Ana Lígia Bender

Ovos e órgãos reprodutores de fêmeas de Angiostrongylus costaricensis são reconhecidos mais intensamente por soros humanos de fase aguda na angiostrongilíase abdominal

Angiostrongylus costaricensisis is an intra-arterial nematode of rodents. Man may become accidentally infected through ingestion of contaminated food or water. Our objective was to describe the parasite structures recognized by human antibodies in serum samples from acute and convalescent phases of abdominal angiostrongyliasis. An indirect immunofluorescent method was employed to study reactivity on whole eggs and sections of female worms and first stage larvae (L1). L1 were also studied before and after sonication. Fluorescence, always higher with acute phase sera, was detected on the surface of whole eggs and in L1 fragments and was neither present on whole L1 nor on their sections. An inespecific reactivity was seen on the cuticular border of the general cavity and reproductive organs. The data indicate the latter as a main source of antigenicity.

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type II in Guaraní Indians, Southern Brazil

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) is found in many New World Indian groups on the American continent. In Brazil, HTLV-II has been found among urban residents and Indians in the Amazon region, in the North. Guaraní Indians in the South of Brazil were studied for HTLV-I/II infection. Among 52 individuals, three (5.76%) showed positive anti-HTLV-II antibodies (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot). This preliminary report is the first seroepidemiological study showing HTLV-II infection among Indians in the South of Brazil.

Presence and duration of anti-Toxoplasma gondii immunoglobulin M in infants with congenital toxoplasmosis.

OBJECTIVES to investigate the rate of positivity for immunoglobulin M anti-Toxoplasma gondii (Toxo-IgM) in newborns with congenital toxoplasmosis, and the age when these antibodies become negative. METHODS patients with congenital toxoplasmosis who started monitoring in a congenital infection clinic between 1998 and 2009 were included. Inclusion criteria were routine maternal or neonatal serological screening; diagnostic confirmation by persistence of immunoglobulin G anti-Toxoplasma gondii at age ≥ 12 months, and Toxo-IgM screening in the neonatal period. To calculate the frequency of positive Toxo-IgM, cases detected by neonatal screening were excluded. For the study of the age when Toxo-IgM results became negative, patients with negative Toxo-IgM since birth and those in whom it was not possible to identify the month when the negative result was achieved were excluded. RESULTS among the 28 patients identified through maternal screening, 23 newborns had positive Toxo-IgM (82.1%, 95% CI: 64.7-93.1%). When adding the 37 patients identified by neonatal screening, Toxo-IgM was positive in the first month of life in 60 patients, and it was possible to identify when the result became negative in 51 of them. In 19.6% of patients, these antibodies were already negative at 30 days of life; and in 54.9%, at 90 days. Among the 65 patients included in the study, 40 (61.5%) had some clinical alteration. CONCLUSIONS even with high sensitivity methods, newborns with congenital toxoplasmosis can have negative Toxo-IgM at birth. In those who have these antibodies, the positive period may be quite short. It is important not to interrupt the monitoring of infants with suspected congenital toxoplasmosis simply because they present a negative Toxo-IgM result.

High specificity but low sensitivity of the cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) test in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

The thrombospondins (TSP) are a family of extracellular proteins involved in tissue genesis and remodeling. The cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), also known as (TSP-5), is expressed in cartilage, tendon, vitreous, and vascular smooth muscle cells (1). Serum COMP may predict joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (2). Increased serum COMP was reported in osteoarthritis (OA), and after cartilage injury (3). In this study, we evaluated serum concentrations of COMP in patients with RA and OA. We also evaluated the diagnostic performance of the COMP test. Sixty-three patients with RA, 40 patients with OA and 100 healthy controls were evaluated. Cases were selected from a database and authorized biobank with diagnosis according to classical criteria for RA (4) and OA (5). Both groups of patients were receiving regular treatment from our outpatient clinics. The control group comprised blood donors 40 years old and above, with no rheumatic complaints. Each patient, or his legal representative, provided written informed consent. Serum COMP was assayed by ELISA (COMP ELISA AnaMar Medical , Lund, Sweden). Concentrations above 12 U/L were considered significant (6). Group comparisons were performed by variance analysis. To estimate the grade of association of serum COMP with disease, odds ratios (OR) were calculated. Diagnostic performance of the COMP assay was evaluated by calculating sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios (LRs). Females predominated in the RA (81%) and OA (88%) populations as compared to controls (45%) (p-0.05). The