Comparación de varias técnicas coproparasitológicas para el diagnóstico de geohelmintiasis intestinales

Se procesan "a ciegas" 511 muestras de heces por las técnicas de Kato-Katz, Willis, Ritchie y directo. Al comparar los resultados obtenidos en el diagnóstico de Trichuris trichiura, Necator americanus y Ascaris lumbricoides, vimos que la de Kato-Katz fué más sensible, revelando el mayor número de casos, siguiéndole en orden sucesivo, el Willis, el Ritchie, y el examen directo. Si se tiene en cuenta que el método de Kato-Katz es además cuantitativo, podemos recomendar-lo como técnica de elección para el diagnóstico de las geohelmintiasis intestinales.

Usefulness of the detection of Toxoplasma gondii antigens in AIDS patients

Toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) is a mayor cause of central nervous system infection in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Toxoplasma antibodies were detected in 56 of 79 patients with AIDS (71%), in the present study. Fourteen out of 57 seropositive patients developed TF (25%) and had Toxoplasma gondii antigen detected in their urine. For this, most of them received an effective therapy, with the subsequent disappearance of the symptoms and discontinuity of excretion of the T. gondii antigens. Our results suggest that the monitoring of T. gondii antigen in the urine of AIDS patients may be useful to decide on the proper time for therapy, as well as to avoid the beginning of neurologic signs in these patients.

A longitudinal study of enterobiasis in three day care centers of Havana City

Pinworm infection was prospectively studied during one year in 469 children attending three day care centers. Each child was examined at six months intervals using up to three perianal swabs with adhesive tape. Those found infected were treated with mebendazole. At the beginning of the study we found a prevalence of 28% that dropped to 13% and 12% in the following study periods. The reinfection rate was twice the incidence rate in both study periods. We also found a small percentage (10%) of the children reinfected in most or all study periods. There was a high correlation between reinfection and perianal itching. Our results add further knowledge to the epidemiology of intestinal parasites in day care centers.

Immune responses of IL-5 transgenic mice to parasites and aeroallergens

Eosinophils have long been thought to be effectors of immunity to helminths but have also been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma. Patterns of cytokine production in the host may influence the pathogenesis of these diseases by regulating the activities of eosinophils and other components of the immune response. Mice which constitutively over-express IL-5 have profound and life-long eosinophilia in a restricted number of tissues. Although eosinophils from IL-5 transgenics are functionally competent for a number of parameters considered to be important in inflammation, untreated animals are overtly normal and free of disease. In addition, the responses of these animals when exposed to aeroallergens and helminths present a number of apparent paradoxes. Eosinophil accumulation in tissues adjacent to major airways is rapid and extensive in transgenics exposed to the aeroallergen, but even after treatment with antigen over many months these mice show no evidence of respiratory distress or pathology. Helminth-infected IL-5 transgenics and their non-transgenic littermates develop similar inflammatory responses at mucosal sites and are comparable for a number of T cell and antibody responses, but they differ considerably in their ability to clear some parasite species. The life-cycle of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis is significantly inhibited in IL-5 transgenics, but that of Toxocara canis is not. Our results also suggest that eosinophilia and/or over-expression of IL-5 may actually impair host resistance to Schistosoma mansoni and Trichinella spiralis. The pathogenesis of diseases in which eosinophils are involved may therefore be more complex than previously thought.

Métodos estatísticos para estudo de adaptabilidade e estabilidade fenotípica em soja

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os métodos estatísticos de análise da interação de genótipos com ambientes (GxA), enfatizando a adaptabilidade e a estabilidade fenotípica. Utilizaram-se dados de produtividade de grãos de soja de sete experimentos em Goiás, testando 28 genótipos, dos quais quatro cultivares comerciais. Avaliaram-se os métodos Tradicional, Plaisted & Peterson, Wricke, Finlay & Wilkinson, Eberhart & Russell, Verma, Chahal & Murty, Toler, AMMI (additive main effect and multiplicative interaction), Hühn, Annicchiarico e Lin & Binns. Avaliou-se a associação entre os métodos pela correlação de Spearman. Observou-se forte associação entre os de Plaisted & Peterson e Wricke, cujo uso concomitante foi contra-indicado. A mesma conclusão é atribuída aos métodos Annicchiarico e Lin & Binns, também fortemente associados, o que implica em classificações fenotípicas muito semelhantes. O uso de um deles, entretanto, é recomendado. Métodos baseados, exclusivamente, em coeficientes de regressão, devem ser utilizados em associação com outro, fundamentado na variância da interação GxA, ou em medidas estatísticas como a variância dos desvios da regressão. O uso combinado do método de Eberhart & Russell e AMMI é outra indicação, em razão de suas correlações significativas com a maioria dos outros métodos e uma associação relativamente fraca entre eles.

Human prophylactic vaccine adjuvants and their determinant role in new vaccine formulations

Adjuvants have been considered for a long time to be an accessory and empirical component of vaccine formulations. However, accumulating evidence of their crucial role in initiating and directing the immune response has increased our awareness of the importance of adjuvant research in the past decade. Nevertheless, the importance of adjuvants still is not fully realized by many researchers working in the vaccine field, who are involved mostly in the search for better target antigens. The choice of a proper adjuvant can be determinant for obtaining the best results for a given vaccine candidate, but it is restricted due to intellectual property and know-how issues. Consequently, in most cases the selected adjuvant continues to be the aluminum salt, which has a record of safety, but predominantly constitutes a delivery system (DS). Ideally, new strategies should combine immune potentiators (IP) and DS by mixing both compounds or by obtaining structures that contain both IP and DS. In addition, the term immune polarizer has been introduced as an essential concept in the vaccine design strategies. Here, we review the theme, with emphasis on the discussion of the few licensed new adjuvants, the need for safe mucosal adjuvants and the adjuvant/immunopotentiating activity of conjugation. A summary of toxicology and regulatory issues will also be discussed, and the Finlay Adjuvant Platform is briefly summarized.