Publications by authors named "Francisco Alves Bezerra Neto"

Article Synopsis
  • Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a complex disease that causes skin fibrosis and is often complicated by interstitial lung disease (ILD), typically treated with cyclophosphamide, though its efficacy is debated.
  • This paper reviews scientific evidence on the potential benefits of rituximab (RTX) for SSc, analyzing clinical trials published up to May 2020 through systematic searches across multiple databases.
  • The review included ten clinical trials, revealing that RTX had significant positive effects on lung function (forced vital capacity) and skin condition (modified Rodnan skin score), suggesting it may be a promising treatment option for SSc-related ILD and skin fibrosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a clinically complex and challenging disease, the most frequent complication of which is interstitial lung disease, which leads to a worse prognosis. In this situation, cyclophosphamide is considered the criterion standard for treatment, despite the controversies regarding its efficacy and toxicity. However, studies using rituximab (RTX) have shown that this drug may be a promising therapeutic option.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chikungunya fever has become a relevant public health problem in countries where epidemics occur. Until 2013, only imported cases occurred in the Americas, but in October of that year, the first cases were reported in Saint Marin island in the Caribbean. The first autochthonous cases were confirmed in Brazil in September 2014; until epidemiological week 37 of 2016, 236,287 probable cases of infection with Chikungunya virus had been registered, 116,523 of which had serological confirmation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chikungunya fever has become an important public health problem in countries where epidemics occur because half of the cases progress to chronic, persistent and debilitating arthritis. Literature data on specific therapies at the various phases of arthropathy caused by chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection are limited, lacking quality randomized trials assessing the efficacies of different therapies. There are a few studies on the treatment of musculoskeletal manifestations of chikungunya fever, but these studies have important methodological limitations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF