Euthyroid Sick Syndrome and Changes in Thyroid Hormones in Dogs with Hemoparasitosis

Background: Hemoparasitoses are extremely important in the clinical routine because they affect a large number of dogs. In spite of the abundance of studies on this topic, hormonal alterations caused by infection with these agents are still poorly known. Therefore, the goal of this work was to assess the serum levels of thyroid hormones of dogs infected with Ehrlichia canis (E. canis) alone, and dogs infected with E. canis and Babesia canis vogeli (B. vogeli) and/or Anaplasma platys (A. platys) before and after treatment with doxycycline chlorohydrate. This study also aimed at checking for presence of euthyroid sick syndrome (ESS) in these animals.Materials, Methods & Results: The concentrations of the thyroid hormones total triiodothyronine (TT3), total tetraiodothyronine (TT4), free tetraiodothyronine (FT4), and canine thyroid-stimulating hormone (cTSH) were assessed by chemiluminescence in 12 dogs. Nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) was used to confirm diagnoses. The dogs were divided into 2 groups: G1, which comprised animals infected by E. canis alone, and G2, which included animals simultaneously infected by E. canis and B. vogeli and/or A. platys. The serum concentrations of the thyroid hormones were measured at two time points: before (D1) and after (D2) the 28-day treatment with generic doxycycline chlorohydrate (DC) at a dose of 10 mg/kg SID. On D2, another nPCR was carried out to check the efficacy of the treatment. On D2, in both groups, all dogs became negative for E. canis; however, 8 animals remained infected or were reinfected by other hemoparasites. On D1, 4 dogs in G1 exhibited low TT3 in conjunction with low TT4; one of the dogs had increased TT3 alone, and another dog had an increased TT3 accompanied by decreased TT4. In G2, on D1, one dog exhibited high TT3 accompanied by a decreased concentration of TT4; 2 dogs had decreased TT4; 2 dogs had increased TT3; and one dog had both TT3 and TT4 decreased. On D2, with only one exception, the animals in G1 that became negative for all hemoparasites under study exhibited normal serum levels of TT3 and TT4. Three dogs in G1, which were reinfected on D2, sustained decreased TT4 serum concentrations. Whereas, in G1 on D2, only one dog remained with a reduced serum TT4 concentration.Discussion: DC was effective at eliminating infection by E. canis in all dogs on D2. Even though this drug was unable to prevent reinfection of the animals by other hemoparasites, and in spite of divergent results on its efficacy at eliminating babesiosis and anaplasmosis, a clinical improvement was observed in all patients. A decrease in the serum concentrations of thyroid hormones (ESS) may occur in dogs with severe non-thyroid related diseases. Different authors have demonstrated the presence of ESS in dogs with hemoparasitoses; however, this is the first study to provide evidence on the existence of this syndrome in dogs with hemoparasitoses in Brazil, including dogs simultaneously infected by E. canis and B. vogeli and/or A. platys.We observed a reduction in TT3 and/or TT4 in dogs infected by E. canis, B. vogeli, and A. platys. We believe these results may help assessment of prognosis and patient follow-up, as TT4 concentrations returned to normal levels in all dogs that became negative for all hemoparasites after treatment; and only one dog in G1 sustained increased TT3, albeit lower than observed on D1. In animals of G1 that were reinfected after treatment started, TT3 returned to normal, even though TT4 levels remained decreased. In sum, all dogs in G1 and G2 exhibited TT3 and/or TT4 concentrations outside of the reference value ranges on D1, which indicates that alterations in the levels of thyroid hormones were due to infection by the hemoparasites. The animals infected by E. canis alone or simultaneously infected by B. vogeli and/or A. platys exhibited ESS

Situação epidemiológica da meningite em Belém-PA, segundo sistema de informação, no período de 2015 a 2018 / Epidemiological situation of meningitis in Belman-PA, according to the information system, in the period from 2015 to 2018

A meningite é caracterizada por uma inflamação nas meninges, que afeta principalmente, o espaço aracnoide e em alguns casos chegando a atingir o segmento medular ou o craniano. Tem como agentes etiológicos virais o Enterovírus e bacterianosNeisseria meningitidis, o Haemophilus influenzae e o Streptococcus pneumoniae, e até mesmo fungos e parasitas, ocorrendo de uma maneira menos frequente (SILVA, 2018). A transmissão ocorre através do contato direto pessoa a pessoa, por meio de secreções respiratórias de pessoas infectadas, assintomáticas ou doentes. Os principais sintomas são: Febre, vômitos/náuseas, cefaleia, rigidez na nuca e convulsões (BRASIL, 2017). Para o tratamento é necessário de forma precoce a antibioticoterapia associado a outros tipos de tratamento de suporte, como reposição de líquidos e cuidados na assistência, de preferência (SILVA, 2018). Ademais, estudos mostram que para se evitar etiologias bacterianas, torna-se necessário o uso de vacina meningocócica conjugada, que é realizada aos 3, 5 e um reforço aos 12 meses. O Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação - SINAN é um instrumento fundamental para pesquisa epidemiológica, pois tem como responsabilidade o desenvolvimento de um sistema de informação eficaz, capazes de auxiliar no planejamento da saúde, definir prioridades e avaliar o impacto das intervenções. Trata-se de um estudo transversal de abordagem quantitativa, para avaliarcasos confirmados demeningite no município de Belém-PA entre os anos 2015 e 2018, levando em conta as faixas etárias entre <1 ano a 80 e + anos, sendo divididas em categorias: crianças, pré-adolescentes e adolescentes, adultos e idosos, considerando o maior e menor índice de ocorrência de casos notificados no Município de Belém-PA. A partir deste estudo, pôde-se observar o déficit nas ações em saúde destinadas à população, e principalmente nas faixas etárias de maior ocorrência dos casos de meningite, sendo estas em adultos de 20 a 59 anos. Desta forma, há a necessidade de planejamento de intervenções, a busca de soluções e maiores investigações dessa patologia no município de Belém-PA. 

