Clinical and biochemical profile of alcohol users in Basra.

All psychiatric and general medical male patients referred to 2 hospitals in Basra, Iraq from September 2000 to April 2001 were screened using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. A total of 189 men were identified as having alcohol-related problems. The majority were aged 30-49 years, and two-thirds had drunk alcohol for over 10 years. About 53% of patients exceeded 1 bottle (750 mL) of spirits daily, and 14.8% reported morning drinking. Elevation of liver enzymes, hepatomegaly, jaundice and cirrhosis were identified in 46.0%. Liver cirrhosis was more common in patients drinking locally made arak. Many of the patients suffered psychiatric disorders, including anxiety disorders, depression and suicide attempts, and 80.9% took other psychoactive drugs.

Clinical and biochemical profile of alcohol users in Basra

All psychiatric and general medical male patients referred to 2 hospitals in Basra, Iraq from September 2000 to April 200l were screened using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. A total of 189 men were identified as having alcohol-related problems. The majority were aged 30-49 years, and two-thirds had drunk alcohol for over 10 years. About 53% of patients exceeded 1 bottle [750 mL] of spirits daily, and 14.8% reported morning drinking. Elevation of liver enzymes, hepatomegaly, jaundice and cirrhosis were identified in 46.0%. Liver cirrhosis was more common in patients drinking locally made arak. Many of the patients suffered psychiatric disorders, including anxiety disorders, depression and suicide attempts, and 80.9% took other psychoactive drugs

Frequency of haemoglobinopathies and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in Basra.

Basra, southern Iraq, was mapped for haemoglobinopathies and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. Of 1064 couples aged 14-60 years recruited from the Public Health Laboratory, 49 had beta-thalassaemia trait, 69 had sickle-cell trait, 2 had haemoglobin D trait, 2 had haemoglobin C trait and 1 had high persistent fetal haemoglobin. Carriers of major beta-globin disorders comprised 11.48%. G6PD deficiency was detected in 133 individuals (12.5%). Only 10 couples (0.94%) were at risk of having children affected with either sickle-cell disease or beta-thalassaemia major. These defects constitute a real health problem and necessitate a management plan and public health education for early diagnosis and therapy.

Frequency of haemoglobinopathies and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in Basra

Basra, southern Iraq, was mapped for haemoglobinopathies and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase [G6PD] deficiency. Of 1064 couples aged 14-60 years recruited from the Public Health Laboratory, 49 had beta-thalassaemia trait, 69 had sickle-cell trait, 2 had haemoglobin D trait, 2 had haemoglobin C trait and 1 had high persistent fetal haemoglobin. Carriers of major beta-globin disorders comprised 11.48%. G6PD deficiency was detected in 133 individuals [12.5%]. Only 10 couples [0.94%] were at risk of having children affected with either sickle-cell disease or beta-thalassaemia major. These defects constitute a real health problem and necessitate a management plan and public health education for early diagnosis and therapy

Lipid profile in children with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate serum lipids in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus and its relation to glycemic control, in comparison with matched controls. SETTING: Basrah Maternity and Children Hospital, Basrah, Iraq. METHOD: Lipid profile was studied in 32 children (17 males and 15 females) with type 1 diabetes mellitus from October 1999 to September 2000. Seventy seven non-diabetic children (35 males and 42 females) admitted with acute illness in the same hospital were selected as controls. RESULTS: The age and BMI was similar in both groups. The mean total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-C, LDL-C, VLDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio were significantly higher in diabetic children compared to control group. There was no significant difference in the levels of Apo O and Apo B in both groups. CONCLUSION: Children with type 1 diabetes should be screened for serum lipids as significant lipid abnormalities are related to glycemic control. Both can be improved with dietary management and insulin therapy.

Levels of uric acid, urea and creatinine in Iraqi children with sickle cell disease.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the levels of serum uric acid, urea and creatinine in subjects with sickle cell disease and compare them to those reported in literature. SETTING: Department of Paediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Basrah. METHODS: Plasma uric acid, urea and creatinine was estimated by Varley's method, group of 65 sickle cell patients (35 Hb AS, 30 Hb SS) aged between 2-11 years. The results were compared with those obtained in a group of 45 age and sex-matched controls with normal haemoglobin (Hb AA). RESULTS: The uric acid level was elevated in sickle cell patients as compared with the normal control group. The 95% confidence intervals for differences in the mean of the two groups: HbAA vs HbAS was 4.22 (0.3), while for HbAA for HbSS was 3.4 (0.06), both being statistically highly significant [p < 0.0001]. Urea and creatinine levels were considerably lower in the sickle cell disease patients. The difference in the patient's mean for urea compared to the mean in the normal group (Hb AA) was 9.64 (1.95) and 8.55 (1.76) for HbSS and HbAS, respectively. Like wise, the difference in the mean for creatinine in HbSS group was 0.71 (0.12) and in HbAS was 0.76 (0.12), which was statistically significant [p < 0.0001]. CONCLUSION: Raised serum uric acid levels were found in Iraqi children with sickle cell disease, creatinine clearance studies will be valuable to assess renal function.

