1.Twenty six cases of human Fasciola gigantica infection in Dali, Yunnan province
Mu-xin, CHEN ; Lin, AI ; Xue-nian, XU ; Shan, L(U) ; Jian-ming, JIAO ; Hui-yong, SU ; Wei, ZANG ; Ting-jun, ZHU ; Yu-chun, CAI ; Jia-jun, LUO ; Jia-xu, CHEN
Chinese Journal of Endemiology 2012;31(6):595-598
Objective The aim of the study was to investigate the epidemic situation,clinical symptom,diagnosis and epidemiological characteristics of human Fasciola gigantica infection in Dali,Yunnan province.It will also provide a scientific basis for fasciolosis control and prevention.Methods Epidemic data were collected and patient's clinical signs and symptoms were studied.Serum soluble antigen of Fasciola gigantica of patients and part of family members and health people in the same village was detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the eggs of Fasciola gigantica in stool were observed under microscope.Sequencing and PCR amplification of Fasciola gigantica eggs had been done.Sequencing results were analyzed using basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) program of the U.S.National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and the similarity of the two in the sequence of nucleic acid was compared.Furthermore,patients were experimentally given orally therapeutic doses of Triclabendazole 10 mg·kg-1·d-1 daily for 2 days,and kept in the hospital for observation for one week.Moreover,host and vector were investigated in the surrounding ditches of Dali prefecture and Limnaea peregra snail samples were collected.All the snails were squashed by glass sheet in order to detect the cercarie.Cow dung and sheep manure was collected in the Limnaea peregra distribution environment,and the eggs in the feces were checked by microscope after washing and precipitation.Results All the 26 patients had a continued hyperpyrexia with distinct alimentary system symptoms of nausea,vomiting,stomachache,abdominal distension as well as hepatomegaly,sensitive to percussion,different levels of liver damage detected by CT.All the patients had an eaten history of raw Herba Houttuyniae and other aquatic plants,and the course of the disease was similar,with the same epidemiological characteristics.ELISA detection was used in the 26 patients,family members and other healthy population,the results of all the 26 patients were positive(100.0%,26/26) ; the positive rates of the 57 family members and other health people of the same village were 31.6% (18/57) and 17.1% (6/35),respectively.The results of sequencing and BLAST program showed that the pathogen was Fasciola gigantica with the similarity between 99%-100%.PCR amplification also confirmed that the eggs were Fasciola gigantica eggs with an approximately 1000 bp band on agarose gel.After treatment with Triclabendazole,body temperature of the patients dropped to normal and symptoms improved markedly.Moreover,329 Limnaea peregra snails were collected including 5 ones with redia and one-tailed cercariae which were preliminary identified as the larva of Fasciola gigantica.There were also eggs of Fasciola gigantica detected in one stool of cattle and one of goat.Conclusions Eating raw food is the leading cause of the onset of the disease.Triclabendazole is the drug of choice to treat Fasciolasis.Health education should be strengthened by government and disease prevention and control departments in order to make the local residents to understand the potential hazard of eating raw aquatic vegetable and drinking unboiled water,which is the key to prevent the occurrence of the disease.
2.Telbivudine-Induced Myopathy: Clinical Features, Histopathological Characteristics, and Risk Factors
Min-Yu LAN ; Hui-Chen L LIN ; Tsung-Hui HU ; Shu-Fang Ch CHEN ; Chien-Hung CHEN ; Yung-Yee CHANG ; King-Wah CHIU ; Tsu-Kung LIN ; Shun-Sheng CHEN
Journal of Clinical Neurology 2023;19(1):52-59
Background:
and Purpose Oral nucleos(t)ide analogs (NAs) are the mainstay treatment for chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Myotoxicity is an important extrahepatic effect related to NA treatment. Telbivudine is the NA for CHB that is frequently associated with muscle-related side effects. The risk factors for telbivudine-induced myopathy (TIM) are not yet clear.
Methods:
This study characterized the clinical, magnetic resonance images (MRI), and pathological features of 12 TIM cases. A group of telbivudine-tolerant (TT) patients with CHB who received regular telbivudine treatment during the same period without the occurrence of myopathy was collected. Demographic and clinical factors were compared between the patients with TIM and the TT controls. Factors independently associated with TIM were identified using logistic regression analysis.
Results:
The patients with TIM (males/females: 7/5, mean age: 57 years) developed myopathy after using telbivudine for a median period of 19.5 months. Muscle histopathology revealed abnormal proliferation, subsarcolemmal or sarcoplasmic accumulations, and ultrastructural defects of mitochondria. When compared with TT cases, patients with TIM had a lower estimated glomerular filtration rate and were more frequently positive for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg).
Conclusions
Mitochondrial abnormalities are characteristic histopathological features, and impaired renal function and HBeAg positivity are risk factors for TIM. Telbivudine-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and immune activation related to mitochondrial damage and HBeAg serostatus changes may underlie TIM. Constant clinical surveillance of myopathy during telbivudine treatment is needed due to the significant latency of its development. Dose adjustment for impaired renal function does not eliminate the risk of TIM occurrence.