Adrenalitis associated with Leishmania infantum infection in a maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)

This report describes a case of visceral leishmaniasis characterized by adrenalitis with intralesional Leishmania sp. amastigotes in a 16 year-old maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus). The animal had been previously diagnosed as infected with Leishmania infantum by serology and xenodiagnosis. The only organ in which amastigotes were detected by histopathology and immunohistochemistry was the adrenal gland, which presented multifocal infiltration of lymphocytes, plasma cells and macrophages containing intracytoplasmic amastigotes. The animal had no other lesions of visceral leishmaniasis, except for renal and splenic amyloidosis and pancreatitis that may be associated with the disease. Importantly, the maned wolf had an intratubular seminoma in the testis, which to the best of our knowledge is the first reported case of testicular tumor in this species.(AU)

Adrenalitis associated with Leishmania infantum infection in a maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)

This report describes a case of visceral leishmaniasis characterized by adrenalitis with intralesional Leishmania sp. amastigotes in a 16 year-old maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus). The animal had been previously diagnosed as infected with Leishmania infantum by serology and xenodiagnosis. The only organ in which amastigotes were detected by histopathology and immunohistochemistry was the adrenal gland, which presented multifocal infiltration of lymphocytes, plasma cells and macrophages containing intracytoplasmic amastigotes. The animal had no other lesions of visceral leishmaniasis, except for renal and splenic amyloidosis and pancreatitis that may be associated with the disease. Importantly, the maned wolf had an intratubular seminoma in the testis, which to the best of our knowledge is the first reported case of testicular tumor in this species.

Simple and fast lateral flow test for classification of leprosy patients and identification of contacts with high risk of developing leprosy

The interruption of leprosy transmission is one of the main challenges for leprosy control programs since no consistent evidence exists that transmission has been reduced after the introduction of multidrug therapy. Sources of infection are primarily people with high loads of bacteria with or without clinical signs of leprosy. The availability of a simple test system for the detection of antibodies to phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I) of Mycobacterium leprae to identify these individuals may be important in the prevention of transmission. We have developed a lateral flow assay, the ML Flow test, for the detection of antibodies to PGL-I which takes only 10 min to perform. An agreement of 91% was observed between enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and our test; the agreement beyond chance (kappa value) was 0.77. We evaluated the use of whole blood by comparing 539 blood and serum samples from an area of high endemicity. The observed agreement was 85.9% (kappa = 0.70). Storage of the lateral flow test and the running buffer at 28 degrees C for up to 1 year did not influence the results of the assay. The sensitivity of the ML Flow test in correctly classifying MB patients was 97.4%. The specificity of the ML Flow test, based on the results of the control group, was 90.2%. The ML Flow test is a fast and easy-to-perform method for the detection of immunoglobulin M antibodies to PGL-I of M. leprae. It does not require any special equipment, and the highly stable reagents make the test robust and suitable for use in tropical countries.

Effects of patent ductus arteriosus on left ventricular output and organ blood flows in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome treated with surfactant.

Thirty preterm infants (birth weight < 1500 gm) treated with Surfactant TA for the respiratory distress syndrome, who had no complicating clinical problems other than ductal patency, were studied by serial Doppler flow examinations to determine the effects of early left-to-right shunt through the patent ductus arteriosus on the left ventricular output and organ blood flows. Doppler flow variables in 15 infants with a hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hsPDA) were compared with those in 15 subjects without hsPDA matched for age, body weight, and gestational age. Infants with hsPDA had significantly higher left ventricular output and significantly lower blood flow volume in the abdominal aorta, and lower temporal mean blood flow velocities, with concomitant increases in the relative vascular resistance in the celiac artery, superior mesenteric artery, and renal artery. Pulsatility indexes of these vessels and the anterior cerebral artery were significantly higher in the hsPDA group, but the temporal mean blood flow velocities in the anterior cerebral artery and its vascular resistance were not significantly different between the two groups. After closure of the patent ductus arterious was achieved with mefenamic acid therapy, alterations in Doppler flow variables in the hsPDA group reverted to the levels seen in the group without hsPDA. These results suggest that despite large left-to-right ductal shunting, the heart of the preterm infant is capable of mounting a compensatory increase of cardiac output sufficient to maintain unchanged cerebral blood flow, but is unable to maintain postductal organ blood flows because of decreased perfusion pressure (ductal steal) and localized increase in vascular resistance.