Hematological and biochemical profiles, infection and habitat quality in an urban rat population.

Host condition is key in understanding disease dynamics. In an urban population of Rattus norvegicus, we aimed to assess whether infection of Leptospira interrogans and helminths was associated with patterns of host hematological and hormone-biochemical stress-related conditions. Rat kidney imprints and urine were used to identify and quantify L.

Ayahuasca and its major component harmine promote antinociceptive effects in mouse models of acute and chronic pain.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Ayahuasca (AYA) is a psychedelic brew used in religious ceremonies. It is broadly used as a sacred medicine for treating several ailments, including pain of various origins.

Aim Of The Study: To investigate the antinociceptive effects of AYA and its mechanisms in preclinical models of acute and chronic pain in mice, in particular during experimental neuropathy.

Responses to graded levels of zinc amino acid complex in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).

Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient that plays a crucial role in fish development and physiology. This study aimed to evaluate the effects on growth and health in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) supplemented with graded levels of zinc amino acid complex (Zn-AA) and subjected to transport stress. Nile tilapia (21.

Suspicious of Acute Kidney Graft Rejection: Tacrolimus Pharmacokinetics Under Methylprednisolone Therapy.

Background: Acute rejection remains one of the main complications in the first months after transplantation and may influence long-term outcomes. Tacrolimus has proven its usefulness in solid organ transplants and its monitoring through the application of pharmacokinetic concepts to optimize individual drug therapy.

Objective: This research proposes to evaluate the tacrolimus pharmacokinetic parameters in patients suspected of acute kidney graft rejection under methylprednisolone pulse therapy.

Dyslipidemia Secondary to the Use of HAART in Adults: A Systematic Review.

Background: HIV infection affects millions of people globally. Currently, although several drugs have brought an improvement in the quality and life expectancy of these individuals, they are accompanied by several adverse effects.

Objective: To conduct a systematic review of studies examining the relationship between antiretroviral therapy (ART) uses and secondary dyslipidemia.

Potential therapeutic effects of green tea on obese lipid profile - a systematic review.

Green tea, obtained from the plant , is one of the oldest drinks in the world and contains numerous bioactive compounds. Studies have demonstrated the efficacy of green tea in preventing obesity and cardiovascular diseases that may be related to the reduction of lipid levels. This study aimed to evidence, through a systematic review, the therapeutic potential of green tea on the lipid profile in preclinical studies in obese animals and clinical studies in obese individuals.

Sickle cell disease children's gut colonization by extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing : an antibiotic prophylaxis effect?

Sickle cell disease (SCD) children have a high susceptibility to pneumococcal infection. For this reason, they are routinely immunized with pneumococcal vaccines and use antibiotic prophylaxis (AP). Yet, little is known about SCD children's gut microbiota.

Physalis angulata reduces the progression of chronic experimental periodontitis by immunomodulatory mechanisms.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Physalis angulata is an herb found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world; it is widely applied in popular medicine due to the therapeutic properties of the whole plant and its parts. Extracts and infusions of this plant have been extensively applied in folk medicine worldwide to treat inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases, including oral inflammatory conditions such as sore throat and gingivitis.

Aim Of The Study: The present study was designed to investigate the protective effects of the ethanolic extract of P.

Low Doses Naltrexone: The Potential Benefit Effects for its Use in Patients with Cancer.

Naltrexone (NTX) is an opioid antagonist that inhibits cell proliferation in vivo when administered in low doses. Naltrexone in low doses can reduce tumor growth by interfering with cell signalling as well as by modifying the immune system. It acts as an Opioid Growth Factor receptor (OGFr) antagonist and the OGF-OGFr axis is an inhibitory biological pathway present in human cancer cells and tissues, being a target for the treatment with naltrexone low-dose (LDN).

Cardiac effect induced by Crotalus durissus cascavella venom: Morphofunctional evidence and mechanism of action.

Envenoming, resulting from snake bites, is a global public health problem. The present study was undertaken to investigate the influence of Crotalus durissus cascavella (Cdcas) venom on cardiac activity and the mechanisms of action underlying its effect. To investigate the inotropic and chronotropic effects induced by Cdcas, studies were performed on the left and right atria.

Toxicological alert: Exposure to glycidyl methacrylate and cancer risk.

Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA; CAS no. 106-91-2) is a chemical monomer used in the manufacture of dental resins, can coatings and polymers. GMA has demonstrated toxicity to the ocular, digestive, respiratory and dermal systems.

Urinary cytology: a potential tool for differential diagnosis of acute kidney injury in patients with nephrotic syndrome.

Objective: Acute tubular necrosis (ATN) is a frequent cause of acute kidney injury (AKI). In patients with nephrotic syndrome (NS), AKI demands the differential diagnosis between ATN and rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. In some cases, conclusive diagnosis is possible only by kidney biopsy.

Should the Vancomycin Minimal Inhibitory Concentration be used as an Infant Critical Care Regular Criteria?

Background: Vancomycin is the first-line antibiotic used for the treatment of staphylococcal infections. Because of its narrow therapeutic window and the pharmacokinetics variability, vancomycin trough serum concentration should be monitored. However, due to the increased cases of staphylococcus' commensal species infections and the case of vancomycin resistance, the minimal inhibitory concentration should be considered on antimicrobial therapy.

