LUCIA MARIA ALMEIDA BRAZ
Projetos de Pesquisa
Unidades Organizacionais
Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Faculdade de Medicina
LIM/38 - Laboratório de Epidemiologia e Imunobiologia, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina
LIM/38 - Laboratório de Epidemiologia e Imunobiologia, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina
5 resultados
Resultados de Busca
Agora exibindo 1 - 5 de 5
- EVALUATION OF THE "SYMBIOSYS" IMMUNOASSAY FOR THE SEROLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS OF CHAGAS DISEASE(2012) SOUZA, Regina Maia de; AMATO NETO, Vicente; BEZERRA, Rita Cristina; GAKYIA, Erika; BRAZ, Lucia Maria Almeida
- USEFULNESS OF kDNA PCR IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS REACTIVATION IN CO-INFECTED PATIENTS(2013) NICODEMO, Antonio Carlos; AMATO, Valdir Sabbaga; TUON, Felipe Francisco; SOUZA, Regina Maia de; OKAY, Thelma Suely; ALMEIDA, Lucia MariaIt is important to develop new methods for diagnosing relapses in the co-infection of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and HIV to enable earlier detection using less invasive methods. We report a case of a co-infected patient who had relapses after VL treatment, where the qualitative kDNA PCR showed a good performance. The kDNA PCR seems to be a useful tool for diagnosing VL and may be a good marker for predicting VL relapses after treatment of co-infected patients with clinical symptoms of the disease.
- Tegumentary leishmaniasis diagnosis: what happened with MST (Montenegro Skin Test) in Brazil?(2019) BRAZ, Lucia Maria Almeida
- Genetic variability of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum causing human visceral leishmaniasis in the Southeastern Brazil(2023) LIMA, Vinicius Alves; SILVA, Renata Elen Costa; CAMARGO, Luiz Henrique Moraes Caetano; HIRAMOTO, Roberto Mitsuyoshi; LEAL, Elcio de Souza; BRAZ, Lucia Maria Almeida; LINDOSO, Jose Angelo LaulettaLeishmania infantum is a protozoan that causes visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Americas and some regions of Europe. The disease is mainly characterized by hepatosplenomegaly and fever, and can be fatal. Factors related to the host and parasite can contribute to the transmission of Leishmania and the clinical outcome. The intraspecific genetic variability of L. infantum strains may be one of these factors. In this study, we evaluated the genetic variability of L. infantum obtained from bone marrow smear slides from patients in the Sao Paulo State, Brazil. For this, the minicircle of the kDNA hypervariable region was used as target by Sanger sequencing. By analyzing the similarity of the nucleotides and the maximum likelihood tree (Fasttree), we observed a high similarity (98%) among samples. Moreover, we identified four different profiles of L. infantum. In conclusion, L. infantum strains from Sao Paulo State, Brazil, showed low diversity measured by minicircle of the kDNA hypervariable region.
- Reactivation of cutaneous and mucocutaneous tegumentary leishmaniasis in rheumatoid arthritis patients: an emerging problem?(2017) SOUZA, Regina Maia de; ANDRADE JUNIOR, Heitor Franco de; DUARTE, Maria Irma Seixas; BRAZ, Lucia Maria Almeida; SCHUBACH, Armando de Oliveira; SILVA, Fatima Conceicao; AMATO, Valdir SabbagaRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic condition that is frequent in patients living in tropical areas exposed to leishmaniasis. RA therapy involves immunosuppressant drugs such as methotrexate (MTX), monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and prednisone. We report an unusual presentation of cutaneous (CL) or mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (ML) in RA patients from an endemic area of leishmaniasis. A 51-year-old woman noted a cutaneous ulcer on her left ankle during MTX and prednisone RA therapy. Initially diagnosed as a venous stasis ulcer, the aspirate of the injury revealed the presence of Leishmania DNA. A 73-year-old woman presenting non-ulcerated, infiltrated and painful erythematous nodules inside her nostrils while receiving MTX, anti-TNF mAb, and prednisone for RA, had also the aspirate of injuries showing the presence of Leishmania DNA. Both patients healed after the therapy with liposomal amphotericin. The RA therapy has changed to low-dose prednisone, without further reactivation episodes. Both cases suggest that CL or ML can reactivate after administration of an immunosuppressant for RA treatment. Therefore, immunosuppressive treatments for RA should be carefully prescribed in patients from endemic areas or with a history of CL and ML.