Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole therapy was effective in decreasing fungal load in the lesions, allowing patient immune response to control the infection leading to the healing of the lesions.

Phagocytic cells play an important role in nonspecific resistance to fungal infection by mediating an inflammatory response and by a direct fungicidal action. In this study, the functional activity of peritoneal macrophages obtained from hamsters experimentally infected with strain Pb18 of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis was evaluated during 16 weeks of infection. The results showed that macrophages had a higher spreading ability associated with increased production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and enhanced fungicidal activity during the early periods of infection. TNF-alpha levels remained elevated during all periods studied, while low levels of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) were produced during the infection. A necrotic area with dead fungi was observed at the inoculation site and the infection disseminated only to liver and lymph nodes in a few animals. These results suggest that during the early stages of infection with P. brasiliensis, macrophage activation by the high levels of TNF-alpha limited fungal dissemination. In contrast, in the later stages of infection, high levels of TNF-alpha were observed while the fungicidal activity of macrophages was lower and the animals presented loss of vitality resulting in their death. These observations suggest a complex role of TNF-alpha in experimental paracoccidioidomycosis of Syrian hamsters, involving not only resistance but also pathogenesis.

-Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in immune surveillance against tumors. The present work aimed to study the cytotoxic activity of NK cells and T cell subsets in peripheral blood of 13 patients with primary tumors in central nervous system (CNS). As controls 29 healthy subjects with the age range equivalent to the patients were studied. The methods employed were: a) determination of cytotoxic activity of NK cells towards K562 target cells, evaluated by single cell-assay; b) enumeration of CD3+ lymphocytes and their CD4+ and CD8+ subsets defined by monoclonal antibodies; c) the identification of tumors were done by histologic and immunochemistry studies. The results indicated that adults and children with tumor in CNS display reduced percentage of total T cells, helper/inducer subset and low helper/suppressor ratio. The cytotoxic activity of NK cells was decreased in patients with CNS tumors due mainly to a decrease in the proportion of targetbinding lymphocytes. These results suggest that cytotoxic activity of NK cells may be affected by the immunoregulatory disturbances observed in patients with primary tumors in CNS. KEY WORDS: brain tumors, NK cells, T cell subsets.Alterações imunológicas em pacientes com tumores primários no sistema nervoso central RESUMO -As células natural killer (NK) desempenham importante papel na vigilância imunológica contra tumores. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi estudar a atividade citotóxica de células NK e as subpopulações de células T no sangue periférico de 13 pacientes com tumores primários no sistema nervoso central (SNC). Como controle foram estudados 29 indivíduos saudáveis com faixa etária equivalente aos pacientes. Os métodos empregados foram: a) determinação da atividade citotóxica de células NK contra células alvo K562; b) quantificação de linfócitos CD3+ e subpopulações CD4+ e CD8+ por meio de anticorpos monoclonais; c) identificação dos tumores por análise histológica e imuno-histoquímica. Os resultados indicaram que adultos e crianças com tumores no SNC apresentam diminuição na percentagem de linfócitos T, da subpopulação de células T auxiliares e da relação células auxiliares/supressoras. A atividade citotóxica de células NK esteve deprimida em pacientes com tumores devido principalmente à diminuição da capacidade de formar conjugados com a célula alvo K562. Os resultados sugerem que a atividade de células NK pode ser afetada por distúrbios imunorregulatórios observados em pacientes com tumores primários no SNC. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: tumores cerebrais, células NK, subpopulações de células T.Most cancers result from interaction of genetic and environment factors; however, genetic factors by themselves explains only about 5% of all cancer. The others have been atributed to environmental factors, that may interact with genetic cancer susceptibility and individual response 1 .

BackgroundSeveral dermatoses are mediated by histamine, such as urticaria, angioedema, and papular urticaria. There are no Brazilian studies comparing the potency of antihistamines.ObjectivesTo evaluate the tolerability and efficacy of the main commercial brand and generic H1 antihistamines, regarding the suppression of the wheal and flare to the histamine test.MethodsA quasi-experimental, open study with 10 healthy adults submitted to the histamine test on the ventral aspect of the forearms. After 20 minutes, wheal and flares were measured. The tests were performed after two hours of intake of dexchlorpheniramine, hydroxyzine, levocetirizine, fexofenadine, cetirizine, loratadine, ebastine, desloratadine, epinastine and rupatadine, as well as generics of loratadine, cetirizine and fexofenadine.ResultsAll antihistamines presented a reduction in the wheal compared to the control (p <0.02), as well as in the flare, except for rupatadine (p = 0.70). In the internal comparison, cetirizine, fexofenadine, epinastine, levocetirizine, dexchlorpheniramine and hydroxyzine were the most potent, with no difference between them (p > 0.1). As for halo, cetirizine, epinastine, hydroxyzine and fexofenadine were the most potent, with no difference between them (p > 0.1). The most common adverse effect was drowsiness, which was more prevalent among first-generation drugs (p < 0.01). Generic loratadine, fexofenadine and cetirizine halos were higher than their controls (p <0.03)..Study limitationsA single-center study evaluating only aspects related to histamine.ConclusionsBrazilian commercial antihistamines presented different profiles of inhibition of wheal and flares in the histamine test, as well as adverse effects. Generic loratadine, fexofenadine and cetirizine presented larger flares than brand drugs.