Esporotricose brasileira: desdobramentos de uma epidemia negligenciada / Brazilian sporotrichosis: development of a neglected epidemic

A esporotricose é uma micose subcutânea de distribuição mundial, sendo observada em surtos de proporções variáveis, com predominância em áreas de clima temperado e tropical. Algumas áreas de endemicidade já foram relatadas. No Brasil, seus agentes etiológicos encontraram não só condições climáticas e estruturais ideais, mas também fontes de infecções extremamente eficientes. Nas últimas décadas, o país tem observado um aumento exponencial no número de casos de esporotricose humana e animal. Esse aumento e o surgimento de resistência aos antifúngicos tornam a situação alarmante. Apesar de essa epidemia se perpetuar há anos, existem poucas políticas de saúde no Brasil para o controle dos casos de esporotricose humana e animal, principalmente na atenção primária à saúde. Assim, intervenções sociais, ambientais e populacionais devem ser feitas para conter essa epidemia negligenciada.

Sporotrichosis is a subcutaneous mycosis with a worldwide distribution, which has been observed in outbreaks of variable proportions in all continents, with predominance in temperate and tropical climate zones. Some areas of endemicity have already been reported. In Brazil, its etiological agents found not only ideal climatic and structural conditions, but also extremely efficient sources of infections. In the last decades, the country has suffered an exponential increase in the number of human and animal cases of sporotrichosis. This increase, combined with the emergence of antifungal resistance makes the situation alarming. Although this epidemic has been perpetuating for years, there are few health policies in Brazil to control it/the disease, especially in primary health care. Therefore, social, environmental and population-based interventions should be organized in order to contain this neglected epidemic.

Hepatotoxicity by herbs: a practical review of a neglected disease / Hepatotoxicidad por hierbas: una revisión práctica de una enfermedad subestimada

Herbs are commonly used worldwide for the treatment of various diseases, constituting a multi-billion dollar market. Unfortunately, hepatotoxicity induced by herbs is also common. The true incidence and prevalence are not known. There is need for more strict regulations andexperimental and pre-clinical studies regarding its efficacy and safety. There is no gold standard for the diagnosis of herbs-induced liver injury (HILI) and it constitutes a diagnostic challenge for the clinician, whereestablishing causality could be cumbersome. Clinical presentation varies from asymptomatic cases with mildly abnormal liver tests to fulminant liver failure requiring liver transplantation. In this review, we will discuss the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, challenges and diagnostic approach of HILI and will also present some exemplary cases from the University of Miami, Division of Hepatology.

Las hierbas y productos derivados son comúnmente usados alrededor del mundo para el tratamiento de varias enfermedades, constituyendo un mercado multibillonario. Desafortunadamente, hepatotoxidad inducida por estos productos también es común. Existe la necesidad de regulaciones más estrictas, y de estudios experimentales y pre-clínicos acerca de su eficacia y seguridad. No existe un gold-standard para el diagnóstico de injuria hepática inducida por hierbas (HILI), constituyendo un reto diagnóstico para el clínico, donde el establecer una relación de causalidad puede resultar muy difícil. La presentación clínica puede variar desde casos asintomáticos con enzimas hepáticas levemente elevadas hasta casos de falla hepática fulminante requiriendo transplante hepático. En esta revisión, discutiremos brevemente la epidemiologia, manifestaciones clínicas, retos y aproximación diagnostica de la injuria hepática inducida por hierbas y finalmente mostraremos algunos casos ejemplares extraídos de nuestro archivo en la División de Hepatología de la Universidad de Miami.