Demographic characteristics and prevalence of serologic markers among blood donors who use confidential unit exclusion (CUE) in Sao Paulo, Brazil: implications for modification of CUE polices in Brazil

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated demographic profiles and prevalence of serologic markers among donors who used confidential unit exclusion (CUE) to assess the effectiveness of CUE and guide public policies regarding the use of CUE for enhancing safety versus jeopardizing the blood supply by dropping CUE. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of whole blood donations at a large public blood center in Sao Paulo from July 2007 through June 2009, compared demographic data, and confirmed serologic results among donors who used and who have never used CUE (CUE never). RESULTS: There were 265,550 whole blood units collected from 181,418 donors from July 2007 through June 2009. A total of 9658 (3.6%) units were discarded, 2973 (1.1%) because CUE was used at the current donation (CUE now) and 6685 (2.5%) because CUE was used in the past (CUE past). The CUE rate was highest among donors with less than 8 years of education (odds ratio [OR], 2.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.51-3.08). CUE now donations were associated with higher positive infectious disease marker rates than CUE never donations (OR, 1.41; CI, 1.13-1.77), whereas CUE past donations were not (OR, 1.04; CI, 0.75-1.45). CONCLUSION: The CUE process results in a high rate of unit discard. CUE use on an individual donation appears predictive of a high-risk marker-positive donation and, thus, appears to contribute modestly to blood safety. The policy of discarding units from donors who have previously CUE-positive donations does not improve safety and should be discontinued.

Comparison of three vascular endothelial markers in the evaluation of microvessel density in breast cancer

Purpose: To evaluate the microvessel density by comparing the performance of anti-factor VIII-related antigen, anti-CD31 and, anti-CD34 monoclonal antibodies in breast cancer. Methods: Twenty-three postmenopausal women diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer submitted to definitive surgical treatment were evaluated. The monoclonal antibodies used were anti-factor VIII, anti-CD31 and anti-CD34. Microvessels were counted in the areas of highest microvessel density in ten random fields (200 x). The data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test (p < 0.05). Results: Mean microvessel densities with anti-factor VIII, anti-CD31 and anti-CD34 were 4.16 +/- 0.38, 4.09 +/- 0.23 and 6.59 +/- 0.42, respectively. Microvessel density as assessed by anti-CD34 was significantly greater than that detected by anti-CD31 or anti-factor VIII (p < 0.0001). There was no statistically significant difference between anti-CD31 and anti-factor VIII (p = 0.4889). Conclusion: The density of stained microvessels was greater and staining was more intense with anti-CD34 compared to anti-CD31 and anti-factor VII-related antigen.

Prevalence of hepatitis B and C serological markers among first-time blood donors in Brazil: A multi-center serosurvey

Little data are available on the seroprevalence of, and risk factors for hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV) infection in Latin American countries. A multi-center serosurvey was conducted among 3,598 first-time blood donors (65% men) from Sao Paulo, Salvador and Manaus in Brazil. The gender-specific seroprevalences of antibodies against hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) and of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in anti-HBc-positive sera were measured, and risk factors analyzed by gender. The gender-specific seroprevalences of antibodies against HCV (anti-HCV) were measured, but risk factors for HCV were not determined. Anti-HBc and HBsAg seroprevalences were not significantly different in men [101/2,341 (4.31%) and 4/2,229 (0.18%), respectively] and women [65/1,237 (5.25%) and 8/ 1,169 (0.68%), respectively], whereas the seroprevalence of anti-HCV was higher in women (12/1,238 [0.97%] vs. 9/2,353 [0.38%]; odds ratio [OR] = 2.49; 95% confidence interval [Cl]: 1.0-6.0). No significant difference for HBV infection was found across the three study sites or by ethnic group. The seroprevalence of anti-HBc increased with age, but decreased with education level in both genders. Lifetime number of sexual partners was associated with anti-HBc prevalence among men (OR = 1.95; 95% Cl: 1.2-3.1), but not women. The seroprevalence of HBV and HCV was low among Brazilian blood donors, and exposure increased with age in both genders.

Proteomic analysis of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex indicates the involvement of cytoskeleton, oligodendrocyte, energy metabolism and new potential markers in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is likely to be a consequence of serial alterations in a number of genes that, together with environmental factors, will lead to the establishment of the illness. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann`s Area 46) is implicated in schizophrenia and executes high functions such as working memory, differentiation of conflicting thoughts, determination of right and wrong concepts, correct social behavior and personality expression. We performed a comparative proteome analysis using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of pools from 9 schizophrenia and 7 healthy control patients` dorsolateral prefrontal cortex aiming to identify, by mass spectrometry, alterations in protein expression that could be related to the disease. In schizophrenia-derived samples, our analysis revealed 10 downregulated and 14 upregulated proteins. These included alterations previously implicated in schizophrenia, such as oligodendrocyte-related proteins (myelin basic protein and transferrin), as well as malate dehydrogenase, aconitase, ATP synthase subunits and cytoskeleton-related proteins. Also, six new putative disease markers were identified, including energy metabolism, cytoskeleton and cell signaling proteins. Our data not only reinforces the involvement of proteins previously implicated in schizophrenia, but also suggests new markers, providing further information to foster the comprehension of this important disease. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.