Chemical composition, antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the essential oil from Vismia guianensis fruits

In recent decades, the essential oils of plants have drawn great interest as sources of natural products. Essential oil from the fruits of Vismia guianensis was tested for its chemical constituents and antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of the essential oil revealed the presence of 38 sesquiterpenoids. The major components were β-caryophyllene (25.8%), α-copaene (13.1%), and δ-cadinene (11.6%). Antimicrobial activities were measured against six species of Gram negative and seven species of Gram positive bacteria and showed antibacterial activity against the human pathogenic Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus lentus with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 78 μg/ml. The antioxidant activity of the essential oil was evaluated using the beta carotene/linoleic acid assay and showed antioxidant activity.Key words: Vismia guianensis, chemical composition, antibacterial, antioxidant, fruits, essential oil

Generation of neutralizing antibodies against Omicron, Gamma and Delta SARS-CoV-2 variants following CoronaVac vaccination

Vaccination is a fundamental tool to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and to limit the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with multiple mutations has raised serious concerns about the ability of neutralizing antibody responses elicited by prior vaccination to effectively combat these variants. The neutralizing capacity against the Gamma, Delta and Omicron variants of sera from individuals immunized with the CoronaVac vaccine remains incompletely determined. The present study evaluated 41 health care workers at the Faculdade de Medicina of the Universidade de Sao Paulo, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, naive to previous SARS- CoV-2 infection, who were vaccinated with two doses of the CoronaVac SARS-CoV-2 vaccine 28 days apart. Neutralizing antibody levels against the Gamma, Delta, and Omicron variants were measured at 32 and 186 days after the second vaccination. We also measured neutralizing antibodies against Omicron in 34 of these individuals following a subsequent booster immunization with the Pfizer vaccine. Quantification of neutralizing antibodies was performed using the Cytopathic Effect-based Virus Neutralization test. Neutralization antibody activity against the Gamma, Delta and Omicron variants was observed in 78.0%, 65.9% and 58.5% of serum samples, respectively, obtained at a mean of 32 days after the second immunization. This decreased to 17.1%, 24.4% and 2.4% of sera having activity against Delta, Gamma and Omicron, respectively, at 186 days post-vaccination. The median neutralizing antibody titers at 32 days were 1:40, 1:20 and 1:20 against Gamma, Delta and Omicron, respectively, and decreased to an undetectable median level against all variants at the later time. A booster immunization with the Pfizer vaccine elicited neutralizing antibodies against Omicron in 85% of subjects tested 60 days after vaccination. We conclude that two doses of the CoronaVac vaccine results in limited protection of short duration against the Gamma, Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants. A booster dose with the Pfizer vaccine induced antibody neutralizing activity against Omicron in most patients which was measurable 60 days after the booster

Thalidomide is Associated With Increased T Cell Activation and Inflammation in Antiretroviral-naive HIV-infected Individuals in a Randomised Clinical Trial of Efficacy and Safety

Trial Design: Open-label, randomised, controlled, pilot proof-of-concept clinical trial. Methods: Participants: Antiretroviral naive adult males with CD4 count >= 350 cells/mm(3). Interventions: Patients were randomised to receive thalidomide 200 mg QD for 3 weeks (Thalidomide group) or not (Control group) and followed for 48 weeks. Objective: We hypothesized that short-term Thalidomide use would reduce HIV related inflammation and HIV replication among antiretroviral naive HIV infected individuals. Outcome: Viral loads, CD4/CD8 counts, ultra-sensitive C-reactive protein (US-CRP), cell activation markers, and plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were analyzed. Randomisation: Unrestricted randomisation. Blinding: No blinding was used. Results: Numbers randomised: Thirty recruited individuals were randomised to Thalidomide (16 patients) or Control (14 patients) groups. Recruitment: Patients were recruited from April 2011 to January 2013. Outcome: Viral loads remained stable in both groups. During thalidomide treatment, a decrease in CD4/CD8 ratio (p = 0.04), a decrease in CD4 count (p = 0.04), an increase in cell activation calculated by the percentage of CD38 (+)/HLA-DR+ CD8 cells (p < 0.05) and an increase in US-CRP (p < 0.01) were observed in the Thalidomide group, with all parameters returning to baseline levels after thalidomide interruption. We confirmed that thalidomide increased HIV replication in vitro of 6 of 7 samples from long-term antiretroviral suppressed individuals. Harms: No class 3/4 adverse events occurred. Conclusions: Short-termuse of thalidomide led to an intense transient increase in T cell activation and inflammation, with a decrease in the CD4(+) cell count without changes to the CD8(+) cell count. We confirmed that thalidomide acts in vitro as a latency reversal agent and speculate that the in vivo results obtained were due to an increase in HIV replication. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Univ Fed São Paulo, Lab Retrovirol, São Paulo, BrazilFiocruz MS, Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Lab Interdisciplinar Pesquisas Med, Rio De Janeiro, BrazilSecretaria Municipal Saude Antonio Ribeiro Neto, Rio De Janeiro, BrazilOncohiv, Rio De Janeiro, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro, BrazilInst Fed Educ Ciencia & Tecnol Rio de Janeiro IF, Rio De Janeiro, BrazilUniv Fed São Paulo, Lab Retrovirol, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 04/15856-9Web of Scienc

