Publications by authors named "Maria Munoz Fernandez"

Background/objectives: Urinary incontinence (UI) significantly impacts quality of life, with varying prevalence in women depending on factors such as age, childbirth, and type of sport practiced. This study compared the prevalence, types, and severity of urinary incontinence (UI) between professional female soccer players and sedentary students, analyzing its relation to playing position and competitive level.

Methods: A descriptive, observational, and analytical cross-sectional study was conducted, assessing the prevalence, severity, and types of UI among 235 nulliparous professional female soccer players (experimental group, EG) and 252 sedentary female students (control group, CG).

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  • The study aimed to assess whether an interactive online program combining pain neuroscience education (PNE) and graded exposure to movement (GEM) improves the quality of life and pain experience in breast cancer survivors with chronic pain, compared to standard care.
  • This single-blind randomized controlled trial involved 49 participants, with one group receiving a 12-week online program and the other group continuing with usual care, measuring outcomes like quality of life and pain metrics at various intervals.
  • Results indicated that the experimental group showed significant improvements in quality of life and reduced pain-related issues compared to the control group, with these benefits remaining evident at a three-month follow-up.
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Purpose: To synthesise the effectiveness of exercise interventions on self-perceived body image, self-esteem and self-efficacy in women diagnosed with breast cancer who are undergoing or have completed primary adjuvant treatments.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted with meta-analysis and meta-regressions. Five electronic databases were searched from inception to June 2023, and hand searches were performed to explore the reference lists of similar systematic reviews.

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What Is This Summary About?: This article summarizes the most recent results of the monarchE study. This study was completed in participants with a type of breast cancer called HR+, HER2-, node-positive, high-risk early breast cancer. In this study, abemaciclib, a non-chemotherapy treatment, was administered with standard of care endocrine therapy after curative surgery.

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Several differentiation protocols have enabled the generation of intermediate mesoderm (IM)-derived cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC). However, the substantial variability between existing protocols for generating IM cells compromises their efficiency, reproducibility, and overall success, potentially hindering the utility of urogenital system organoids. Here, we examined the role of high levels of Nodal signaling and BMP activity, as well as WNT signaling in the specification of IM cells derived from a UCSD167i-99-1 human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) line.

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Introduction: Cancer-related chronic pain is an important sequelae that damages the quality of life of breast cancer survivors. Pain neuroscience education and graded exposure to movement are therapeutic tools that have been shown to be effective in the management of chronic pain in other populations. However, there are no previous studies that combine them after breast cancer.

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  • The study investigates the levels of HIV RNA and cytokines in adolescents who have been on antiretroviral treatment (ART) since early in life, focusing on potential indicators for clinical trials aimed at finding a cure for HIV.
  • It enrolled 40 perinatally infected adolescents on ART for over 5 years, measuring various HIV markers and correlating them with clinical characteristics.
  • Results show that lower levels of cell-associated RNA (CA-RNA) are linked to lower levels of cell-associated DNA (CA-DNA), and that undetectable CA-RNA is associated with factors like earlier initiation of ART and higher Western Blot scores.
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Resistance and toxicity associated with current treatments for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection highlight the need for alternatives and immunotherapy has emerged as a promising strategy. This study examined the in vitro immunological effects of co-administration of Thymosin-alpha-1 (Tα1) and polyanionic carbosilane dendrimers (PCDs) on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) during HCMV infection. The biocompatibility of PCDs was assessed via MTT and LDH assays.

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Interleukin 7 receptor (IL7R) is vital in the adaptive immune response against human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV). We assessed IL7RA polymorphisms (SNPs) in antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve HIV patients for their association with spontaneous HIV infection control. We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving 667 ART-naïve patients categorized by HIV progression (ordinal variable): 150 rapid progressors, 334 moderate/typical progressors, 86 long-term nonprogressors elite controllers (LTNPs-EC), and 97 LTNPs-non-EC.

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Purpose: We aimed to assess IgG antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (anti-SARS-CoV-2 S IgG) in vaccinated mothers and their infants at delivery and 2-3 months of age.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study on mothers who received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BNT162b2, Moderna mRNA-1273, or Oxford-AstraZeneca ChAdOx1-S) during pregnancy and on their infants. The baseline was at the time of delivery (n = 93), and the end of follow-up was 2 to 3 months post-partum (n = 53).

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The study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of the generic intravenous (IV) iron treatment (Feriv®), in a Spanish cohort with absolute iron deficiency (ID) (serum ferritin <50 ng/ml, with or without anaemia) (n = 122; 91% women; median age of 44 years [IQR: 33.7-54]). Iron-related biomarkers were measured before treatment (baseline), 2 weeks after beginning the protocol (intermediate control, IC) and between 7 and 10 days after treatment completion (final time-point).

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Objective: To summarise the effect of mind-body exercises on anxiety and depression symptoms in adults with anxiety or depressive disorders.

Design: Systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-regression.

Data Sources: Five electronic databases were searched from inception to July 2022.

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IRF5-TNPO3 polymorphisms have previously been related to immune response, and TNPO3 plays a role in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection after nuclear import. Therefore, we analyzed the genetic association between IRF5-TNPO3 polymorphisms and the HIV elite control in long-term nonprogressors (LTNPs). We performed a retrospective cohort study on 183 LTNPs, who were antiretroviral therapy-naïve with CD4  ≥ 500 cells/mm , viral load ≤10 000 copies/mL, and asymptomatic over 10 years after HIV seroconversion.

