Publications by authors named "Marco Medina"

Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers included additional markers (Penta D, Penta E, D22S1045, TPOX, and SE33) to enhance the effectiveness of their findings.
  • * The data was collected from a sample of 100 unrelated individuals belonging to the Lenca ethnic group in Honduras.
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Article Synopsis
  • The world is going to have more problems with brain health and not enough doctors to help, especially in general neurology (GN).
  • A group of experts met several times to talk about the future of GN and asked other doctors for their opinions.
  • They came up with challenges to improve GN and created ideas and recommendations to make it better in schools, research, and working conditions for doctors.
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Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate if children's oral health and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) were associated with school performance. Moreover, the study aimed to examine whether school environment factors influenced this association.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was based on a population-based sample of 998 12-year-old schoolchildren from 31 public schools in Quito, Ecuador.

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Article Synopsis
  • Neurological disorders are a growing global issue, particularly in low-resource settings, highlighting the need for improved brain health services.
  • The World Health Organization's new plan emphasizes the importance of addressing these disorders for population well-being and economic growth, revealing a chance to enhance neurological care.
  • The proposed "neurological quadrangle" focuses on four main areas: surveillance, prevention, acute care, and rehabilitation, advocating for innovative strategies that include holistic approaches and equitable access to services for all people.
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The World Health Assembly (WHA) approved the Intersectoral Global Action Plan (IGAP) in 2022. This ambitious project, formally called the Intersectoral Global Action Plan for Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders, is a 10-year plan to enhance neurology implementation worldwide and to raise the status of brain health and neurology services for patients with neurological diseases. The IGAP has 5 important components: relation with policy makers, therapy, prophylaxis, research, and public health.

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Introduction: Mallet injuries are common and usually treated conservatively. Various systematic reviews have found a lack of evidence regarding the best management, and it is still unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the treatment efficacy of Stack Splinting compared to a Kirschner wire immobilization of acute closed mallet finger Doyle I.

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Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS) is a rare, heterogeneous, and complex neurodevelopmental disorder. It is generally caused by a heterozygous microdeletion of contiguous genes located in the distal portion of the long arm of chromosome 22, including the gene. Sequence variants of , including frameshift, nonsense mutations, small indels and splice site mutations also result in PMS.

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: Recent studies have described a low occurrence of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in Latin America. Significant differences in ALS risk have been reported among ethnic populations in the region. We conducted a meta-analysis using population-based data to describe ALS mortality rates in Latin America.

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Arbovirus infections have been associated with a wide spectrum of neurological manifestations. Among these, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is one of the most common. This study describes the characteristics of GBS associated with arbovirus infections during the outbreak which occurred in Honduras from January 2016 to February 2019.

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Background: World Health Organization expert groups recommended mortality trials of four repurposed antiviral drugs - remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, and interferon beta-1a - in patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Methods: We randomly assigned inpatients with Covid-19 equally between one of the trial drug regimens that was locally available and open control (up to five options, four active and the local standard of care). The intention-to-treat primary analyses examined in-hospital mortality in the four pairwise comparisons of each trial drug and its control (drug available but patient assigned to the same care without that drug).

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned against the use of Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for Covid-19 outside of a hospital or a clinical trial setting due to the risk of QT interval prolongation, ventricular tachycardia and the increased risk of these complications when combined with some antibiotics such as azithromycin. Several studies have reported no benefit of Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, when used alone or with a macrolide in COVID-19 hospitalized patients. Despite these warnings, in several developing countries the official guidelines for treatment of Covid-19 patients at the primary care level recommend Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, among other treatments, as the first-choice for mild symptomatic Covid-19 patients, asymptomatic contacts or for prophylaxis.

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A comprehensive review of the neurological disorders reported during the current COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates that infection with SARS-CoV-2 affects the central nervous system (CNS), the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and the muscle. CNS manifestations include: headache and decreased responsiveness considered initial indicators of potential neurological involvement; anosmia, hyposmia, hypogeusia, and dysgeusia are frequent early symptoms of coronavirus infection. Respiratory failure, the lethal manifestation of COVID-19, responsible for 264,679 deaths worldwide, is probably neurogenic in origin and may result from the viral invasion of cranial nerve I, progressing into rhinencephalon and brainstem respiratory centers.

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Background/aim: Since children spend most of their time in school, some environmental characteristics of the schools may influence the occurrence of traumatic dental injuries (TDI). Therefore, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the prevalence of TDI in 12 years old children in Quito, Ecuador, and its association with some school environmental aspects.

Material And Methods: Six calibrated examiners evaluated 998 children from 31 public schools of Quito, to evaluate the occurrence of TDI in anterior teeth.

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Background: There is a paucity of population-based surveys on oral health conditions in Ecuador. Thus, the aim of this study was to conduct an epidemiological survey with a representative sample of children aged 12 years from public schools of Quito, Ecuador. The aim of this initial report was to describe the methodology used in the survey, as well to present results regarding calibration procedures and prevalence of oral-health related outcomes.

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Background: Honduras is one of the most violent countries in the world and it has limited epidemiological data that describes the extent of intentional and unintentional injuries. This research is needed to develop and inform prevention programs in Honduras, as well as to spread international awareness.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on a paper-based injury surveillance system (InSS) with the help of Honduras' University Medical School Hospital (UMSH), the main referral medical center in Tegucigalpa-Honduras.

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Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has significantly affected Latin America in 2015-2017. Most studies have been reported from Brazil and Colombia, and only a few from Central America. For these reasons, we analyzed the incidence, incidence rates and evolution of cases in Honduras from 2016 to 2017.

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Background: In juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, data are limited on the genetic basis of networks promoting convulsions with diffuse polyspikes on electroencephalography (EEG) and the subtle microscopic brain dysplasia called microdysgenesis.

Methods: Using Sanger sequencing, we sequenced the exomes of six members of a large family affected with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and confirmed cosegregation in all 37 family members. We screened an additional 310 patients with this disorder for variants on DNA melting-curve analysis and targeted real-time DNA sequencing of the gene encoding intestinal-cell kinase ( ICK).

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Zika virus infection represents a new neuropathological agent with association to a wide spectrum of neurological complications: a) Congenital Zika Syndrome by affecting the neural stem cells of the human fetal brain; b) Guillain-Barré Syndrome by an autoimmune response against peripheral myelin and/or axonal components or probable direct inflammatory reaction; c) Encephalitis/meningoencephalitis and myelitis by a direct viral inflammatory process on the central nervous system; d) Sensory neuropathy by infecting directly the peripheral neurons and causing substantial cell death and pathogenic transcriptional dysregulation; e) Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis and optic neuropathy; f) Seizures and Epilepsy and g) childhood arterial ischemic stroke by probable inflammatory reaction and endothelial injury.

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The first case of Chikungunya virus in Honduras was identified in 2014. The virus has spread widely across Honduras via the Aedes aegypti mosquito, leading to an outbreak of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in 2015 that significantly impacted children. A retrospective chart review of 235 children diagnosed with CHIKV and admitted to the National Autonomous University of Honduras Hospital Escuela (Hospital Escuela) in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, was accomplished with patients who were assessed for clinical features and neurologic complications.

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