Beneficial effects of fish oil enriched in omega-3 fatty acids on the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain.

Objective: The aim of this work was to assess the preventive effect of an eicosapentaenoic acid/docosahexaenoic acid-concentrate fish oil on neuropathic pain development and regenerative features of sciatic nerve in rats.

Methods: In the present study, rats with chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve and sham-operated ones received fish oil enriched in omega-3 fatty acids (0.36 or 0.

Impact of interventions including vaccination against on the frequency of meningitis in the African meningitis belt: a scoping review protocol.

In the African meningitis belt (region from Senegal to Ethiopia), there are around 30,000 reported cases of meningococcal disease per year. The main aetiological agent is of serogroup A. Since 2010, vaccination efforts have increased and hundreds of millions of people have been vaccinated.

Antidepressant and antinociceptive activities in animal models and in vitro assessment of the anti-thyroid activity of bis(DL-pyroglutamate)magnesium complex.

Background: Magnesium is an essential element related with biochemistry of the brain and different types of depression have been associated with its deficiency.

Methods: The structure of a novel magnesium bis(DL-pyroglutamate) (Mg(DL-pGlu)) was elucidated by X-ray crystallography. Wistar rats were used in the in vivo experiments.

Insecticide treated curtains and residual insecticide treatment to control Aedes aegypti: An acceptability study in Santiago de Cuba.

Background: Within the context of a field trial conducted by the Cuban vector control program (AaCP), we assessed acceptability of insecticide-treated curtains (ITCs) and residual insecticide treatment (RIT) with deltamethrin by the community. We also assessed the potential influence of interviewees' risk perceptions for getting dengue and disease severity.

Methodology/principal Findings: We embedded a qualitative study using in-depth interviews in a cluster randomized trial (CRT) testing the effectiveness of ITCs and RIT in Santiago de Cuba.

The additional benefit of residual spraying and insecticide-treated curtains for dengue control over current best practice in Cuba: Evaluation of disease incidence in a cluster randomized trial in a low burden setting with intensive routine control.

Background: Aedes control interventions are considered the cornerstone of dengue control programmes, but there is scarce evidence on their effect on disease. We set-up a cluster randomized controlled trial in Santiago de Cuba to evaluate the entomological and epidemiological effectiveness of periodical intra- and peri-domiciliary residual insecticide (deltamethrin) treatment (RIT) and long lasting insecticide treated curtains (ITC).

Methodology/principal Findings: Sixty three clusters (around 250 households each) were randomly allocated to two intervention (RIT and ITC) and one control arm.

Evidence of promising biological-pharmacological activities of the sertraline-based copper complex: (SerH)[CuCl].

In the current study the ability of copper complex to exert multiple biological activities is combined with the pharmacological action of sertraline (SerHCl, antidepressant drug). The hydrated and anhydrous forms of the tetrachlorocuprate(II) salts, namely (SerH)[CuCl]·½HO and (SerH)[CuCl], were synthesized and characterized by physicochemical methods. The crystal structures were determined by X-ray diffraction methods.

Changing paradigms in control: considering the spatial heterogeneity of dengue transmission.

Current dengue vector control strategies, focusing on reactive implementation of insecticide-based interventions in response to clinically apparent disease manifestations, tend to be inefficient, short-lived, and unsustainable within the worldwide epidemiological scenario of virus epidemic recrudescence. As a result of a series of expert meetings and deliberations, a paradigm shift is occurring and a new strategy, using risk stratification at the city level in order to concentrate proactive, sustained efforts in areas at high risk for transmission, has emerged. In this article, the authors 1) outline this targeted, proactive intervention strategy, within the context of dengue epidemiology, the dynamics of its transmission, and current Aedes control strategies, and 2) provide support from published literature for the need to empirically test its impact on dengue transmission as well as on the size of disease outbreaks.

[Translation into practice of empowerment strategies for dengue prevention: facilitators and barriers].

Objective To identify facilitators and barriers to the process of translating community empowerment strategies into the practice of the national Aedes aegypti control program in Cuba. Methods A case study of the process was conducted from 2005 to 2009 at national and provincial levels of the control program. Data from participant observation, in-depth interviews, and document analysis were triangulated and analyzed inductively and deductively.

