PREVALENCE OF INTESTINAL PARASITISM AND ASSOCIATED SYMPTOMATOLOGY AMONG HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS

;Intestinal parasites are an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Immunocompromised individuals may develop more severe forms of these infections. Taking into account the immunity impairment in patients suffering from chronic renal failure (CRF), we will determine the prevalence and associated symptoms of intestinal parasites in these patients. Controls without CRF were used for comparison. Stool samples were collected and processed for microscopic identification of parasites using the Formalin-ether concentration method. For Cryptosporidium diagnosis, the ELISA technique was used. One hundred and ten fecal samples from hemodialysis patients were analyzed, as well as 86 from a community group used as control group. A result of 51.6% of intestinal parasites was observed in hemodialysis patients and 61.6% in the control group. Cryptosporidium and Blastocystis were the most common infections in patients with CRF (26.4% and 24.5%, respectively). Blastocystis was the most common infection in the control group (41.9%), however no individual was found positive for Cryptosporidium. Among the CRF patients, 73.6% were symptomatic, 54.3% of these tested positive for at least one parasite, in contrast to 44.8% in asymptomatic patients (p = 0.38). The most common symptoms in this group were flatulence (36.4%), asthenia (30.0%) and weight loss (30.0%). In the control group, 91.9% were symptomatic, 60.8% of these tested positive for at least one parasite, in contrast to 71.4% in asymptomatic patients (p = 0.703). A significant difference between the two groups was observed with regard to symptoms, with bloating, postprandial fullness, and abdominal pain being more frequent in the control group than in the hemodialysis group (all p < 0.05). Comparing symptomatic with asymptomatic, there was no association in either group between symptoms or the prevalence of parasitic infection, nor with the type of parasite or with multiple parasitic infections. Patients with chronic renal failure are frequent targets for renal transplantation, which as well as the inherent immunological impairment of the disease itself, results in immunosuppression by medication. For this reason, carriers of intestinal parasites with pathogenic potential can develop serious clinical complications influencing the success of transplantation. This fact, coupled with the high prevalence of intestinal parasites and the dissociation between symptoms and infection in CRF patients, suggests that the stool test should be incorporated in routine propedeutics. Furthermore, preventive measures for the acquisition of parasites through the fecal-oral contamination route should be introduced.Doenças parasitárias infectam grande número de indivíduos em todo o mundo. Manifestações clínicas mais severas podem se apresentar em pacientes imunocomprometidos. Considerando o importante comprometimento imunológico observado em pacientes com insuficiência renal crônica (IRC), foi determinada a prevalência e sintomas associados a parasitoses intestinais nesses pacientes em comparação a controles saudáveis. Foram coletadas amostras fecais de cada participante e processadas para identificação microscópica dos parasitas pelo método de concentração por formol-éter. Foi utilizada a técnica de ELISA para identificar coproantígenos de Cryptosporidium. Foram analisadas 110 amostras fecais de pacientes em hemodiálise e 86 de um grupo controle comunitário. Cryptosporidium e Blastocystis foram as infecções mais freqüentes nos pacientes em hemodiálise (26,4% e 24,5%, respectivamente). Blastocystis foi a infecção mais freqüente no grupo controle (41,9%), entretanto nenhum indivíduo positivo para Cryptosporidium foi identificado. Considerando os pacientes com IRC, 73,6% eram sintomáticos, sendo 54,3% positivos para algum parasita, contra 44,8% nos assintomáticos (p = 0,38). Os sintomas mais frequentes neste grupo foram flatulência (36,4%), adinamia (30,0%) e perda de peso (30,0%). No grupo controle, 91,9% eram sintomáticos, sendo 60,8% positivos para algum parasita, contra 71,4% nos assintomáticos (p = 0,703). Em relação aos sintomas, houve diferença significativa entre os dois grupos, sendo que flatulência, plenitude pós-prandial, e dor abdominal foram mais freqüentes no grupo controle que nos pacientes em hemodiálise (todos p < 0,05). Comparando-se sintomáticos com assintomáticos, não houve associação entre a sintomatologia e a prevalência de parasitose, nem com o tipo de parasita, e nem com o poliparasitismo, nos dois grupos. Considerando que pacientes com IRC são frequentes alvos de transplante renal, resultando em imunossupressão por medicamentos, que é somada à deficiência imunológica inerente à própria doença. Os portadores de parasitas intestinais com potencial patogênico podem desenvolver sérias complicações clínicas que influenciam o sucesso do transplante. Este fato, aliado a alta prevalência de parasitas intestinais e dissociação entre os sintomas e infecção nesses pacientes, sugerem a incorporação do exame de fezes na propedêutica de rotina dos mesmos, juntamente com medidas preventivas para a aquisição de parasitas com rota de contaminação fecal-oral

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

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 understanding 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,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 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 underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities 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 organism 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 neglected 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 lost

Additional file 1: of Stability of the HTLV-1 glycoprotein 46 (gp46) gene in an endemic region of the Brazilian Amazon and the presence of a significant mutation (N93D) in symptomatic patients

The research ethics committee. Source: Study protocol, 2015, Table S1. Description of values of AICM applied in the statistics (Bayesian inference) in the study data. Source: Study protocol, 2016. (PDF 1549 kb