Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Sao Paulo branch (Martins group), prion disease case analysis for Brazilian surveillance

In the first years after Brazil made human prion diseases compulsorily notifiable in 2005, the group of Vilma Martins at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Sao Paulo carried out the biochemical and genetic work on notified suspected CJD cases from across the country. A 2008 letter credits the institute with about ten years of prion research and says most samples went to reference centres in Sao Paulo, the only state where the authors found an organised surveillance group in 2006 and 2007. By 2020 the same scientists publish from A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, not Ludwig, and a 2026 review of Brazilian surveillance names no reference laboratory. The entity is therefore best read as a historical case-analysis node whose present activity is unverified. Information only, not medical advice.

Key facts

  • The Ministry of Health added prion diseases to the compulsory notification list in 2005; professionals must report suspected cases to public health departments.
  • The first published analysis of notified cases (Martins, Gomes, Chimelli, Rosemberg, Landemberger, 2007) covered 35 cases, classified by WHO criteria with biochemical and/or genetic markers, against 202 controls for genetics; Martins and Landemberger list the Ludwig Institute, Sao Paulo, as their affiliation.
  • In that series 74% were possible sporadic CJD and 51% met probable criteria; brain tissue was available for three cases, two of them definite sporadic CJD; no PRNP mutations were found.
  • The Val129Val genotype was more frequent in patients than controls when possible cases were included, but not when only probable cases were analysed, and the authors urged notification of all possible cases and more definitive diagnoses.
  • A 2008 letter credited the Ludwig Institute and Martins with about ten years of work on the prion protein and said most samples were sent to reference centres in Sao Paulo; the authors' reply argued for centralised diagnosis rather than regional centres, citing an expected incidence near 1 per million, or 180 to 200 cases a year.
  • Visits in 2006 and 2007 to Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte and Sao Paulo found an active, organised surveillance group only in Sao Paulo.
  • A June 2008 magazine feature named Martins, Nitrini, Gomes, Rosemberg and Chimelli as the team handling Brazilian prion diagnosis, and quoted Martins saying many cases are not reported.
  • By August 2020 Martins and Landemberger are listed at the Tumor Biology and Biomarkers Group, International Research Center, A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, doing PRNP genetic analysis for a CSF RT-QuIC study; the word Ludwig does not appear in that paper.
  • That 2020 study ran RT-QuIC at UFRJ on CSF from 7 suspected patients and 7 controls, with 5 positive, 2 inconclusive and 1 false positive among controls, and noted earlier CSF testing of two patients at the NPDPSC in Cleveland.
  • Martins' FAPESP profile gives A.C. Camargo Cancer Center 2011 to 2021 and the University of Sao Paulo Institute of Biomedical Sciences since 2021, and does not mention Ludwig.
  • A 2026 analysis of Ministry data for 2005 to 2021 counts 1,576 suspected and 547 confirmed cases against about 3,200 expected, finds Sao Paulo the largest source (32.5%), and notes there is no dedicated Brazilian CJD database and that RT-QuIC is mostly unavailable in the country.
  • The 2026 article names no Brazilian reference laboratory and cites the Martins 2007 paper only for notification history.

Timeline

  1. 2005Brazil makes human prion diseases compulsorily notifiable.
  2. 2006to 2007 Surveillance visits to four states find an organised group only in Sao Paulo.
  3. 2007Martins et al. publish the first 35 notified cases analysed by biochemical and genetic markers.
  4. 2008Letter and author reply debate regional versus centralised reference centres.
  5. 2008Pesquisa FAPESP feature describes the diagnostic team and an expected up to 200 cases a year.
  6. 2011to 2021 Martins heads Tumor Biology and Biomarkers at A.C. Camargo Cancer Center.
  7. 2020CSF RT-QuIC study from UFRJ with genetics by the Martins group at A.C. Camargo.
  8. 2026Frontiers review of Brazilian surveillance finds underreporting and no named reference laboratory.

Last checked 1 November 2026

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