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The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for tooth loss in an extended age group of adults over 4 years. The prospective cohort study assessed adults (20–64 years old) in 2011 and 2015, from Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. The sample selection was planned based on the adult population in the city. The inclusion criteria were randomly selected residences per census tract unit (one adult per household). The exclusion criteria comprised of a physical or psychological state that prevented the achievement of clinical procedures or understanding of the questionnaire. The home oral examination was performed using the index of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT), the Community Periodontal Index according to the World Health Organization, and visible biofilm. Demographic and socio-economic data, information on health habits, and the use of dental services were obtained by questionnaire. The outcome was a presence incidence of tooth loss, assessed by the difference between Missing teeth (M>0) from DMFT in 2011 and that in 2015. The conceptual theoretical model ‘Ethnicity, aging and oral health outcomes’ was adapted for tooth loss and used in a Hierarchical multivariate Poisson Regression analysis (p<0.20). The reference category for the Poisson regression were individuals who had no missing teeth (M) due to caries or periodontal disease (p<0.05). There were a total of 143 (follow-up rate = 57.7%) participants in the four-year study, and there was incidence of tooth loss in 51 (35.7%) adults over this period. The risk factors for tooth loss were reason for seeking dental services by pain (RR = 2.72; 95.0% CI: 1.04–7.37), previous tooth loss (RR = 3.01; 95.0% CI: 1.18–7.73) and decayed teeth (RR = 2.87; 95.0% CI: 1.22–6.73). The risk factors for tooth loss were: reason for seeking dental services by pain, previous tooth loss and dental caries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Visceral Leishmaniasis in humans presents with fever, anemia, and splenomegaly and can be lethal if not treated. Nevertheless, the majority of Leishmania infantum-infected individuals does not manifest symptoms and remain so provided they are not immunosuppressed. In this work, the performance of different tests was evaluated to detect asymptomatic individuals who were living in Teresina, Piauí state, Brazil, an endemic area for VL. Methodology: L. infantum-specific antibodies were detected by ELISA and two different rapid immunochromatographic (IC) diagnostic tests, Kalazar Detect and OnSite, and parasitic loads were detected by real time PCR [qPCR]. Additionally, we measured levels of the biomarkers monokine induced by IFN-γ (MIG) and IFN-γ-induced protein 10 (IP-10) before and after stimulation of whole blood with soluble Leishmania antigen [SLA]. Principal findings: Kalazar Detect and OnSite detected, respectively, 76% and 64% of patients presenting with active Visceral Leishmaniasis; 50% and 57% of patients remained positive in these tests, respectively, after treatment. Of the healthy participants in the study who were living in the endemic area, only 1.7% were positive with both of the IC tests. On the other hand, reactivity in ELISA tests revealed that 13% of these individuals presented asymptomatic infections; among VL patients, 84% presenting with active disease were reactive in ELISA, and after treatment, 55.5% were seropositive. L. infantum DNA was present in the blood of 37.9% of infected individuals living in the endemic area, while IP-10 and MIG biomarkers were detected in 26.7% of them. The greatest concordance of positivity occurred between ELISA and qPCR. Conclusion: The association of different techniques can detect asymptomatic infections, however, more research is necessary to develop ideal biomarkers that are simple to use in the clinic and in field studies in areas endemic for Visceral Leishmaniasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Liposomal amphotericin B (L-AMB) has been used for mucosal leishmaniasis (ML), but comparative studies on L-AMB and other drugs used for the treatment of ML have not been conducted. The present study aimed to evaluate the outcome of patients with ML who were treated with L-AMB. Methods: This is a 15-year retrospective study of Brazilian patients with a confirmed diagnosis of ML. The therapeutic options for the treatment of ML consisted of L-AMB, amphotericin B lipid complex (ABLC), deoxycholate amphotericin B (d-AMB), itraconazole, antimonial pentavalent, or pentamidine. Healing, cure rate and adverse effects (AEs) associated with the drugs used to treat this condition were analyzed. Results: In 71 patients, a total of 105 treatments were evaluated. The outcome of the treatment with each drug was compared, and results showed that L-AMB was superior to other therapeutic regimens (P = 0.001; odds ratio [OR] = 4.84; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.78–13.17). d-AMB had worse AEs than other treatment regimens (P = 0.001, OR = 0.09; 95% CI = 0.09–0.43). Approximately 66% of the patients presented with AEs during ML treatment. Although L-AMB was less nephrotoxic than d-AMB, it was associated with acute kidney injury compared with other drugs (P <0.05). Conclusion: L-AMB was more effective than other therapies for the treatment of ML. However, a high incidence of toxicity was associated with its use. Therapeutic choices should be reassessed, and the development of new drugs is necessary for the treatment of ML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]