Depression and diagnosis of neurocognitive impairment in HIV-positive patients

Neurocognitive impairment (NCI) is frequently observed in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and results from the compromise of subcortical brain structures by the virus. The manifestations of NCI range from asymptomatic impairment to dementia. In addition to cognitive impairment resulting from HIV infection, other factors such as depression are associated with the loss of cognitive functions. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of NCI in HIV-positive patients in a city in southern Brazil and to establish possible associations for the prevalence of NCI with HIV-related and other risk factors. This cross-sectional study of HIV-positive outpatients was conducted in a specialized care service in the city of Pelotas in Southern Brazil. Sociodemographic data and HIV-related information were collected, and all patients underwent psychiatric and neurocognitive evaluations. The prevalence of NCI among the 392 patients was 54.1% when tracked using the IHDS (International HIV Dementia Scale) and 36.2% when the IHDS was associated with a battery of complementary tests. A bivariate analysis suggested an association of NCI with gender, age, educational level, depression, current CD4 count and lowest CD4 count. The association of NCI with depression remained in the Poisson regression (PR=1.96, 95%CI=1.12-3.42). The prevalence of cognitive impairment in HIV-positive patients estimated in this study is in accordance with international and Brazilian data. Of the factors analyzed, depression showed the greatest evidence of association with neurocognitive loss. Based on our findings, the inclusion of instruments to evaluate depression in our services for patients with HIV and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is recommended.

Neurological disorder in cattle associated with bovine herpesvirus 4 / Desordem neurológica em bovinos associada ao herpevírus bovino 4

A nested PCR assay was used to diagnose bovine encephalitis through herpesviruses including bovine herpesvirus 5 (BHV-5), bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1), Aujeszky's disease virus (SHV-1), and ovine herpesvirus 2 (OHV-2) in 14 fragments of central nervous system (CNS) from cattle that died with neurological signs. In addition, as some samples of bovine herpesvirus type 4 (BHV-4) have been isolated from neural tissue, it was also tested by nested PCR. The cases of encephalitis occurred in isolation at different times of the year and did not present any seasonality. The duration of the clinical course ranged between 1 to 15 days, and in 64.3 percent of the cases it manifested between 1 to 2 days. The most frequently observed neurological signs were ataxia, recumbency, unsteadiness and inability to stand, opisthotonus, paddling movements, nystagmus and ptyalism. In the nested assay, there was no evidence of: BHV-1, SHV-1 or OHV-2 in the DNA obtained from the CNS in any of the samples. But the presence of BHV-4 was found in all fragments of the CNS in cattle which died presenting neurological signs. Moreover, BHV-5 was found in association with BHV-4 in two of these samples.

Nested PCR foi utilizada para o diagnóstico de encefalite bovina por herpesvírus incluindo o herpesvírus bovino 5 (BHV-5), o herpesvírus bovino 1 (BHV-1), o vírus da doença de Aujeszky (SHV-1) e o herpesvírus ovino 2 (OHV-2) em 14 fragmentos do sistema nervoso central (SNC) de bovinos que morreram com sinais neurológicos. Embora o BHV-4 não seja reconhecido como vírus neurotrófico, foi detectado nos casos de encefalite que ocorreram isoladamente em diferentes épocas do ano e não apresentaram nenhuma sazonalidade. A duração do curso clínico variou entre 1 e 15 dias, e em 64,3 por cento dos casos manifestou-se entre 1 e 2 dias. Os sinais neurológicos mais freqüentemente observados foram ataxia, apatia, instabilidade, opistótono, movimentos de pedalagem, nistagmo e sialorréia. Nos ensaios de PCR nested realizados a partir do DNA obtido do SNC, não foi encontrado evidência de: BHV-1, SHV-1 ou OHV-2 em nenhuma das amostras. Mas, a presença de BHV-4 foi encontrada em todos os fragmentos do SNC de bovinos que morreram com sinais neurológicos. Além disso, o BHV-5 foi encontrado em associação com o BHV-4 em duas dessas amostras.

Ocorrência do vírus da leucemia felina em Felis cattus em Belo Horizonte / Occurrence of feline leukemia virus in Felis cattus in Belo Horizonte

Blood samples from 1,072 domestic cats of nine administrative regions of Belo Horizonte, MG, were collected and tested using PCR nested for the occurrence of feline leukemia virus (FeLV). Overall occurrence was 47.5 percent (507/1072) being North (68.1 percent) and East (54.4 percent) the most prevalent areas. Epidemiological data showed that FeLV infection was very common among examined cats and breed neither gender nor were predisposing factors for FeLV. The results suggest that the agglomeration of a large number of cats in the same environment can be an important factor for the increase in the rate of transmission of this retrovirus among domestic cats in the studied city.

