PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R G Ferreira

Publications and source records attributed to R G Ferreira.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Diffuse panbronchiolitis in Latin America.

Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) is a unusual form of bronchiolar disease that has been reported almost exclusively in Asians. We describe DPB in a non-Asian Brazilian citizen who has never traveled outside the country. The clinical, radiographic, and histologic features of this case resemble those described in Japanese patients. The present case shows that DPB, although rare in Western countries, is not a disease restricted to Asia. It always should be considered in the differential diagnosis of nodular radiographic opacities associated with airflow limitation, especially in non-smokers with a history of chronic sinusitis.

Adult↗

[The phylogenesis of language. New approaches of old questions].

The philogenesis and the anthropogenesis of language are the primary elements for the anatomic and physiologic understanding about the mechanisms of human communication, as well as their clinical applicability. During the process of primates'evolution, significant changes in the animal's body, specially on the heads, has occurred since the arboricole life that influences the genesis of language. The adaptation of a semi-vertical body posture, the exploratory use of the hands and the improvement of vision at the expenses of olfaction have caused the enlargement of the cranium and the encephalon. Furthermore, as the primates went back to the floor, and from the development of the biped march in the Australopithecus, a progressive "fan-like" increase of the frontal, parietal and temporal regions took place allowing the simultaneous development of the neuroanatomical centers of language, facial expression and manual motor activity.

Animals↗

Acute fatal Trypanosoma cruzi meningoencephalitis in a human immunodeficiency virus-positive hemophiliac patient.

A 37-year-old hemophiliac patient with known, asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus infection and chronic Chagas' disease was admitted to the hospital complaining of fever and headache. A computed tomographic scan revealed multiple ring-enhancing lesions in both cerebral hemispheres. No antibodies to Trypanosoma cruzi were found in the cerebrospinal fluid. Treatment for toxoplasmosis of the central nervous system, which was considered the most likely diagnosis, was instituted, but the patient died after progressive neurologic deterioration. An autopsy revealed severe meningoencephalitis caused by T. cruzi.

Acute Disease↗

Anti-HCV related to HCV PCR and risk factors analysis in a blood donor population of central Brazil.

Data concerning HCV infection in Central Brazil are rare. Upon testing 2,350 voluntary blood donors from this region, we found anti-HCV prevalence rates of 2.2% by a second generation ELISA and 1.4% after confirmation by a line immunoassay. Antibodies against core, NS4, and NS5 antigens of HCV were detected in 81.8%, 72.7%, and 57.5%, respectively, of the positive samples in the line immunoassay. HCV viremia was present in 76.6% of the anti-HCV-positive blood donors. A relation was observed between PCR positivity and serum reactivity in recognizing different HCV antigens in the line immunoassay. The majority of the positive donors had history of previous parenteral exposure. While the combination of ALT > 50 IU/l and anti-HBc positivity do not appear to be good surrogate markers for HCV infection, the use of both ALT anti-HCV tests is indicated in the screening of Brazilian blood donors.

Adolescent↗

[Polyalveolosis: pathogenesis of congenital lobar emphysema?].

BACKGROUND: Congenital lobar emphysema is an unusual condition and its pathogenesis remains unknown. The variety of findings in pathology studies of the resected specimens led to increasing academic interest. About 50 per cent of the cases have no definitive diagnosis in pathology. The most recent theory proposes an increased number of alveoli within each acinus (polyalveolar lobe). PURPOSE: The aim of this paper is to report the morphometric measures of surgical specimens of 12 patients with congenital lobar emphysema, using the Emery and Mithal technique (radial alveolar count). METHODS: We made a case-control study, classifying the cases by age. Mann-Whitney's U test and linear regression techniques were used in data analysis: Mann-Whitney's U in comparing the cases and respective controls and linear regression to evaluate the influence of age in the measures found. RESULTS: The results revealed a significantly higher radial alveolar count than expected for the age group under 3 years; no difference was observed in the age group between 3 and 7 years and in children older than 7, the radial alveolar count was lower than expected. The normal development of the lung consists in an increasing number of alveoli increase from birth until adulthood, but this number remains constant, independent of age in congenital lobar emphysema. CONCLUSIONS: Such findings allow us to conclude that polyalveolar lobe can and must be diagnosed by a simple and practical method, such as the radial alveolar count, which decreases the incidence of the unknown etiology. The findings of an increased number of alveoli on patients younger than 3 is related to congenital lobar emphysema, since the number of alveoli does not increase in congenital lobar emphysema, just the opposite to what one would expect in the normal development of the lung.

Adolescent↗