High colonization by Candida parapsilosis sensu stricto on hands and surfaces in an adult intensive care unit.

Background: Yeasts of the Candida parapsilosis complex have frequently been reported as agents of fungal infection in Brazil and worldwide, most of the cases are related to hospital-acquired infection. C. parapsilosis is the third most common cause of candidemia, and the hands of hospital workers as well as hospital surfaces have been suggested as possible sources.

Community health services and risk of readmission in public psychiatric hospitals of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2005-2011.

Introduction: The readmission phenomenon in psychiatry not only reflects the severity and chronicity of the underlying disorders, but also indicates the quality of mental healthcare. In the context of the Brazilian mental healthcare reform, no study has included the availability of outpatient care among the potential determinants for psychiatric readmission.

Objective: To correlate the availability of community healthcare resources at the place of residence with the risk of psychiatric readmission.

Radiation used for head and neck cancer increases virulence in Candida tropicalis isolated from a cancer patient.

Background: Studies have shown that radiation from radiotherapy increases the yeast colonization of patients. However it is not clear, if such radiation alters the yeast itself. The aim of the present study was therefore to report the direct impact of gamma radiation on Candida tropicalis.

γ-irradiation from radiotherapy improves the virulence potential of Candida tropicalis.

Aim: To evaluate if radiation used in radiotherapy can cause changes in the virulence potential of Candida tropicalis ATCC 750.

Materials & Methods: C. tropicalis was exposed in vitro to identical dose and scheme of irradiation would be used in patients with head and neck cancer.

Further evidence of seasonality of mania in the tropics.

Background: Findings from various temperate regions have quite consistently shown a spring/summer peak for the occurrence of manic episodes, but inconsistencies can still be found in results from tropical regions. The present study was designed to investigate the seasonal distribution of mania and its correlations to climatic variables, in a large sample of patients visiting the emergency psychiatric room.

Methods: A hospital registry of 5172 emergency psychiatric visits for mania, 2000-2007, at a public psychiatric hospital at Belo Horizonte, Brazil (latitude 19 degrees 55' S), was analyzed.

Carotid artery intima-media thickness and lipid profile in adults with growth hormone deficiency after long-term growth hormone replacement.

To investigate the effects of growth hormone (GH) replacement on carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) and lipid profile, 29 adults with GH deficiency (GHD), mean age 42.5 +/- 10.1 years, were studied and compared with 29 control subjects matched for sex, age, body mass index, and smoking habits.