Heart Transplantation in Children and Adults With Congenital Heart Disease: 3 Decades of Evolution.

Heart transplantation is the treatment of choice for children and adults with congenital heart disease. We report the heart transplant single-center experience. The number of transplantations has increased over the last 3 decades.

[Collective memories of women who have experienced maternal near miss: health needs and human rights].

The collective memories of women that have experienced maternal near miss can help elucidate serious obstetric events, like maternal death. Their experience is authentic and representative, with the construction of a common identity. This identity lends quality to a group's memory, and such memory is thus a social phenomenon.

Clinical recommendations for postoperative care after heart transplantation in children: 21 years of a single-center experience.

Heart transplantation is an option for children with complex congenital heart disease and cardiomyopathies. A patient's quality of life and long-term survival depend on successful management of the surgical complications and adverse side effects of immunosuppression. The purpose of this review was to summarize the practical management of postoperative care in this patient population and to make recommendations for the future.

CXCL9/Mig mediates T cells recruitment to valvular tissue lesions of chronic rheumatic heart disease patients.

Rheumatic fever (RF) is an autoimmune disease triggered by Streptococcus pyogenes infection frequently observed in infants from developing countries. Rheumatic heart disease (RHD), the major sequel of RF, leads to chronic inflammation of the myocardium and valvular tissue. T cells are the main population infiltrating cardiac lesions; however, the chemokines that orchestrate their recruitment are not clearly defined.

The possible role of selenium status in adverse pregnancy outcomes.

The present study reviews the possible role of Se status during pregnancy regarding adverse pregnancy outcomes, with emphasis on those related to diminished antioxidant activity and increased oxidative stress. Studies have reported that Se could play an important role in adverse outcomes such as miscarriages, neural tube defects, diaphragmatic hernia, premature birth, low birth weight, pre-eclampsia, glucose intolerance and gestational diabetes. Also, low Se status has been associated with adverse outcomes among HIV-infected pregnant women and their offspring.

Mothers' birth care experiences in a Brazilian birth centre.

Objective: to explore the reasons why women with previous hospital experience seek care at a birth centre, and their perceptions related to the care received in both settings.

Design, Setting And Participants: in-depth interviews focusing on the care experiences of 18 women who received birth care in a birth centre of the Brazilian public health system.

Findings: three key themes emerged from the analysis: 'Confrontation with strong problems in the hospital setting', 'Reasons to seek the birth centre' and 'Satisfaction related to birth centre care'.

[Forfeiting the denunciation of the aggressor: reports of female victims of domestic violence].

The goal of this study is to describe the experience of female victims of domestic violence, who forfeited the lawsuits against their aggressors. The interviews were oriented by the question: What was your experience of forfeiting the denunciation of your aggressor? Three themes emerged from the convergence of the testimonies: time passed from the aggression to the denunciation and then to the forfeiting; the partner, the family, the women's precinct; reflecting about the experience, which described the studied phenomenon. The women expressed ambiguous feelings for their aggressor: affection, anger, humiliation and fear.

PDIA3, HSPA5 and vimentin, proteins identified by 2-DE in the valvular tissue, are the target antigens of peripheral and heart infiltrating T cells from chronic rheumatic heart disease patients.

Rheumatic fever (RF) is a post-infectious autoimmune disease due to sequel of group A streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis. Rheumatic heart disease (RHD), the major manifestation of RF, is characterized by inflammation of heart valves and myocardium. Molecular mimicry between GAS antigens and host proteins has been shown at B and T cell level.

Rheumatic heart disease: 15 years of clinical and immunological follow-up.

Rheumatic fever (RF) is a sequel of group A streptococcal throat infection and occurs in untreated susceptible children. Rheumatic heart disease (RHD), the major sequel of RF, occurs in 30%-45% of RF patients. RF is still considered endemic in some regions of Brazil and is responsible for approximately 90% of early childhood valvular surgery in the country.

[Risk factors associated with very low birth weight in a low-income population].

This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with very low birth weight in a general hospital in Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. This was a case-control study of 200 newborns with birth weight from 500 to 1,499 g (cases) and 400 with birth weight from 3,000 to 3,999 g (controls). Infants were from singleton pregnancies, and their mother had received prenatal care at public health services.

[Health assistance to homeless people in a health unit in São Paulo city].

Geraldo Honório de Paula Souza health unit is located close to the Public Health College at University de São Paulo and has largely contributed to improve education in the health field. As it registers just population who live in a specific location nearly, it has also provided help to the homeless people in the area of Pinheiros couting on the support of the Program Gente de Rua, a partnership between Social Center Nossa Senhora do Bom Parto and Health Secretary of São Paulo municipality. This program consists of three communitarian agents and a nurse who take care of this population in the health center.

T cell response in rheumatic fever: crossreactivity between streptococcal M protein peptides and heart tissue proteins.

Molecular mimicry between streptococcal and human proteins has been proposed as the triggering factor leading to autoimmunity in rheumatic fever (RF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). In this review we focus on the studies on genetic susceptibility markers involved in the development of RF/RHD and molecular mimicry mediated by T cell responses of RHD patients against streptococcal antigens and human tissue proteins. We identified several M protein epitopes recognized by peripheral T cells of RF/RHD patients and by heart tissue infiltrating T cell clones of severe RHD patients.

Association of polymorphisms within the promoter region of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha with clinical outcomes of rheumatic fever.

Rheumatic fever (RF)/rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is an inflammatory disease with a complex etiology in which Group A streptococci within a genetically susceptible host untreated for strep-throat may deviate the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system towards recognition of autoantigens. The TNFA gene has been associated with a number of autoimmune diseases, including RF. We investigated whether the G-308A and G-238A polymorphisms of the TNFA gene are associated with clinical outcomes of RF in a cohort of 318 patients and 281 healthy controls (HC).

Mimicry in recognition of cardiac myosin peptides by heart-intralesional T cell clones from rheumatic heart disease.

Molecular mimicry between Streptococcus pyogenes Ags and human proteins has been considered as a mechanism leading to autoimmune reactions in rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Cardiac myosin has been shown as a putative autoantigen recognized by autoantibodies of rheumatic fever patients. We assessed the human heart-intralesional T cell response against human light meromyosin (LMM) and streptococcal M5 peptides and mitral-valve-derived proteins by proliferation assay.

[The Internet influence on the academic-scientific public health community].

Objective: To investigate the influence of the Internet on the academic-scientific activities of the Brazilian public health community.

Methods: This was a descriptive study, centered on the opinions of 237 teachers connected with Brazilian postgraduate programs in public health, at master's and doctoral levels, in 2001. Data were collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire via the Internet and traditional mail.

Rheumatic heart disease: proinflammatory cytokines play a role in the progression and maintenance of valvular lesions.

Heart lesions of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) patients contain T-cell clones that recognize heart proteins and streptococcal M peptides. To functionally characterize heart-infiltrating T lymphocytes, we evaluated their cytokine profile, both directly in situ and in T-cell lines derived from the heart (HIL). Interferon (IFN)-gamma, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-4, and IL-10 expressions were characterized in 20 heart tissue infiltrates from 14 RHD patients by immunohistochemistry.

[Reported morbidity and use of health services by working women, Brazil].

Objective: Inclusion in the work force has become part of women's daily lives, and they have to cope with multiple tasks and manage double working shifts. A study was carried out to assess working women's morbidity and their use of health services.

Methods: By means of a household survey, chronic and acute morbidity (i.