Biomedical subjects

Ana Maria Uthida-Tanaka

Publications and source records attributed to Ana Maria Uthida-Tanaka.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Subcutaneous and cerebral cysticercosis.

Cysticercosis is a human infestation, which is considered the most common cause of seizures worldwide. The subcutaneous lesions can help in the diagnosis of neurocysticercosis. We describe a case of a 45-year-old patient with multiple cutaneous nodules first seen 2 years ago that were increasing in number, and normal neurologic and fundoscopic examination. Neurologic symptoms started 3 months before hospital admission as a mild headache and muscular weakness. The imaging examinations showed a massive central nervous system involvement. Physicians must be aware of the importance of subcutaneous nodule examination for the diagnosis of neurocysticercosis.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

What do we (not) know about the human bartonelloses?

The human bartonelloses are a group of diseases with a rapidly increasing clinical spectrum. Well known manifestations such as Carrion's disease, trench fever, cat-scratch disease, and bacillary angiomatosis are examples of Bartonella sp. infection. Along with these diseases, recurrent bacteremia, endocarditis, septicemia, erythema nodosum, erythema multiforme, trombocytopenic purpura and other syndromes have been reported having been caused by bacteria of this genus. The infectious process and the pathogenesis of these microorganisms are poorly understood. The bartonelloses may have a benign and self-limited evolution in a host, or a potentially fatal one. These bacteria can provoke a granulomatous or an angioproliferative histopathologic response. As these diseases are not yet well defined, we have reviewed the four main human bartonelloses and have examined unclear points about these emergent diseases.

Angiomatosis, Bacillary↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Ultrastructural changes in a standard strain of Bartonella henselae after passages through BALB/cAn mice.

Human bartonelloses are a group of illnesses of poorly understood pathogenesis. Bartonella henselae is one of the most studied bacterium of its genus. The objective of this study was to observe whether passages of these bacteria, in vivo, would determine ultrastructural changes in them. For this purpose, isogenic mice were inoculated with a standard strain of B. henselae (I). These were initially retrieved from genetically immunodeficient animals (II) and then inoculated in immunocompetent ones. The bacterial colonies obtained (III) were compared, by transmission electron microscopy, with colonies I and II. Loss of fimbriae and an abundant bleb formation were the most common morphological changes found in colony III. Also, on day 6 postinfection, the main histological abnormalities were the endothelial proliferation presented in immunodeficient animals and the incipient granulomata reaction found in one of the immunocompetent inoculated mice, which died spontaneously. These features agree with the Bartonella human disease clinical and histological observations. This study demonstrates that B. henselae in vivo passages induce significant morphological changes in the bacteria and that these abnormalities could explain their seemingly greater virulence. Most of these observations have not been previously described. Thus, further studies on the Bartonella species pathogenesis should consider these data.

Angiomatosis, Bacillary↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Association between psoriasis vulgaris and MHC-DRB, -DQB genes as a contribution to disease diagnosis.

We analyzed 100 control individuals and 60 patients with psoriasis vulgaris from the population of Campinas, Brazil. Typification of class II HLA alleles (HLA-DRB1-5 and -DQB1) was carried out through the DNA/PCR/SSP at medium and high resolution. DNA was extracted through a salting-out procedure: 13 DRB1 alleles, 3 DRB3 alleles, 1 DRB4 allele, 2 DRB5 alleles, and 5 DQB1 alleles were identified at a medium resolution using the PCR/SSP, and 45 DRB1 alleles were identified at a high resolution in analyzed patients. Results showed associations with psoriasis vulgaris: positive associations HLA-DRB3*02 (p < 0.05, chi(2) = 5.10, RR = 2.14); HLA-DRB1*0102 alleles (p < 0.05, RR = 5.44). Negative associations were found for HLA-DRB4*01 (chi(2) = 3.23, RR = 0.55) and HLA-DRB1*1302 alleles (p < 0.05, RR = 0.23). The haplotypes revealed positive association for HLA-DRB1*0102/DQB1*05 (p < 0.05, RR = 5.44) and HLA-DRB1*0701/DQB1*03 alleles (p < 0.02, RR = 9.00). These findings suggest a possible association of the DRB1 allele with the group of patients showing an early onset of the illness, as well as an association with haplotypes HLA-DRB1*0102/DQB1*05 and HLA-DRB1*0701/DQB1*03.

Brazil↗