BACKGROUND Haptoglobin polymorphism is associated with the prevalence of infections, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and other disorders. Congenital haptoglobin deficiency is associated with anaphylactic transfusion reactions in anhaptoglobinaemic patients with antihaptoglobin antibody. AIMS To investigate haptoglobin genotypic distribution (including the Hp(0) allele) and assoc...

BACKGROUND We investigated the genotypic distribution of Hp(del) in healthy subjects and cancer patients in Taiwan. METHODS Blood samples were collected from 244 randomly selected healthy Taiwanese volunteers and 737 patients with various cancers. Samples were analyzed for the haptoglobin (Hp) gene, and the presence of the Hp(del) allele was determined from genomic DNA by an Hp(del)-specific ...

BACKGROUND Increased insulin resistance is an extragastrointestinal manifestation of Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection. HP changes the level of inflammatory markers and cytokines and changes the adipocyte function by altering the adiponectin level. Given the high prevalence of HP and diabetes in our society, we evaluated the association between HP and serum adiponectin level. In this cross-sec...

Background: Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection is one of the most important causes of gastrointestinal diseases such as peptic ulcer. This bacterium has recently been reported to be associated with low serum vitamin B12 level. In this study we investigated the relationship between Helicobacter pylori seropositivity and the serum B12 level in women aging 15-49 years in Khorram Abad . Material...

Background: The major cause of peptic ulcer disease is helicobacter pylori (Hp), and it is also implicated in the pathogenesis of adenocarcinoma of the distal stomach and gastric lymphoma. The incidence of peptic ulcer disease, atrophic gastritis, and gastric adenocarcinoma are more common in people infected of cagA positive strains of Hp. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence o...

Background: Infectious agents have been suspected as a triggering factor for development of autoimmune thyroid disease (ATD). Some reports from Western countries have suggested association between Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection and ATD. Objective: To investigate the association of ATD with Cag A seropositivity in a population with high rate and early age of onset of HP infection. Methods: I...