Many of the latest findings to understand the pathogenesis of common and rare disorders of the nervous system have been produced by the use of post-mortem human brain tissue. Brain banks have played a crucial role in this process, rare and invaluable material. The function of a modern brain bank is the collection of post-mortem material or biopsy of clinically and pathologically well-characterized cases in a continuous and systematic manner, considering safety and ethical issues surrounding the use of human tissue for medical research. This review give importance of brain banks in the collection and storage of post-mortem material to satisfy the needs of specific research projects, the technical, ethical and legal aspects related to donation and manipulation of biological material, as well as proposing the development of a network in Latin America of brain banks that allows us to have material for the study of various diseases in our population.

Muchos de los progresos recientes en la comprensión de la patogénesis de trastornos comunes y raros del sistema nervioso se han producido mediante el uso de tejido cerebral humano post-mortem. Los bancos de cerebros han tenido un papel crucial en este proceso, proporcionando material raro e invaluable. La función de un banco de cerebro moderno es recolectar material post-mortem o de biopsia de casos clínicamente y patológicamente bien caracterizados de manera continua y sistemática, considerando cuestiones de seguridad y éticas que rodean el uso de tejido humano donado para investigación médica. El presente artículo llama la atención sobre la importancia de los bancos de cerebro, en la recolección y almacenamiento de material post-mortem para satisfacer las necesidades de proyectos de investigación específicos, los aspectos tanto técnicos como éticos y legales, relacionados a la donación y manipulación de material biológico, así como proponer el desarrollo de una red en América Latina de bancos de cerebro que permita contar con material de estudio de diversos padecimientos en nuestra población.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: The etiology of several hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases remains largely unknown. Although Fasciola hepatica has been associated with liver fibrosis in Latin America, it has not yet been associated with HCC. This study aimed to determine the existence of specific IgG antibodies against F. hepatica in the serum samples of HCC patients. METHODS In total, 13 serum samples from 13 HCC patients were screened using Fas2-ELISA. RESULTS Fas2-ELISA demonstrated negative results in all HCC patients included in this study. CONCLUSIONS The pre-existence of F. hepatica infection in HCC patients needs to be further investigated in epidemiological and experimental studies.

The effectiveness of methylene blue (MB) combined with pyrimethamine (PYR), chloroquine (CQ) or quinine (Q) was examined in a classical four-day suppressive test against a causative agent of rodent malaria, Plasmodium berghei. A marked potentiation was observed when MB was administered at a non-curative dose of 15 mg/kg/day in combination with PYR (0.19 mg/kg/day) or Q (25 mg/kg/day). No synergy was found between MB (15 mg/Kg) and CQ (0.75 mg/Kg). Our results suggest that the combination of MB with PYR or Q may improve the efficacy of these currently used antimalarial drugs.

En 1881, Ehrlich reportó el azul de metileno como el primer antimalárico sintético, pero dejo de ser empleado con este propósito; el debe ser reconsiderado pues son necesarias con urgencia nuevas alternativas de bajo costo, en el arsenal de medicamentos antimaláricos. En este trabajo la actividad antimalárica del azul de metileno es evaluada in vivo frente a parásitos de malaria murina. Una dosis de 15 mg/kg/día inhibe el 50% del crecimiento eritrocítico parasitario de Plasmodium berghei y P. yoelii nigeriensis, en tanto que es prácticamente inactivo frente a los estadios hepáticos de P. yoelii yoelii. Sobre un cultivo de la línea celular linfoblástica BJAB, el azul de metileno es 20 veces más citotóxico que la cloroquina, no obstante el azul de metileno presenta valores de índice de selectividad del mismo nivel que la cloroquina, frente a varias cepas de P. falciparum de diferentes niveles de sensibilidad y provenientes de diferentes lugares geográficos.

Methilene blue was reported as the first synthetic antimalarial by Ehrlich in 1881. It is currently no longer used for that purpose but it should be reconsidered since new economic alternatives are urgently needed in the arsenal of antimalarial drugs. The antimalarial activity of methylene blue is investigated here in vivo against rodent malaria parasites. 15 mg/kg daily dose of methylene blue inhibits 50% of the erythrocytic parasite growth of Plasmodium berghei and P. yoelii nigeriensis, while on hepatic stages of P. yoelii yoelii is almost inactive. In cell culture experiments with the lymphoblast-like BJAB cells line, it is 20 times more cytotoxic than chloroquine. Nevertheless, methylene blue shows a similar selectivity index as chloroquine against strains of different level of sensitivity of P. falciparum original from different geographical areas.