Efficacy and safety of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir in treatment-naïve adults with chronic hepatitis C virus genotypes 1–6 in Brazil

Introduction and objectives: Glecaprevir/pibrentasvir is a highly effective and well tolerated treatment for hepatitis C infection. Brazilian patients were not included in the original development studies for glecaprevir/pibrentasvir. This study aimed to assess safety and efficacy of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir in treatment-naïve Brazilian adults without cirrhosis or with compensated cirrhosis. Patients and methods: EXPEDITION-3 was a Phase 3, open-label, multicenter study in treatment-naïve Brazilian adults with hepatitis C infection genotype 1–6. Patients without cirrhosis (F2 or F3) or with compensated cirrhosis (F4) received 8 or 12 weeks of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir, respectively. The primary efficacy endpoint was the rate of sustained virologic response at post-treatment Week 12. Secondary endpoints were on-treatment virologic failure and relapse rates. Baseline polymorphisms were assessed in NS3 and NS5A. Adverse events and laboratory abnormalities were monitored. Results: 100 patients were enrolled, 75 received 8 weeks of treatment and 25 received 12 weeks; all patients completed treatment. Overall sustained virologic response at post-treatment Week 12 rate was high (98.0%; 98/100; 95% confidence interval: 93.0–99.4) and remained high regardless of baseline viral or host factors, including demographics, hepatitis C virus RNA levels, polymorphisms in NS3 and/or NS5A, genotype, and relevant comorbidities. 55% of patients reported ≥1 adverse event, the most common beingheadache (18.0%). Four patients reported serious adverse events; none were considered drug related orled to study drug discontinuation. No hepatic decompensations were observed.Conclusions: Glecaprevir/pibrentasvir was effective and well tolerated in treatment-naïve Brazilianpatients with hepatitis C infection without cirrhosis and with compensated cirrhosis

Genotype and phenotype landscape of MEN2 in 554 medullary thyroid cancer patients: the BrasMEN study

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) is an autosomal dominant genetic disease caused by RET gene germline mutations that is characterized by medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) associated with other endocrine tumors. Several reports have demonstrated that the RET mutation profile may vary according to the geographical area. In this study, we collected clinical and molecular data from 554 patients with surgically confirmed MTC from 176 families with MEN2 in 18 different Brazili an centers to compare the type and prevalence of RET mutations with those from other countries. The most frequent mutations, classified by the number of families affected, occur in codon 634, exon 11 (76 families), followed by codon 918, exon 16 (34 families: 26 with M918T and 8 with M918V) and codon 804, exon 14 (22 families: 15 with V804M and 7 with V804L). When compared with other major published series from Europe, there are several similarities and some differences. While the mutations in codons C618, C620, C630, E768 and S891 present a similar prevalence, some mutations have a lower prevalence in Brazil, and others are found mainly in Brazil (G533C and M918V). These results reflect the singular proportion of European, Amerindian and African ancestries in the Brazilian mosaic genome83289298CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL - FAPERGSSem informaçãoSem informação2006/60402-1; 2010/51547-1; 2013/01476-9; 2014/06570-6; 2009/50575-4; 2010/51546-5; 2012/21942-116/2551-0000482-

Clinical features and natural history of the first 2073 suspected COVID-19 cases in the Corona São Caetano primary care programme: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Despite most cases not requiring hospital care, there are limited community-based clinical data on COVID-19. METHODS: The Corona São Caetano programme is a primary care initiative providing care to all residents with COVID-19 in São Caetano do Sul, Brazil. It was designed to capture standardised clinical data on community COVID-19 cases. After triage of potentially severe cases, consecutive patients presenting to a multimedia screening platform between 13 April and 13 May 2020 were tested at home with SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR; positive patients were followed up for 14 days with phone calls every 2 days. RT-PCR-negative patients were offered additional SARS-CoV-2 serology testing to establish their infection status. We describe the clinical, virological and natural history features of this prospective population-based cohort. FINDINGS: Of 2073 suspected COVID-19 cases, 1583 (76.4%) were tested by RT-PCR, of whom 444 (28.0%, 95% CI 25.9 to 30.3) were positive; 604/1136 (53%) RT-PCR-negative patients underwent serology, of whom 52 (8.6%) tested SARS-CoV-2 seropositive. The most common symptoms of confirmed COVID-19 were cough, fatigue, myalgia and headache; whereas self-reported fever (OR 3.0, 95% CI 2.4 to 3.9), anosmia (OR 3.3, 95% CI 2.6 to 4.4) and ageusia (OR 2.9, 95% CI 2.3 to 3.8) were most strongly associated with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis by RT-PCR or serology. RT-PCR cycle thresholds were lower in men, older patients, those with fever and arthralgia and closer to symptom onset. The rates of hospitalisation and death among 444 RT-PCR-positive cases were 6.7% and 0.7%, respectively, with older age and obesity more frequent in the hospitalised group. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 presents in a similar way to other mild community-acquired respiratory diseases, but the presence of fever, anosmia and ageusia can assist the specific diagnosis. Most patients recovered without requiring hospitalisation with a low fatality rate compared with other hospital-based studies