Prostacyclin concentrations in haemolytic uraemic syndrome after acute shigellosis in children.

The role of prostacyclin in the pathogenesis of haemolytic uraemic syndrome was evaluated in 11 children with acute shigellosis. Plasma concentrations of 6-keto prostaglandin, F1 alpha, a stable metabolite of prostacyclin, were measured by radioimmunoassay during acute illness, early convalescence, and after clinical recovery. Its concentration was low during acute illness in each patient, returning to normal concentrations or above at the time of the last sample. These results suggest that plasma prostacyclin may be involved in the development of the syndrome.

Serum ferritin and cholera. A prospective study.

An association has been shown between iron deficiency and a low gastric acidity while the latter is known to increase susceptibility to cholera. This study was undertaken to ascertain whether iron deficiency is a risk factor for contracting cholera. The subjects were 60 adult males-30 with cholera admitted to ICDDR,B and 30 controls matched for age, sex and socio-economic status from the same household or immediate neighbourhood of the index case. Fingerstick blood was taken from all subjects to estimate the haematocrit, and serum ferritin concentration by an ELISA. The mean ferritin level of the study group was 38.7 ng/100 ml, in the controls. There was a significant difference in the serum ferritin level between the groups (P less than 0.005), Wilcoxon Sign Rank test for matched pairs suggesting that cholera patients tend to have lower serum ferritin concentration. Further prospective studies are required to define the possible association between iron deficiency and cholera more accurately.