Cost of intensive routine control and incremental cost of insecticide-treated curtain deployment in a setting with low Aedes aegypti infestation.

Introduction: Information regarding the cost of implementing insecticide-treated curtains (ITCs) is scarce. Therefore, we evaluated the ITC implementation cost, in addition to the costs of intensive conventional routine activities of the Aedes control program in the city of Guantanamo, Cuba.

Methods: A cost-analysis study was conducted from the perspective of the Aedes control program, nested in an ITC effectiveness trial, during 2009-2010.

No effect of insecticide treated curtain deployment on aedes infestation in a cluster randomized trial in a setting of low dengue transmission in Guantanamo, Cuba.

Objective & Methodology: The current study evaluated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Insecticide Treated Curtain (ITC) deployment for reducing dengue vector infestation levels in the Cuban context with intensive routine control activities. A cluster randomized controlled trial took place in Guantanamo city, east Cuba. Twelve neighborhoods (about 500 households each) were selected among the ones with the highest Aedes infestation levels in the previous two years, and were randomly allocated to the intervention and control arms.

[Mass communication of dengue surveillance data: effect of an intervention in Guadalajara de Buga, Colombia].

Introduction: Maintaining communities abreast of their local dengue situation could help to keep them motivated to participate in dengue control and to decrease Aedes entomological indexes.

Objectives: To evaluate the coverage and reach of an intervention based on mass-media communication of dengue surveillance reports and its effect on the presence of intra-domiciliary breeding sites for Aedes in Guadalajara de Buga, Colombia.

Materials And Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted in 1,426 households to identify the intra-domiciliary breeding sites and to characterize the intervention exposure.

Diffusion of community empowerment strategies for Aedes aegypti control in Cuba: a muddling through experience.

Effective participatory strategies in dengue control have been developed and assessed as small-scale efforts. The challenge is to scale-up and institutionalize these strategies within dengue control programs. We describe and critically analyze the diffusion process of an effective empowerment strategy within the Cuban Aedes aegypti control program, focusing on decision-making at the national level, to identify ways forward to institutionalize such strategies in Cuba and elsewhere.

[Implementation of the International Health Regulations in Cuba: evaluation of basic capacities of the health sector in selected provinces].

Objective: Obtain baseline information on the status of the basic capacities of the health sector at the local, municipal, and provincial levels in order to facilitate identification of priorities and guide public policies that aim to comply with the requirements and capacities established in Annex 1A of the International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR-2005).

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted by application of an instrument of evaluation of basic capacities referring to legal and institutional autonomy, the surveillance and research process, and the response to health emergencies in 36 entities involved in international sanitary control at the local, municipal, and provincial levels in the provinces of Havana, Cienfuegos, and Santiago de Cuba.

Results: The polyclinics and provincial centers of health and epidemiology in the three provinces had more than 75% of the basic capacities required.

Process-oriented fidelity research assists in evaluation, adjustment and scaling-up of community-based interventions.

Fidelity research can help to answer essential questions about the diffusion process of innovative health interventions and provide insights for further scaling-up and institutionalization. This study assessed fidelity and reinvention in the implementation of a community-based control strategy for Aedes aegypti control. The intervention was implemented in 16 study areas in La Lisa, a municipality of Havana, Cuba.

Cost-effectiveness of a community-based approach intertwined with a vertical Aedes control program.

We compared in a 5-year intervention study the cost-effectiveness of community-based environmental management intertwined with routine vertical Aedes control and of routine vertical control only. At baseline (year 2000), Aedes infestation levels and economic costs for vector control were comparable in intervention and control areas (house index, 2.23% versus 2.

[Efficacy and safety of a vaccine against human leptospirosis in Cuba].

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of vax-SPIRAL, a Cuban vaccine against leptospirosis, and to provide additional information concerning the safety of this vaccine (which was developed by Cuba's Finlay Institute).

Methods: This phase III efficacy trial of vax-SPIRAL was controlled, randomized, and double blind. The control vaccine used for the trial was Heberbiovac-HB (Heber Biotec, Cuba), a recombinant hepatitis B vaccine.