Correlation between normal glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase level and haematological parameters.

The study involved 143 individuals and aimed to correlate normal glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) level with haematological parameters. A statistically significant negative correlation was found between G6PD level and haemoglobin, packed cell volume, red blood cell count, mean corpuscular haemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between G6PD level and white blood cell count and reticulocyte count, but no significant correlation was found between G6PD level and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration. The negative correlation between G6PD level and haemoglobin suggests that anaemic people have higher G6PD levels than normal individuals. The positive correlation between G6PD level and white blood cell count indicates that white blood cells may play an important role in contributing to G6PD level.

Haemolytic potential of three chemotherapeutic agents and aspirin in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.

The potential haemolytic effect of three chemotherapeutic drugs and aspirin was tested in vitro by gluthathione stability tests. Blood was collected from the local population of Basra, Iraq where previous studies had found a high frequency of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. Primaquine, chloramphenicol and sulfanilamide caused significant concentration-dependent reductions of glutathione levels in G6PD-deficient red cells when compared to normal red cells. Acetylsalicylic acid had no effect on glutathione level. The G6PD-deficient erythrocytes behaved as previously reported, probably due to similar patterns in the distribution of its variants. Studies on each local variant are warranted and new drugs should be tested for haemolytic potential prior to their introduction in areas where the deficiency is common.

Haemolytic potential of three chemotherapeutic agents and aspirin in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency

The potential haemolytic effect of three chemotherapeutic drugs and aspirin was tested in vitro by gluthathione stability tests. Blood was collected from the local population of Basra, Iraq where previous studies had found a high frequency of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase [G6PD] deficiency. Primaquine, chloramphenicol and sulfanilamide caused significant concentration-dependent reductions of glutathione levels in G6PD-deficient red cells when compared to normal red cells. Acetylsalicylic acid had no effect on glutathione level. The G6PD-deficient erythrocytes behaved as previously reported, probably due to similar patterns in the distribution of its variants. Studies on each local variant are warranted and new drugs should be tested for haemolytic potential prior to their introduction in areas where the deficiency is common

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, hexokinase and pyruvate kinase activities in erythrocytes of neonates and adults in Basrah.

The mean activities (95% confidence interval; number of patients) for erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), hexokinase (HK), and pyruvate kinase (PK) in haemolysate of clinically normal neonates from Basrah, Iraq were found to be 3.29 (0.10; n = 456), 0.61 (0.02; n = 219), and 5.10 (0.07; n = 500), respectively, all expressed as U/10(10) RBC at 37 degrees C. Comparative values for apparently healthy adults were: 2.14 (0.06; n = 186), 0.41 (0.02; n = 46), and 3.61 (0.07; n = 243). Differences between sexes in the mean activities of each of the three enzymes were not significant (p > 0.5), being several times less than the corresponding 95% confidence intervals. However, differences were highly significant between neonates and adults (p < 0.001), presumably reflecting the greater proportion of 'young' cells and/or their programming for higher activity in cord blood. The neonate-adult difference (95% confidence interval) for each enzyme was: G6PD, 1.15 (0.43); HK, 0.20 (0.14); and PK, 1.49 (0.64). Some degree of G6PD-deficiency was observed in 7.9% of male and 9.7% of female neonates, whereas the frequency in adults was 9.2% and 11.8% for males and females, respectively. The higher frequency in females accords with expectations based on gene frequency estimations.

Neonatal jaundice and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in Basrah.

In a study on a group of 186 newborn babies presenting with jaundice, erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency was detected in 95 (51%) of the patients. The incidence of severe hyperbilirubinaemia appeared to be much greater in G6PD-deficient infants (46%) than in infants who did not have the red cell defect (15%). No change was found in this association when ABO incompatibility was excluded. Phototherapy did not reduce the need for exchange transfusion, which was necessary in 27 babies. Eight babies developed kernicterus and one died. Early detection of G6PD deficiency and close surveillance of the affected newborns may be important in reducing the risk of severe neonatal jaundice and kernicterus associated with G6PD deficiency in Basrah.

The subcellular distribution of rat liver serine-pyruvate aminotransferase.

1. The subcellular distribution of L-serine-pyruvate aminotransferase activity in rat liver was investigated. About 80% was recovered from cell-free homogenates in a 'total-particles' fraction and the remainder in the cytosol. 2. Subfractionation of the particles by differential sedimentation and on sucrose density gradients showed a distribution for serine-pyruvate aminotransferase activity closely matching that observed for mitochondrial marker enzymes. 3. A study of the solubilization of enzymes from combined subcellular particles by digitonin at various concentrations also indicated a common subcellular location for serine-pyruvate aminotransferase and established mitochondrial enzymes. 4. The increase in liver serine-pyruvate amino-transferase activity induced by glucagon injection was accounted for as an increased mitochondrial activity.