Oxidative stress evaluation in patients with chronic Chagas disease.

Introduction: Chagas disease (CD), caused by protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), is a neglected disease that affects millions of people worldwide. The parasite clearance by the immune cells is accomplished by the activation of inflammation and production of reactive oxygen species, including nitric oxide (NO) that can lead to tissue injury and DNA damage.

Commercially acquired açaí pulps contamination by Trypanosoma cruzi.

The etiological agent of Chagas disease is the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. According to the World Health Organization, about seven to eight million people are infected with T. cruzi worldwide.

Isolation, social stress, low socioeconomic status and its relationship to immune response in Covid-19 pandemic context.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was first reported December 2019, in Wuhan, China, and has since spread worldwide. Social distancing or isolation measures were taken to mitigate the pandemic. Furthermore, stress and low socioeconomic status in humans confer increased vulnerability to morbidity and mortality, what can be biologically observed.

Association of vitamin D3, VDR gene polymorphisms, and LL-37 with a clinical form of Chagas Disease.

Introduction: Chagas disease (CD) is an important public health problem in Brazil and worldwide. Aging and obesity are important matters in patients with CD, as is hypovitaminosis D3, which can decrease the quality of life of these patients. Immunomodulation mediated by vitamin D3, especially the production of antimicrobial peptides such as cathelicidin LL-37, might be related to the severity and symptoms of CD.

ACAT-1 gene rs1044925 SNP and its relation with different clinical forms of chronic Chagas disease.

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), although discovered more than a century ago, is still a not very well-elucidated aspect. Individuals in the chronic phase of the disease may present asymptomatic clinical form or symptomatologies related to the cardiac, digestive systems, or both (mixed clinical form).

Benznidazole affects expression of Th1, Th17 and Treg cytokines during acute experimental infection.

Background: The present study evaluated the effect of treatment with benznidazole on mRNA expression of IFN-γ, IL-17, IL-10, TGF-β and FoxP3 in spleen and heart tissue of BALB/c mice in the acute phase of an experimental infection with , strains JLP or Y.

Methods: The mRNA expression of cytokines and parasite load were assessed by -PCR. Dependent groups were compared using Student's paired t-test and independent groups were compared using Student's unpaired t-test.

An Unexpectedly High Rate of Thrombophilia Disorders in Patients with Superficial Vein Thrombosis of the Lower Extremities.

Background: Superficial vein thrombosis (SVT) is a common venous condition. Recent studies have shown that SVT is associated with high frequency of thromboembolic complications: from 22-37% for deep venous thrombosis and up to 33% for pulmonary embolism. Our goal was to assess the prevalence of major hereditary and acquired thrombophilic factors in patients with SVT.

Meningeal tumor: A rare extrahepatic association in patients with polycystic liver disease enrolled for liver transplantation.

In the present study, we described a rare association of polycystic liver disease (PCLD) with intracranial meningiomas in patients included on a liver transplant list, focusing on the diagnosis, treatment and possible association with any genetic alterations. Two female patients, aged 39 and 49 years were included on a liver transplant list due to extensive PCLD, with symptoms related to an abdominal compartmental syndrome. Screening for extrahepatic manifestation revealed a right frontal meningioma in the first patient, and a parietal posterior calcified meningioma in the second patient, measuring 1 and 7×3×2 cm in diameter, respectively.

Polymorphisms in the AR and PSA genes as markers of susceptibility and aggressiveness in prostate cancer.

The study of genes involved in androgen pathway can contribute to a better knowledge of prostate cancer. Our aim was to examine if polymorphisms in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and androgen receptor (AR) genes were involved in prostate cancer risk and aggressiveness. Genotypes were determined by PCR-RFLP (PSA) or using a 377 ABI DNA Sequencer (AR).

PSA and androgen-related gene (AR, CYP17, and CYP19) polymorphisms and the risk of adenocarcinoma at prostate biopsy.

The aim of the present study was to examine the impact of polymorphisms in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and androgen-related genes (AR, CYP17, and CYP19) on prostate cancer (PCa) risk in selected high-risk patients who underwent prostate biopsy. Blood samples and prostate tissues were obtained for DNA analysis. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the 50-untranslated regions (UTRs) of the PSA (substitution A>G at position-158) and CYP17 (substitution T>C at 50-UTR) genes were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism assays.

Shorter CAG repeat length in the AR gene is associated with poor outcome in head and neck cancer.

Objective: Alterations in the size of the [CAG](n) repeats of the AR gene have been described in several types tumors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if there is an association between the AR [CAG](n) repeat alleles and the relative risk for head and neck cancer and to analyse microsatellite instability (MSI) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in these tumors.

Design: Matched samples of blood and head and neck tumors were evaluated using two methodologies, silver-stained gels to perform the analyses of MSI and LOH, and automated analysis to confirm these results and for genotyping of the AR [CAG](n) repeat length.

Genotyping of AR and PSA polymorphisms in a patient with Klinefelter syndrome, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and adenocarcinoma of the prostate.

It has been hypothesized that the AR (androgen receptor) gene binds the two PSA (prostate-specific antigen) alleles with differing affinities and may differentially influence prostate cancer risk. In this article, we report a case of adenocarcinoma of the prostate in a 56-year-old man with Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as the AR and PSA genotype. AR and PSA gene polymorphisms were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-based methods using DNA from peripheral white blood cells and the prostate cancer.

Distinct regions of loss of heterozygosity on 22q in different sites of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.

Background: Frequent loss of heterozygosity (LOH) has been reported in many types of cancer, including head and neck carcinomas. Somatic deletions involving specific chromosomal regions are strongly associated with inactivation of the allele of a tumor suppressor gene located within the deleted region. In most studies concerning LOH in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) the different anatomical sites are not distinguished.