“Pós de doliarina e ferro”: um dos remédios importantes da Farmácia Peckolt / “Doliarina and iron powder”: an important medicine at Peckolt Pharmacy

O farmacêutico Theodoro Peckolt é uma das mais importantes figuras da história da química de produtos naturais brasileira. Como outros farmacêuticos do século XIX que atuavam no Brasil, desenvolveu formulações que comercializava em sua farmácia, localizada no Rio de Janeiro, e que tiveram grande prestígio junto à população e à classe médica. O texto apresenta a relação entre a doença identificada inicialmente como opilação e a terapêutica utilizada no século XIX, destacando uma das formulações da Farmácia Peckolt – “Pós de doliarina e ferro”. O produto tem sua origem no látex da espécie Ficus gomelleira(figueira-branca ou gameleira). O artigo tem entre seus objetivos revelar a composição química, feita por métodos modernos de análise do látex deFicus gomelleira.(AU)

The pharmacist Theodoro Peckolt was one of the most important figures in the history of the chemistry of natural Brazilian products. Like other nineteenth-century pharmacists in Brazil, he developed formulations and sold them at his pharmacy in Rio de Janeiro, and these enjoyed great prestige in the eyes both of the public and the medical community. The article discusses the relation between the illness originally called “opilação” (ancylostomiasis, or hookworm) and nineteenth-century treatment. It focuses especially on Peckolt Pharmacy’s “Doliarina and iron powder,” a formulation extracted from the Ficus gomelleira rubber plant. One of the article’s goals is to use modern methods to analyze Ficus gomelleira and identify the chemical composition of the drug.(AU)

Understanding Heterogeneity in the Impact of National Neglected Tropical Disease Control Programmes: Evidence from School-Based Deworming in Kenya.

BACKGROUND: The implementation of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) treatment programmes occurs in varied environmental, social and economic contexts. Programme impact will be influenced by factors that affect the reduction in the prevalence and intensity of infections following treatment, as well as the subsequent rate of reinfection. To better understand the heterogeneity of programme impact and its underlying reasons, we investigated the influence of contextual factors on reduction in STH infection as part of the national school based deworming (SBD) programme in Kenya. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data on the prevalence and intensity of infection were collected within the monitoring and evaluation component of the SBD programme at baseline and after delivery of two annual treatment rounds in 153 schools in western Kenya. Using a framework that considers STH epidemiology and transmission dynamics, capacity to deliver treatment, operational feasibility and financial capacity, data were assembled at both school and district (county) levels. Geographic heterogeneity of programme impact was assessed by descriptive and spatial analyses. Factors associated with absolute reductions of Ascaris lumbricoides and hookworm infection prevalence and intensity were identified using mixed effects linear regression modelling adjusting for baseline infection levels. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The reduction in prevalence and intensity of A. lumbricoides and hookworms varied significantly by county and within counties by school. Multivariable analysis of factors associated with programme impact showed that absolute A. lumbricoides reductions varied by environmental conditions and access to improved sanitation at schools or within the community. Larger reduction in prevalence and intensity of hookworms were found in schools located within areas with higher community level access to improved sanitation and within counties with higher economic and health service delivery indicator scores. CONCLUSIONS: The study identifies factors associated with the impact of school-based deworming and in particular highlights how access to water, sanitation and hygiene and environmental conditions influence the impact of deworming programmes.

Gênese da saúde global: a Fundação Rockefeller no Caribe e na América Latina / Genesis of global health: the Rockefeller Foundation in the Caribbean and Latin America

O nascimento da chamada Saúde Global e as relações criadas entre agentes globais e locais de saúde pública em regiões como a América Latina e o Caribe são abordados de forma totalmente inovadora. O autor, pesquisador pioneiro no estudo da América Latina como laboratório médico, partiu dos arquivos médicos nacionais da Costa Rica para investigar como foi a atuação da Fundação Rockefeller, organização de saúde internacional, em pequenos países da América Central e no Caribe, no início do século XX. A edição do livro em português tem novidades como informações sobre a atuação da Fundação Rockefeller no Brasil e um novo capítulo sobre o tratamento com óleo de quenopódio, o que causou muitas mortes, principalmente entre crianças, e as questões éticas decorrentes dessa decisão...

Structural conservation of ligand binding reveals a bile acid-like signaling pathway in nematodes.

