Luis Gustavo Cavalcante Reinaldo, Raimundo José Cunha Araújo Júnior, Thiago Melo Diniz, Rafael de Deus Moura, Antônio José Meneses Filho, Caio Victor Verçosa de Macedo Furtado, Washington Luis Conrado Dos Santos, Dorcas Lamounier Costa, Kelsen Dantas Eulálio, Gabriel R Ferreira, Carlos Henrique Nery Costa
BACKGROUND: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), or kala-azar, is a common comorbidity in patients with AIDS in endemic areas. Many patients continue to experiences relapses of VL despite virological control, but with immunological failure. These patients remain chronically symptomatic with hypersplenism, for example with anemia, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia, and are at risk of severe co-infection due to low CD4+ count. Therefore, in this study, splenectomized patients with VL and HIV infection were investigated to understand why the CD4+ count fails to recover in these patients, evaluating the importance of spleen mass for hypersplenism and immunological failure...
March 15, 2024: Parasites & Vectors