Leishmaniasis constitutes a spectrum of human diseases caused by protozoa belonging to the genus Leishmania, divided into two subgenera, Leishmania, which is present in both the Old World and the New World, and Viannia, which is restricted to the New World. Productive infections may either be asymptomatic or lead to different clinical syndromes involving internal organs, skin, and/or mucosal surfaces (3). Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis is endemic in Latin America and causes at least three distinct clinical types of American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL), localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), mucosal leishmaniasis (ML), and disseminated leishmaniasis (DL) (3,4,6,9,29). The most striking feature that differentiates CL from either ML or DL is the degree of metastasis of lesions from the original inoculation site. CL lesions are restricted to the entry site of the parasites, whereas ML is defined by spreading to mucosal surfaces of the upper digestive and airways tracts. DL is characterized by wide dissemination to distant cutaneous sites. Some individuals with DL develop hundreds of lesions throughout their body surfaces.Many reports cite ML as the most common metastatic form of disease caused by L. (V.) braziliensis. It was previously more common, but ML currently develops in 4 to 5% of individuals with CL (2, 7, 17). Recently, in our study area, DL has emerged as the most prevalent metastatic form of L. (V.) braziliensis infection (26). The present study is based on the hypotheses that different strains of L. (V.) braziliensis are prone to cause the different forms of ATL, and it is the spread of a DL-predisposing strain that is responsible for the increasing incidence of this new cutaneous syndrome.Individuals living in the region of Corte de Pedra in the state of Bahia, Northeast Brazil, can be afflicted by any of the three forms of ATL due to L. (V.) braziliensis. However, DL has only recently been recognized in Corte de Pedra (6, 9). Careful longitudinal study of this form of leishmaniasis has revealed a recent increase in the absolute numbers of DL cases, an increase in the relative proportion of DL cases compared to the total number ATL cases, and a pattern of geographic spread of the disease across a wider region of Corte de Pedra over the past 2 decades (16,26,29). Indeed, the geographic distribution of DL cases differs from that of ML in Corte de Pedra, which led us to investigate the regional risks of these two forms of L. (V.) braziliensis disease (26).One of the first clues that different parasite strains may contribute to the different ATL forms was in vitro evidence showing that the total antigen from L. (V.) braziliensis isolated from a DL patient caused peripheral blood mononuclear cells to release larger amounts of the proinflammatory cytokines gamma interferon and tumor necrosis factor alpha than the total antigen of a parasite from a subject with CL (14). Parallel investigations revealed that parasites isolated from ATL patients could be distinguished according to randomly amplified poly...

Reduced folic acid levels, alcohol consumption, and the MTHFR 677T and 1298C alleles may have contributed to NSCLP development in this sample population from Rio Grande do Norte.

Objective: To determine and to compare the levels of secretory immunoglobulin A in samples of colostrum and milk of mothers of term and preterm neonates. Material and Methods: The levels of secretory immunoglobulin A of 10 mothers of term neonates and 10 mothers of preterm neonates were determined from 5mL of colostrum or milk collected on the 1 st , 4 th , 10 th and 15 th days of the puerperal period, using the radial immunodifusion technique. We employed anamnesis, as well as physical and gynecological exams in women in the puerperal period. All the patients were attended at the Januário Cicco Maternity College. Results: The secretory immunoglobulin A levels were significantly higher in the colostrum and milk of mothers of preterm neonates when compared with the levels found in colostrum and milk of mothers of term neonates (Mann-Whitney test, p<0.0001). There was a significant decline in the secretory immunoglobulin A levels of the colostrum and milk of the mothers of term and preterm neonates during the four periods (KruskalWallis test, p<00001). Conclusions: The secretory immunoglobulin A levels in colostrum and milk of mothers of preterm neonates were significantly higher than in the mothers of term neonates, demonstrating immunological adaptation in preterm neonate breast-feeding.

Sulfated polysaccharides (fucans and fucoidans) from brown algae show several biological activities, including anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory activities. We have extracted a sulfated heterofucan from the brown seaweed Lobophora variegata by proteolytic digestion, followed by acetone fractionation, molecular sieving, and ion-exchange chromatography. Chemical analyses and 13C-NMR and IR spectroscopy showed that this fucoidan is composed of fucose, galactose, and sulfate at molar ratios of 1 : 3 : 2. We compared the anticoagulant activity of L. variegata fucoidan with those of a commercial sulfated polysaccharide (also named fucoidan) from Fucus vesiculosus and heparin. The experimental inflammation models utilized in this work revealed that fucoidan from L. variegata inhibits leukocyte migration to the inflammation site. Ear swelling caused by croton oil was also inhibited when sulfated polysaccharides from F. vesiculosus and L. variegata were used. The precise mechanism of different action between homo- and heterofucans is not clear; nevertheless, the polysaccharides studied here may have therapeutic potential in inflammatory disorders.