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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 2004, p. 2419-2424, Vol. 42, No. 6
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.6.2419-2424.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology,1 Department of Infectious Diseases, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo,3 Department of Clinical Pathology, Medical School, State University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo,4 Department of Community Health, Medical School, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil2
Received 23 October 2003/ Returned for modification 18 December 2003/ Accepted 18 February 2004
Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a systemic fungal disease that is particularly important among individuals living and working in rural areas of endemicity in Latin America. Detection of anti-Paracoccidioides brasiliensis antibodies is of limited value due to false-negative results. Detection of P. brasiliensis-gp43 circulating antigen is a practical approach for a specific diagnosis of the disease. In a previous study we described an inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay able to detect the 43-kDa P. brasiliensis antigen in sera of 100% of patients with the acute form of PCM and in 95.31 and 100% of patients with the chronic multifocal and unifocal forms of PCM. To investigate its potential application for the follow-up of PCM patients during treatment, antigen levels were monitored at regular intervals for up 8 to 12 months in serum samples from 23 patients. The results showed that treatment with itraconazole resulted in decreasing levels of circulating gp43 that were correlated with the reduction of anti-gp43 antibodies. It was also observed that by the end of 12 months of treatment gp43 levels were <5 µg/ml in all patients.
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