RESUMO
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There is increasing evidence regarding elevated serum levels of inflammatory cytokines in patients with celiac disease (CD), but little is known about their levels in patients with non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of inflammatory cytokines in Iranian patients with CD and NCGS and to compare them with those of healthy individuals. METHODS: A total of 110 treated CD, 15 with NCGS, and 46 healthy subjects were enrolled during 2016. Serum levels of IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-15 and IFN-γ were measured using ELISA, and compared between groups. The correlation of the severity of mucosal damage and clinical symptoms with serum levels of cytokines was also assessed. RESULTS: The mean serum levels of IFN-γ (p = 0.04) and IL-6 (p = 0.007) were significantly different between the patients in the CD and control groups, and IL-8 was significantly higher in the CD group compared with patients in the NCGS group (p = 0.04). Statistically significant correlations were observed between the serum levels of IFN-γ and abortion (p = 0.01), IL-1 and weight loss (p = 0.043) and infertility (p = 0.0001) in CD patients, and between IFN-γ and abortion (p = 0.01) and infertility (p = 0.01) in the NCGS patients. Moreover, no significant relationship was observed between the severity of mucosal damage and the serum level of the studied cytokines. CONCLUSIONS: Inflammatory cytokines are implicated in the pathogenesis of CD, and their serum levels might help to identify a diagnostic marker to differentiate CD from NCGS. However, further studies with a larger sample size are recommended.
Assuntos
Doença Celíaca/sangue , Citocinas/sangue , Mediadores da Inflamação/sangue , Hipersensibilidade a Trigo/sangue , Adulto , Biomarcadores/sangue , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Doença Celíaca/diagnóstico , Doença Celíaca/imunologia , Citocinas/imunologia , Diagnóstico Diferencial , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática , Feminino , Humanos , Mediadores da Inflamação/imunologia , Irã (Geográfico) , Masculino , Valor Preditivo dos Testes , Hipersensibilidade a Trigo/diagnóstico , Hipersensibilidade a Trigo/imunologiaRESUMO
Studies looking at the frequency of human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) among Iranian blood donors have produced conflicting results. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of HHV-8 DNA by using polymerase chain reaction methods among 168 healthy individuals, 60 intravenous drug users and 100 HIV-infected patients from Iran. The prevalence of HHV-8 was significantly higher among intravenous drug users (13.3%) compared with the general population (3.6%; P=0.017). The HHV-8 genome was mostly detected among intravenous drug users who displayed high-risk sexual behaviours. Moreover, the HHV-8 genome was also detected in 8% of HIV-infected patients. The present study findings support the likelihood that the transmission of HHV-8 is via a sexual route in the Iranian population.