Bile acid-like molecules named dafachronic acids (DAs) control the dauer formation program in Caenorhabditis elegans through the nuclear receptor DAF-12. This mechanism is conserved in parasitic nematodes to regulate their dauer-like infective larval stage, and as such, the DAF-12 ligand binding domain has been identified as an important therapeutic target in human parasitic hookworm species that infect more than 600 million people worldwide. Here, we report two x-ray crystal structures of the hookworm Ancylostoma ceylanicum DAF-12 ligand binding domain in complex with DA and cholestenoic acid (a bile acid-like metabolite), respectively. Structure analysis and functional studies reveal key residues responsible for species-specific ligand responses of DAF-12. Furthermore, DA binds to DAF-12 mechanistically and is structurally similar to bile acids binding to the mammalian bile acid receptor farnesoid X receptor. Activation of DAF-12 by cholestenoic acid and the cholestenoic acid complex structure suggest that bile acid-like signaling pathways have been conserved in nematodes and mammals. Together, these results reveal the molecular mechanism for the interplay between parasite and host, provide a structural framework for DAF-12 as a promising target in treating nematode parasitism, and provide insight into the evolution of gut parasite hormone-signaling pathways.

In vitro predatory activity of the fungi Duddingtonia flagrans, Monacrosporium thaumasium, Monacrosporium sinense and Arthrobotrys robusta on Ancylostoma ceylanicum third-stage larvae.

The potential role of companion animals as reservoirs for zoonotic diseases has been recognised as a significant public health problem worldwide. Ancylostoma ceylanicum is the only ancylostomatidae species known for infecting human beings. This article aimed to compare the predatory capacity of predatory fungi isolates Duddingtonia flagrans (AC001), Monacrosporium thaumasium (NF34), Monacrosporium sinense (SF53) and Arthrobotrys robusta (I31) on A. ceylanicum infectious larvae (L(3)) in a 2% water-agar plate. There was no predatory capacity variation among the fungi tested (P>0.05) over the 7-day period experimental assay. When compared to the control (without fungi), there was a significant reduction (P<0.05) of 95.6%, 85.1%, 87.4% and 90.2% on the A. ceylanicum L(3) mean recovered from treatments with isolates AC001, NF34, SF53 and I31, respectively. Regarding linear regression coefficients, negative values were noted for treatments, therefore indicating A. ceylanicum non-predated larvae reduction over 7 days. In this work, all predatory fungi isolates were efficient at capturing and destroying in vitro the A. ceylanicum L(3); therefore being able to be used as biological controllers of such nematode.

The mucosal response to secondary infection with Ancylostoma ceylanicum in hamsters immunized by abbreviated primary infection.

We assessed the mucosal response of previously infected hamsters to low-dose challenge with the hookworm, Ancylostoma ceylanicum. Hamsters were assigned to five treatment groups (Groups 1-5, respectively): naïve, controls; uninterrupted primary infection from day 0; infected, but treated with anthelmintic on day 35 p.i.; challenge control group given only the second infection on day 63; infected initially, cleared of worms and then challenged. Animals were culled on days 73 and 94 (10 and 31 days after challenge), but additional animals were culled from Group 5 on days 80 and 87. The results showed that villus height declined markedly and progressively over time after challenge in Group 5, whilst depth of the Crypts of Lieberkühn and number of mitotic figures in the crypts increased. Mucosal mast cell numbers were only marginally higher than those in naïve controls and not as high as those in mice with uninterrupted infections. Goblet cell counts showed a major increase, as did eosinophils in relation to naïve controls. Paneth cells were also elevated, but did not change over the course of the experiment. The results also drew attention to the tremendous resilience of hookworms, some adult worms surviving throughout, despite highly inflamed intestines.

Biological control of Ancylostomosis in dogs using the nematode-trapping fungus Monacrosporium thaumasium in southeastern Brazil.

Parasitic nematodes Ancylostoma caninum and Ancylostoma braziliense affect dogs and cats and have great medical and veterinary importance for their high prevalence, zoonotic potential, cosmopolitan characteristic and soil contamination by eggs and larvae. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the nematophagous fungus Monacrosporium thaumasium (isolate NF34a) in the biological control of dog hookworm, 12 adult animals, average weight between 7 and 19 kg, were separated into groups and kept in 2 different kennels: control group (without fungus) and a group treated with 0.5 g of fungal mycelium per kilogram of body weight. The animals were treated and feces samples were collected for egg count (eggs per gram of feces-EPG) and coprocultures during six months, twice a week. Every 15 days soil samples were collected from each group and examined for infective larvae (L(3)) in the period between March and September 2008. From April onwards, EPG and coproculture recordings in the treated group were lower than the control group (p<0.05). Linear regression coefficients for the control group were -30.79 and -160.79 for coproculture and EPG means, respectively. The linear regression coefficients for the treated group were -5.64 and -67.64 for EPG and coproculture means, respectively. Larvae were detected in the soil throughout the experimental period. From June to the end of the experiment (September), means of L(3) recovered from the kennel soil of the control group were higher than the means of the kennel soil of the treated group (p>0.05). The regression coefficient was higher for the treated group (-5.36) than the control group (-1.14), confirming the action of M. thaumasium against larvae in the soil. M. thaumasium can be therefore considered as an alternative environmental control of Ancylostoma spp. in dogs.