Rebaixamento do nível de consciência por infarto talâmico paramediano bilateral devido a Isquemia de Percheron (Síndrome de Percheron): relato de caso / Lowering of the level of consciousness by bilateral paramedian thalamic infarction due to Percheron's Ischemia (Percheron's Syndrome): a case report

A isquemia na artéria de Percheron é uma ocorrência neurológica rara que resulta em enfarte talâmico paramediano bilateral podendo acometer o mesencéfalo. Dentre o quadro sintomático temos: alteração do estado mental, paralisia ocular vertical e alterações na memória, além de hemiplegia, ataxia cerebelosa e alterações do movimento. Objetivo: Elucidar caso de AVCI do tronco mesencéfalo em variante anatômica incomum das artérias tálamo-perfurantes (Artéria de Percheron). Método: Avaliação neurológica e laboratorial diária além de exames complementares como TC de crânio e Ressonância (RM) de crânio. Também foi realizada uma análise qualitativa de artigos nos periódicos em português e inglês indexados nas seguintes bases de dados: PubMed (Public Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), Lilacs (Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde) e Scielo (Scientific Eletronic Library Online). Relato de caso: masculino,67 anos, há 2 dias inicia com quadro de cefaleia leve a moderada.Há 1 dia relata tosse crônica e rebaixamento do nível de consciência. É entubado (Glasgow 6) e sedado para elucidação diagnóstica. Na TC apresenta edema cerebral discreto e na RM visualiza-se infarto talâmico bilateral acometendo a artéria de Percheron. Quadro evolui para AVC isquêmico do tronco mesencéfalo. Discussão: o infarto da artéria de Percheron na forma bilateral, como apresentado no caso, as manifestações neurológicas e neuropsicológicas são mais graves tais como: mutismo acinético, demência talâmica e perda da auto ativação psíquica (Síndrome do Robô). Nesses casos, o distúrbio neuropsicológico é melhor percebido quando o paciente recupera seu estado de consciência. Conclusão: Na presença de uma apresentação clínica sugestiva de enfarte talâmico bilateral, a hipótese de Síndrome de Percheron deve ser suspeitada

Mielomeningocele e anomalias associadas: uma série de casos e revisão sistemática

A mielomeningocele é uma malformação congênita grave do sistema nervoso central, representando um dos tipos mais complexos de defeitos do tubo neural. A condição é marcada pela exposição das meninges e, em alguns casos, da medula espinhal, através de uma abertura na coluna vertebral, desafiando tanto o prognóstico do paciente quanto as estratégias de tratamento. O presente estudo visa explorar os avanços recentes no diagnóstico, intervenções cirúrgicas e desfechos neurológicos associados à mielomeningocele, com foco particular na eficácia e segurança das abordagens atuais. Para isso, foi realizada uma revisão sistemática da literatura de 2016 a 2024 nas bases de dados PubMed (Medline), Cochrane Library e SciELO, aplicando critérios de inclusão e exclusão rigorosos para selecionar estudos que abordassem esses aspectos. Três estudos chave foram analisados, destacando-se pelas técnicas de diagnóstico antenatal, pela utilização de intervenções cirúrgicas inovadoras, como o fechamento fetal, e pelos cuidados pós-operatórios visando melhorias nos desfechos neurológicos. Os resultados indicam uma tendência positiva na melhoria da qualidade de vida dos pacientes, com avanços significativos no controle e na prevenção de complicações a longo prazo. No entanto, foi observada a necessidade de uma abordagem multidisciplinar no tratamento, integrando cuidados neurocirúrgicos, ortopédicos e reabilitativos. A mielomeningocele, apesar dos desafios, tem testemunhado progressos notáveis nas últimas décadas, sugerindo um futuro mais promissor para os pacientes afetados. Ainda assim, são necessários mais estudos para consolidar essas abordagens e otimizar as estratégias de tratamento na prática clínica

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ

Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil: setting the baseline knowledge on the animal diversity in Brazil

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classifications. In this context, the Brazilian megadiverse fauna is no exception, and the Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil (CTFB) (http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/), made public in 2015, represents a database on biodiversity anchored on a list of valid and expertly recognized scientific names of animals in Brazil. The CTFB is updated in near real time by a team of more than 800 specialists. By January 1, 2024, the CTFB compiled 133,691 nominal species, with 125,138 that were considered valid. Most of the valid species were arthropods (82.3%, with more than 102,000 species) and chordates (7.69%, with over 11,000 species). These taxa were followed by a cluster composed of Mollusca (3,567 species), Platyhelminthes (2,292 species), Annelida (1,833 species), and Nematoda (1,447 species). All remaining groups had less than 1,000 species reported in Brazil, with Cnidaria (831 species), Porifera (628 species), Rotifera (606 species), and Bryozoa (520 species) representing those with more than 500 species. Analysis of the CTFB database can facilitate and direct efforts towards the discovery of new species in Brazil, but it is also fundamental in providing the best available list of valid nominal species to users, including those in science, health, conservation efforts, and any initiative involving animals. The importance of the CTFB is evidenced by the elevated number of citations in the scientific literature in diverse areas of biology, law, anthropology, education, forensic science, and veterinary science, among others