title: Detection of Toxoplasma gondii DNA in peripheral blood and aqueous humor of patients with Toxoplasmic active focal necrotizing retinochoroiditis using real-time PCR.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the ability of real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) for detectingToxoplasma gondii DNA in the peripheral blood and aqueous humor of patients with toxoplasmic active focal necrotizing retinochoroiditis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-five patients with infectious uveitis seen from 2009 to 2013 at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences of the Federal University of São Paulo were enrolled in this study. Forty-three patients had toxoplasmic active focal necrotizing retinochoroiditis, and the remaining 12 had non-toxoplasmic infectious uveitis and served as controls. qPCR analysis forT. gondii DNA was performed on the patients' peripheral blood and aqueous humor samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The qPCR was positive for T. gondii DNA in 37.21% (16/43) of the aqueous humor samples and 2.33% (1/43) of the peripheral blood samples; further, 16.27% (7/43) of the patients had positive results in both their blood and aqueous humor samples.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  qPCR was able to detect T. gondii DNA in patients with toxoplasmic active focal necrotizing retinochoroiditis in the blood as well as the aqueous humor and can help with the diagnosis of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Instituto da Visão, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fabio Felipe Dos
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Instituto da Visão, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Heloisa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nascimento
authors.affiliation: Instituto da Visão, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muccioli
authors.affiliation: Instituto da Visão, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Deise Fialho da
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Hospital Albert Einstein, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiz Vicente
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.affiliation: Instituto da Visão, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alessandra Gonçalves
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Commodaro
authors.affiliation: Instituto da Visão, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rubens
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Belfort
mesh_terms: D001082:Aqueous Humor / Q000469:parasitology*; D002825:Chorioretinitis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology*; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000235:genetics*; D014126:Toxoplasmosis, Ocular / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology*; D014605:Uveitis / Q000097:blood / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan