Prevalence and trends in transfusion-transmissible infections among blood donors in Brazil from 2010 to 2016.

Background: Assessing trends in the rate of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) in blood donors is critical to the monitoring of the blood supply safety and the donor screening effectiveness. The objective of this study was to conduct a trend analysis of TTIs and associated demographic factors of donors at a public blood bank in the central Brazil.

Methods: A retrospective analysis (2010-2016) of blood donation data was performed to determine the prevalence of markers for TTIs.

The influence of MTHFR C677T polymorphism in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Some factors have been associated with the etiology of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), among them the Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of MTHFR C677T polymorphism in CLL. A case-control study was conducted with 219 individuals from Brazilian central population.

Comparison of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios in normoglycemic and hyperglycemic subjects.

Objective: To compare the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios as possible parameters of systemic inflammation in hyperglycemic and normoglycemic subjects.

Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study of data collected from patients tested for fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and blood count on the same day, between July and December 2016. Patients were divided into hyperglycemic and normoglycemic, and matched by age and sex.

Red blood cell alloimmunization among hospitalized patients: transfusion reactions and low alloantibody identification rate.

Background: Unexpected red blood cell alloantibodies can cause hemolytic transfusion reactions. In this study, the prevalence of alloimmunization, the rate of identification of alloantibodies and the rate of blood transfusion reactions among transfused patients were identified in a clinical emergency hospital in Brazil.

Methods: Transfusions and clinical records of patients who had a positive indirect antiglobulin test between January and December 2013 were analyzed.

Tracing the origin and northward dissemination dynamics of HIV-1 subtype C in Brazil.

Previous studies indicate that the HIV-1 subtype C epidemic in southern Brazil was initiated by the introduction of a single founder strain probably originating from east Africa. However, the exact country of origin of such a founder strain as well as the origin of the subtype C viruses detected outside the Brazilian southern region remains unknown. HIV-1 subtype C pol sequences isolated in the southern, southeastern and central-western Brazilian regions (n = 209) were compared with a large number (n ~ 2,000) of subtype C pol sequences of African origin.