Rats infected with the helminth Capillaria hepatica regularly develop septal fibrosis of the liver similar to that induced by repeated ip injections of pig serum. Fibrosis starts when the focal parasitic lesions begin to show signs of resorption, thus suggesting an immunologically mediated pathogenesis of this fibrosis. To explore this possibility, the development of C. hepatica-related hepatic fibrosis was observed in rats exposed to worm antigens from the first neonatal day onward. Wistar rats (150 g) were either injected ip with an extract of C. hepatica eggs (protein concentration: 1 mg/ml) or received immature eggs by gavage from the first neonatal day until adult life and were then infected with 500 embryonated eggs. Changes were monitored on the basis of serum levels of anti-worm antibodies and hepatic histopathology. Rats submitted to immunological oral tolerance markedly suppressed C. hepatica-related serum antibodies and septal fibrosis of the liver when infected with the helminth later on. Tolerance trials with ip injections of worm antigens gave essentially negative results. The partial suppression of septal fibrosis of the liver after the induction of immunological tolerance to C. hepatica antigens in rats indicates an immunological basis for the fibrosis and emphasizes the importance of immunological factors in the pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis.

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The influence of different Trypanosoma cruzi biodemes on the evolution of the infection and on the histopathological lesions of the heart and skeletal muscles, during the experimental infection of

<p><strong>RESUMO</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>Estudos referentes a fatores de risco para o desenvolvimento de doenças coronarianas são bastante discutidos na literatura, pois a hipertensão é considerada uma patologia crônica e que pode atingir indivíduos de diferentes faixas etárias. Portanto o objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar fatores de risco para hipertensão em jovens universitários, sendo realizado um inquérito epidemiológico com 60 estudantes de farmácia acerca da dieta, atividade física, histórico familiar para hipertensão, tabagismo, etilismo e período noturno de sono. Dados antropométricos como idade, sexo, Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC) e aferição da Pressão Arterial (PA) foram avaliados. Os resultados revelaram que universitários do sexo masculino apresentaram maior prevalência de IMC (31,82%) associado à maior percentual de casos de hipertensão (9,1%), porém sem relevância estatística. O tabagismo, etilismo, atividade física, histórico familiar, período de sono e dieta não foram considerados fatores de risco estatisticamente relevantes para a hipertensão nessa população. Os dados sugerem que embora os rapazes apresentem tendência a desenvolver hipertensão mais que as moças, o fato de serem estudantes da área de saúde pode estar contribuindo para uma maior consciência da importância referente aos cuidados com a saúde.</p><p> </p>

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum samples from patients suspected of having neuroschistosomiasis (NS) were evaluated by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Monoclonal antibodies of various immunoglobulin isotypes (IgM, IgA, IgE, total IgG, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4) were used to detect antibodies against Schistosoma mansoni soluble egg antigen (SEA) and soluble worm adult preparation (SWAP). Of the 83 CSF samples tested, 55% were reactive to SEA (26% were reactive only to SEA and 29% to both SEA and SWAP), 34% were reactive to SWAP (5% only to SWAP and 29% to both SEA and SWAP), and 40% were not reactive with any antigen. Cases that tested positive for SWAP in CSF and negative in serum were not found. Samples with high specific IgG antibody titers were selected for immunoglobulin isotype profiling. In the CSF samples, the antibodies against SEA and SWAP were mainly IgM, IgG1, and IgG4, although other immunoglobulins were also detected. Interestingly, nine patients had high levels of IgG1 only in the CSF. These results suggest that there is local synthesis of IgG1, and that this isotype could be an important immunologic marker in the diagnosis of NS.