Oswaldo Cruz Foundation

About: Oswaldo Cruz Foundation is a facility organization based out in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Trypanosoma cruzi. The organization has 18673 authors who have published 36752 publications receiving 802378 citations. The organization is also known as: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz & FIOCRUZ.

Malaria primes the innate immune response due to interferon-gamma induced enhancement of toll-like receptor expression and function.

Abstract: Malaria-induced sepsis is associated with an intense proinflammatory cytokinemia for which the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. It has been demonstrated that experimental infection of humans with Plasmodium falciparum primes Toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated proinflammatory responses. Nevertheless, the relevance of this phenomenon during natural infection and, more importantly, the mechanisms by which malaria mediates TLR hyperresponsiveness are unclear. Here we show that TLR responses are boosted in febrile patients during natural infection with P. falciparum. Microarray analyses demonstrated that an extraordinary percentage of the up-regulated genes, including genes involving TLR signaling, had sites for IFN-inducible transcription factors. To further define the mechanism involved in malaria-mediated “priming,” we infected mice with Plasmodium chabaudi. The human data were remarkably predictive of what we observed in the rodent malaria model. Malaria-induced priming of TLR responses correlated with increased expression of TLR mRNA in a TLR9-, MyD88-, and IFNγ-dependent manner. Acutely infected WT mice were highly susceptible to LPS-induced lethality while TLR9−/−, IL12−/− and to a greater extent, IFNγ−/− mice were protected. Our data provide unprecedented evidence that TLR9 and MyD88 are essential to initiate IL12 and IFNγ responses and favor host hyperresponsiveness to TLR agonists resulting in overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines and the sepsis-like symptoms of acute malaria.

A new challenge for malaria control in Brazil: asymptomatic Plasmodium infection - a review

Abstract: The evolution of malaria in Brazil, its morbidity, the malaria control programs, and the new challenges for these programs in the light of the emergence of asymptomatic infection in the Amazon region of Brazil were reviewed. At least six Brazilian research groups have demonstrated that asymptomatic infection by Plasmodium is an important impediment to malaria control, among mineral prospectors in Mato Grosso and riverside communities in Rondonia and, in our group, in the middle and upper reaches of the Negro river, in the state of Amazonas. Likewise, other researchers have studied the problem among indigenous communities in the Colombian, Peruvian, and Venezuelan parts of the Amazon basin, adjacent to Brazil. The frequency of positive results from the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) among asymptomatic individuals has ranged from 20.4 to 49.5%, and the presence of Plasmodium in the thick blood smears, from 4.2 to 38.5%. Infection with Anopheles darlingi has also been demonstrated by xenodiagnosis among asymptomatic patients with positive PCR results. If a mean of 25% is taken for the asymptomatic infection caused by Plasmodium sp. in the Amazon region of Brazil, malaria control will be difficult to achieve in that region with the measures currently utilized for such control.

As instituições de longa permanência para idosos no Brasil

Abstract: O envelhecimento populacional está ocorrendo em um contexto de grandes mudanças sociais, culturais, econômicas, institucionais, no sistema de valores e na configuração dos arranjos familiares. Para o futuro próximo, espera-se um crescimento a taxas elevadas da população muito idosa (80 anos e mais), como resultado das altas taxas de natalidade observadas no passado recente e da continuação da redução da mortalidade nas idades avançadas. No entanto, a certeza do crescimento desse segmento populacional está sendo acompanhada pela incerteza das condições de cuidados que experimentarão os longevos. Embora a legislação brasileira estabeleça que o cuidado dos membros dependentes deva ser responsabilidade das famílias, este se torna cada vez mais escasso, em função da redução da fecundidade, das mudanças na nupcialidade e da crescente participação da mulher – tradicional cuidadora – no mercado de trabalho. Isto passa a requerer que o Estado e o mercado privado dividam com a família as responsabilidades no cuidado com a população idosa. Diante desse contexto, uma das alternativas de cuidados não-familiares existentes corresponde às instituições de longa permanência para idosos (ILPIs), sejam públicas ou privadas. No entanto, a residência em instituições não é uma prática comum na sociedade brasileira. Faltava, até então, uma visão agregada sobre as ILPIs brasileiras. Não se conhecia quantos idosos viviam em instituições, suas características – como sexo, idade, renda, condições de saúde/autonomia, laços familiares, tempo de permanência na instituição – e tampouco o número de instituições existentes, a infraestrutura, os serviços oferecidos, a estrutura de custos, os recursos com que contam, os modelos de assistência praticados, etc. A falta de informações sobre essa modalidade de serviços, bem como a expectativa de que a sua demanda tende a crescer, foi a principal motivação para a realização da pesquisa nacional, de caráter censitário, aqui descrita.

Alternative strategies for mosquito-borne arbovirus control.

Abstract: Background: Mosquito-borne viruses—such as Zika, chikungunya, dengue fever, and yellow fever, among others—are of global importance. Although vaccine development for prevention of mosquito-borne arbovirus infections has been a focus, mitigation strategies continue to rely on vector control. However, vector control has failed to prevent recent epidemics and arrest expanding geographic distribution of key arboviruses, such as dengue. As a consequence, there has been increasing necessity to further optimize current strategies within integrated approaches and advance development of alternative, innovative strategies for the control of mosquito-borne arboviruses. Methods and findings: This review, intended as a general overview, is one of a series being generated by the Worldwide Insecticide resistance Network (WIN). The alternative strategies discussed reflect those that are currently under evaluation for public health value by the World Health Organization (WHO) and represent strategies of focus by globally recognized public health stakeholders as potential insecticide resistance (IR)-mitigating strategies. Conditions where these alternative strategies could offer greatest public health value in consideration of mitigating IR will be dependent on the anticipated mechanism of action. Arguably, the most pressing need for endorsement of the strategies described here will be the epidemiological evidence of a public health impact. Conclusions: As the burden of mosquito-borne arboviruses, predominately those transmitted by Aedes aegypti and A. albopictus, continues to grow at a global scale, new vector-control tools and integrated strategies will be required to meet public health demands. Decisions regarding implementation of alternative strategies will depend on key ecoepidemiological parameters that each is intended to optimally impact toward driving down arbovirus transmission.