Parasite Community of Cichla kelberi (Perciformes, Cichlidae) in the Três Marias Reservoir, Minas Gerais, Brazil

A total of 112 specimens of yellow peacock bass, Cichla kelberi, were collected in the Três Marias Reservoir, upper São Francisco River, State of Minas Gerais, between 2004 and 2005. Twelve species of parasites were collected: two species of ectoparasites (the monogenetic Gussevia sp. and the copepod Ergasilus sp.); and ten species of endoparasites, including four species of adult endoparasites: the cestodes Proteocephalus macrophallus and P. microscopicus, and the nematodes: Capillostrongyloides sentinosa and Rhabdochona acuminata, and six species of larval endoparasites: the metacercariae of Austrodiplostomum compactum and the nematodes: Hysterothylacium sp., Contracaecum sp. Type 1, Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) inopinatus, Spiroxys sp., and Goezia sp.. A significant positive correlation in the abundance of the two adult endoparasites species, P. macrophallus and P. microscopicus, may indicate that such associated species had the same ecological requirements. The positive correlations between the prevalence of the larval endoparasites, Hysterothylacium sp. and A. compactum, may indicate that there was opportunism for the two generalists species. Ergasilus sp., C. sentinosa, R. acuminata and Hysterothylacium sp. were recorded for the first time in C. kelberi, and this increased their list of known hosts. In addition, both proteocephalid species and C. sentinosa can extend their known biogeographical distribution to the Três Marias Reservoir

Endohelmintos de Salminus hilarii Valenciennes (Actinopterygii: Bryconidae) e seus índices parasitários no rio São Francisco, Brasil

Entre os peixes encontrados no alto rio São Francisco, Salminus hilarii, popularmente conhecido como dourado-branco, é um briconídeo migratório, carnívoro de topo na cadeia alimentar, que possui alto valor comercial, sendo de interesse na piscicultura e na pesca esportiva. Neste estudo as espécies de parasitos constituintes de sua fauna endoparasitária foram identificadas com base em trinta e três espécimes do reservatório de Três Marias (18º12’51’’S 45º15’51’’W), Minas Gerais. Foram encontrados espécimes larvais de Eucestoda (plerocercoides de Proteocephalidea) e espécimes larvais e adultos de Nematoda. Entre os nematoides, Hysterothylacium sp. ocorreu em todos os peixes (Prevalência, P = 100%), seguida de Contracaecum sp. (P = 60,6%), Spiroxys sp. (P = 48,5%) e Goezia sp.1 (P = 45,5%). A elevada prevalência das larvas de Anisakidae, especialmente de Contracaecum sp., é relevante. Neste estudo, a presença das larvas diversas de cestoides e nematoides em S. hilarii, revela sua importância como hospedeiro paratênico e intermediário; os espécimes adultos e juvenis representantes de três importantes famílias de nematoides em S. hilarii ressaltam seu papel como potencial hospedeiro definitivo decorrente de suas atividades como predador no reservatório. Salminus hilarii do alto rio São Francisco, constitui novo hospedeiro para as espécies: Hysterothylacium sp., Contracaecum sp., Goezia spp., Spiroxys sp. e Rhabdochona acuminata, encontradas nesse estudo

Endoparasitos de duas espécies de peixes forrageiros do reservatório de Três Marias, Brasil: novos registros de hospedeiros e seus índices ecológicos

Tetragonopterus chalceus e Triportheus guentheri, importantes peixes forrageiros do reservatório de Três Marias, alto rio São Francisco, MG, Brasil, tiveram suas faunas endoparasitárias investigadas pela primeira vez. O consumo de itens alimentares em comum (dietas semelhantes) e estratégias distintas de forrageamento dos hospedeiros refletiram nos resultados de suas comunidades parasitárias que indicaram sobreposição de nichos entre os peixes. Houve destacável similaridade qualitativa (Jaccard index = 0,78) e discreta similaridade quantitativa (Sorenson index = 0,28) entre as duas comunidades parasitárias, sendo a comunidade de T. chalceus mais rica e menos diversa (13 espécies, H´ = 0,43) do que a de T. guentheri (12 espécies, H´ = 0,86). As duas espécies de peixes estavam parasitadas por plerocercoides de Proteocephalidea (Eucestoda), larvas de Contracaecum sp., Hysterothylacium sp., Goezia sp., Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) sp., Spiroxys sp., Rhabdochona sp., Cystidicoloides fischeri e espécimes adultos de Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) saofranciscencis (Nematoda), esporos de Henneguya sp. (Myxozoa), e oocistos de Calyptospora sp. (Apicomplexa). Além dessas espécies, em T. chalceus foram encontradas Creptotrema creptotrema (Digenea) e Spinictectus rodolphiheringi (Nematoda); e em T. guentheri foram encontradas larvas de Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) sp. (Nematoda). Procamallanus saofranciscencis e os plerocercoides de Proteocephalidea foram os parasitos de maior prevalência e abundância média, respectivamente, na comunidade de T. chalceus; as larvas de Rhabdochona sp. tiveram a prevalência e a abundânica média mais elevadas na comunidade parasitária de T. guentheri. Tetragonopterus chalceus e T. guentheri constituem novos hospedeiros dos plerocercoides de Proteocephalidea, dos nematoides larvais Goezia sp., Spiroxys sp. e C. fischeri e dos esporos de Henneguya sp.; T. chalceus constitui novo hospedeiro de S. rodolphiheringi, e T. guentheri novo hospedeiro de larvas de Hysterothylacium sp

