Samuel Gonçalves da Cruz

Profile of total IgG, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4 levels in sera of patients with paracoccidioidomycosis: treatment follow-up using Mexo and rPb27 as antigens in an ELISA.

The levels of total of IgG, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4 were evaluated in 54 patients with chronic paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) before, during and after treatment using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with Mexo and recombinant Pb27 (rPb27) as the antigens. Mexo was effective in distinguishing PCM patients from individuals in the negative control group (NC) based on total IgG and rPb27 performed worse than Mexo when these two groups were compared. IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4 could not be used to clearly distinguish PCM patients from those in the NC group using either antigen. There was no clear relationship between antibody levels and the period of treatment. The majority of patients presented with decreased antibody levels during treatment, with no statistically significant differences among the different periods of treatment. Only IgG4 presented a negative correlation between its levels and clinical improvement during treatment. In total, 65% of untreated PCM patients showed reactivity against IgG4 when the Mexo antigen was used and this reactivity decreased over the course of treatment. There was a tendency towards decreasing antibody levels during treatment, but these antibody levels did not necessarily clear after the treatment was stopped. Mexo was useful for PCM diagnosis using total IgG; however, more studies are necessary before this antigen can be used in measuring the levels of total IgG and its subclasses for monitoring patients during treatment.

Paracoccidioidomycosis disease (Lutz-Splendore-Almeida) - clinical manifestations

Paracoccidioidomycosis has polymorphic clinical features with lesions located in the skin and mucous membranes, as well as involvement of various organs and systems, as is potentially capable of causing death and serious sequelae. It should be included in the differential diagnosis of granulomatous diseases in endemic areas, including Brazil, so that it is recognized early, for more convenient treatment as to prevent progression with sequelae or premature death.

Cardiac sarcoidosis with severe involvement of the right ventricle: a case report.

We present the case of a patient who underwent cardiac transplantation with the diagnosis of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Once the explanted heart was examined, a type of granulomatous myocarditis compatible with cardiac sarcoidosis was observed. However, there was severe involvement of the right ventricle, with markedly reduced width of the muscular layer and extensive fibrofatty replacement, findings similar to the ones encountered in cases of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). Confocal immunofluorescence analysis revealed a reduced signal for plakoglobin and desmoplakin at the cardiac intercalated disks. The immunoreactive signal for desmin showed the typical sarcomeric distribution but not a concentrated signal at the intercalated disks, a pattern previously seen in an 11-year-old girl with Carvajal syndrome bearing a C-terminal truncating mutation in the desmoplakin gene. This case illustrates the difficult and challenging work involved in performing a differential diagnosis among idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, isolated cardiac sarcoidosis, and ARVC, all of which are clinical entities known to masquerade as one another.

Paracoccidioidomycosis disease (Lutz-Splendore-Almeida disease): Additional workup, differential diagnosis, cure control

The diagnosis of paracoccidioidomycosis requires epidemiological data to be available and for the presence of some more typical clinical manifestations.It requires complementary investigation with interventional methods, differential diagnosis of pathologies of great importance such as tuberculosis and lymphomas, and cure control. This update discusses the advances in these various areas, which include complementary investigation, differential diagnosis and cure control, pointing to development prospects that may help better define the best approach to this disease.

Paracoccidioidomycosis (Lutz-Splendore-Almeida disease): treatment, duration of treatment, recurrence, paradoxical reaction, prognosis, prophylaxis

Paracoccidioidomycosis, despite being the most important deep mycosis in Latin America, still has many blindspots in terms of its approach, especially in relation to duration of treatment, cure control and prophylaxis. Depending on severity, the following can be used in the treatment: sulfonamides, azoles (itraconazole and ketoconazole), and amphotericin. The prognosis depends on severity, time between onset and diagnosis, and therapy instituted. In mild forms, prognosis is good; in moderate and severe forms, for which there is risk of developing sequelae and death, it is guarded.

Paracoccidioidomycosis disease (Lutz-Splendore-Almeida): etiology, epidemiology, and pathogenesis

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a polymorphic systemic granulomatous mycosis determined by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and P. lutzii and constitutes one of the 10 leading causes of morbidity and mortality by the parasitic diseases endemic in Brazil. The need for updates on the etiology, epidemiology, and pathogenesis is a for routinely including this disease in the differential diagnosis of current medical

The Use of Chemokines and Soluble TNF-α Receptors to Evaluate Patients Treated for Paracoccidioidomycosis

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a systemic disease with high prevalence in Brazil and some countries in Latin America. This study aimed to evaluate patients treated for PCM in an endemic area, to verify the use of serological markers in the control of cure of this mycosis. A follow-up study of 42 months was conducted with 26 patients, which had blood samples collected during and after treatment. All measures of serological markers were made by ELISA. The dosage of IgG, sTNF-RI and sTNF-RII allowed the segregation of majority of patients with PCM from health individuals during almost all the period analyzed. Although, some patients did not present detected levels of IgG and sTNF-RI at any moment. Concentrations of CCL2 and CCL3 were high during the treatment, with a tendency of decreasing along the time. CCL11 was detected with concentrations below the cut-off point during treatment, with increasing from the moment of its interruption. Concentrations of CCL24 did not change along the period analyzed. CXCL9 presented low concentrations during and after the interruption of treatment, without any association with clinical aspects. The variable concentrations found for all serological markers tested show the insecurity to use this parameters and the need of a continuous search for new markers to evaluate the control of cure of patients treated for PCM.