Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is the most important systemic mycosis in Latin America. It has been regarded as a multifocal disease, with oral lesions as the prominent feature. To provide useful information concerning the diagnosis and management of the disease, this study describes demographic and clinical data from the medical records of a consecutive series of 66 Brazilian patients from an endemic area, evaluated in a referral centre for oral diagnosis. In this sample of patients, there was a predominance of middle-aged male patients, who were primarily rural workers. Chronic multifocal disease was prevalent, with lesions also detected in the lungs, lymph nodes, skin or adrenal glands. Most of the cases presented with lesions at the gingival mucosa followed by the palate and lips; these conditions occurring in the oral cavity were frequently associated with pain. Importantly, most of the patients sought professional care for oral lesions. The diagnosis was obtained through exfoliative cytology and/or biopsy of the oral lesions. Medical treatment was effective, and there were no mortalities in the sample. The present findings not only confirm the importance of oral lesions in the diagnosis and management of PCM but also illustrate that questions still remain unclear, such as the possibility of direct inoculation of the fungus onto oral tissues.

BackgroundOral peripheral nerve sheath tumors (OPNSTs) are reactive or neoplastic diseases that develop from proliferation of the nerve itself or their limiting sheaths. Here we describe the clinicopathologic data of OPNSTs observed in a sample of the Brazilian population and evaluate the expression of molecules associated with neural biology to determine their usefulness in the diagnosis.Material and MethodsDescriptive study of cases diagnosed as OPNSTs, from the Pathology Laboratory at the School of Dentistry/ Federal University of Uberlandia, followed by an immunohistochemical study of S-100, CD57, neurofilament protein (NFP) and epithelial membrane antigen (EMA).ResultsOPNSTs comprised 0.27% of all biopsies. There were eight patients with neurofibromas, eight with traumatic neuromas, seven with schwannomas, five with granular cell tumor (GCT), and four with palisaded encapsulated neuromas (PEN). Women were more frequently affected (60.6% of the cases). Tongue and lips prevailed as the most frequent sites. S-100 was reactive in 100% of the cases. Neural fibers evidenced by CD57 reactivity of their Schwann cells were always nested in bundles within neurofibromas and GCT, absent within schwannomas and dispersed within PEN. Reactivity for NFP was limited to axons and then followed the same pattern of CD57, though much less evident. Reactivity for EMA was observed in the capsular tissues and perineurium of nerve fascicles, and absent in parenchymal cells of GCT.ConclusionsThis study showed that OPNSTs are rare, widely benign and often found in tongue and lips. OPNSTs evolve from a common origin to distinct histological patterns, with eventual overlapping in their clinical and morphologic features. The arrangement of reactive residual neural fibers for CD57 can be a useful staining in the differential diagnosis of OPNSTs. Key words:Peripheral nerve sheath tumors. Oral cavity. Differential diagnosis. Immunohistochemistry. CD57 antigens.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-7925.2016v29n2p7O estudo teve como objetivo principal analisar a influência climática na produção de serapilheira, em um pequeno fragmento de cerradão em Minas Gerais, Brasil, durante um ano. Foram utilizados 20 coletores (0,25 m2), dispostos em linha. A produção de serapilheira total foi de 7,5 t.ha-1.ano-1, composta pelas frações folhas, ramos e estruturas férteis. A fração foliar contribuiu com 67% do total acumulado em um ano. A correlação de Pearson (r) indicou a influência das variáveis climáticas precipitação e temperaturas médias e mínimas na produção da fração foliar. A análise de r resultou também em valor significativo entre ramos e velocidade média do vento, enquanto que estruturas férteis sofreram influência da precipitação, temperaturas médias máximas e mínimas. Características vegetacionais podem ter interferido nos resultados encontrados. Todavia, estudos complementares envolvendo análises fitossociológica e de ciclagem de nutrientes deverão ser desenvolvidos para a comprovação de hipóteses propostas.

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