Austrodiplostomum compactum Szidat & Nani (Digenea: Diplostomidae) in final and second intermediate hosts from upper São Francisco river in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Austrodiplostomum compactum Szidat & Nani, 1954 como outros digenéticos, tem peixes como segundo hospedeiro intermediário e aves piscívoras como hospedeiro definitivo. Três biguás, Phalacrocorax brasilianus (Gmelin, 1789), do alto rio São Francisco estavam parasitados com espécimes adultos de A. compactum; vinte espécies de peixes do rio São Francisco, estavam parasitadas com metacercárias de Austrodiplostomum sp.. Os índices parasitários das metacercárias foram mais elevados nos Perciformes e algumas espécies de Siluriformes do que na maioria das espécies de peixes Characiformes. Quinze espécies de peixes constituem novos registros de segundo hospedeiros intermediários em adição às 37 espécies conhecidas no Brasil. Este trabalho contribui com o estudo dos helmintos e sua fauna associada na bacia do rio São Francisco, Minas Gerais, Brasil

Health-status outcomes with invasive or conservative care in coronary disease

BACKGROUND In the ISCHEMIA trial, an invasive strategy with angiographic assessment and revascularization did not reduce clinical events among patients with stable ischemic heart disease and moderate or severe ischemia. A secondary objective of the trial was to assess angina-related health status among these patients. METHODS We assessed angina-related symptoms, function, and quality of life with the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) at randomization, at months 1.5, 3, and 6, and every 6 months thereafter in participants who had been randomly assigned to an invasive treatment strategy (2295 participants) or a conservative strategy (2322). Mixed-effects cumulative probability models within a Bayesian framework were used to estimate differences between the treatment groups. The primary outcome of this health-status analysis was the SAQ summary score (scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better health status). All analyses were performed in the overall population and according to baseline angina frequency. RESULTS At baseline, 35% of patients reported having no angina in the previous month. SAQ summary scores increased in both treatment groups, with increases at 3, 12, and 36 months that were 4.1 points (95% credible interval, 3.2 to 5.0), 4.2 points (95% credible interval, 3.3 to 5.1), and 2.9 points (95% credible interval, 2.2 to 3.7) higher with the invasive strategy than with the conservative strategy. Differences were larger among participants who had more frequent angina at baseline (8.5 vs. 0.1 points at 3 months and 5.3 vs. 1.2 points at 36 months among participants with daily or weekly angina as compared with no angina). CONCLUSIONS In the overall trial population with moderate or severe ischemia, which included 35% of participants without angina at baseline, patients randomly assigned to the invasive strategy had greater improvement in angina-related health status than those assigned to the conservative strategy. The modest mean differences favoring the invasive strategy in the overall group reflected minimal differences among asymptomatic patients and larger differences among patients who had had angina at baseline

Initial invasive or conservative strategy for stable coronary disease

BACKGROUND Among patients with stable coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, whether clinical outcomes are better in those who receive an invasive intervention plus medical therapy than in those who receive medical therapy alone is uncertain. METHODS We randomly assigned 5179 patients with moderate or severe ischemia to an initial invasive strategy (angiography and revascularization when feasible) and medical therapy or to an initial conservative strategy of medical therapy alone and angiography if medical therapy failed. The primary outcome was a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or resuscitated cardiac arrest. A key secondary outcome was death from cardiovascular causes or myocardial infarction. RESULTS Over a median of 3.2 years, 318 primary outcome events occurred in the invasive-strategy group and 352 occurred in the conservative-strategy group. At 6 months, the cumulative event rate was 5.3% in the invasive-strategy group and 3.4% in the conservative-strategy group (difference, 1.9 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8 to 3.0); at 5 years, the cumulative event rate was 16.4% and 18.2%, respectively (difference, 121.8 percentage points; 95% CI, 124.7 to 1.0). Results were similar with respect to the key secondary outcome. The incidence of the primary outcome was sensitive to the definition of myocardial infarction; a secondary analysis yielded more procedural myocardial infarctions of uncertain clinical importance. There were 145 deaths in the invasive-strategy group and 144 deaths in the conservative-strategy group (hazard ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.32). CONCLUSIONS Among patients with stable coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, we did not find evidence that an initial invasive strategy, as compared with an initial conservative strategy, reduced the risk of ischemic cardiovascular events or death from any cause over a median of 3.2 years. The trial findings were sensitive to the definition of myocardial infarction that was used