Acute toxicity and regenerative dose finding of an extract of Miconia ferruginata DC. in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe disease with no cure caused by a genetic abnormality, promoting progressive muscle degeneration. Corticosteroids are used drugs in treatment associated with adverse effects. The extract of Miconia ferruginata (Melastomataceae) (MF) has demonstrated potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential in vitro. This study used a DMD model (mdx) to determine the toxic dose of this plant and found a possible non-toxic dose with therapeutic effects. The mdx groups received an intraperitoneal injection of 0 (control group), 50, 100, 200, 300, and 2000 mg kg-1 of the aqueous leaf extract following a single-dose acute toxicity protocol and were observed for 14 days. The range of toxicity of the extract and LD50 were determined. Histopathological analysis, the quantification of fibrosis, and immunohistochemical analysis of the tissues were performed. The results demonstrated that 2000 mg kg-1 was highly toxic, inducing histopathological changes in the tissues evaluated, with 100% mortality in 48 hours. The other doses caused no behavioral changes or signs of toxicity. The MF extract led reduction in histopathological changes, fibrosis, and inflammation, a reduction in HSP70 and an increase in MCL-1 proteins. Doses of 50-200 mg kg-1 demonstrated regenerative tissue and anti-inflammatory potential.

Plastic ingestion in oceanic-stage loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) off the North Atlantic subtropical gyre.

Juvenile oceanic-stage sea turtles are particularly vulnerable to the increasing quantity of plastic coming into the oceans. In this study, we analysed the gastrointestinal tracts of 24 juvenile oceanic-stage loggerheads (Caretta caretta) collected off the North Atlantic subtropical gyre, in the Azores region, a key feeding ground for juvenile loggerheads. Twenty individuals were found to have ingested marine debris (83%), composed exclusively of plastic items (primarily polyethylene and polypropylene) identified by µ-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Large microplastics (1-5mm) represented 25% of the total number of debris and were found in 58% of the individuals sampled. Average number of items was 15.83±6.09 (±SE) per individual, corresponding to a mean dry mass of 1.07±0.41g. The results of this study demonstrate that plastic pollution acts as another stressor for this critical life stage of loggerhead turtles in the North Atlantic.

Clinical and laboratory status of patients with chronic Chagas disease living in a vector-controlled area in Minas Gerais, Brazil, before and nine years after aetiological treatment

Twenty-eight Chagas disease patients (CD), 22 with the indeterminate clinical form (IND) and six with the cardiac or digestive form (CARD/DIG), were treated with benznidazole and underwent clinical and laboratorial analysis before (IND and CARD/DIG) and nine years after [patients after treatment (CDt), patients with the indeterminate clinical form at treatment onset (INDt) and with the cardiac or digestive form at treatment onset (CARD/DIGt)] treatment. The data demonstrate that 82.1 percent of CDt patients (23/28) remained clinically stable and 95.4 percent of the INDt (21/22) and 33.3 percent of the CARD/DIGt (2/6) patients showed unaltered physical and laboratorial examinations. The clinical evolution rate was 2 percent/year and was especially low in INDt patients (0.5 percent/year) relative to CARD/DIGt patients (7.4 percent/year). Positive haemoculture in treated patients was observed in 7.1 percent of the cases. None of the INDt (0/21) and 33.3 percent of the CARD/DIGt (2/6) patients displayed positive cultures. The PCR presented a positive rate significantly higher (85.2 percent, 23/27) than haemoculture and two samples from the same patient revealed the same result 57.7 percent of the patients. Conventional serology-ELISA on 16 paired samples remained positive in all individuals. Semi-quantitative ELISA highlighted significant decreases in reactivity, particularly in INDt relative to IND. Non-conventional serology-FC-ALTA-IgG, after treatment, showed positive results in all sera and 22 paired samples examined at seven and nine years after treatment, demonstrated significantly lower reactivity, particularly in INDt patients. This study was retrospective in nature, had a low number of samples and lacked an intrinsic control group, but the data corroborate other results found in the literature. The data also demonstrate that, even though a cure has not been detected in the none-treated patients, the benefits for clinical evolution ...

Trypanosoma cruzi: blood parasitism kinetics and their correlation with heart parasitism intensity during long-term infection of Beagle dogs

The goals of the present study were to evaluate the kinetics of blood parasitism by examination of fresh blood, blood culture (BC) and PCR assays and their correlation with heart parasitism during two years of infection in Beagle dogs inoculated with the Be-78, Y and ABC Trypanosoma cruzi strains. Our results showed that the parasite or its kDNA is easily detected during the acute phase in all infected animals. On the other hand, a reduced number of positive tests were verified during the chronic phase of the infection. The frequency of positive tests was correlated with T. cruzi strain. The percentage of positive BC and blood PCR performed in samples from animals inoculated with Be-78 and ABC strains were similar and significantly larger in relation to animals infected with the Y strain.Comparison of the positivity of PCR tests performed using blood and heart tissue samples obtained two years after infection showed two different patterns associated with the inoculated T. cruzi strain: (1) high PCR positivity for both blood and tissue was observed in animals infected with Be-78 or ABC strains; (2) lower and higher PCR positivity for the blood and tissue, respectively, was detected in animals infected with Y strains. These data suggest that the sensitivity of BC and blood PCR was T. cruzi strain dependent and, in contrast, the heart tissue PCR revealed higher sensitivity regardless of the parasite stock.