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The thermal stability of antibiotics commonly detected in food is reviewed. To quantify degradation, 2 major techniques have been reported: liquid chromatography-based methods and microbiological tests. As the degradation products may also display some antimicrobial activity, microbiological tests may not be considered accurate analytical methods for quantifying antibiotic residues' degradation. Degradation percentages are summarized for different antibiotics and for various media (water, oil, milk, and animal tissues). Studies presented in the literature confirm that the thermal degradation of β-lactams, quinolones, sulfonamides, and tetracyclines can be described using a first-order kinetic model. Degradation rates, k, derived for this model for liquid matrix (water) at 100 °C, followed the general trend amongst antibiotic classes: β-lactams = tetracyclines (most heat-labile) > lincomycin > amphenicols > sulfonamides > oxfendazole > levamisole (most heat-stable). Although thermal processing results in a decrease in the concentration of parent antibiotic residues, degradation by-products have not been properly characterized to date. As some of these products were shown to be hazardous, further investigation is needed to determine their impact on food safety and human health. It is therefore currently difficult to definitively conclude whether or not antibiotic degradation during food processing is necessarily beneficial in terms of food safety.

BackgroundMultiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune demyelinating disorder. The etiology of MS remains unknown exactly. Helicobacter pylori heat shock proteins were suggested as a potential trigger of immune system causing MS.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to assess the level of anti-Helicobacter pylori heat shock proteins 60 (Hp hsp60) antibodies at patients of MS and to correlate it with various epidemiological and clinical data.Subjects and methodsThis study design was a cross-sectional case control one. A total of 65 patients with multiple sclerosis diagnosed according to 2010 revised McDonald criteria and other 65 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included in this study. All participants were subjected to full history taking, complete neurological examination including Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) for the patients, measurement of serum level of anti-Hp hsp60 IgG using ELISA technique, and MRI brain for all the patients, being a goldstone for inclusion in the study.ResultsThere was statistically significant high level of anti-Hp hsp60 IgG at MS patients especially secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) patients. Moreover, a positive statistically significant correlation was found between it and age of patients, duration of illness, and EDSS.ConclusionWe conclude that hsp60 of Hp may be a useful biomarker for attesting course progression in MS.

Background: High levels of inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin (IL)-6 are associated with worse outcome after ischemic stroke. Objectives: To study whether the level of IL-6 following ischemic stroke is related to the severity of stroke, infarct volume, stroke subtype, and its impact on stroke outcome. Materials and methods: A total of 90 patients of acute ischemic stroke were enrolled with calculation of infarct volume in MRI brain, and serum IL-6 samples were obtained within 24 h and also after 3 months from stroke onset. NIHSS and MRS were done at stroke onset and after 3 months. Results: The mean value of IL-6 was higher among patients with small vessel occlusion (8.47 pg/ml) with a significant positive correlation between IL-6 and National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and modified Rankin Scale (MRS) after 3 months. IL-6 was significantly higher in patients with recurrence with a cutoff IL-6 value above which recurrence is anticipated which is 7.75 pg/ml. Conclusion: Our study concluded that inflammation has an important role in the pathogenesis of acute ischemic stroke particularly small vessel occlusion and it provided evidence that IL-6 contributes to the determination of clinical outcome of acute ischemic stroke and prediction of recurrence.

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