The role of IFN-gamma and IL-4 in gastric mucosa inflammation associated with Helicobacter heilmannii type 1 infection

Although Helicobacter heilmannii infection is less common than H. pylori infection in humans, it is considered to be of medical importance because of its association with gastritis, gastric ulcer, carcinoma, and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the stomach. However, there have been no studies evaluating the role of the Th cell response in H. heilmannii gastric infection. We evaluated the participation of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, IFN-gamma and IL-4, in H. heilmannii gastric infection in genetically IFN-gamma- or IL-4-deficient mice. The serum IFN-gamma and IL-4 concentrations were determined by ELISA. The gastric polymorphonuclear infiltrate was higher (P = 0.007) in H. heilmannii-positive than in H. heilmannii-negative wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice, whereas no significant inflammation was demonstrable in the stomach of H. heilmannii-positive IFN-gamma-/- C57BL/6 mice. The degree of gastric inflammatory cells, especially in oxyntic mucosa, was also higher (P = 0.007) in infected IL-4-/- than in WT BALB/c mice. Serum IFN-gamma levels were significantly higher in IL-4-/- than in WT BALB/c mice, independently of H. heilmannii-positive or -negative status. Although no difference in serum IFN-gamma levels was seen between H. heilmannii-positive (11.3 ± 3.07 pg/mL, mean ± SD) and -negative (11.07 ± 3.5 pg/mL) WT BALB/c mice, in the group of IL-4-/- animals, the serum concentration of IFN-g was significantly higher in the infected ones (38.16 ± 10.5 pg/mL, P = 0.04). In contrast, serum IL-4 levels were significantly decreased in H. heilmannii-positive (N = 10) WT BALB/c animals compared to the negative (N = 10) animals. In conclusion, H. heilmannii infection induces a predominantly Th1 immune response, with IFN-gamma playing a central role in gastric inflammation.

Conduta clínica para a restauraçäo de prótese unitária e de ponte através da construçäo de núcleos metálicos fundidos / The clinical procedure for reutilization of the unitary prosthesis and which the casting of metal core enable

Os autores descrevem dois casos clínicos, onde a confecçäo de três núcleos metálicos fundidos possibilitou o re-aproveitamento, sem qualquer prejuízo aos pacientes, de uma prótese metalocerâmica unitária e uma prótese metalocerâmica com quatro elementos. Descrevem ainda a técnica utilizada e tecem comentários sobre as indicaçöes deste tipo de procedimento clínico

Chronic gastritis and Helicobacter pylori in digestive form of Chagas' disease

Patients with the digestive form of Chagas' disease frequently present chronic gastritis. As the microorganism Helicobacter pylori is now accepted as the most common cause of human chronic gastritis, the present work was undertaken to verify a possible relationship between the presence of this bacterium and inflammatory changes of antral mucosa in chagasic patients. Seventeen chagasics, with megaesophagus and or megacolon were studied. Fragments from two different regions of antral mucosa were obtained by endoscopy, fixed in 4 neutral formaldehyde and embedded in paraffin. The sections were stained by haematoxylin and eosin for histology analysis, and by carbolfuchsin for H. pylori identification. H. pylori was found in 16 (94.1) chagasic patients, all of them presenting chronic gastritis. Superficial gastritis was seen in 9 (52.9) while atrophic gastritis was present in 8 (47.1) patients. H. pylori was present on gastric mucosa of 8 (100) patients with atrophic gastritis and of 8 (88.8) patients with superficial gastritis. We concluded that the microorganism H. pylori should be considered a possible factor connected with the etiopathogenesis of chronic superficial and atrophic gastritis frequently observed in patients with the digestive form of Chagas' disease.

Baclofen impairs passive and active avoidance performance in mice.

Prejuizo no desempenho de camundongos na esquiva passiva e ativa induzida por baclofen. Camundongos albinos, Webster foram injetados com baclofen, droga que atua interferindo com o sistema do acido gama-aminobutilico, e submetidos a treino de resposta de esquiva ativa de duas ou de esquiva passiva. Observou-se, para os grupos injetados com a droga, um desempenho prejudicado nos dois tipos de esquivas.Esses resultados nao podem ser atribuidos a fenomenos de dissociacao de aprendizagem, uma vez que o esquema de administracao da droga, utilizado no presente experimento, permite afastar essa hipotese. E discutido o possivel papel do acido gama-aminobutirico no fenomeno observado

Linfadenite no decurso da hanseniase: um importante diagnostico diferencial entre as linfanomegalias. / Lymphadenitis in the course of hanseniasis: an important differential diagnosis in lymphadenopathies

A linfadenomega;oa no decurso da hanseniase e bastante comum em nosso meio, sobretudo na forma Virchowiana. Paradoxalmente, o diagnostico de linfadenite hanseniana quase nunca e feito e sao escassas as referencias sobre este tipo de manisfestacao da hanseniase. Alguns trabalhos recentes enfatizam a importancia da analise morfologica de linfonodos no sentido de se avaliarem as condicoes imunitarias dos pacientes e, de certa maneira, prever-se a evolucao natural da doenca. A importancia dos linfonodos como reservatorios biologicos de bacilos deve tambem ser considerada. Relatamos 16 casos de linfadenite hanseniana cuja manifestacao clinica inicial foi de linfadenomegalia, clinicamente expressiva, classificada como maligna (linfoma, metastase). Os aspectos histologicos e fisiopatogeneticos da linfadenite, bem como sua importancia no diagnostico diferencial clinico-patologico sao enfantizados

Lesoes pre-cancerosas associadas a gastrite cronica atrofica e a ulcera peptica gastrica. / Precancerous lesions associated with atrophic chronic gastritis and gastric peptic ulcer

Do grupo de patologias gastricas relacionadas com o aumento de risco para cancer gastrico (condicoes pre-cancerosas) duas tem merecido especial atencao: a gastrite cronica atrofica e a ulcera peptica. Neste trabalho os autores avaliam a incidencia de displasia na gastrite cronica atrofica e na ulcera peptica gastrica. Em 148 casos de gastrite cronica atrofica diagnosticaram-se lesoes displasicas em 92 (62,0%), assim distribuidas: 63 casos (68,4%), displasias discretas, 25 casos (27,0%), displasias moderadas, e 4 casos (4,3%), displasias acentuadas. Das 329 ulceras pepticas gastricas estudadas, 51 (15,5%) estavam associadas a lesoes displasicas:em 34 casos (66,6%) diagnosticou-se displasia discreta, 12 casos (23,5%) displasia moderada e 5 casos (9,8%) de displasia acentuada. Enfatiza-se a necessidade da continuacao do estudo destas lesoes, se possivel com mapeamento gastrico, para sua melhor compreensao