The effect of iron dextran injection on oral candidiasis symptoms in experimental iron deficiency anemia of laboratory rats

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common type of anemia that causes various health problems and is commonly companied by oral symptoms, including oral thrush from Candida infection. The study assessed the role of iron status in the pathogenicity of oral candidiasis in an animal model. IDA in rats was produced by feeding on iron-free diet (five weeks), followed by inducing oral candidiasis by Candida albicans suspension. After the infection, animal subgroups were treated by intramuscular injection (IM) of iron dextran (ID) at 2 and 4 mg/kg once a week for three weeks and normal saline injection for comparison. Blood parameters test and tongue histopathological study were conducted. The IDA parameters and the oral thrush lesions were detected in experimental rats. IM of 2 mg ID diminished oral white patches and improved blood hemoglobin (14.533 g/dl), serum iron (109.177 μg/dl), and serum ferritin (5.276 ng/ml) and decreased total iron-binding capacity (377.000 μg/dl). Tongue sections showed normal tongue papillae, reduced inflammation and regular keratin deposition on papillae. At a 4 mg dose, despite the improvement in the blood parameters, a mild reduction was found in tongue thrush by less normal appearance of tongue papillae sections, mild inflammatory cells and hyperplasia of squamous epithelium. The study findings indicate that iron status plays a critical role in the treatment of oral thrush infection.

A Fungal Transcription Regulator of Vacuolar Function Modulates Candida albicans Interactions with Host Epithelial Cells

Candida albicans is a fungus that resides on various human mucosal surfaces. Individuals with debilitated immune systems are prone to develop C. albicans infections, which can range in severity from mucosal disease (e.g., oral thrush in AIDS patients) to life-threatening conditions (e.g., deep-seated, disseminated infections in patients undergoing organ transplants).

Profile of HIV/AIDS Patients Coinfected with Tuberculosis in Bumi Wonorejo Health Centre and Santo Rafael Clinic Nabire, Papua

<p class="Englishversionofabstract">HIV-TB co-infection still becomes a health problem in Indonesia, including in Nabire district, Papua province, which has the highest number of cases. HIV and TB infections are closely related and affect the epidemiology of one another. This study aims to determine the profile description of HIV-TB co-infected patients in Nabire. This research is a descriptive study with a cross-sectional design on 90 people with HIV/AIDS selected consecutively. Data were analyzed univariately and presented in the form of a frequency distribution table. The results showed that of 55 HIV/AIDS co-infected TB patients, almost all (90.9%) were Papuan ethnic, 70.9% were female and aged 30 to 49 years (50.9%) with a mean of 31.309.36 years. The majority of HIV-TB co-infected patients were married (63.6%), holding secondary education (58.2%), working (67.3%), engaging in sexual activity after 17 years of age, only having one sexual partner, and did not use drugs or obtain blood transfusions. The clinical profile of HIV-TB patients showed that 67.3% of the patients were with baseline CD4 count ≤350 cells/mm3, 64.8% had CD4 count at the time of study &gt;350 cells/mm3, and viral load values fewer than 5000 copies/ml (87.3%). The therapy most widely received for patients with HIV-TB coinfection was the combination of ARV 3TC+EFV+TDF (76.4%). The most common clinical symptoms of HIV/AIDS patients were weight loss (56.4%), cough (40%), recurrent oral thrush (36.4%), chickenpox (32.7%), and tuberculosis lymph nodes (18.2%).</p>