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Henedina Antunes

Publications and source records attributed to Henedina Antunes.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

[First determination of the prevalence of celiac disease in a Portuguese population].

UNLABELLED: The prevalence of celiac disease is unknown in Portugal. In European countries the prevalence is between 1:200 and 1:400. The incidence obtained through diagnosed cases in the paediatric gastroenterology units in Portugal was 1:3648. To determine the best current celiac disease screening method and its prevalence in a portuguese population, 536 sera of teenagers with 14 years +/- 6 months from Braga town schools were tested as follows: a) total IgA, b) anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies c) anti-endomysium antibodies (AEA). One female adolescent, with negative AEA and anti-transglutaminase antibodies had a diagnosed celiac disease; this patient was under appropriate diet. Eleven adolescents had positive anti-transglutaminase antibodies and 4 of these had also positive AEA. A jejunal biopsy was carried out on the latter adolescents. Three presented intestinal villous atrophy, 2 a flat mucosa and 1 a moderate atrophy. One female adolescent had a normal mucosa. The prevalence was 1:134, [confidence interval at 95%, 1:53-1:500]. CONCLUSIONS: Presently, total IgA with determination of anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies is apparently the best screening method; it is less expensive test and, given the use of ELISA, less dependent on the observer. The celiac disease prevalence found in the present study falls within the range of prevalence recently found in other European populations, which implies that the celiac disease is under-diagnosed in Portugal.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

[Iron deficiency anemia in infants. Preliminary development results at five years].

INTRODUCTION: Research, mostly conducted in developing countries, have suggested short and long term developmental delay in children who had iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) in their early life. This study aims to evaluate the development of 5-years old children who were diagnosed IDA at 9 months of age. METHODS: 27 children with IDA diagnosed at 9 months of age and 28 non-anemic controls were followed-up until they were 5 years old. At 9 months of age and at 5 years of age, blood samples were collected for blood count, iron, transferrin and ferritin. Children with hemoglobin < 110 g/l and ferritin < 12 ng/ml were diagnosed with IDA and received iron treatment for IDA correction. C Reactive Protein and antibody to hepatitis A virus were also studied at 5 years of age. At this age, children's motor and cognitive development were accessed using Griffith's test. RESULTS: At 9 months of age, IDA children had [mean (SD)] 102.5 g/ l (5.9) g/l of hemoglobin and 5.6 ng/l (3.1) ng/ml of ferritin. At 5 years of age all children were healthy and without anemia. One child had positive antibody to hepatitis A virus. The results of Griffith's test at five years--anemic/non-anemic at 9 months of age. The mean (sd)-p: general coefficient--100.8 (6.6)/99.5 (7.1)-0.48; locomotor 110.2 (6.9)/109.3 (6.5)-0.62; personal-social--99.1 (11.4)/95.7(11.6)-0.28; hearing-speech--93.8 (9.1)/95.3 (13.7)-0.64; hand-eye--98.2 (13.2)/99.1 (14.3)-0.79; performance--97.5 (17.6)/96.9 (13.6)-0.88; practical reasoning--89.8 (9.1)/86.3(7.1)-0.21. CONCLUSIONS: As only one child had positive antibody to hepatitis A virus, the study population may be considered as belonging to a developed region. These results suggest that, at least in developed regions, infants who receive an early treatment for their mild IDA may not be affected in global development at the age of five.

Anemia, Iron-Deficiency↗
PubMed2004

[Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal toxic shock].

In the last years has been observed an increased incidence of invasive group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal infections, including the toxic shock syndrome. The most common portal of entry is the skin and mucous membranes. The toxic shock syndrome can occurred as a rare complication of pharyngitis. The association between varicella and the use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs with necrotizing fasciitis by Streptococcus pyogenes has been discussed without reach at consensus, but some authors disapproved the use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs in this viral infection. The authors reported the clinical case of a 12 year old adolescent, that 15 days after the diagnosis of mononucleosis infectious confirmed by serology and treated with ibuprofen, was internment by streptococcal toxic shock syndrome with rhabdomyolysis, hepatitis, cellulitis of the leg, arthritis of the knee and pleural effusion. Therapeutics was made with penicillin G and clindamycin. We present this case for the severity of the clinical situation and for the questions that rise.

Child↗
PubMed2004

[Hepatitis B virus vaccination rate with immunization].

UNLABELLED: The hepatitis B virus is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in humans, thus making it a serious public health issue. The purpose of this study was to determine the hepatitis B virus vaccination rate with immunization, the risk of this population group becoming infected before vaccination and the prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection. The study involved randomly analyzing the serum of 311 adolescents of both sexes aged 14 from a total population of 536 adolescents attending schools in Braga, Portugal. A questionnaire was administered to the adolescents and asked them if they had received the Hepatitis B vaccine, how many doses they received, if they had a history of acute hepatitis, drug abuse, whether or not they had had sexual intercourse and if so, if they had used protection. The determination of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg), the antibody to HbsAg and the antibody to hepatitis B core antigen was carried out using the chemoluminiscence method. The vaccination rate with immunization was 85.8 %, [95% CI 81.9-89.7%]. The prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection was 0.6%, [95% CI 0-1.5%]. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection was low in this adolescent population of Braga. The vaccination rate with immunization is satisfactory, but does not reach 100%, which means that the risk of transmission is still present in this age group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

[Hepatitis A virus prevalence: Portuguese first results of low endemicity].

