Publications by authors named "Paulo H F do Carmo"

This study investigated the antimicrobial activity of surface pre-reacted glass ionomer eluate (S-PRG) against oral microcosm biofilms collected from the oral cavity of patients. Dental biofilm samples were collected from three volunteers to form microcosm biofilms . Initially, screening tests were carried out to determine the biofilm treatment conditions with S-PRG eluate.

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This study aimed to evaluate the antifungal effect of SC319 sorghum phenolic extract (SPE) on the Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Stenocarpella, Colletotrichum, and Macrophomina genera. SPE was extracted by 20% ethanol and used in four assays: (1) against Fusarium verticillioides in solid (PDA) and liquid (PD) potato dextrose media; (2) Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) assay with 16 fungi isolates; (3) Conidial Germination Rate (CGR) with 14 fungi isolates and (4) Growth Curve (GC) with 11 fungi isolates. There was no reduction in the mycelial growth (colony diameter and dry weight) and in the number of Fusarium verticillioides spores in assay 1 (PDA and PD).

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Article Synopsis
  • Cryptococcosis, a severe fungal infection mainly caused by Cryptococcus gattii and C. neoformans, is currently treated with limited antifungal medications, prompting researchers to explore drug repurposing for better treatment options.
  • In this study, duloxetine hydrochloride (DH), typically used as an antidepressant, demonstrated the ability to inhibit the growth of various strains of C. neoformans and C. gattii at low concentrations and showed fungicidal properties.
  • DH was particularly effective against biofilms, significantly reducing their biomass by 85% and metabolic activity by 99%, suggesting its potential as a novel antifungal therapy that deserves further investigation.
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Candida albicans causes a variety of clinical manifestations through multiple virulence factors that act simultaneously to overcome the immune system and invade the host tissues. Owing to the limited number of antifungal agents available, new candidiasis therapeutic strategies are required. Previous studies have demonstrated that the metabolites produced by Streptococcus mutans lead to a decrease in the number of Candida cells.

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Cryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated yeast that can cause cryptococcosis and cryptococcal meningitis, which conventional treatment involves antifungal drugs such as polyenes, flucytosine, azoles, and their combinations. However, the high cost, toxicity, and increase in fungi resistance to antifungal agents stimulate the search for therapeutic strategies such as drug repurposing and combination therapy. This study evaluated the activity of the antihypertensive verapamil (VEH) alone and combined with amphotericin B (AmB) against C.

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Vanillin is the main component of natural vanilla extract and is responsible for its flavoring properties. Besides its well-known applications as an additive in food and cosmetics, it has also been reported that vanillin can inhibit fungi of clinical interest, such as Candida spp., Cryptococcus spp.

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is the chief etiological agent of candidiasis, a mycosis prevalent in individuals with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). In recent years, the introduction of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease inhibitors (HIV-PI) has reduced the prevalence of candidiasis in these patients. Seeking new therapeutic strategies based on the perspective of drug repositioning, we evaluated the effects of two second-generation HIV-PIs, atazanavir (ATV) and darunavir (DRV), on virulence factors of and experimental candidiasis.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the effectiveness and safety of pioglitazone (PIO), an antidiabetic drug, in combination with standard antifungal treatments for cryptococcosis, aiming to improve patient outcomes since current treatments have high toxicity and limited availability in Brazil.
  • - Conducted as a phase 1/2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, patients in Belo Horizonte will be divided into three groups receiving either a placebo, PIO 15 mg/day, or PIO 45 mg/day during treatment to assess changes in mortality, fungal burden, and side effects over a follow-up period of 60 days.
  • - The research aims to establish PIO as a beneficial adjuvant therapy, potentially increasing survival rates
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Background: Trichophyton rubrum (Tr) is the main aetiological agent of human dermatophytosis, being isolated from the environment and keratinised tissues. In the environment, Tr can interact with other organisms, such as free-living amoebas (FLA), which can act as an alternative host system to study the interaction between microbes and phagocytic cells.

Objectives: To characterise the Acanthamoeba castellanii (ALX)-Tr interaction.

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Cryptococcus gattii (Cg) is one of the agents of cryptococcosis, a severe systemic mycosis with a higher prevalence in men than women, but the influence of the female sex hormone, 17-β-estradiol (E2), on cryptococcosis remains unclear. Our study shows that female mice presented delayed mortality, increased neutrophil recruitment in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and reduced fungal load after 24 hr of infection compared to male and ovariectomised female mice (OVX). E2 replacement restored OVX female survival.

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Background: The trypanosomatids, such as the protozoan Leishmania spp., have a demand by ergosterol, which is not present in the membrane from mammal cells. The suppression of the synthesis of ergosterol would be a new target of compounds with leishmanicidal activity, and bistriazole has shown trypanocidal activity by this mechanism.

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