Comparative assessment of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot for the diagnosis of toxocariasis in patients with skin disorders.

Background The link between various chronic skin disorders and toxocariasis was previously demonstrated by case reports and several case-control studies. However, these previous studies were based only on the Toxocara canis excretory-secretory-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (TES-ELISA) serological technique, which is not specific due to cross-reactivity with parasites of the genera Anisakis or Ascaris. Immunoblot analysis is highly specific and can detect very low levels of Toxocara antibodies.

Cutaneous manifestations of human toxocariasis.

Human toxocariasis is a parasitic disease characterized by the presence of larvae of the genus Toxocara in human tissues. T canis and T cati, the adult roundworms of which are found in dog and cat intestines, respectively, are the most common causative agents of the disease. Toxocaral larvae usually cause two severe syndromes: visceral larva migrans and ocular larva migrans, depending on the location of the larvae.

Application of microsatellite genotyping to the study of a restricted Leishmania infantum focus: different genotype compositions in isolates from dogs and sand flies.

Leishmania infantum polymorphism was studied by DNA microsatellite analysis of 110 L. infantum stocks (94 from dogs, 15 from sand flies, and 1 from a human visceral case) from a rural leishmaniasis-endemic area (Priorat) in northeastern Spain. Three microsatellites of the eight present in three fragments (internal transcribed spacer, Lm4, and Lm2) of L.

[Cutaneous drug-reactions to nevirapine: study of risk factors in 101 HIV-infected patients].

Background: Several studies have shown a high prevalence of rash induced by nevirapine. However, there is little knowledge about the risk factors associated with nevirapine-induced rash. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors associated with the occurrence of rash during the treatment with nevirapine of HIV-infected patients.