Equine coital exanthema in a stallion / Herpesvirus equino 3 em um garanhão

Em agosto de 2008, um garanhão da raça Mangalarga Marchador, de quatro anos de idade, com histórico clínico de apatia, inapetência e edema de prepúcio e escroto, apresentou, ao exame clínico, exsudato purulento fluindo pelo óstio prepucial, prepúcio e mucosa peniana com inúmeras lesões circulares de bordos elevados e hiperêmicos, centro ulcerado recoberto por material amarelado de aspecto fibrinoso, com distribuição multifocal. Histologicamente, a mucosa peniana apresentou áreas de ulceração associadas a infiltrado inflamatório misto, com necrose multifocal e moderado acúmulo de fibrina, que se estendiam para o tecido conjuntivo adjacente. O diagnóstico morfológico foi de balanopostite ulcerativa fibrino-necrótica multifocal intensa, similar ao encontrado em casos de exantema coital equino (ECE), causado pelo herpesvírus equino 3 (EHV-3). Amostra de pele do prepúcio e sangue, colhido em EDTA, foram submetidos a ensaios de PCR específicos para EHV-3, observando-se a amplificação de um produto de tamanho esperado de 518pb. A detecção do EHV-3 foi confirmada por meio de seu sequenciamento, sendo a sequência de nucleotídeos depositada no GenBank sob o número GQ336877. As sequências de nucleotídeos e as de aminoácidos deduzidos apresentaram identidade de 99 por cento e 100 por cento, respectivamente, com a sequência de EHV-3 disponível no GenBank, número AF081188. Após 15 dias de tratamento, houve completa cicatrização das lesões, com despigmentação da pele, principalmente, no prepúcio e na bolsa escrotal. Com base nos achados clínicos, histopatológicos, PCR e sequenciamento, concluiu-se tratar de um caso de exantema coital equino, sendo o primeiro com confirmação definitiva do agente etiológico no Brasil.

Muscle strength but not functional capacity is associated with plasma interleukin-6 levels of community-dwelling elderly women

The association of plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, muscle strength and functional capacity was investigated in a cross-sectional study of community-dwelling elderly women from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Elderly people who present controlled chronic diseases with no negative impact on physical, psychosocial and mental functionality are considered to be community-dwelling. Psychological and social stress due to unsuccessfully aging can represent a risk for immune system disfunctions. IL-6 levels, isokinetic muscle strength of knee flexion/extension, and functional tests to determine time required to rise from a chair and gait velocity were measured in 57 participants (71.21 ± 7.38 years). Serum levels of IL-6 were measured in duplicate and were performed within one single assay (mouse monoclonal antibody against IL-6; High-Sensitivity, Quantikine®, R & D Systems, USA; intra-assay coefficient of variance = 6.9-7.4 percent; interassay coefficient of variance = 9.6-6.5 percent; sensitivity = 0.016-0.110 pg/mL; mean = 0.039 pg/mL). Muscle strength was assessed with the isokinetic dynamometer Biodex System 3 Pro®. After the Shapiro-Wilk normality test was applied, correlations were investigated using Spearman and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Post hoc analysis was performed using the Dunn test. A significant negative correlation was observed between plasma IL-6 levels (1.95 ± 1.77 pg/mL) and muscle strength for knee flexion (70.70 ± 21.14 percent; r = -0.265; P = 0.047) and extension (271.84 ± 67.85 percent; r = -0.315; P = 0.017). No significant correlation was observed between IL-6 levels and the functional tests (time to rise from a chair = 14.65 ± 2.82 s and gait velocity = 0.95 ± 0.14 m/s). These results suggest that IL-6 is associated with reduced muscle strength.

Phylogenetic analysis of feline immunodeficiency virus strains from State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

A região p17-p24 do gene gag de 10 amostras do vírus da imunodeficiência felina detectadas no estado de Minas Gerais (Brasil) foi seqüenciada com o objetivo de determinar a sua classificação molecular e a sua relação com seqüências de amostras previamente descritas. As amostras pertenciam ao subtipo B, entretanto foi possível observar que a maioria delas encontra-se em um subgrupo dentro do subtipo B, o que indica presença de um possível ancestral comum entre elas.