Occurrence of blindness and visual impairment in patients with ocular toxoplasmosis followed at the Hospital das Clínicas of the Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (HCFMRP-USP)

• Grant number: 17/06680-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2017
• End date: July 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: João Marcello Fortes Furtado
• Grantee: Michelle Rodrigues Araujo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The prevalence of toxoplasmosis in Latin America is higher when compared to other localities, with a high relevance in the public health scenario. Toxoplasma gondii parasite infection can occur both prenatally and postnatal, being an infection acquired mainly by the consumption of water and food contaminated with oocysts excreted in cat feces or ingestion of raw meat containing tissue cysts. In postnatal infection, it is estimated that 90% of the people are asymptomatic, and 10% present a self-limited acute infection, and may present other manifestations such as retinochoroiditis. The ocular impairment in toxoplasmosis is due to the retinal infection and the inflammatory reaction resulting from it, generating necrotic lesions that may cause loss of visual acuity. It is the leading cause of posterior uveitis in the world and one of the leading causes of childhood blindness in Brazil. Despite the importance of this infection, most of the studies on this subject have been performed in other countries, and their results are not necessarily applied to Brazil, where eye involvement is more common and more severe. In this study, we performed a prospective study with patients diagnosed with ocular toxoplasmosis and followed at the uveitis outpatient clinic of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Medical School of Ribeirão Preto at the University of São Paulo (HCFMRP-USP) in 2017, analyzing the anatomical location of the lesions, visual acuity and associated complications. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

OLIVER, GENEVIEVE F.; FERREIRA, LISIA BARROS; VIEIRA, BARBARA R.; ARRUDA, SIGRID; ARAUJO, MICHELLE; CARR, JILLIAN M.; SMITH, JUSTINE R.; FURTADO, JOAO M.. osterior segment findings by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and clinical associations in active toxoplasmic retinochoroiditi. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 12, n. 1, JAN 21 2022. (17/06680-4)

ARRUDA, SIGRID; VIEIRA, BARBARA R.; GARCIA, DENNY M.; ARAUJO, MICHELLE; SIMOES, MILENA; MORETO, RENATA; RODRIGUES JR, MURILO W.; BELFORT JR, RUBENS; SMITH, JUSTINE R.; FURTADO, JOAO M.. Clinical manifestations and visual outcomes associated with ocular toxoplasmosis in a Brazilian population. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 11, n. 1, FEB 4 2021. (17/06680-4)