Role of paraoxonase 1 activity and PON1 gene polymorphisms in sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) patients often exhibit a dyslipidemic sub-phenotype. Paraoxonase 1 (PON 1) is a serum glycoprotein associated with the high-density lipoproteins cholesterol (HDL-C), and variability in PON1 activity depends on the PON1 genotypes. We investigated the influence of PON1c.

Cryptosporidium diagnosis in different groups of children and characterization of parasite species.

Background: Microscopy and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) are routinely used for Cryptosporidium diagnosis, without differentiating the parasite species.

Methods: Children's feces were analyzed by modified Ziehl-Neelsen (mZN) and ELISA for Cryptosporidium diagnosis and by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism for species identification.

Results: Cryptosporidium frequency was 2.

Performance of microscopy and ELISA for diagnosing Giardia duodenalis infection in different pediatric groups.

Techniques for Giardia diagnosis based on microscopy are usually applied as routine laboratory testing; however, they typically exhibit low sensitivity. This study aimed to evaluate Giardia duodenalis and other intestinal parasitic infections in different pediatric groups, with an emphasis on the comparison of Giardia diagnostic techniques. Feces from 824 children from different groups (diarrheic, malnourished, with cancer and from day care) were examined by microscopy and ELISA for Giardia, Cryptosporidium sp.

Human infection by Trichostrongylus spp. in residents of urban areas of Salvador city, Bahia, Brazil.

Introduction: Nematodes of Trichostrongylus genus are mainly parasites of herbivores, although sporadic human infections have been reported in many countries.

Objective: To describe the frequency and seasonality of Trichostrongylus spp. infection in individuals attended at a public clinical laboratory.

Levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) among children with steady-state sickle cell disease.

Background: The search for sickle cell disease (SCD) prognosis biomarkers is a challenge. These markers identification can help to establish further therapy, later severe clinical complications and with patients follow-up. We attempted to study a possible involvement of levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in steady-state children with SCD, once that this lipid marker has been correlated with anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-aggregation, anti-coagulant and pro-fibrinolytic activities, important aspects to be considered in sickle cell disease pathogenesis.

Hemoglobinopathies in newborns from Salvador, Bahia, Northeast Brazil.

Hemoglobinopathies are hereditary disorders of the hemoglobin molecule with a high prevalence worldwide. Brazil has a prevalence of 0.1 to 0.

The beta-globin gene cluster haplotypes in sickle cell anemia patients from Northeast Brazil: a clinical and molecular view.

The beta(S)-globin haplotypes were studied in 78 sickle cell Brazilian patients from Bahia, Northeast Brazil, that has a large population of African origin. Hemoglobin (Hb) profiles were developed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and beta(S)-globin gene haplotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) techniques. We identified 44 (55.

C677T polymorphism of the MTHFR gene and variant hemoglobins: a study in newborns from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

The C677T polymorphism in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene (MTHFR) is associated with an increase in total homocysteine serum levels (tHcy), described as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Eight hundred forty-three neonates from two different maternity hospitals, one public and another private, in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil were screened for this polymorphism by PCR and RFLP. The T-allele frequency in the total sample was 0.