Estudo comparativo morfofuncional e expressão de receptor de melanocortina do tipo 1 em lesões de melasma

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Candida dubliniensis: prevalência na cavidade bucal de pacientes diabéticos, com câncer de mama e hansenianos e patogenicidade experimental

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a presença de C. dubliniensis dentre isolados bucais de pacientes com Diabetes mellitus do tipo I (n=39) e II (n=36), hansenianos (n=38) e sob quimioterapia para o câncer de mama (n=30) e de respectivos indivíduos controle pareados quanto à idade, gênero e condições bucais. Um total de 479 isolados previamente identificados por testes fenotípicos (formação de tubo germinativo, produção de hifas/pseudohifas/clamidoconídeos, fermentação e assimilação de carboidratos) e identificadas como C. albicans/C. dubliniensis foram incluídos no estudo. A existência de C. dubliniensis dentre os isolados foi analisada usando protocolo validado de PCR multiplex. Foi também realizado estudo de patogenicidade experimental utilizando camundongos em modelo de infecção sistêmica, objetivando comparar a virulência e cinética de infecção de C. dubliniensis com outras espécies do gênero Candida. Um isolado (0.002%) de C. dubliniensis foi detectado entre os isolados do grupo controle. Esta espécie não foi encontrada dentre os isolados dos outros grupos de pacientes. C. dubliniensis foi menos virulenta para camundongos em relação a C. albicans e C. tropicalis e mais virulenta do que C. krusei. O estudo da cinética de infecção mostrou infecção persistente no rim e no fígado mesmo após 21 dias da inoculação de C. dubliniensis. Conclui-se que a detecção de C. dubliniensis dentre os isolados clínicos foi baixa e observada apenas no grupo controle. C. dubliniensis foi menos virulenta para camundongos que C. albicans e C. tropicalis e causou infecção prolongada no rim e no fígado

Determinantes genéticos, bioquímicos e clínicos na resposta ao uso de hidroxiureia na doença falciforme

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Type-2 diabetes mellitus and the frequency of the G22A polymorphism of the adenosine deaminase gene in a mixed population in Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estudo comparativo da maturação óssea das vértebras cervicais, por meio de radiografias cefalométricas laterais, com as más-oclusões classes I e II de angle

Pós-graduação em Biopatologia Bucal - ICT

Análise do polimorfismo da região 3’não traduzida (3’NT) do gene HLA-G de pacientes com esclerose múltipla e neuromielite óptica da região noroeste do estado de São Paulo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

WHO disability grade does not influence physical activity in Brazilian leprosy patients

Disability caused by leprosy may be associated with stigma. The aim of this work is to describe the degree of disability, quality of life and level of physical activity of individuals with leprosy and to identify possible correlations between these factors. Ninety-seven patients from two referral centres were studied. A complete medical history was taken and the World Health Organization degree of physical disability classification (WHO-DG), the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the Medical Outcome Study 36-item Short-form health Survey (SF36) were applied. The mean age of patients was 51 +/- 14.9 years old; participants were predominantly men, married, unemployed, had concluded treatment and had had lepromatous leprosy. The WHO-DG and the level of physical activity (P-value = 0.36) were not correlated. The WHO-DG showed that 72.2% of patients had disabilities, 37-1% of whom performed vigorous physical activities. No significant association was observed between the WHO-DG and the domains of the QoL SF-36 except for functional capacity (P-value = 0.02); the physical capacity is generally 'very good' when individuals have no disabilities and 'bad' with severe disabilities. In conclusion, the WHO-DG of leprosy patients does not affect the level of physical activities or quality of life except functional capacity. There is no significant association between physical activities and quality of life in these individuals.

