Human toxocariasis: contribution by Brazilian researchers

In the present paper the main aspects of the natural history of human infection by Toxocara larvae that occasionally result in the occurrence of visceral and/or ocular larva migrans syndrome were reviewed. The contribution by Brazilian researchers was emphasized, especially the staff of the Tropical Medicine Institute of São Paulo (IMT)

Antidiarrheal effect of extract from the bark of Combretum leprosum in mice

Abstract This study investigated the effects of the ethanolic extract from the bark of Combretum leprosum (ECL) on intestinal transit and castor-oil induced diarrhea in mice. The oral administration of ECL (750 and 1000 mg/kg) slowed intestinal transit (ID50 of 455 mg/kg). The ECL (250-1000 mg/kg) reduced castor-oil induced diarrhea, in a time- and dose-dependent manner (p < 0.05). To determine if antidiarrheal effect of ECL involves α2-adrenergic or opioid receptor activation, the mice were pretreated with antagonists of these receptors, yohimbine or naloxone respectively. None of these drugs inhibited the antidiarrheal effect of ECL. To test if antidiarrheal effect of ECL is due to an antisecretory action, we realized the enteropooling assay on rats. The ECL increased bowel content and did not inhibit intestinal fluid secretion increase induced by misoprostol (100 µg/kg, s.c.). To determine if antimotility effect of ECL is due to a reduction on gastric motility, we realized the organ bath assay in the rat fundus stomach. Isotonic recordings show that the carbachol /KCl - induced contraction was not reversed by the addition of ECL. In conclusion, our results suggest that ECL contains antidiarrheal compounds and these compounds could induce a reduction of intestinal tract motility

Taxonomy, allometry, sexual dimorphism, and conservation of the trans-Andean water-snake Helicops danieli Amaral 1937 (Serpentes: Dipsadidae: Hydropsini).

The extensive lack of knowledge on the morphological aspects of South American water-snakes, includes a poor understanding of phenotypic parameters, intraspecific variation, and conservation of the trans-Andean Helicops species, Helicops danieli Amaral, 1937. For the first time, we provide a multidisciplinary view using key features (e.g., morphology and niche modeling) to improve the taxonomic recognition of this species, as well as describing ontogenetic color changes, allometry, sexual dimorphism, and the conservation status of this poorly studied snake. First, we emended the morphological diagnosis of H. danieli with 23 characters and detected that juvenile tail length is positively related to allometric growth, and that juveniles differ from adults through the presence of the white nuchal collar. Females are larger than males for snout-vent length, whereas males showed proportionally longer tails and smaller head length growth. Suitable areas for H. danieli are restricted to the trans-Andean regions from the Magdalena drainage to the Caribbean coast, which also showed high values of anthropic impacts. Our multidisciplinary approach provided new insights into this South American water snake’s morphology, intraspecific variation, and distribution.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author