The effect of antidepressant treatment on blood BDNF levels in depressed patients: A review and methodological recommendations for assessment of BDNF in blood.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent psychiatric disorder and a leading cause of disability worldwide. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a signaling protein responsible for promoting neuroplasticity, is highly expressed in the central nervous system but can also be found in the blood. Since impaired brain plasticity is considered a cornerstone in the pathophysiology of MDD, measurement of BDNF in blood has been proposed as a potential biomarker in MDD.

Body map stories from Colombia: experiences of people affected by leprosy and the influence of peers during diagnosis and treatment.

Introduction: Almost one third of people affected by leprosy in Colombia suffer from disability, which often results from delayed diagnosis and treatment. We aimed to explore the experience of people affected by leprosy during the process of diagnosis and treatment and if and how this experience was influenced by peers.

Methods: A qualitative study using body map stories was conducted from October 2019 to February 2020 in Colombia.

Ivermectin Effect on In-Hospital Mortality and Need for Respiratory Support in COVID-19 Pneumonia: Propensity Score-Matched Retrospective Study.

Introduction: There is negligible evidence on the efficacy of ivermectin for treating COVID-19 pneumonia. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of ivermectin for pre-emptively treating hyperinfection syndrome in order to reduce mortality and the need for respiratory support in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.

Methods: This single-center, observational, retrospective study included patients admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia at Hospital Vega Baja from 23 February 2020 to 14 March 2021.

Knowledge about Chagas Disease among Family and Community Medicine Residents in a Non-Endemic Region: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Chagas disease (CD) is a parasitic disease endemic to continental Latin America that has globalized in recent years. The most relevant mechanisms of transmission of CD in non-endemic countries are transfusion with infected blood and mother-to-child transmission. There is limited information regarding practicing physicians' knowledge of CD transmission, clinical presentation, and treatment in non-endemic countries, including Spain.

Understanding the widespread use of veterinary ivermectin for Chagas disease, underlying factors and implications for the COVID-19 pandemic: a convergent mixed-methods study.

Objectives: Veterinary ivermectin (vet-IVM) has been used widely in Latin America against COVID-19, despite the lack of scientific evidence and potential risks. Widespread vet-IVM intake was also discovered against Chagas disease during a study in Bolivia prior to the pandemic. All vet-IVM-related data were extracted to understand this phenomenon, its extent and underlying factors and to discuss potential implications for the current pandemic.

Estimating chagas disease prevalence and number of underdiagnosed, and undertreated individuals in Spain.

Background: Chagas disease constitutes a public health problem, and Spain is the non-endemic country with the highest burden of disease outside the Americas. It represents a model for non-endemic countries regarding health policies to control the disease. This study is aimed to generate estimates of the T.

Chagas Disease-Related Mortality in Spain, 1997 to 2018.

Background: Chagas disease (CD) is associated with excess mortality in infected people in endemic countries, but little information is available in non-endemic countries. The aim of the study was to analyze mortality in patients admitted to the hospital with CD in Spain.

Methods: A retrospective, observational study using the Spanish National Hospital Discharge Database.

Chagas disease screening in pregnant Latin American women: Adherence to a systematic screening protocol in a non-endemic country.

Background: Chagas disease (CD) is a chronic parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and is endemic to continental Latin America. In Spain, the main transmission route is congenital. We aimed to assess adherence to regional recommendations of universal screening for CD during pregnancy in Latin American women in the province of Alicante from 2014 to 2018.

"We have already heard that the treatment doesn't do anything, so why should we take it?": A mixed method perspective on Chagas disease knowledge, attitudes, prevention, and treatment behaviour in the Bolivian Chaco.

Background: Chagas disease (CD) is highly endemic in the Bolivian Chaco. The municipality of Monteagudo has been targeted by national interventions as well as by Médecins Sans Frontières to reduce infection rates, and to decentralize early diagnosis and treatment. This study seeks to determine the knowledge and attitudes of a population with increased awareness and to identify remaining factors and barriers for sustained vector control, health care seeking behaviour, and access, in order to improve future interventions.

Asymptomatic Strongyloidiasis among Latin American Migrants in Spain: A Community-Based Approach.

Unlabelled: infection is frequently underdiagnosed since many infections remain asymptomatic.

Aim: To estimate the prevalence and characteristics of asymptomatic infection in Latin American migrants attending a community-based screening program for Chagas disease in Spain.

Methodology: Three community-based Chagas disease screening campaigns were performed in Alicante (Spain) in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Healthcare Professionals and Students' Awareness of Chagas Disease: Design and Validation of Chagas Level of Knowledge Scale (ChaLKS).

There are few studies evaluating awareness of Chagas disease among healthcare professionals attending migrants from Latin America or working in Chagas-endemic areas. The objective of this study was to design and validate instruments for assessing knowledge about Chagas disease among healthcare students and residents as well as students and professionals of social and other health science disciplines. Two validated scales have been developed: the 10-item Chagas Level of Knowledge Scale for healthcare professionals (ChaLKS-Medical) and the 8-item ChaLKS-Social&Health for potential aid workers from those fields.

Safety of high-dose ivermectin: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Ivermectin is a key anthelmintic for the control of neglected tropical diseases. The main indications for population-level control with ivermectin through mass drug administration are onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis; however, there is interest in using higher, fixed-dose regimens for the control of scabies, soil-transmitted helminths and malaria. Safety data for these higher-dose regimens are needed.

Nanofertilizer use for sustainable agriculture: Advantages and limitations.

Nutrient fertilization plays a critical role in maintaining soil fertility and improving crop productivity and quality. Precise nutrient management of horticultural crops is a major challenge worldwide as it relies predominantly on chemical fertilizers. Traditional fertilizers are not only costly for the producer, but may be harmful to humans and the environment.

CliqueMS: a computational tool for annotating in-source metabolite ions from LC-MS untargeted metabolomics data based on a coelution similarity network.

Motivation: The analysis of biological samples in untargeted metabolomic studies using LC-MS yields tens of thousands of ion signals. Annotating these features is of the utmost importance for answering questions as fundamental as, e.g.

Management of severe strongyloidiasis attended at reference centers in Spain.

Introduction: Strongyloides stercoralis is a globally distributed nematode that causes diverse clinical symptoms in humans. Spain, once considered an endemic country, has experienced a recent increase in imported cases. The introduction of serology helps diagnosis and is currently replacing microbiological techniques in some settings, but its sensitivity is variable and can be low in immunocompromised patients.

MacroH2A1.1 regulates mitochondrial respiration by limiting nuclear NAD consumption.

Histone variants are structural components of eukaryotic chromatin that can replace replication-coupled histones in the nucleosome. The histone variant macroH2A1.1 contains a macrodomain capable of binding NAD-derived metabolites.