Polymerase chain reaction in detecting Leishmania sp in symptomatic and asymptomatic seropositive dogs

In human and canine renal histological studies of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), the etiological agent is rarely found in situ. The objective of this study was to evaluate PCR in identifying the etiological agent in spleen, liver, lymph node, and kidneys of VL-seropositive dogs. Twenty-five symptomatic (case group) and 15 asymptomatic (control group) VL-seropositive dogs of different breeds, sexes, and ages from Teresina, Piauí State, Brazil, were used. Serologic diagnosis was made by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and indirect immunofluorescence test. Animals were subjected to euthanasia and necropsy. Renal fragments were immersed in buffered formaldehyde solution. Spleen, liver, lymph node, and kidney samples were collected and frozen at -70ºC until DNA extraction. After dehydration and diaphanization, renal fragments were infiltrated and embedded in paraffin, cut at 3 mm, and stained with hematoxylin-eosin (HE). DNA amplification used an automatic thermocycler with specific Leishmania primers. All case-group dogs and 2 controls showed positive results in spleen, liver, or lymph node PCRs. There was a significant difference by Fisher exact test. In symptomatic seropositive dogs, renal histopathological evaluation showed one animal (4%) with amastigote forms of Leishmania in inflammatory infiltrate, and kidney PCRs detected Leishmania DNA in eight animals (32%). The conclusion was that PCR is more precise than the conventional histopathology in detecting the Leishmania parasite in kidney

Dermal dendritic cell number correlates with serum autoantibody titers in Brazilian pemphigus foliaceus patients

Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) is an autoimmune bullous disease endemic in Brazil. Since serum IL-12 is increased in patients with PF and Langerhans cells (LC) produce IL-12, we titrated serum autoantibodies by indirect immunofluorescence, and quantified epidermal dendritic cells, known as LC, and dermal dendritic cells (DC). Biopsies of blistering lesions were obtained from 22 patients, 13 of whom were submitted to biopsy of both injured and of apparently healthy skin. The control groups consisted of skin from 8 cadavers and from 12 women submitted to breast plastic surgery. LC and DC were identified with anti-CD1a antibody and quantified by morphometric analysis. LC number in the lesion and in apparently healthy skin from PF patients was similar to that of both control groups. DC number in the injured skin (median = 0.94 DC/mm basement membrane) was higher than that of the cadaver group (median = 0.13 DC/mm basement membrane). In the 13 patients with biopsies of both injured and apparently healthy skin, LC and DC were present in larger numbers in the lesion. There was a direct correlation between DC number in the lesion of the PF group and serum autoantibody titers. This correlation was not observed for LC number. The increased number of DC in the lesion, as well as its direct correlation with serum autoantibody titers suggest the participation of DC in the pathogenesis of PF. The relationship between increased DC number and IL-12 in PF needs to be clarified.

Comparison of the specificity of PCR and the histopathological detection of leishmania for the diagnosis of American cutaneous leishmaniasis

More precise and rapid diagnostic methods for American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) are necessary because of the growing number of cases observed in Brazil, including the northeastern region of the State of Säo Paulo. We applied PCR to 54 skin or mucosal biopsies from patients with a clinical and/or laboratory diagnosis of ACL using primers 13A and 13B, with positive results being obtained for 82 percent of the samples. When the PCR results were compared to those of histopathological leishmania detection, PCR showed superior results with 81.5 percent sensitivity and 95 percent CI of 68.0-95.1 percent. The Montenegro skin test (MST) was positive in 88.7 percent of patients. Since MST cannot be used as a diagnostic tool in endemic areas, the present results strongly suggest the use of PCR for the etiological confirmation of ACL, with emphasis on the mucosal form

Serum cytokines in patients with Brazilian pemphigus foliaceus (fogo selvagem)

Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) is characterized by acantholysis determined by IgG4 binding to desmoglein I, a 160-kDa desmosomal glycoprotein. To investigate the immunopathological aspects of Brazilian PF, we determined levels of serum cytokines in patients with PF. Twenty-five patients with PF and a control group consisting of 10 healthy individuals were studied. Serum IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12 and IFN-gamma were measured in the two groups by ELISA. The median concentration of IL-2 was lower in PF patients compared to the control group (0.45 and 9.50 pg/ml, respectively), as also was the concentration of IL-4 (0.26 and 10.16 pg/ml, respectively). The same was observed for IL-5 (7.94 and 15.74 pg/ml, respectively) and for IFN-gamma (5.90 and 8.58 pg/ml, respectively). For IL-10 and IL-12, higher concentrations were observed in PF compared to the control group (IL-10: 24.76 and 20.92; IL-12: 2.92 and 1.17 pg/ml, respectively). Considering the Th1/Th2 paradigm, it seems that a Th2 profile, mainly represented by IL-10, predominates in PF

Nephrotoxicity attributed to meglumine antimoniate (glucantime) in the treatment of generalized cutaneous leishmaniasis

Antimoniais pentavalentes sao importantes no tratamento da leishmaniose. Seus efeitos mais graves que tem sido relatados sao o aumento do nivel de enzimas hepaticas e anormalidades eletrocardiograficas. Nefrotoxicidade tem sido raramente relatada. Nos relatamos um caso de leishmaniose cutanea generalizada, envolvendo um paciente masculino de 50 anos de idade, que foi submetido ao tratamento com Glucantime. Ele desenvolveu insuficiencia renal devido a necrose tubular aguda e depois veio a obito; apos receber um total de 53 ampolas de Glucantime. O tratamento com o Glucantime foi o responsavel pela necrose tubular aguda diagnosticada em nosso caso

Prevalência e tipo de lesöes ungueais em escolares de Ribeiräo Preto, SP, Brasil / Prevalence and type of ungueal lesions in schoolchildren of Ribeiräo Preto, SP, Brazil

Em sete escolas, selecionadas ao acaso, os autores examinaram 5.150 escolares, entre 7 e 15 anos de idade. A prevalência de lesöes ungueais nas mäos foi maior (56,7//) que a dos pés (29,5//). Ela foi significantemente maior no sexo masculino, com tendência a aumentar com a idade, até 14 anos no sexo masculino e até 11 anos no feminino. O tipo e a freqüência de lesöes ungeais säo indicadas em tabelas. As mais comuns nas mäos foram leuconíquia (42,13//), onicofagia (13,57//) e depressöes cupuliformes (1,16//); nos pés, onicoatrofia no 5§ artelho (9,26//), sulcos transversais (9,14//), leuconíquia (2//) e hematoma subungueal (1,53//). As alteraçöes foram habitualmente discretas. O status sócio-econômico näo pareceu influenciar significantemente a prevalência de lesöes ungueais nas diferentes escolas