corroborated with elevation of other liver-associated enzymes. Clinicians should be aware of the indications and limitations of this test in order to better evaluate alcohol consumption in their patients.
ABSTRACT
In Africa, a child dies every 30 seconds from malaria, a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by Plasmodium spp, with higher mortality and severe forms of disease more frequently associated with Plasmodium falciparum infection. By looking at the natural resistance to malaria conferred by sickle cell trait, we hypothesize that a malaria therapeutical vaccine targeting the erythrocyte stage of the parasite through erythrocyte sickling could reduce parasite density and control the progression and severity of disease, thus decreasing the morbidity and mortality associated with severe forms of malaria.
