Glutathione S-transferase, catalase, and mitochondrial superoxide dismutase gene polymorphisms modulate redox potential in systemic lupus erythematosus patients from Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.

Objective: To investigate the frequency of glutathione S-transferase (GST), catalase, and SOD2 genetic polymorphisms and their correlation with SLE.

Methods: A total of 290 females (patients = 151; controls= 139) were recruited. Multiplex PCR was performed for genotyping GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes, whereas real-time qPCR was used for determination of SNPs: CAT C262T, SOD2 C47T, GSTP1 A313G and GSTP1 IVS6 -C16T.

Epidemiological, clinical and immune factors that influence the persistence of antiphospholipid antibodies in leprosy.

Introduction: Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are described in individuals with leprosy without the clinical features of antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS), a condition involving thromboembolic phenomena. We have described the persistence of these antibodies for over 5 years in patients with leprosy after specific treatment.

Objectives: To determine whether epidemiological, clinical and immunological factors played a role in the long-term persistence of aPL antibodies in leprosy patients after multidrug therapy (MDT) had finished.

Nomina anatomica. Anatomic terminology and the old French terminology.

A surprising finding in our seminars in Latin America and Spain was that approximately half of the participants continued to use the old French anatomical nomenclature. The substance of this paper is a table in which we compare the anatomical names for the items reviewed in our seminar, in a Spanish version of the old French nomenclature and in the Spanish, Portuguese, and English versions of the currently employed anatomical terms.

Decreased RNA expression of interleukin 17A in skin of leprosy.

Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) is a proinflamatory cytokine that plays an important role in fighting pathogens at mucosal interfaces, by summoning neutrophils and upregulating cytoplasmatic antimicrobial peptides. So far, the presence of IL-17A in leprosy has not been demonstrated. The expression of IL-17A and related cytokines (IL-6 and IL-23p19) was addressed through RNA extraction and cDNA quantitative amplification in macerated biopsies of active lesions of 48 leprosy patients and 20 fragments of normal skin of individuals.

[Acute pancreatitis and spontaneous rupture of pancreatic pseudocyst in systemic lupus erythematosus].

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease, with multisystemic involvement. Gastrointestinal symptoms are common, like nausea, vomiting and dyspepsia. Acute pancreatitis is an unusual manifestation of SLE, being an important differential diagnosis in evaluation of abdominal pain.

Sera of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus react with plasmodial antigens and can inhibit the in vitro growth of Plasmodium falciparum.

The acquisition of protective immunity in malaria is a slow process during which autoantibodies are produced. The present work aimed at studying a possible interference of autoimmune responses on malaria immune protection. This was done by investigating the presence of autoantibodies in the sera of malarious patients, by searching for reactivity of autoantibodies from autoimmune patients against plasmodial antigens, and by studying the effect of such antibodies on the in vitro growth of Plasmodium falciparum.

Devastating skeletal effects of delayed diagnosis of complicated primary hyperparathyroidism because of ectopic adenoma.

Primary hyperparathyroidism is a disease caused by exaggerated secretion of the parathyroid gland hormone, produced by an adenoma in 80% of cases. Ectopic adenomas occur in a small proportion of cases. Herein, the authors report a 72-year-old woman with a delayed diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism, produced by an intrathoracic adenoma, with a longstanding course, presenting with severe osteoporosis, multiple fractures, bone deformities, and neurologic impairments.