Ecos da XXII Reunião Anual de Pesquisa Aplicada em Doença de Chagas e X Reunião Anual de Pesquisa Aplicada em Leishmanioses

A doença de Chagas e as leishmanioses são importantes condições que ainda afetam milhões de pessoas, com relevantes implicações médicas, sociais e econômicas. As reuniões anuais sobre doença de Chagas e leishmanioses são marcantes fóruns de discussão sobre novos achados acerca destas doenças, bem como de planejamento de estratégias de controle, que envolvem grande número de conceituados e de jovens pesquisadores. Assim, essas Reuniões devem continuar com todo vigor representando a luta contra tais doenças.

Experimental lagochilascariosis in X-chromosome-linked immunodeficient mice

Lagochilascaris minor is the etiological agent of lagochilascariosis, a disease that affects the neck region and causes exudative abscesses, with eggs, adult parasites and L3/L4 larvae in the purulent exudates. Mice are now considered to be intermediate hosts for the parasite. To determine the pattern of infection in B1 cell-deficient mice, experimental lagochilascariosis was studied in BALB/c and X-chromosome-linked immunodeficient (xid) mice. BALB.xid-infected mice showed lower numbers of larvae. Third-stage larvae, fourth-stage larvae and adult parasites were found in both strains. BALB/c mice produced IgM, IgG, IgA and IgE against the crude extract and secreted/excreted antigens of the parasite. On the other hand, BALB.xid mice did not produce IgM and produced lower levels of IgG and IgA, and similar quantities of IgE.

Is severe visceral leishmaniasis a systemic inflammatory response syndrome? A case control study

INTRODUCTION: The objective of the study is to identify the main risk factors for death by New World visceral leishmaniasis and establish a coherent pathogenic substrate of severe disease based on clinical findings. METHODS: Seventy-six deceased inpatients and 320 successfully treated inpatients with VL were studied in a case control study. RESULTS: Bacterial infection and bleeding were mutually exclusive events leading to death. Five risk factors were unique for death by bacterial infection (malnutrition, pulmonary rales, severe anemia, severe absolute neutropenia and higher neutrophil count), while another six were unique for death by bleeding (jaundice, severe relative neutropenia, severe thrombocytopenia, liver injury, kidney failure, higher bone marrow parasite load). Bacterial infection, bleeding, severe anemia, diarrhea, dyspnea, edema, jaundice and bone marrow parasite load were the main syndromes of visceral leishmaniasis among successfully treated patients. CONCLUSIONS: The data support the idea that bacterial infections are due to immune paralysis. Broad organ and system involvement is plausibly due to the high production of proinflammatory cytokines, whose actions fit well with visceral leishmaniasis. The syndromes and causative mediators are typical of a slowly developing systemic inflammatory response syndrome.