Use of N-acetylcysteine as treatment adjuvant regulates immune response in visceral leishmaniasis: Pilot clinical trial and in vitro experiments.

This investigation aimed to assess the effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as an adjuvant treatment to alleviate visceral leishmaniasis (VL). The present work includes both blinded randomized clinical intervention and experimental in vitro studies. The clinical trial included 60 patients with VL randomly allocated into two groups: a test group (n = 30) treated with meglumine antimoniate plus NAC (SbV + NAC) and a control group (n = 30) treated with meglumine antimoniate only (SbV). The primary outcome was clinical cure (absence of fever, spleen and liver sizes reduction, and hematological improvement) in 180 days. The cure rate did not differ between the groups; both groups had similar results in all readout indices. The immunological parameters of the patients treated with SbV + NAC showed higher sCD40L in sera during treatment, and the levels of sCD40L were negatively correlated with Interleukin-10 (IL-10) serum levels. In addition, data estimation showed a negative correlation between the sCD40L levels and the spleen size in patients with VL. For the in vitro experiments, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or PBMC-derived macrophages from healthy donors were exposed to soluble Leishmania antigen (SLA) or infected with stationary promastigotes of Leishmania infantum in the presence or absence of NAC. Results revealed that NAC treatment of SLA-stimulated PBMCs reduces the frequency of monocytes producing IL-10 and lowers the frequency of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells expressing (pro-)inflammatory cytokines. Together, these results suggest that NAC treatment may modulate the immune response in patients with VL, thus warranting additional investigations to support its case use as an adjuvant to antimony therapy for VL.

Screening on prenatal infections in the South and Southwest macro-regions in the State of Bahia, Brazil: detected on paper filter / Triagem pré-natal de infecções nas macrorregiões sul e sudoeste do estado da Bahia, Brasil: detectadas em papel de filtro

Abstract Objectives: to estimate the detection rate on prenatal screening pathologies on paper filter in the South and Southwest in the State of Bahia, as well as to delineate the epidemiological profile of these pregnant women, calculate and estimate the rate of adherence and the coverage of the Program. Methods: a descriptive study was carried out from August 2013 to August 2015, and the data were obtained from the Labimuno/ICS/UFBA. Results: 64,743 pregnant women were included; the mean ages were 25 years for the Southwest macro-region and 23 for the South. The results on the screening tests showed positivity of 0.13% and 0.29% for HBsAg, 0.17% and 0.22% for cytomegalovirus, 0.07% and 0.09% for HCV, 0.13% and 0.38% for HTLV, 0.04% and 0.19% for HIV, 1.2% and 2.84% for syphilis, and 0.54% and 0.73% for toxoplasmosis in the Southwest and South macro-regions, respectively. The estimates on coverage were considered satisfactory. Sickle cell anemia showed positivity of 0.02% and of 0.04% and 5% and 6.3% presented sickle cell trait in the Southwest and South macro-regions, respectively. Conclusions: the frequencies of infections in maternal-fetal health were considered low, highlighting on syphilis and the presence for sickle cell trait.

Resumo Objetivos: estimar a taxa de detecção de patologias da TPN em papel de filtro nas regiões Sul e Sudoeste do Estado da Bahia, bem como delinear o perfil epidemiológico dessas gestantes, calcular e estimar a taxa de adesão e abrangência de cobertura do Programa. Métodos: estudo descritivo, de agosto 2013 a agosto de 2015, de dados obtidos do Labimuno/ICS/UFBA. Resultados: foram incluídas 64.743 gestantes; as médias das idades foram de 25 anos para a macrorregião Sudoeste e 23 para Sul. Os resultados de exames de triagem mostraram positividade de 0,13% e 0,29% para AgHBs, 0,17% e 0,22% para citomegalovírus, 0,07% e 0,09% para VHC, 0,13% e 0,38% para HTLV, 0,04% e 0,19% para HIV, 1,2% e 2,84% para sífilis, e 0,54% e 0,73% para toxoplasmose, para a macrorregião Sudoeste e Sul, respectivamente. As estimativas de cobertura foram consideradas satisfatórias. A anemia falciforme mostrou positividade de 0,02% e de 0,04% e 5% e 6,3% apresentaram o traço falcêmico, macrorregião Sudoeste e Sul, respectivamente. Conclusões: as frequências das infecções na saúde materno-fetal foram consideradas baixas, com destaque para sífilis e para a presença do traço falcêmico.