Prevalence of human papillomavirus infection in Argentinean women attending two different hospitals prior to the implementation of the National Vaccination Program.

Cervarix vaccine was included in the National Immunization Program of Argentina in 2011 but data about the local distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in women exposed to the virus are scarce. This cross-sectional study determined the prevalence and type distribution of HPV infection in unvaccinated women attending routine gynecological screening in two public hospitals located in Buenos Aires and Santa Fe, Argentina. Socio-demographic, sexual behavior, and co-factors information was obtained from all participants (Buenos Aires, n = 429; Santa Fe, n = 433). Cervicovaginal swabs were tested with an MY11/09 primer-based assay and with the CUT primer system targeting mucosal/cutaneous HPVs. Participants from Buenos Aires showed significantly higher rates of HPV infection (52.4% vs. 40.6%), of multiple infections (24.2% vs. 16.4%), and of low-risk (20.3% vs. 13.9%) and high-risk types (44.1% vs. 33.3%) than those from Santa Fe. HPV-66 (Buenos Aires: 17%) and HPV-16 (Santa Fe: 8.5%) were the most prevalent types. Novel HPV-66 putative subtype and variants were identified. Vaccine types 16 and 18 were frequent (Buenos Aires: 13.5%; Santa Fe: 10.2%) but few participants had co-infections with both (Buenos Aires: 1.4%; Santa Fe: 0.2%). A common risk factor for HPV infection was having a new sexual partner in the last year (Buenos Aires: OR 2.53, P < 0.001; Santa Fe: OR 1.85, P = 0.04). This study provides valuable baseline data for future assessment of the impact of massive vaccination in Argentina and it underlines the use of additional HPV testing strategies, such as the CUT system, for surveillance and vaccinology.

Synergistic mutual potentiation of antifungal activity of Zuccagnia punctata Cav. and Larrea nitida Cav. extracts in clinical isolates of Candida albicans and Candida glabrata.

BACKGROUND: Zuccagnia punctata Cav. (Fabaceae) and Larrea nitida Cav. (Zygophyllaceae) are indistinctly or jointly used in traditional medicine for the treatment of fungal-related infections. Although their dichloromethane (DCM) extract have demonstrated moderate antifungal activities when tested on their own, antifungal properties of combinations of both plants have not been assessed previously. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to establish with statistical rigor whether Z. punctata (ZpE) and L. nitida DCM extract (LnE) interact synergistically against the clinically important fungi Candida albicans and Candida glabrata and to characterize the most synergistic combinations. STUDY DESIGN: For synergism assessment, the statistical-based Boik's design was applied. Eight ZpE-LnE fixed-ratio mixtures were prepared from four different months of 1 year and tested against Candida strains. Lϕ (Loewe index) of each mixture at different fractions affected (ϕ) allowed for the finding of the most synergistic combinations, which were characterized by HPLC fingerprint and by the quantitation of the selected marker compounds. METHODS: Lϕ and confidence intervals were determined in vitro with the MixLow method, once the estimated parameters from the dose-response curves of independent extracts and mixtures, were obtained. Markers (four flavonoids for ZpE and three lignans for LnE) were quantified in each extract and their combinations, with a valid HPLC-UV method. The 3D-HPLC profiles of the most synergistic mixtures were obtained by HPLC-DAD. RESULTS: Three over four IC50ZpE/IC50LnE fixed-ratio mixtures displayed synergistic interactions at effect levels ϕ > 0.5 against C. albicans. The dosis of the most synergistic (Lϕ = 0.62) mixture was 65.96 µg/ml (ZpE = 28%; LnE = 72%) containing 8 and 36% of flavonoids and lignans respectively. On the other hand, one over four IC50ZpE/IC50LnE mixtures displays synergistic interactions at ϕ > 0.5 against C. glabrata. The dosis of the most synergistic (Lϕ = 0.67) mixture was 168.23 µg/ml (ZpE = 27%; LnE = 73%) with 9.7 and 31.6% of flavonoids and lignans respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Studies with the statistical-based MixLow method, allowed for the finding of the most ZpE-LnE synergistic mixtures, giving support to a proper joint use of both antifungal herbs in traditional medicine.

Detection of synergistic combinations of Baccharis extracts with terbinafine against Trichophyton rubrum with high throughput screening synergy assay (HTSS) followed by 3D graphs. Behavior of some of their components.

Forty four extracts from nine Baccharis spp. from the Caulopterae section were tested in combination with terbinafine against Trichophyton rubrum with the HTSS assay at six different ratios with the aim of detecting those mixtures that produced a ≥50% statistically significant enhancement of growth inhibition. Since an enhanced effect of a combination respective of its components, does not necessarily indicate synergism, three-dimensional (3D) dose-response surfaces were constructed for each selected pair of extract/antifungal drug with the aid of CombiTool software. Ten extracts showed synergistic or additive combinations which constitutes a 22% hit rate of the extracts submitted to evaluation. Four flavonoids and three ent-clerodanes were detected in the active Baccharis extracts with HPLC/UV/ESI-MS methodology, all of which were tested in combination with terbinafine. Results showed that ent-clerodanes but not flavonoids showed synergistic or additive effects. Among them, bacchotricuneatin A followed by bacrispine showed synergistic effects while hawtriwaic acid showed additive effects.