Evaluation of the Computer-Based Intervention Program Brazil to Promote Healthy Eating Habits: The Results from a School Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

Interventions via the Internet are promising regarding the promotion of healthy habits among youth. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of an adapted version of StayingFit to promote healthy eating habits and the measurement adequacy of anthropometric markers among adolescents. A web school-based 12-month cluster-randomized controlled trial examining 7th to 9th grade students was conducted in twelve schools in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

HDL Particle Size and Functionality Comparison between Patients with and without Confirmed Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) continue to be the most common cause of death worldwide, and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is noteworthy due to its great magnitude.

Objectives: This study was carried out to evaluate the structure (molecular and particle size) and functionality of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) shortly after AMI, in the presence of acute inflammatory response.

Casuistic And Methods: A cross-sectional, observational study was conducted between January 2015 and August 2016, with a total convenient sample of 85 patients.

Vancomycin Therapeutic Regime Adjustment in Newborns and Infants with Bacterial Infection: Case Series.

Background: Vancomycin is used mostly to overcome infections caused by methicillinresistant microorganisms. There are no well-established administration protocols for neonates and infants, so the leak of a specific administration regime in that population may lead to serum concentrations beyond the specified range.

Objective: This case series evaluated the pharmacokinetics adjustment from a vancomycin therapeutic regimen prescribed to neonates and infants with bacterial infection at a neonatal public hospital intensive- care-unit, with the primary purpose to verify cases of nephrotoxicity.

Self-reported smoking status and urinary cotinine levels in patients with asthma.

Objective: To determine the frequency of active smoking among patients with asthma and individuals without asthma by self-report and urinary cotinine measurement.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the city of Salvador, Brazil, and involving 1,341 individuals: 498 patients with severe asthma, 417 patients with mild-to-moderate asthma, and 426 individuals without asthma. Smoking status was determined by self-report (with the use of standardized questionnaires) and urinary cotinine measurement.

Differences in the Prevalence of Non-Communicable Disease between Slum Dwellers and the General Population in a Large Urban Area in Brazil.

Residents of urban slums are at greater risk for disease than their non-slum dwelling urban counterparts. We sought to contrast the prevalences of selected non-communicable diseases (NCDs) between Brazilian adults living in a slum and the general population of the same city, by comparing the age and sex-standardized prevalences of selected NCDs from a 2010 survey in Pau da Lima, Salvador Brazil, with a 2010 national population-based telephone survey. NCD prevalences in both populations were similar for hypertension (23.

Lipoprotein Profile Modifications during Gestation: A Current Approach to Cardiovascular risk surrogate markers and Maternal-fetal Unit Complications.

Several changes occur in lipid metabolism during gestation due to hormonal and metabolic changes, which are essential to satisfy the nutritional demands of the maternal-fetal unit development. The gestation shows two distinct periods that begin with fat accumulation, mainly in maternal adipose tissue, and the late phase, characterized by accelerated catabolism, with the increase of fatty acids in the circulation that causes hyperlipidemia, especially the one characterized as hypertriglyceridemia. Maternal hyperlipidemia may be associated with the development of maternal-fetal complications (preterm birth, preeclampsia, vascular complications) and the development of long-term cardiovascular disease.

Oxidative stress in sepsis. Possible production of free radicals through an erythrocyte-mediated positive feedback mechanism.

Background: Sepsis is an illness with a high morbidity for which no effective treatment exists. Its treatment has a high cost because it usually requires an intensive care unit and expensive antibiotics. The present study focus in the production of reactive oxygen species in the early stages of sepsis.

MATERNAL AND POST-WEANING EXPOSURE TO A HIGH FAT DIET PROMOTES VISCERAL OBESITY AND HEPATIC STEATOSIS IN ADULT RATS.

Aim: considering the frequent consumption of fat-rich diets by women of reproductive age, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of maternal consumption of a high-fat diet during the perinatal and/ or post-weaning period on the liver parameters and lipid metabolism of young rats.

Methods: Wistar female rats were fed a high-fat (H) or control (C) diet during pregnancy and lactation. The offspring were allocated to four groups: Control Control (CC, n = 11), offspring fed a control diet after weaning; Control High-fat (CH, n = 10), offspring fed a high-fat diet after weaning; High-fat High-fat (HH, n = 10), offspring of mothers H fed a high-fat diet after weaning; and High-fat Control (HC, n = 9), offspring of mothers H fed with control diet after weaning.

EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS OF A PROGRAMME PROMOTING ADEQUATE AND HEALTHY EATING ON ADOLESCENT HEALTH MARKERS: AN INTERVENTIONAL STUDY.

Aim: to evaluate the effects of a protocol promoting adequate and healthy eating on adolescent health parameters.

Methods: this controlled intervention study was conducted for 9 months, with the participation of adolescents enrolled in two schools (intervention/control) located in a poor neighbourhood in the city of Salvador (Bahia), Brazil. For the intervention school, activities promoting adequate and healthy eating were designed based on the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population (Guia Alimentar para a População Brasileira).

Risk factors for Charcot foot.

Objective: Diabetes mellitus is the main cause of Charcot neuroarthropathy and is clinically classified as follows: Charcot foot, acute Charcot foot (ACF) when there is inflammation, and inactive Charcot foot when inflammatory signs are absent. The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for ACF in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Materials And Methods: A matched case-control study was conducted to assess the factors associated with acute Charcot foot from February 2000 until September 2012.