Ancilostomíase / Ancylostomiasis

A ancilostomíase é uma doença parasitária causada pelos helmintos Ancylostoma duodenale e Necator americanus, com importante.

Lewis W. Hackett and the early years of the International Health Board's Yellow Fever Program in Brazil, 1917-1924.

Lewis W. Hackett joined the staff of the International Health Board (IHB) in 1914. He was sent to Brazil in 1916, where his original responsibility was hookworm control, but he was gradually and inevitably drawn into combating other diseases. Hackett had a strong influence on public health in Brazil. In 1922 he instituted grass-roots (local) health units and programs. The next year, he negotiated with the federal government a cooperative yellow fever control program, which was described in the IHB's 1923 annual report as the "new and final campaign against yellow fever" in Brazil. Eleven offices were established in northern Brazil, where it was expected that yellow fever would quickly be eradicated. Just as the new program got underway Hackett was reassigned to Italy, where he remained until the beginning of World War II. Nonetheless, Hackett had done a classic job of developing the IHB program in Brazil, moving carefully but authoritatively from the initial focus on hookworm, to the development of a more comprehensive public health program, and then to the strategic thrust toward yellow fever.

Parasitose intestinal: profilaxia e tratamento dessa esquecida realidade brasileira / Intestinal parasite: prophylaxis and treatment of that forgotten brazilian reality

Com o evoluir da Medicina, inúmeras técnicas, métodos de diagnóstico e tratamento foram surgindo para as novas doenças constantemente descobertas. E, nessa realidade, com freqüência deparamo-nos com médicos capazes de tratar doenças complexas, com tecnologias modernas. Porém muitos se esquecem de considerar doenças básicas da comunidade, como é o caso das parasitoses intestinais, uma realidade brasileira que, embora prevalecente nas camadas socioeconomicamente menos favorecidas, afeta todos os níveis sociais. A finalidade deste artigo é promover uma revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema e abordar as principais parasitoses, dando subsídio ao diagnóstico, e, principalmente, frisar a conscientização da necessidade das medidas preventivas

[The course of typhoid fever in levomycetin resistance of the causative agent of the disease]. / O techenii briushnogo tifa pri rezistentnosti vozbuditelia bolezni k levomitsetinu.

Kept under observation was a patient aged 21 years, who had come from India, from whose blood taken at day 45 typhoid fever a causative agent S. typhi resistant to chloramphenicol, ampicillin, polymyxin was isolated. The condition presented with fever of long duration (60 days), apparent intoxication, jaundice, development of appendicular symptoms and intestinal hemorrhage continueing for 10 days. Treatment with chloramphenicol, ampicillin, gentamicin, furazolidone appeared to be ineffective. Detoxicational and hemostatic therapies were tried. The patient resumed his health.

Weight loss, total and differential leucocytic counts in mice treated with alcohol during Ancylostoma caninum infection.

Females of Swiss albino mice were treated with various doses of alcohol and Ancylostoma caninum larvae. Mice which received 40% alcohol for 20 days showed a significant decrease in body weight and in the number of leucocytes. Eosinophilia was also observed in mice which were treated with 40% alcohol for 20 days.

Parasitoses intestinais / Intestinal parasitosis

A autora descreve as condutas terapêuticas nas helmintíases e protozooses intestinais analisando as indicaçSes do tratamento, os medicamentos de valor, seus paraefeitos e contra-indicaçöes. A escolha das drogas e a citaçäo de mais de um composto na terapêutica de cada infecçäo em particular, embora concedendo alguma preferência, decorreram da observaçäo de certas propriedades, em especial os aspectos ligados à tolerância, facilidade de administraçäo e disponibilidade. Menciona alguns cuidados e métodos específicos que devem ser observados na realizaçäo do exame parasitológico de fezes para um correto diagnóstico e controle de cura. Näo há dúvidas que o tratamento diminue a prevalência, reduz rapidamente a carga parasitária e consequentemente a morbidade, dificultando portanto a transmissäo, mas deve vir ao lado das medidas de assistência sanitária no controle das parasitoses intestinais