Spatio-temporal correlation networks of dengue in the state of Bahia.

BACKGROUND: Dengue is a public health problem that presents complexity in its dissemination. The physical means of spreading and the dynamics of the spread between municipalities need to be analyzed to guide effective public policies to combat this problem. METHODS: This study uses timing varying graph methods (TVG) to construct a correlation network between occurrences of reported cases of dengue between cities in the state of Bahia-Brazil. The topological network indices of all cities were correlated with dengue incidence using Spearman correlation. A randomization test was used to estimate the significance value of the correlation. RESULTS: The correlation network presented a complex behavior with a heavy-tail distribution of the network edges weight. The randomization test exhibit a significant correlation (P < 0.0001) between the degree of each municipality in the network and the incidence of dengue in each municipality. CONCLUSIONS: The hypothesis of the existence of a correlation between the occurrences of reported cases of dengue between different municipalities in the state of Bahia was validated. The significant correlation between the node degree and incidence, indicates that municipalities with high incidence are also responsible for the spread of the disease in the state. The method proposed suggests a new tool in epidemiological control strategy.

Serum antibody levels against Porphyromonas gingivalis extract and its chromatographic fraction in chronic and aggressive periodontitis.

UNLABELLED: Periodontitis is an inflammatory oral disease caused by multifactorial intrinsic and extrinsic agents, including Gram-negative bacteria such as Porphyromonas gingivalis. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if there is difference in the serum levels of IgA, IgG and IgG subclasses reactive to Porphyromonas gingivalis in subjects with different periodontal conditions. METHODS: The study included 89 patients divided into four groups: 29 subjects with moderate or severe chronic periodontitis (CP), 12 with aggressive periodontitis (AP), 22 with gingivitis or mild periodontitis (GP), and 26 healthy controls (HC). Humoral response was assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to verify serum levels of IgG, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4 and IgA serum levels reacting to crude P. gingivalis ATCC 33277 sonicate extract and fraction IV, an enrichment of the immunoreactive bands of the crude extract obtained by chromatography. RESULTS: IgA, IgG (p < 0.01), IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4 serum level reactions to fraction IV were higher in the CP group compared with the healthy control. The CP group had higher levels of IgG and IgG4 to both antigens than the GP group, and higher levels of IgG and IgG4 to sonicate extract than the AP group. There were statistically significant differences in serum levels of IgG to both antigens (p < 0.01), IgG2 to fraction IV (p < 0.01), IgG3 to fraction IV (p < 0.05) and IgG4 to both antigens (p < 0.05) between AP and HC groups. IgG1 titers to sonicate extract were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the GP group in comparison to the AP group. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that there are differences in the serum levels of IgA, IgG and IgG subclasses in patients with different periodontal conditions.

Existe correlação entre níveis séricos de anticorpos reativos a porphyromonas gingivalis e a condição periodontal clínica? / Is there any correlation between serum antibody levels reactive to porphyromonas gingivalis and clinical periodontal status?

Porphyromonasgingivalis has been shown to be shown to be one of the most important pathogen in chronic periodontitis development. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation among IgA, IgG and IgC and IgG isotype serum levels reactive Porphyromonas gingivalis ATTCC33277 and the clinical periodontal status. Twenty nine periodontitis patients were evaluated according to clinical parameters: probing depth, bleeding on probing, and clinical attachment loss measurements. Humoral immune response was assayed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). There was no correlation between bleeding on probing (criterion 1) and the evaluated antibodies. Significant positive correlations were found between IgA levels and percentual of sites with clinical attachment loss (CAL) >3mm (criterion 2), percentual of sites with CAL > 5 mm (criterion 3), and percentual of sites with CAL > 3mm associated to probing depth > 4mm and bleeding on probing at the same site (criterion 4) (r=0,311; r=0,336; r=0,358, respectively; p<0,05). There were significant positive correlations between IgG serum levels and criteria 3 and 4 (r=0,400 and r=0,372, respectively; p<0,05), and between IgG1 and criteria 2, 3 and 4 (r=0,333, r=0,323 and r=0,340, respectively; p<0,05). The findings indicate that the antibody response to Porphyromonas gingivalis depends on the periodontal status, determined by clinical parameters