[Rational for morbidity management in bancroftian filariasis endemic areas]. / Bases para o tratamento da morbidade em áreas endêmicas de filariose bancroftiana.

Selection of the most appropriate therapy for the patient with bancroftian filariasis requires a knowledge of the diverse clinical characteristics of filarial disease and their pathogenesis. As a result of new diagnostic tests and clinical advances, our understanding of bancroftian filariasis has changed rapidly, as have our ideas about treatment. In the past, it was believed that elephantiasis was caused by an immunologic reaction of the host to the filarial parasite. From this perspective, elephantiasis was seen as the endpoint of an unalterable relationship between the host and the parasite, and given the absence of effective medication or procedures, affected individuals were considered "immunologically predisposed" to this end-stage disease. In the last few years, however, new evidence has suggested that lymphedema and elephantiasis have another etiologic agent. Namely, the principal factor in the evolution of lymphedema and elephantiasis is the involvement of recurrent secondary bacterial infections. Today, it is clear that other forms of supportive therapy (including education and psychological counseling) are necessary and are often more important than antiparasitic drugs.

Extralymphatic disease due to bancroftian filariasis.

Infection with Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, or B. timori not only affects the structure and function of lymphatic vessels but is also associated with extralymphatic pathology and disease. Because it is now possible to detect living adult worms by ultrasonography, much emphasis is placed on lymphatic pathology. However, the finding of renal damage in asymptomatic microfilaremic carriers has led to increased recognition of the importance of extralymphatic clinical manifestation in bancroftian filariasis. The authors present a number of clinical syndromes that may be manifestations of extralymphatic filarial disease and discuss possible mechanisms that cause these conditions. The main purpose of this paper is to raise the awareness of students and physicians of the prevalence and the importance of extralymphatic disease in bancroftian filariasis so that it is diagnosed and treated properly and also to alert for the need of additional research in this area.

Extralymphatic disease due to bancroftian filariasis

Infection with Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, or B. timori not only affects the structure and function of lymphatic vessels but is also associated with extralymphatic pathology and disease. Because it is now possible to detect living adult worms by ultrasonography, much emphasis is placed on lymphatic pathology. However, the finding of renal damage in asymptomatic microfilaremic carriers has led to increased recognition of the importance of extralymphatic clinical manifestation in bancroftian filariasis. The authors present a number of clinical syndromes that may be manifestations of extralymphatic filarial disease and discuss possible mechanisms that cause these conditions. The main purpose of this paper is to raise the awareness of students and physicians of the prevalence and the importance of extralymphatic disease in bancroftian filariasis so that it is diagnosed and treated properly and also to alert for the need of additional research in this area.

No relationship between HTLV-1 infection and filariasis--Serological study on patients with filariasis in Recife, Brazil.

The seroprevalence of antibodies against human T-cell leukemia virus was determined by ELISA in 68 patients with filarial infestation living in an endemic area. The total seropositivity was 2.9% and the HTLV-1-positive cases were detected in 2 microfilaremic patients 12 and 40 years old. This value is very close to that obtained for healthy individuals in the same region and age groups. This result suggests that there is no relationship between filariasis and HTLV-1 infection as previously proposed.

Pulmäo, filárias e eosinófilos / The lungs, filariae and eosinophils

A infecçäo filariana foi caracterizada em seus aspectos clínicos e parasitológicos no fim do século passado. Somente em 1939, foi sugerida a possibilidade de uma correlaçäo entre infecçäo por filárias e sintomatologia respiratória. Entre os anos de 1953 e 1987, foram observados, no Centro de Asma e Alergia do Recife, consecutivamente, 167 pacientes com eosinofilia tropical pulmonar, diagnosticados com base nos seguintes critérios: 1. sintomatología respiratória persistente; 2. eosifilia circulante > ou = 2.000/m3; 3. cura pela dietilcarbamazina; 4. testes sorológicos positivos para anticorpos antifilária. Pertenciam ao sexo masculino 116 pacientes e ao feminino 51, com predominância de homens de 2,27 : 1. A idade variou entre 2 e 71 anos (média 31 anos) e a duraçäo da doença entre 1 e 120 meses (média 16 meses). A pesquisa de anticorpos circulantes, mediante a técnica da imunofluorescência modificada por Gonzaga, foi realizada em 71 pacientes com sintomas típicos da síndrome, sendo positiva em todos e, na maioria, com títulos elevados. Nos grupos controles, residentes em áreas endêmicas para filariose, a positividade foi observada em 25% dos casos, foi normal em dois, de padräo prevalentemente obstrutivo em 15, restritivo em nove e misto em quatro. Com relaçäo à etiopatogênese, com base nos achados do presente trabalho e outras evidências da literatura, a síndrome é considerada uma conseqüência da hipersensibilidade do hospedeiro aos determinantes antigênicos da microfilária. Sugere-se a denominaçäo filariose pulmonar alérgica, que indica o agente etiológico e o mecanismo patogenético