Pollution, causing millions of deaths annually, disproportionally affects low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Mercury ranks among the three main chemicals of major public health concern, and even low levels can cause cardiovascular and nervous outcomes, with children and indigenous populations being especially vulnerable. Nearly 80% of all emissions in South America originate from the Amazon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMercury is a highly toxic metal widely used in human activities worldwide, therefore considered a global public health problem. Many cases of mercury intoxication have occurred in history and represent a huge challenge nowadays. Of particular importance is its methylated form, methylmercury (MeHg).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScreener, a board game supplemented with online resources, was introduced and distributed by the Brazilian Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics to postgraduate programs as an instructional tool for the process of drug discovery and development (DDD). In this study, we provided a comprehensive analysis of five critical aspects for evaluating the quality of educational games, namely: 1) description of the intervention; 2) underlying pedagogical theory; 3) identification of local educational gaps; 4) impact on diverse stakeholders; and 5) elucidation of iterative quality enhancement processes. We also present qualitative and quantitative assessments of the effectiveness of this game in 11 postgraduate courses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman intoxication to mercury is a worldwide health problem. In addition to the type and length of exposure, the genetic background plays an important role in mercury poisoning. However, reviews on the genetic influence in mercury toxicity are scarce and not systematic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe genus (mainly Martius, Martius, and Martius) has recently gained commercial and scientific notoriety due to the high nutritional value of its fruits, which are rich in polyphenols (phenolic acids and anthocyanins) and have potent antioxidant activity. These characteristics have contributed to the increased number of neuropharmacological evaluations of the three species over the last 10 years, especially açaí of the species Martius. The fruits of the three species exert neuroprotective effects through the modulation of inflammatory and oxidative pathways and other mechanisms, including the inhibition of the mTOR pathway and protection of the blood-brain barrier, all of them intimately involved in several neuropathologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Res
July 2023
This cross-sectional study evaluated the association between human exposure to mercury and cardiovascular risk using lipid profile (including apolipoproteins) and genetic analysis of Amazonian riverine population. Anthropometric data (gender, age, height, weight, blood pressure, and neck and waist circumferences) of the participants were recorded. Total mercury and methylmercury (MeHg) content were quantified in hair by ICP-MS and GC-pyro-AFS system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmazon conservation is essential for the global future. Mercury is currently among the worst global pollutants and most (78.5%) of the South-American emissions are from the Amazon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic affected billions of people worldwide, and exposure to toxic metals has emerged as an important risk factor for COVID-19 severity. Mercury is currently ranked as the third toxic substance of global concern for human health, and its emissions to the atmosphere have increased globally. Both COVID-19 and mercury exposure present a high prevalence in similar regions: East and Southeast Asia, South America and Sub-Saharan Africa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) is currently high in regions such as the Amazon. Understanding the molecular changes associated with MeHg-induced neurotoxicity and the crosstalk with the periphery is essential to support early diagnoses. This work aimed to evaluate cellular and molecular changes associated with behavioral alterations in MeHg acute exposure and the possible changes in extracellular vesicles (EVs) number and S100β content.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiol Rev Camb Philos Soc
February 2022
Microglial cells are the scions of foetal macrophages which invade the neural tube early during embryogenesis. The nervous tissue environment instigates the phenotypic metamorphosis of foetal macrophages into idiosyncratic surveilling microglia, which are generally characterised by a small cell body and highly ramified motile processes that constantly scan the nervous tissue for signs of changes in homeostasis and allow microglia to perform crucial homeostatic functions. The surveilling microglial phenotype is evolutionarily conserved from early invertebrates to humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe metabolic syndrome (MetS) epidemic is a global challenge. Although developing countries (including Brazil, India, and South Africa) present a higher proportion of deaths by cardiovascular diseases than developed countries, most of our knowledge is from these developed countries. Amazonian riverine populations (ARP), as well as other vulnerable populations of the Southern Hemisphere, share low-income and traditional practices, among other features.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Amazon is the largest tropical forest in the world and a source of healthy food, such as fruits and fish. Surprisingly, the Amazonian riverine population present an increased prevalence (as high as 58%) of non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension and insulin resistance, even higher than that described for the urban population of the Amazon. Therefore, this work aimed to analyze the nutritional status and associated risk of the riverine population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Res
