Pentraxin 3 sputum levels differ in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease vs asthma.

Background: Immune response has been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is a multifunctional pattern recognition protein and an important component of the innate immune system that can be assessed in blood and induced sputum.

Objective: To determine whether PTX3 measured in induced sputum could discriminate patients with COPD from patients with asthma.

The use of Levosimendan for myocardiopathy due to acute Chagas' disease.

Acute Chagas' disease corresponds to the initial period of a Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Levosimendan is a positive inotropic drug with vasodilatory properties that is indicated for acute heart failure. We describe two cases of myocarditis due to acute Chagas' disease, resulting from oral intake of sugar cane juice infected with T.