REGRESSION OF DIFFUSE INTRALOBULAR LIVER FIBROSIS ASSOCIATED WITH VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS

Diffuse intralobular fibrosis of the liver is rare in cases of New Wor ld visceral leishmaniasis. A patient with this disease from a newly en demic area in the northernmost area of the Brazilian Amazon region was studied. Hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the phagocytic mononuclear ce ll system were observed, with parasitism and Disse's space fibrosis di ffusely involving the liver. This description is based on a biopsy car ried out after seven days of treatment with Glucantime(R). Another bio psy performed almost two years later showed no fibrosis, no Kupffer ce ll hypertrophy and hyperplasia, and no parasitism. The mechanism of fi brosis and regression is discussed.