Geographic distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes in Brazil

Brazil is a country of continental dimension with a population of different ethnic backgrounds. Thus, a wide variation in the frequencies of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes is expected to occur. To address this point, 1,688 sequential samples from chronic HCV patients were analyzed. HCV-RNA was amplified by the RT-PCR from blood samples collected from 1995 to 2000 at different laboratories located in different cities from all Brazilian States. Samples were collected in tubes containing a gel separator, centrifuged in the site of collection and sent by express mail in a refrigerated container to Laboratório Bioquímico Jardim Paulista, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. HCV- RNA was extracted from serum and submitted to RT and nested PCR using standard procedures. Nested PCR products were submitted to cycle sequencing reactions without prior purification. Sequences were analyzed for genotype determination and the following frequencies were found: 64.9 percent (1,095) for genotype 1, 4.6 percent (78) for genotype 2, 30.2 percent (510) for genotype 3, 0.2 percent (3) for genotype 4, and 0.1 percent (2) for genotype 5. The frequencies of HCV genotypes were statistically different among Brazilian regions (P = 0.00017). In all regions, genotype 1 was the most frequent (51.7 to 74.1 percent), reaching the highest value in the North; genotype 2 was more prevalent in the Center-West region (11.4 percent), especially in Mato Grosso State (25.8 percent), while genotype 3 was more common in the South (43.2 percent). Genotypes 4 and 5 were rarely found and only in the Southeast, in São Paulo State. The present data indicate the need for careful epidemiological surveys throughout Brazil since knowing the frequency and distribution of the genotypes would provide key information for understanding the spread of HCV.

Detection of human parvovirus B19 in a patient with hepatitis

Parvovirus B19 has been associated by some investigators with cases of severe hepatitis. The aim of the present study was to determine the presence of active parvovirus B19 infection among 129 Brazilian patients with non-A-E hepatitis. The patients were assayed for antibodies against parvovirus B19, IgM class, by ELISA. In IgM-positive cases, parvovirus B19 DNA was assayed by PCR in serum and liver tissue and parvovirus VP1 antigen in liver tissue was assayed by immunohistochemistry. Antibodies against parvovirus B19, IgM class, were detected in 3 (2.3 percent) of 129 patients with non-A-E hepatitis. Previous surgery and blood transfusions were reported by these 3 patients. One patient was a 56-year-old female with severe hepatitis, with antimitochondrial antibody seropositivity and submassive necrosis at liver biopsy, who responded to corticosteroid therapy. Strong evidence for active parvovirus B19 infection was found in this patient, with parvovirus B19 DNA being detected by PCR in liver tissue. Furthermore, parvovirus VP1 antigen was also detected in liver tissue by immunohistochemistry. The other two IgM-positive patients were chronic hepatitis cases, but active infection was not proven, since neither viral DNA nor antigen were detected in their liver tissues. This and other reports suggest a possible relation between parvovirus B19 infection and some cases of hepatitis

Anastomose porto-cava em ratos: tecnica e resultado. / Portocaval anastomosis in rats: technic and results

Neste trabalho apresenta-se uma adaptacao da tecnica de anastomose porto-cava termino-lateral em ratos, originalmente descrita por Lee e Fisher. Salientam-se os detalhes, que sao minuciosamente explicados, com o objetivo de evidenciar a exequibilidade do modelo experimental com emprego de material extremamente simples e sem a utilizacao de lupa. Ressalta-se tambem que a cirurgia pode ser realizada por paramedicos ou tecnicos suficientemente treinados

Encefalopatia hepatica. / Hepatic encephalopathy

E feita uma revisao dos conceitos basicos sobre a etiopatogenia e tratamento da encefalopatia hepatica, principalmente no que se refere ao papel dos aminoacidos e neurotransmissores em desencadear o quadro neurologico