The prevalence of the hepatitis A virus in a population determines the degree of morbidity associated with this illness, that is, the higher the morbidity, the lower the prevalence. This study aims to obtain the prevalence of total antibody to the hepatitis A virus in children, 5 and 8 years of age, and in adolescents, 14 years of age. The study was based on two samples: the serum of 64 healthy five-year-olds and 76 healthy eight-year-olds living in the proximity of the São Marcos Hospital in Braga and the serum of 311 adolescents, aged 14, from a total population of 536 adolescents attending schools in Braga, North of Portugal. The samples were collected in 1999 for the adolescent group, in 2000 and 2001 for the group of the five-year-olds and in 2002 and 2003 for the group of the eight-year-olds. None of the persons involved had been vaccinated with the hepatitis A virus vaccine. The Enzyme Linked Fluorescent Assay method was used to measure the serum total antibody to the hepatitis A virus. The prevalence of total antibody to the hepatitis A virus was 1.6% at 5 years of age, [95% confidence intervals (CI), 0-4.7%]; 3.9% at 8 years of age, [95% CI, 0-8,4%]; and 32.5% at 14 years of age +/- 6 months, [95% CI, 27.3-37.7%]. The prevalence of total antibody to the hepatitis A virus in this population revealed lower natural immunity. The results obtained for the five and eight-year-olds were the first Portuguese results of low endemicity to the hepatitis A virus.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

A new case of autosomal recessive agammaglobulinaemia with impaired pre-B cell differentiation due to a large deletion of the IGH locus.

UNLABELLED: Males with X-linked agammaglobulinaemia (XLA) due to mutations in the Bruton tyrosine kinase gene constitute the major group of congenital hypogammaglobulinaemia with absence of peripheral B cells. In these cases, blockages between the pro-B and pre-B cell stage in the bone marrow are found. The remaining male and female cases clinically similar to XLA represent a genotypically heterogeneous group of diseases. In these patients, various autosomal recessive disorders have been identified such as mutations affecting IGHM, CD79A, IGLL1 genes involved in the composition of the pre-B cell receptor (pre-BCR) or the BLNK gene implicated in pre-BCR signal transduction. In this paper, we report on a young female patient characterised by a severe non-XLA agammaglobulinaemia that represents a new case of Igmu defect. We show that the B cell blockage at the pro-B to pre-B cell transition is due to a large homologous deletion in the IGH locus encompassing the IGHM gene leading to the inability to form a functional pre-BCR. The deletion extends from the beginning of the diversity (D) region to the IGHG2 gene, with all JH segments and IGHM, IGHD, IGHG3 and IGHG1 genes missing. CONCLUSION: alteration in Igmu expression seems to be relatively frequent and could account for most of the reported cases of autosomal recessive agammaglobulinaemia.

Agammaglobulinemia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lymphadenopathy after BCG vaccination in a child with chronic granulomatous disease.

We report a 15-month-old boy who developed an ulcer in the left axillary fold following bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccination. Subsequent immunologic and genetic studies led to the diagnosis of chronic granulomatous disease. His mother had "lupus-like" lesions, described in some carriers of this disease, that were thus related to her son's diagnosis. Although in healthy subjects this vaccination is usually harmless, in instances of impaired immunity it may cause adverse reactions. When a vaccine-related complication occurs, an underlying immunodeficiency should be sought.

BCG Vaccine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Developmental delay in children with iron deficiency anemia. Can this be reversed by iron therapy?].

OBJECTIVE: To compare development of 17 children aged 12 months with iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) and 18 controls without IDA after a 3-months follow-up period and iron therapy in the IDA group. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Development of all children was evaluated using the Griffith's Scale. Data was collected on parent's social class and education, breast-feeding, number of siblings and clinical nutritional status. RESULTS: At 12 months children with IDA had significantly lower development scores--mean (sd)--than those without IDA: 112(5) vs. 121(7). At 15 months, after iron therapy, there were no significant differences between cases and controls. Non-IDA children showed significantly lower development scores at 15 months when compared with 12 months (121 vs 115). CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that iron therapy can revert some of the adverse effects in the development of children with IDA and therefore both IDA prevention and treatment can be justified.

Anemia, Iron-Deficiency↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia according to infant nutrition regime].

UNLABELLED: Iron deficiency is the world most prevalent nutritional disorder. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in a population of infants with nine months of age, and the variation of this prevalence according to infants feeding regimes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred eighty eight infants with nine months of age were studied for anthropometry, socio-economic factors and feeding regime. Blood samples were taken for blood cell counts, serum ferritin, iron and transferrin. Infants were labelled anaemic if haemoglobin level was less than 110 g/L and with iron deficiency anaemia if, in addition, they had a ferritin value of less than 12 g/L. RESULTS: The mean (standard deviation) values for haemoglobin were 111.8 g/L (9.1 g/L). Seventy-nine infants (42%) were anaemic. The prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia was 20%. Infants with iron deficiency anaemia were fed with iron fortified formula for 2.3 months in average in contrast with 3.8 months of those without iron deficiency anaemia (.005). Cereals fortified with iron were introduced in the nourishment of infants with iron deficiency anaemia at 4.3 months in average in contrast with 3.9 months among those without it (.009). The infants with iron deficiency anaemia were breast fed for 4.8 months in average in contrast with 3.7 months among those without it (.079). Age of the introduction of cow's milk, social class and Graffar, vitamin C supplementation and anthropometric parameters were not significantly associated with iron deficiency anaemia. CONCLUSIONS: This study points information about which groups are more at risk of developing iron deficiency anaemia in infants but when this evidence is only based in feeding practices one can not completely separate infants with and without iron deficiency anaemia; therefore a universal screening seems an indispensable tool for identification of iron deficiency anaemia.

Anemia, Iron-Deficiency↗