Course of serological tests in treated subjects with chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data.

Objective: To determine the course of serological tests in subjects with chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection treated with anti-trypanosomal drugs.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted using individual participant data. Survival analysis and the Cox proportional hazards regression model with random effects to adjust for covariates were applied.

Use of low level laser therapy to control neuropathic pain: A systematic review.

Neuropathic pain can be defined as pain initiated or caused by a primary lesion or dysfunction in the central or peripheral nervous system. The low level laser therapy (LLLT) has gained great prominence as a treatment in this type of pain; however, the application parameters are still controversial in the literature. This study aimed to review the literature on the use of LLLT in neuropathic pain with the goal of establishing a "therapeutic window" for the effective use of this treatment.

Immunoexpression of EGFR and EMMPRIN in a series of cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN) have been identified as oncologically important targets. This study aimed to evaluate the immunoexpression of EGFR and EMMPRIN in a series of cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Methods: Forty-five cases of HNSCC were selected for this study and evaluated with anti-EGFR and anti-EMMPRIN antibodies.

Acute primary actinomycosis involving the hard palate of a diabetic patient.

Actinomycosis is a relatively rare infection caused by saprophytic bacteria of the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract that can become pathogenic. The chronic hyperglycemia of diabetes mellitus induces events that promote structural changes in various tissues and are associated with problems in wound healing. This infection remains largely unknown to most clinicians because of its different presentations, and palatal involvement is extremely rare.

Intraoral molluscum contagiosum in a young immunocompetent patient.

Molluscum contagiosum (MC) is a contagious disease caused by a virus of the poxvirus family. In children, the disease commonly manifests as a variable number of discrete umbilicated papules on the face and trunk. In healthy and immunosuppressed adults, the disease appears on or near the genital organs and is often sexually transmitted.

Selection of family 1 PspA molecules capable of inducing broad-ranging cross-reactivity by complement deposition and opsonophagocytosis by murine peritoneal cells.

PspA is one of the most well studied pneumococcal proteins and a promising candidate for a future protein-based anti-pneumococcal vaccine. Nevertheless, its structural and serological variability suggests the inclusion of more than one PspA molecule in order to broaden protection. Since different PspAs exhibit variable levels of cross-reactivity, the selection of the protein combination with the highest coverage potential is an essential step for PspA-based vaccine development.

Estimating the cost-effectiveness of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in Brazil.

Objective: To compare the costs and benefits of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination compared with no vaccination from the perspectives of the health care system and society.

Methods: Using data from established sources, we estimated the incidence and mortality due to invasive pneumococcal disease, pneumonia, and acute otitis media (AOM) for a hypothetical birth cohort of children from birth to 5 years.

Results: A universal pneumococcal conjugate vaccination program was estimated capable of annually avoiding 1 047 cases of invasive disease, 58 226 cases of pneumonia, and 209 862 cases of AOM.

Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccination: long-term protection.

Objective: To identify evidence of the impact of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine on the epidemiology of invasive Hib disease.

Sources Of Data: This review was based on a search of MEDLINE, LILACS, technical reports, national and international guidelines (publications from 1991 to 2005). The keywords Haemophilus influenzae type b, immunization, impact, and effectiveness, alone or in combination, were used to retrieve the articles.

Invasive pneumococcal infection in a healthy infant caused by two different serotypes.

We present a case of invasive pneumococcal infection in a healthy 10-month-old infant from whom Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 23F was isolated from the blood and serotype 23B was isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid. Both serotypes were penicillin nonsusceptible. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis demonstrated that the two serotypes had distinct DNA patterns, indicating that infection did not occur as a result of capsular transformation but as a result of a mixed infection with two distinct pneumococcal serotypes.

Effectiveness of Haemophilus influenzae b conjugate vaccine on childhood pneumonia: a case-control study in Brazil.

Background: The conjugate Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine has been highly efficacious in reducing type b H. influenzae meningitis. However, information is limited about its impact on childhood pneumonia after vaccine introduction into the routine programme.

Evaluation of methodology for serotyping invasive and nasopharyngeal isolates of Haemophilus influenzae in the ongoing surveillance in Brazil.

To assess the magnitude of discrepant results obtained by routine Haemophilus influenzae serotyping, 258 isolates, collected by the epidemiological surveillance system in Brazil from individuals with invasive diseases or carriage, were evaluated by two slide agglutination (SlAg) methods: SlAg method 1, by which strains were initially screened with a serotype b-specific antiserum, and SlAg method 2, by which strains were tested against all serotype-specific antisera in parallel. Investigators comparing results of the two SlAg methods with those obtained by capsule type-specific PCR were blinded to the method used. The serotype prevalence rates found by the three methods were significantly different, involving discrepancies mainly between serotype b and noncapsulated (NC) isolates.

Progress towards meningitis prevention in the conjugate vaccines era.

Acute bacterial meningitis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among children less than five years old, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis being the most important agents of bacterial meningitis in developing countries. The development of the conjugate vaccines in the beginning of the 90's, especially type b H. influenzae (Hib), and more recently the heptavalent pneumococcal and the serogroup C meningococcal vaccines, have contributed directly to changes in the epidemiological profile of these invasive diseases (direct effect) and of their carriage status (indirect effect).

Genetic relationship between Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from nasopharyngeal and cerebrospinal fluid of two infants with Pneumococcal Meningitis.

The molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from carriage and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concurrently recovered from the same individual has not yet been reported. By using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, we demonstrated the genetic linkage among strains from CSF and nasopharynges of two children with pneumococcal meningitis.