September 2021
The occurrence of neurotoxicity caused by xenobiotics such as pesticides (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, organophosphates, pyrethroids, etc.) or metals (mercury, lead, aluminum, arsenic, etc.) is a growing concern around the world, particularly in vulnerable populations with difficulties on both detection and symptoms treatment, due to low economic status, remote access, poor infrastructure, and low educational level, among others features.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntoxication by heavy metals such as methylmercury (MeHg) is recognized as a global health problem, with strong implications in central nervous system pathologies. Most of these neuropathological conditions involve vascular, neurotransmitter recycling, and oxidative balance disruption leading to accelerated decline in fine balance, and learning, memory, and visual processes as main outcomes. Besides neurons, astrocytes are involved in virtually all the brain processes and perform important roles in neurological response following injuries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman exposure to mercury is a major public health concern, causing neurological outcomes such as motor and visual impairment and learning disabilities. Currently, human exposure in the Amazon is among the highest in the world. A recent systematic review (doi:10.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMercury is among the ten most dangerous chemicals for public health, and is a priority concern for the 128 signatory countries of the Minamata Convention. Mercury emissions to the atmosphere increased 20% between 2010 and 2015, with South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia as the main contributors. Approximately 80% of the total mercury emissions in South America is from the Amazon, where the presence of the metal is ubiquitous and highly dynamic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAstrocytes are a heterogeneous population of neural cells with diverse structural, functional and molecular characteristics responsible for homeostasis and protection of the central nervous system (CNS). Unlike neurones, astrocytes do not generate action potentials, but employ fluctuations of cytosolic ions as a substrate for their excitability. Ionic signals are associated with neuronal activity and these signals initiate an array of responses ranging from the activation of plasmalemmal homeostatic transporters to the secretion of numerous signalling molecules including neuromodulators, neurotransmitter precursors, metabolic substrates, trophic factors and cytokines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNutrients
October 2019
Methylmercury (MeHg) exposure is a serious problem of public health, especially in the Amazon. Exposure in riverine populations is responsible for neurobehavioral abnormalities. It was hypothesized that consumption of Amazonian fruits could protect by reducing mercury accumulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroglia originate from yolk sac-primitive macrophages and auto-proliferate into adulthood without replacement by bone marrow-derived circulating cells. In inflammation, stroke, aging, or infection, microglia have been shown to contribute to brain pathology in both deleterious and beneficial ways, which have been studied extensively. However, less is known about their role in the healthy adult brain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDepression is a mental disorder that affects 300 million people of all ages worldwide, but fewer than half of those with the condition receive adequate treatment. In addition, the high pharmacological refractoriness (affecting 30%-50% of patients) and toxicity of some classical antidepressants support the pursuit of new therapies. People with this condition show depressed mood, loss of pleasure, high levels of oxidative stress, and accelerated biological aging (decreased telomere length and expression of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), the enzyme responsible for telomere maintenance).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdult neurogenesis occurs in many species, from fish to mammals, with an apparent reduction in the number of both neurogenic zones and new neurons inserted into established circuits with increasing brain complexity. Although the absolute number of new neurons is high in some species, the ratio of these cells to those already existing in the circuit is low. Continuous replacement/addition plays a role in spatial navigation (migration) and other cognitive processes in birds and rodents, but none of the literature relates adult neurogenesis to spatial navigation and memory in primates and humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Amazon River basin is the largest tropical forest in the world. Most of the Amazon belongs to Brazil, a developing country that currently faces huge challenges related to the consolidation of its universal healthcare system. Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death in Brazil, accounting for 74% of all deaths, and NCDs are probably underestimated in Amazonian population because of their geographical isolation and the precariousness of riverine communities.
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