Biochem Biophys Res Commun
April 2024
Angiogenesis is a process that is controlled by a delicate combination of proangiogenic and antiangiogenic molecules and can be disrupted in various illnesses, including cancer. Non-cancerous diseases can also have an abnormal or insufficient vascular growth, inflammation and hypoxia, which exacerbate angiogenesis. These conditions include atherosclerosis, psoriasis, endometriosis, asthma, obesity and AIDS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSnake venoms have evolved in several families of Caenophidae, and their toxins have been assumed to be biochemical weapons with a role as a trophic adaptation. However, it remains unclear how venom contributes to the success of venomous species for adaptation to different environments. Here we compared the venoms from , , , , and collected in the Amazon Rainforest, aiming to understand the ecological and toxinological consequences of venom composition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToxins (Basel)
August 2023
snakebite envenomation (SBE) is consider an important health problem in Brazil, where is mainly responsible in the Brazilian Amazon. Local effects represent a relevant clinical issue, in which inflammatory signs and symptoms in the bite site represent a potential risk for short and long-term disabilities. Among local complications, secondary infections (SIs) are a common clinical finding during SBE and are described by the appearance of signs such as abscess, cellulitis or necrotizing fasciitis in the affected site.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Biol Evol
July 2023
Snake venoms harbor a wide and diverse array of enzymatic and nonenzymatic toxic components, allowing them to exert myriad effects on their prey. However, they appear to trend toward a few optimal compositional scaffolds, dominated by four major toxin classes: SVMPs, SVSPs, 3FTxs, and PLA2s. Nevertheless, the latter appears to be restricted to vipers and elapids, as it has never been reported as a major venom component in rear-fanged species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Brazilian Amazon has high rates of snakebite envenomings (SBEs), with ∼90% caused by Bothrops atrox. Envenomings by this species can trigger local and systemic effects, such as acute kidney injury (AKI). Our aim was to identify predictors of AKI in Bothrops SBEs in patients from Manaus, Western Brazilian Amazon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the Brazilian Amazon, snakebites are frequent, and patients develop tissue damage with blisters sometimes observed in the proximity of the wound. Antivenoms do not seem to impact blister formation, raising questions regarding the mechanisms underlying blister formation. Here, we launched a clinical and laboratory-based study including five patients who followed and were treated by the standard clinical protocols.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBleeding is a common hemostatic disorder that occurs in envenomations. We evaluated the changes in coagulation, fibrinolysis components, and platelets in envenomations with bleeding. This is an observational study with snakebite patients ( = 100) treated in Manaus, Brazilian Amazon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective of this case series was to describe 2 patients presenting with subarachnoid hemorrhage with hydrocephalus and hemoventricle after a snakebite caused by presumed Bothrops ssp. Both cases occurred in the municipality of Guajará (Amazonas state), Western Brazilian Amazon. Both cases featured delay in administration of serum therapy, which may have contributed to the emergence of complications such as stroke.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the Brazilian Amazon, snakebites are a significant problem, especially for populations in rural areas, particularly in forests, where victims are a considerable distance from hospital care. Several factors are associated with the severity of the accident, such as the size and age of the snake. This study aims to compare the clinical, epidemiological and laboratory aspects of envenomation to the size of Bothrops atrox snakes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSince antigens are negatively charged, they combine well with positively charged adjuvants. Here, ovalbumin (OVA) (0.1 mg·mL) and poly (diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSnake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) play an important role in local tissue damage of snakebite patients, mostly by hydrolysis of basement membrane (BM) components. We evaluated the proinflammatory activity of SVMPs Atroxlysin-Ia (ATXL) and Batroxrhagin (BATXH) from venom and their hydrolysis products of Matrigel. BALB/c mice were injected with SVMPs (2 μg), for assessment of paw edema and peritoneal leukocyte accumulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Alto Juruá region, located in the extreme western part of the Brazilian Amazonia, possesses an indigenous and riverine population which is involved in agricultural and forest extraction activities, and is a region that stands out for its high incidence of snakebites.
Objectives: To assess the attitudes of the victims, the characteristics of the snakes and the circumstances of the snakebites which occurred in a region where human populations are highly exposed to snakes.
Methods: The study was conducted at the Regional Hospital of Juruá in the Municipality of Cruzeiro do Sul (Acre), which regularly attends victims of snakebites in the Alto Juruá region.
snakebites are a major public health problem in the Amazon region and also cause hemostatic disorders. In this study, we assessed the recovery from hemostatic disorders in snakebite patients after being given antivenom therapy. This is a prospective study of snakebite patients ( = 100) treated at the , Manaus, Brazilian Amazon, between January 2016 and December 2017.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman accidents with spiders of the genus Loxosceles are an important health problem affecting thousands of people worldwide. Patients evolve to severe local injuries and, in many cases, to systemic disturbances as acute renal failure, in which cases antivenoms are considered to be the most effective treatment. However, for antivenom production, the extraction of the venom used in the immunization process is laborious and the yield is very low.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcute Kidney Injury (AKI) is the main systemic complication and cause of death in viperid envenomation. Although there are hypotheses for the development of AKI, the mechanisms involved are still not established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical-laboratorial-epidemiological factors associated with AKI in victims of Bothrops sp envenomation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHemorrhage is the most prominent effect of snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) in human envenomation. The capillary injury is a multifactorial effect caused by hydrolysis of the components of the basement membrane (BM). The PI and PIII classes of SVMPs are abundant in viperid venoms and hydrolyze BM components.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Negl Trop Dis
July 2017
Background: Secondary bacterial infections from snakebites contribute to the high complication rates that can lead to permanent function loss and disabilities. Although common in endemic areas, routine empirical prophylactic use of antibiotics aiming to prevent secondary infection lacks a clearly defined policy. The aim of this work was to estimate the efficacy of amoxicillin clavulanate for reducing the secondary infection incidence in patients bitten by Bothrops snakes, and, secondarily, identify risk factors for secondary infections from snakebites in the Western Brazilian Amazon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTrans R Soc Trop Med Hyg
January 2004
The efficacies of specific Bothrops atrox-Lachesis and standard Bothrops-Lachesis antivenoms were compared in the north eastern Amazon region of Brazil. The main aim was to investigate whether a specific antivenom raised against the venom of B. atrox, the most important Amazon snake species from a medical point of view, was necessary for the treatment of patients in this region.
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