Publications by authors named "Ana Viegas"

Delirium presents a significant clinical challenge, primarily due to its profound impact on patient outcomes and the limitations of the current diagnostic methods, which are largely subjective. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this challenge was intensified as the frequency of delirium assessments decreased in Intensive Care Units (ICUs), even as the prevalence of delirium among critically ill patients increased. The present study evaluated how the serum molecular fingerprint, as acquired by Fourier-Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectroscopy, can enable the development of predictive models for delirium.

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Robust data normalization and analysis are pivotal in biomedical research to ensure that observed differences in populations are directly attributable to the target variable, rather than disparities between control and study groups. ArsHive addresses this challenge using advanced algorithms to normalize populations (e.g.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Over a period of 12 to 33 days post hatching, larvae were divided into two groups: one received a standard diet (CTRL) and the other received a Gln-supplemented diet (GLN).
  • * Results showed that the GLN diet significantly improved growth and protein metabolism compared to the CTRL diet, indicating that Gln enhances the nutritional efficiency of fast-growing marine fish larvae.
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Whipple's disease (WD) is a rare multisystemic infectious disease caused by The pathogenesis of Whipple's disease remains unknown and clinical experience relies solely on various case reports published in the literature. The disease may occur at any age, with most studies describing patients in their fifth decade. Classic WD mainly affects the gastrointestinal tract, but extraintestinal commitment can occur, with the most common manifestations being arthralgias, lymphadenopathy, fever, and neurological symptoms.

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IgA vasculitis (IgAV) is a small-vessel vasculitis common in children but rare in adults. It is usually an auto-limited disease in children but has a more severe course and worse prognosis in adults. The classical manifestations are non-thrombocytopenic purpura, arthralgias, gastrointestinal involvement and renal involvement.

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Introduction: Confinement measures that were imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed the routines of the population. Some studies on the impact of confinement on glycemic control suggest a reduction of 0.1 to 0.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Urine samples from 290 individuals revealed that 30.2% of CKD patients tested positive for polyomaviruses, with the highest prevalence in conservative patients, followed by dialysis and transplanted patients.
  • * Interestingly, the control group showed a higher overall prevalence (46.59%), with JCV being more common (77.8%) than BKV, and males and those with systemic arterial hypertension were more affected within the CKD group.
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A 66-year-old man presented to the emergency department with sudden onset of dysarthria, left central facial palsy, and left hemihypesthesia involving the tongue. The patient was hemodynamically stable (blood pressure of 153/84 mmHg and heart rate of 80 bpm) and normoglycemic, without a history of trauma or toxic exposure. Assuming an acute stroke, the patient immediately underwent a brain CT scan that revealed a large left-sided fronto-parieto-temporal arachnoid cyst, with approximately 9.

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Unlabelled: A 71-year-old female presented with 5 days of diarrhoea and asthenia. Past medical history of rheumatoid arthritis, arterial hypertension, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and chronic gastritis was treated with leflunomide, deflazacort, esomeprazole, carvedilol and spironolactone. At admission, the patient's physical examination showed signs of dehydration.

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The impact of social isolation in the pandemic context on elderly Brazilian mental health is little known, especially about the occurrence of depressive symptoms. In this study, we evaluated elderly people undergoing social isolation in order to identify factors associated with depression and which of these are more important to characterize elderly Brazilians with depression. In a cross-sectional, exploratory, and analytical study of a quantitative nature, the mental profile of elderly individuals subjected to social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic period was used.

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Purpose: Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is a form of hadrontherapy based on the selective damage caused by the products of neutron capture in B to tumour cells. BNCT dosimetry strongly depends on the parameters of the dose calculation models derived from radiobiological experiments. This works aims at determining an adequate dosimetry for in-vitro experiments involving irradiation of monolayer-cultured cells with photons and BNCT and assessing its impact on clinical settings.

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Article Synopsis
  • COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, rapidly became a global pandemic, notably impacting Brazil and specifically Minas Gerais State.
  • Researchers conducted an ecological study of confirmed COVID-19 cases from March 2020 to June 2020, analyzing the patterns and risk areas through incidence rates and spatial analysis techniques.
  • Results indicated significant infection foci in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte and the Vale do Rio Doce, with the Triangulo Mineiro/Alto Paranaiba region showing the highest infection risk, along with the identification of six important spatiotemporal clusters for targeted surveillance and control strategies.
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  • The study investigates how sex and age affect the progression and severity of COVID-19 by analyzing laboratory data from nearly 179,000 individuals in Brazil, with a focus on those who tested positive for the virus.
  • Findings show that both men and women exhibited similar changes in lab results due to COVID-19, but some markers, like CRP and ferritin, were notably higher in older men.
  • The research concludes that age and biological sex significantly influence the laboratory profiles and immune responses in COVID-19 patients, highlighting the complexity of the disease's presentation.
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The present study aimed to assess the association of outcomes with comprehension, adherence and behavioral characteristics of tuberculosis (TB) patients using fixed-dose combination (FDC) therapy in the city of Contagem, MG, Brazil. This study used standardized questionnaires to collect data. Outcomes included cure in 77.

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Background: Dementia is a complex pathological state that affects millions of individuals worldwide and is responsible for a huge socioeconomic burden, making it a major health concern of current times. Given the impact of dementia in both patients and caregivers, it is crucial to fully clarify the molecular mechanisms underlying dementia-associated disorders, since without this knowledge our ability to correctly diagnose and treat these diseases is severely hampered.

Methods: Epigenetic mechanisms, such as miRNA-mediated post-transcriptional regulation, have been reported to play a role in dementia pathogenesis.

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Leigh syndrome (LS) is a rare, progressive neurodegenerative mitochondrial disorder of infancy. It is a genetically heterogeneous disease. The mutations in SURF1 gene are the most frequently known cause.

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Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) in hospitalized human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients in the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era has not been extensively addressed. The aim of the present study was to analyze the incidence, etiology, risk factors and the impact of AKI on in-hospital mortality in this population.

Methods: A total of 489 HIV-infected patients hospitalized in the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Hospital de Santa Maria (Lisbon, Portugal) between January 2005 and December 2007 were retrospectively studied.

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Background: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is a frequent complication that occurs in patients with cirrhosis and ascites and has a recurrence rate of 70% in 1 year. In addition, this infection determines a poor short and long-term prognosis and a shorter survival rate.

Aims: Evaluate the prevalence of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in cirrhotic patients with ascites and the effect of its occurrence on the survival.

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