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  • The study measured cytokines in extracellular vesicles from people with HIV (PWH) who have different control statuses, specifically looking at elite controllers (EC) and their virological control (persistent vs. treated).
  • Results revealed that PWH had higher median levels of EV-associated cytokines compared to HIV-uninfected individuals, with EC showing the highest levels among PWH.
  • Certain cytokines, like IL-18 and IL-3, were identified as key indicators for distinguishing between PWH and uninfected individuals, as well as between different control statuses, suggesting a need for further research on their roles in HIV management.
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  • - The study aimed to analyze changes in metabolites, lipids, and proteins in children with perinatally acquired HIV-1 during a transient viral rebound (tVR) using advanced multi-omic techniques on plasma samples taken before and after the viral rebound event.
  • - Results indicated that while the CD4/CD8 ratio decreased slightly during tVR, significant changes were observed in specific proteins, metabolites, and lipids when comparing post-tVR samples to those of children with consistent viral control.
  • - The findings suggest that tVR and subsequent suppression alter certain biochemical markers in the bloodstream, which are associated with immune functions, highlighting the complex relationship between viral activity and metabolic changes.
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Purpose: Mind-body practices such as qigong, tai chi, or yoga combine physical movements, deep breathing, and meditation techniques aiming to improve how people self-care. Our purpose was to develop an overview of systematic reviews to summarize the available evidence on the effectiveness of mind-body practices for cancer-related symptoms management.

Methods: CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library were used to search systematic reviews with meta-analysis from inception until March 2022.

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Aims: Vaccine response is poor among children living with HIV. The gut microbiota has been identified as a potential target to improve vaccine immunogenicity, but data are scarce in the context of HIV infection.

Methods: Pilot, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial in which 24 HIV-infected children were randomized to receive a mixture of symbiotics, omega-3/6 fatty acids, and amino acids or placebo for 4 weeks, each in combination with ART, and were then immunized against influenza.

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Introduction: Pregnant women are vulnerable to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Neutralizing antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein protect from severe disease. This study analyzes the antibody titers to SARS-CoV-2 S protein in pregnant women and their newborns at delivery, and six months later.

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  • The study explores how CD8 T cell dysfunction affects the immune response to HIV-1 in people on anti-retroviral therapy, emphasizing differences between those on long-term (LT-ARTp) and short-term (ST-ARTp) treatments.
  • Findings indicate that CD8 T cells from individuals on LT-ARTp show improved functionality and memory response, while those on ST-ARTp have more exhaustion markers and less effectiveness in attacking HIV-infected cells.
  • The research suggests that addressing specific metabolic and immune exhaustion factors in ST-ARTp patients could enhance immune responses, paving the way for personalized HIV vaccine strategies.
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Reliable and accurate quantification of cell-associated HIV DNA (CA HIV DNA) is critical for early infant diagnosis, clinical management of patients under therapy, and to inform new therapeutics efficacy. The present study assessed the variability of CA HIV DNA quantification obtained from various assays and the value of using reference materials to help harmonize the measurements. Using a common set of reagents, our multicenter collaborative study highlights significant variability of CA HIV DNA quantification and lower limit of quantification across assays.

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Importance: Patients selected to receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) are usually those at higher risk of relapse, and there is a need to find better therapeutic options for these patients.

Objective: To determine the efficacy and safety outcomes for patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, ERBB2 (formerly HER2)-, high-risk early breast cancer enrolled in the randomized clinical trial monarchE who received NAC.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The monarchE randomized clinical trial was a multicenter, phase 3, open-label study that evaluated adjuvant treatment with abemaciclib plus endocrine therapy (ET) compared with ET alone in patients with HR+, ERBB2-, and node-positive early breast cancer who were at high risk of recurrence.

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Aim: The initial cases of COVID-19 appeared in December 2019 and Spain was one of the most affected countries during the first wave (March to June). Since then, HIV HGM BioBank has been restructured as an established Paediatrics and Adults HIV_COVID-19 BioBank that aims at the long-term storage of samples obtained from not only HIV-1, but also from COVID-19 patients and HIV-1_COVID-19 coinfected patients.

Methods: HIV HGM BioBank holds high quality biological samples from newborns, children, adolescents and adults with their associated clinical data.

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(1) Background: The Myofascial Adhesions for Patients after Breast Cancer (MAP-BC) evaluation tool is a quantitative measure for the evaluation of tissue adhesions in breast cancer patients. The aims of this study were to create a Spanish version of the MAP-BC and to test its convergent validity and responsiveness. (2) Methods: Translation and cross-cultural adaptation were performed in five phases according to international guidelines.

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Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) elite controllers are heterogeneous due to different immunovirological features. We aimed to identify plasma biomarkers associated with loss of spontaneous HIV-1 control in long-term elite controllers (HIV-LTECs). We performed a retrospective study in 60 HIV-LTECs [36 true-LTECs and 24 LTECs losing control (LTECs-LC)].

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  • A study involving 13 hospitals in Spain examined the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to newborns and included data from 177 infants exposed during pregnancy.
  • Results showed 5.1% of the newborns tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, with 1.7% of cases attributed to intrauterine transmission and 3.4% to transmission during delivery or shortly after birth.
  • Most infected newborns were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, and maternal factors did not significantly affect the risk of transmission, despite the presence of the virus in urine and meconium samples.
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