Prescription of oral antidiabetics in Mexico. A cross-sectional study.

In 2016 diabetes was declared an epidemic and a health emergency in Mexico. As the rationale of the treatment is to achieve target glycemia levels, the appropriateness of the medications used is important. The aim of this study is to learn the pattern of antidiabetic drug prescription and factors associated with inappropriate prescription in Mexico.

New Bacteriophages Members of the Family Specific for ST258.

Background: Carbapenem-resistant , particularly isolates classified as sequence-type 258 (ST258), are multidrug-resistant strains that are strongly associated with poor-prognosis nosocomial infections, as current therapeutic options are limited and ineffective. In recent years, phage therapy has emerged as a promising treatment option for these scenarios.

Methodology And Results: We report the isolation and characterization of three new phages against ST258 strains recovered from Machángara river wastewater.

Time evolution of cytokine profiles associated with mortality in COVID-19 hospitalized patients.

Background: High cytokine levels have been associated with severe COVID-19 disease. Although many cytokine studies have been performed, not many of them include combinatorial analysis of cytokine profiles through time. In this study we investigate the association of certain cytokine profiles and its evolution, and mortality in SARS-CoV2 infection in hospitalized patients.

Impact of single-nucleotide variants and nutritional status on population pharmacokinetics of Doxorubicin, and its effect on cardiotoxicity in children with leukemia.

Purpose:  Doxorubicin is an important antineoplastic agent with wide interindividual variability in response to treatment and in its cardiotoxic effects. To determine the effect of genotypic status of three single-nucleotide variants in , , and genes and nutritional status assessed by body mass index, on the population pharmacokinetics of Doxorubicin and its cardiotoxic effects in pediatric patients with leukemia.

Patients And Methods: Seventy pediatric patients treated with Doxorubicin were studied, in which 189 biological samples were obtained to determine Doxorubicin concentrations (1 to 3 samples per patient) at different times, for 20 h.

Association of CNR1 and INSIG2 polymorphisms with antipsychotics-induced weight gain: a prospective nested case-control study.

Weight gain is a frequent and severe adverse reaction in patients taking antipsychotics. The objective was to further investigate in a natural setting influential risk factors associated with clinically significant weight gain. An observational follow-up study was conducted.

Association of genetic polymorphisms NCF4 rs1883112, CBR3 rs1056892, and ABCC1 rs3743527 with the cardiotoxic effects of doxorubicin in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Objectives: Cardiotoxicity is a frequent complication secondary to the use of anthracyclines for cancer chemotherapy. Evidence suggests that certain polymorphic genetic variants modify the risk for anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity. Reports documenting the impact of genetic polymorphisms on anthracycline-cardiotoxicity risk in pediatric patients with cancers from Latin American countries are scarce.

A cross-sectional study of psychotropic drug use in the elderly: Consuming patterns, risk factors and potentially inappropriate use.

Objectives: The aims of the present study were: (1) to describe psychotropic drug consumption patterns in an outpatient population aged 65 years and older; (2) to determine the impact of a number of demographic and clinical factors on psychotropic consumption; and (3) to determine the ratio of potentially inappropriate psychotropic agents prescribed to the above population.

Methods: Cross-sectional, observational study of outpatients aged 65 years and older. Data on sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected.

Repositioning and investigational drugs for Zika virus infection treatment: a patent review.

Introduction: Zika virus (ZIKV) is transmitted to humans throughout bites of mosquitoes. ZIKV infection may be asymptomatic in most cases, but it may cause fever, headache, muscle pain, and rash. Guillain-Barré syndrome also may be associated with the infection.

Cerebral Oxygen Saturation and Negative Postoperative Behavioral Changes in Pediatric Surgery: A Prospective Observational Study.

Objective: To evaluate if an intraoperative cerebral regional oxygen saturation (crSO) decrease, less pronounced than 20% below baseline (the current threshold believed to be associated with cognitive dysfunction in adults), is associated with negative postoperative behavioral changes (NPOBC) in the pediatric population after noncardiac surgeries.

Study Design: A prospective observational study was conducted with 198 children aged 2-12 years old scheduled for noncardiac procedures under general anesthesia. Intraoperatively, crSO was monitored with a cerebral oximeter.

Postoperative kidney oxygen saturation as a novel marker for acute kidney injury after adult cardiac surgery.

Objective: Acute kidney injury is a severe complication and one of the stronger risk factors for death in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The relationship between postoperative brain oxygen saturation and kidney oxygen saturation with acute kidney injury in adults undergoing cardiac surgery has not been determined. We designed a single-center prospective study to determine if the continuous monitoring of postoperative brain oxygen saturation and kidney oxygen saturation could predict postoperative acute kidney injury.

A polypharmacy risk prediction model for elderly patients based on sociodemographic and clinical factors.

