BACKGROUND: Adiposity is associated with high serum levels of adipokines and chemokines which are possibly implicated in a co-existence of obesity and asthma. OBJECTIVES: Elucidate the pos...

Ghrelin is a peptide hormone with direct or indirect effects on obesity and asthma. More data are required to understand the effect of ghrelin on the control and pathogenesis of these diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate ghrelin levels in selected groups of children to identify the association between serum ghrelin, obesity, and the severity of asthma. The study included 401 school children selected from the Najran area and grouped into non-obese asthmatics, obese asthmatics, obese non-asthmatics and controls (non-obese non-asthmatics). Blood levels of ghrelin, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5 and IL-21 were determined by ELISA. The mean ghrelin values were insignificantly increased in obese children compared with non-obese children. The highest blood ghrelin values were in the non-obese asthmatic group. Serum ghrelin, IL-4 and IL-21 levels were significantly increased in asthmatic children compared with non-asthmatic children (p < 0.05), and there were significant positive correlations between ghrelin and IL-4, IL-5, and IL-21 in asthmatic children. Furthermore, ghrelin, IL-4, and IL-21 levels were significantly higher in uncontrolled asthmatics compared with controlled-asthmatic children (p < 0.05). Asthma was the only significant risk factor for high ghrelin values. This study provides evidence supporting the anti-inflammatory role of ghrelin in the pathogenesis of asthma. Asthma might be considered as an important determinant of high ghrelin values in children.

Background: Cervico-vaginal infection is one of the most common problems in clinical medicine. This study aimed to the most common causes of cervical-vaginal infections among Sudanese women complaining of vaginal discharge. Method: Cross-sectional hospital based study that had carried out on one hundred non-pregnant women complaining of vaginal discharge attended at gynecology department – Khartoum teaching hospital. All subjects had signed informed consent. Smear from all collected samples were prepared and stained with Papanicolaou Stain for cytological evaluation. Descriptive and analytical statistics (chi – square test) were applied using SPSS (Version 20). Results: The result showed that the majority of subjects were from central and northern of Sudan. The mean age of women was (29) The most common microorganisms seen were bacilli bacteria (49%), followed by candida (18%), Actinomycesisraelii, Leptothrix spp. and Gardnerellavaginalis were (2%), (2%), and (1%) respectively. Statistically no significant association between infection and age group, circumcision, geographical location, and occupation, p value of all these variables was above than significant level 0.05. Conclusion: The most prevalent infections were bacterial vaginosis and candida albicans. This is consistent with the results of many studies although other studies reported different results.

Biomedical and Pharmacology Journal (BPJ) is an international, open access, peer reviewed, quarterly research journal.