Geographic and Educational Factors and Risk of the First Peritonitis Episode in Brazilian Peritoneal Dialysis Study (BRAZPD) Patients

Background and objectives Peritonitis remains as the most frequent cause of peritoneal dialysis (PD) failure, impairing patient's outcome. No large multicenter study has addressed socioeconomic, educational, and geographic issues as peritonitis risk factors in countries with a large geographic area and diverse socioeconomic conditions, such as Brazil.Design, setting, participants, & measurements Incident PD patients recruited from 114 dialysis centers and reporting to BRAZPD, a multicenter observational study, from December 2004 through October 2007 were included. Clinical, dialysis-related, demographic, and socioeconomic variables were analyzed. Patients were followed up until their first peritonitis. Cox proportional model was used to determine independent factors associated with peritonitis.Results In a cumulative follow-up of 2032 patients during 22.026 patient-months, 474 (23.3%) presented a first peritonitis episode. In contrast to earlier findings, PD modality, previous hemodialysis, diabetes, gender, age, and family income were not risk predictors. Factors independently associated with increased hazard risk were lower educational level, non-white race, region where patients live, shorter distance from dialysis center, and lower number of patients per center.Conclusions Educational level and geographic factors as well as race and center size are associated with risk for the first peritonitis, independent of socioeconomic status, PD modality, and comorbidities. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 6: 1944-1951, 2011. doi: 10.2215/CJN.11431210

EBNA-1 gene sequences in Brazilian and American patients with Hodgkin's disease

We examined the types of Epstein-Barr virus-associated nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA-1) gene carboxy (C)-terminal mutations occurring in Hodgkin's disease (HD) and reactive tissues from two different geographic regions. Previously reported EBNA-1 C-terminal region amino acid sequence variants, based on the amino acid at codon 487, include Prototype (P)-ala, which is found in the B95.8-derived prototype virus, P-thr, Variant (V)-leu, V-val, and V-pro. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify portions of the EBNA-1 gene, followed by DNA sequencing, we found a single EBNA-1 gene sequence variant in each tissue, whether reactive or neoplastic and whether from Brazil or the United States. Variant EBNA-1 gene sequences were more common in both neoplastic and non-neoplastic tissues from different geographic areas than the so-called prototype sequence. In the 17 Brazilian HD cases, 4 cases had P-thr variants and 13 had V-leu variants. In the six reactive tissues from Brazil, one had a P-ala variant, two had P-thr variants, and three had V-leu variants. In the 12 American HD cases, 2 had P-ala variants, 6 had P-thr variants, and 4 had V-leu variants. The 11 American reactive tissues included 2 P ala variants, 5 P-thr variants, and 4 V-leu variants. In both countries, there were similar variant EBNA-1 sequences present in normal tissues and HD cases. Compared with the P ala and P-thr cases, the V-leu cases were more likely to have the 30-bp latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) gene deletion (P = 0.0075). In addition, cases of HD with the V-leu were statistically associated with a substitution of asparagine for glutamine at codon 322 of the C-terminal portion of the LMP1 gene. Our results suggest that any variation in EBNA-1 gene sequence is caused by a polymorphism present in pre-existing viral strains in the underlying population, and not a mutation occurring during oncogenesis. (C) 1999 by the American Society of Hematology.

Quality of life (QoL) in relation to disease severity in Brazilian Parkinson's patients as measured using the WHOQOL-BREF

This study aimed at evaluating and describing the QoL and its association with the severity of disease among Brazilian Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. In this cross-sectional study 68 PD patients were interviewed using the World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Hoehn-Yahr (HY) scale. Analysis of variance, chi(2), Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U-tests, Spearman and Cronbach reliability coefficients were used to analyze the data. The results indicate: (1) physical capacity was the domain that showed the most deterioration; (2) severity of PD is associated with QoL measured by WHOQOL-BREF; (3) overall QoL, working capacity, activities of daily living (ADL) and self-esteem are affected in both transitional periods in the progression of PD (mild to moderate and moderate to advanced). Satisfaction with general health, pain, energy, positive feelings, personal relationship and satisfaction with home are affected in the first period of transition while mobility, body image, sexual activity and access to information are affected in the second. This study mainly shows specific facets that are affected depending on the specific periods of PD progression, which can help to understand the impact of the disease, the effectiveness of care, and the demand for health care resources. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mutational analysis of the GAP-related domain of the neurofibromatosis type 1 gene in Brazilian NF1 patients

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Frequency of Candida spp. in the Oral Cavity of Brazilian HIV-Positive Patients and Correlation with CD4 Cell Counts and Viral Load

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Research on Candida dubliniensis in a Brazilian yeast collection obtained from cardiac transplant, tuberculosis, and HIV-positive patients, and evaluation of phenotypic tests using agar screening methods

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)