Intestinal parasitic infections in Campalagian district, south Sulawesi, Indonesia

Intestinal parasitic infections were surveyed in the inhabitants of 3 coastal and 2 inland villages of Campalagian District, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, in July 1992. A total of 398 fecal samples were examined by using Kato-Katz thick smear, Harada-Mori culture and agar-plate culture techniques. Protozoan cysts were examined by formalin ether concentration technique on 380 fecal samples. Soil-transmitted helminth infections were highly prevalent with the overall positive rates as follows: Ascaris lumbricoides 25.3%, Trichuris trichiura 59.3%, hookworm 68.3% and Strongyloides stercoralis 2.3%. Eight species of protozoan were detected with the overall prevalence as follows: Entamoeba histolytica 10.9%, E. hartmanni 16.3%, E. coli 31.9%, Endolimax nana 12.5%, Iodamoeba buetschlii 5.4%, Giardia lamblia 4.6%, Chilomastix mesnili 0.8% and Blastocystis hominis 18.0%. In the inland villages, prevalence of hookworm infection was higher than Ascaris and Trichuris infections, while in the coastal villages Trichuris infection was predominant. Egg count revealed that the infection level was light in most of the hookworm and Trichuris carriers. Prevalence of lavatories among houses appeared to be inversely proportional to the prevalence of hookworm infection. Meanwhile, the incomplete structure of the lavatories might result in contamination of environment with Ascaris and Trichuris eggs. Harada-Mori culture was the most efficient method in the detection of hookworm infection compared to other techniques. Both Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale were found in all villages, but the former was the predominant species. An adult pinworm was detected by agar-plate culture of feces. Two types of pinworm males, corresponding to Enterobius vermicularis and E. gregorii, were observed.

[Expression of surface CD11b antigen and eosinophil activation]

Recent evidences suggest that the expression of adhesion molecules on eosinophils and endothelial surface play pivotal roles in the migration of activated eosinophils to the site of allergic inflammation. Among these, CD11b/ICAM-1 system is known to be responsible for at least part of the eosinophil/endothelial adhesion. CD11b expression on the surface of circulating eosinophils is significantly elevated in various allergic disorders, including atopic dermatitis and bronchial asthma. Various eosinophilopoietic cytokines, including IL-3, IL-5 and GM-CSF induced rapid upregulation of CD11b expression on eosinophils in vitro. These observations suggest that surface CD11b may serve as a useful parameter of eosinophil activation and may reflect the in vivo level of eosinophilopoietic cytokines.

Epidemiological study of malaria in north Sulawesi, Indonesia by fluorescence and Giemsa staining

An epidemiological study of malaria infection was conducted in the Likupang District, Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, during August 2-15, 1991. In this study, 510 people of six villages, representing ages between 1 month to 84 years cooperated voluntarily. Blood smears stained with Giemsa and acridine orange (AO), revealed 33 and 83 malaria parasite positives respectively. This significant difference was due particularly to the fact that AO staining examined under either a daylight- or halogen-illuminated microscope equipped with interference filters was sensitive to detect low-density parasitemia in many subjects previously diagnosed negative by Giemsa staining in the field. The low malaria prevalence obtained by Giemsa staining may have been attributable to the lack of standard-quality diagnostic tools in the field or inadequate observation of the slides. In both staining methods, Plasmodium falciparum was found to be the predominant species, while the remainings were P. vivax or a mixture of both. Subjects infected with P. vivax revealed higher density of parasitemia and gametocytemia than those with P. falciparum.

Intestinal parasitic infections in Likupang, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

A parasitological survey was conducted on the inhabitants of 6 villages of Likupang, Minahasa Peninsula, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, in August 1991. A total of 419 fecal samples were examined by using direct smear, flotation, formalin ether concentration, Harada-Mori culture and agar-plate culture techniques. Five nematode and 7 protozoan parasites were detected, while trematode and cestode infection was not observed. Soil-transmitted nematode infections were predominant. Among the younger inhabitants aged less than 15, positive rates of Ascaris, Trichuris and hookworm infections were almost same, namely 45.7, 45.3 and 47.7%, respectively. Among the elder people aged 15 or more, positive rate of hookworm infection (89.4%) was much higher than Ascaris and Trichuris infections (19.3 and 26.1%, respectively). Village to village differences in parasite prevalence, probably due to socio-economic and sanitary-environmental differences were observed. Both Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale were detected. The agar-plate culture was proved to be an efficient method for detection of hookworm as well as Strongyloides stercoralis.

Efficacy and safety of mianserin in the treatment of depression of women with cancer

Depression is a major complication of cancer. The efficacy and safety of mianserin were evaluated in a randomized placebo-controlled trial of 73 depressed women with cancer. According to RDC diagnosis, all patients showed situational major depression. Both groups were well matched for cancer localization, clinical stages, Karnofsky scores, duration of depression, baseline values on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (ZSRDS), and Clinical Global Impression of Illness Severity (CGI-S), and for type of depression, whether dominantly depressive or depressive-anxious. Between days 7-21, there were significantly fewer dropouts with mianserin (7) than with placebo (15). When compared with placebo, there were significant improvements for mianserin for HDRS on days 7, 21 and 28, for ZSRDS on days 7 and 28, and for CGI-S on days 7, 14, 21 and 28. According to Clinical Global Impression of Illness Improvement (CGI-I) there were significantly more responders with mianserin (28) than with placebo (18). The efficacy index for mianserin was significantly greater than for placebo on days 21 and 28. At the end of the trial the scores for HDRS sleep disturbance factor and HDRS anxiety-somatization factor were significantly reduced for mianserin than for placebo. There were no significant differences in side-effects between treatment groups. It is concluded that mianserin is superior to placebo in reducing the severity and duration of depression which is present especially in patients with advanced cancer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)