We describe two cases in Brazil of human subcutaneous infections due to Phaeoacremonium spp. The first case was caused by Phaeoacremonium aleophilum. The patient presented with a unique fistulized nodule on the left ankle. The fungus was detected by direct microscopic examination and was isolated repeatedly from material collected from the lesion. This is the first reported case of human infection caused by this fungus. The second case was caused by Phaeoacremonium rubrigenum. The patient presented with multiple nodules around the left ankle and foot. The fungus was detected by direct examination of pus and histological sections of the nodules. It was repeatedly isolated from the clinical specimens. This is the second reported case of human infection caused by this species. CASE REPORTS Case 1. The patient was a 19-year-old male Brazilian clerk residing in the interior of the Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. He reported the presence of a painful nodule on the surface of his left ankle but had no history of recent injury in the affected area. The nodule was excised on six occasions, but it was not studied histologically or microbiologically. On examination in June 2001, a mycological study of the pus collected from a fistula close to the nodule was performed (Fig. 1A). The patient was otherwise in good physical condition and had no remarkable past medical history. Routine laboratory examination showed no abnormal findings. A direct microscopic examination of a potassium hydroxide preparation of the collected material was negative. However, cultures on Sabouraud dextrose agar (Oxoid, Basingstoke, England) at 35 to 37°C were positive. After 5 days of incubation, numerous whitish colonies with the same morphology were present. The fungus was tentatively identified as an Acremonium sp. Two more samples of pus were collected a week apart, and the same fungus grew again. Direct examination of the last collected material showed the presence of a few hyaline, septate hyphae (Fig. 1B). An X ray of the affected region demonstrated no bone or joint involvement. The nodule was surgically removed, and the patient received itraconazole (100 mg/day) for 2 months. The patient was then considered cured. Only two healed spots were present in the areas previously occupied by the nodules and the fistula.Case 2. The patient was a 55-year-old Brazilian white male residing in the interior of the Rio Grande do Sul State. He reported nonpainful multiple nodules on his left ankle and foot, with spontaneous drainage of pus. The nodules had appeared 8 months earlier. The patient self-administered ampicillin, cephalexin, and ciprofloxacin, though without medical prescription, but his condition did not improve. There was no recent history of injury to the ankle. Past medical history revealed that he had suffered from hypertension. Eight years before the case study, he had received a renal transplant, for which he had been placed on immunosuppressive therapy with cyclosporine (100 mg/day), prednisone (15 mg/day) and azathioprine (150 mg/day). ...
"Antimicrobial activity of extracts of the leaves and branches of Ilex paraguariensis (erva-mate)". For the evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of Ilex paraguariensis six microorganisms were used: Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. In disks of filter paper 10 µl of hydro-alcoholic extracts of the leaves and branches from two distinct environments were added, with and without sun exposure. The extracts have inhibited levedura, gram-negative bacillus and gram-positive cocos, with no activity to Escherichia coli.
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