Objective: Elderly people take increasing amounts of medication. The aim of our study was to determine the effects of different sociodemographic and clinical factors on polypharmacy and to develop a risk prediction model in outpatients aged 65 years and older.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional, observational, descriptive study of outpatients aged 65 years and older scheduled for a specialist visit.

New strategies for patenting biological medicines used in rheumatoid arthritis treatment.

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by an inflammatory process, with a global prevalence ranging from 0.3% to 1%. The overall cost of RA drugs is estimated in $20 billion worldwide and projected to grow to $36 billion by 2021.

Impact of an ultraviolet air sterilizer on cardiac surgery patients, a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Numerous studies have evaluated the use of ultraviolet-C devices for terminal disinfection in hospitals, however, to date there is little information about the device's final impact on patients. We investigated the effect of an ultraviolet air sterilizer (UVAS) on the clinical outcomes of cardiac surgery patients.

Materials And Methods: This random, prospective and non-interventional study included 1097 adult patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery: 522 stayed in an ICU room with UVAS (Medixair) and 575 patients ICU room without UVAS and were used as a control.

Procalcitonin and white blood cells, combined predictors of infection in cardiac surgery patients.

Background: Sepsis is strongly associated with an increased risk of postoperative mortality, longer length of hospital stay, and elevated health care costs. Early clinical symptoms overlap with those of systemic inflammatory response syndrome, a response that commonly occurs after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Since a combination of biomarkers has been demonstrated to improve the prediction of postoperative infection, the objective of the present study was to test whether the combination of C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cells (WBC), and procalcitonin (PCT) is able to predict postoperative infection in a large cohort of cardiac surgery patients.

Roadside opioid testing of drivers using oral fluid: the case of a country with a zero tolerance law, Spain.

Background: Opioids can impair psychomotor performance, and driving under the influence of opioids is associated with an increased risk of accidents. The goals of this study were i) to determine the prevalence of opioids (heroin, morphine, codeine, methadone and tramadol) in Spanish drivers and ii) to explore the presence of opioids, more specifically whether they are used alone or in combination with other drugs.

Methods: The 2008/9 DRUID database regarding Spain was used, which provided information on 3302 drivers.

Lipoxin A selectively programs the profile of M2 tumor-associated macrophages which favour control of tumor progression.

In tumor microenvironments, the macrophage population is heterogeneous, but some macrophages can acquire tumor-promoting characteristics. These tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) exhibit an M2-like profile, with deficient production of NO and ROS, characteristics of pro-inflammatory M1 cytotoxic macrophages. Lipoxins (LX) and 15-epi-lipoxins are lipid mediators which can induce certain features of M2 macrophages in mononuclear cells, but their effects on TAM remain to be elucidated.

Case study of patents related to captopril, Squibb's first blockbuster.

Arterial hypertension affects over one billion people around the world, making the prevention and treatment of this disease vital. Despite the efforts made to develop new antihypertensive drugs, few new therapies have become available. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have heralded major steps forward in the treatment of arterial hypertension and cardiovascular diseases since the first compound of this class, captopril, was approved for clinical use in 1981.

Impact of ventilator-associated pneumonia on mortality and epidemiological features of patients with secondary peritonitis.

Background: Despite the significant impact of nosocomial infections on the morbidity and mortality of patients staying in the intensive care unit (ICU), no study over the past 20 years has focused specifically on VAP following secondary peritonitis. The objective of the present study was to determine in-hospital mortality and epidemiological features attributed to ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) following secondary peritonitis.

Methods: Prospective observational study involved 418 consecutive patients admitted in the ICU.

Overview of Flaxseed Patent Applications for the Reduction of Cholesterol Levels.

Background: Flaxseed is becoming an increasingly widely used food ingredient. The rising interest of the food industry in this nutraceutical is primarily because of functional nutrients, such as alpha-linolenic acid and lignans, which have health benefits due to their lipid-lowering properties.

Objective: The objective of this study was to provide an overview of the patenting of flaxseed products with cholesterol-lowering effects.

Procalcitonin cannot be used as a biomarker of infection in heart surgery patients with acute kidney injury.

Purpose: We intended to assess how acute kidney injuy impacts on procalcitonin levels in cardiac surgery patients, with or without infection, and whether procalcitonin might be used as a biomarker of infection in acute kidney injuy.

Material And Methods: A case-control study was designed which included patients that had had cardiac surgery between January 2011 and January 2015. Every patient developing severe sepsis or septic shock (n = 122; 5.

Prescription patterns of antihypertensives in a community health centre in Mexico City: a drug utilization study.

Hypertension is highly prevalent; in Mexico, the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey reported a prevalence of hypertension of 31.5% in the adult population. Pharmacological treatment is the commonest intervention and has been shown to reduce cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, and total mortality.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Associated with Oral Bisphosphonates. A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Background: Bisphosphonates are widely used to prevent osteoporotic fractures. Some severe musculoskeletal reactions have been described with this medication; among them, some cases of carpal tunnel syndrome. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore whether bisphosphonates may be associated with this syndrome.