The Impact of Zika Emergence in Remote Communities in Northwestern Ecuador.

The Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic in Latin America (2015-2016) has primarily been studied in urban centers, with less understanding of its impact on smaller rural communities. To address this gap, we analyzed ZIKV seroepidemiology in 6 rural Ecuadorian communities (2018-2019) with varying access to a commercial hub. Seroprevalence ranged from 19% to 54%, measured by nonstructural protein 1 blockade of binding enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Accuracy, acceptability, and feasibility of diagnostic tests for the screening of Strongyloides stercoralis in the field (ESTRELLA): a cross-sectional study in Ecuador.

Background: WHO recommends the implementation of control programmes for strongyloidiasis, a neglected tropical disease caused by Strongyloides stercoralis. Specific recommendations on the diagnostic test or tests to be used for such programmes have yet to be defined. The primary objective of this study was to estimate the accuracy of five tests for strongyloidiasis.

A Low-Cost SARS-CoV-2 rRBD ELISA to Detect Serostatus in Ecuadorian Population with COVID-19.

Laboratory diagnosis of the COVID-19 relies on RT-PCR to amplify specific fragments of SARS-CoV-2 genome. However, serological tests are required to determine the immune response elicited after infection. Here, we analyzed convalescent sera collected from positive individuals by RT-PCR to SARS-CoV-2 (n = 78), Zika (n = 20), dengue (n = 20), chikungunya (n = 54), intestinal parasites (n = 11), and HIV (n = 1), from different areas of Ecuador, with an in-house ELISA using a SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain recombinant (rRBD) antigen to detect IgG antibodies elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Community Epidemiology Approach to Parasitic Infection Screening in a Remote Community in Ecuador.

The Awa indigenous people of Ecuador live in remote areas and were included in health programs only recently. The first screening for parasitic infections in the Awa communities was implemented in the context of community epidemiology. During the site visits in each community, the health-care staff collected the samples for stool microscopy and serology for .

Use of Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction to Differentiate between Pathogenic and the Nonpathogenic in Ecuador.

Microscopic examination of stool samples has been considered to be the "gold standard" for diagnosis of intestinal parasites. Recently, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been approved by the World Health Organization as the method of choice for the diagnosis of . Of the 106 stool samples collected from the Esmeraldas and Pichincha provinces of Ecuador, all (100%) were positive for / by light microscopy, whereas using real-time PCR (RT-PCR) DNA amplification, 74 (69.

Bacterial identification of the vaginal microbiota in Ecuadorian pregnant teenagers: an exploratory analysis.

Background: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a microbial imbalance (i.e., dysbiosis) that can produce serious medical effects in women at childbearing age.

First description of Trypanosoma cruzi human infection in Esmeraldas province, Ecuador.

Chagas disease was described in Ecuador in 1930 in the province of Guayas and thereafter in various provinces. Triatomine were reported in the province of Esmeraldas but no human infection has been described. Here we report the first evidence that the disease does exist in the province of Esmeraldas.

Effect of intravenous hydralazine infusion on maternal plasma nitric oxide levels in gestations complicated with severe preeclampsia: a pilot study.

Aim: To investigate the effect of intravenous hydralazine infusion on maternal nitric oxide (NO) levels.

Methods: This pilot study comprised 40 (n = 40) gestations complicated with severe preeclampsia to whom maternal plasma NO levels were determined by chemiluminescence before and after hydralazine administration. Blood pressure values were concomitantly assessed.

Maternal plasma and amniotic fluid coenzyme Q10 levels in preterm and term gestations: a pilot study.

Objective: To measure maternal plasma and amniotic fluid coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) levels in preterm and term gestations.

Study Design: This pilot study comprised a convenience sample of 72 women admitted for labor with singleton live gestations and intact membranes (preterm n = 27 and term n = 45).

Results: Median [interquartile range] maternal plasma CoQ10 levels did not differ among the studied women (preterm, 0.

Coenzyme Q10 levels in women with preeclampsia living at different altitudes.

Background: Preeclampsia is a common disorder of pregnancy exhibiting abnormal plasma and placental coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) levels when compared to normal pregnancies.

Objective: To evaluate CoQ10 levels both in plasma and placenta among normal pregnant (n = 60) and preeclamptic (n = 63) primigravid women and determine the effect of high or low altitude residency.

Study Design: CoQ10 was determined using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) technique and group comparisons were performed.

Plasma and placental nitric oxide levels in women with and without pre-eclampsia living at different altitudes.

Objective: To investigate the nitric oxide (NO) levels in the plasma and the placentas of pregnant women with pre-eclampsia and women without pre-eclampsia, and to determine the effect of high or low altitude of residence.

Methods: NO was determined by chemoluminescence and group comparisons were performed.

Results: Women with pre-eclampsia (n=63) had higher plasma NO levels (38.

Coenzyme Q10 is increased in placenta and cord blood during preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia is a common (approximately 7% of all pregnancies) disorder of pregnancy in which the normal hemodynamic response to pregnancy is compromised. Despite many years of intensive research, the pathogenesis of preeclampsia is still not fully understood. The objective of the present study was to investigate the levels of coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10)) in placental tissue compared to maternal and umbilical cord levels both during normal pregnancy and in those complicated with preeclampsia.

Intraplatelet cyclic guanosine-3',5'-monophosphate levels during pregnancy and preeclampsia.

Objective: To investigate the intraplatelet cyclic guanosine-3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP) levels during normal pregnancy and preeclampsia.

Study Design: Pregnant women (n = 15), women with preeclampsia (n = 15), and nonpregnant, normotensive women (n = 15) were included. Intraplatelet cyclic guanosine-3',5'-monophosphate levels were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Preeclampsia is associated with a decrease in plasma coenzyme Q10 levels.

Preeclampsia is a common ( approximately 7% of all pregnancies) disorder of human pregnancy in which the normal hemodynamic response to pregnancy is compromised. Despite many years of intensive research, the pathogenesis of preeclampsia is still not fully understood. The objective of the present study was to investigate the concentration of coenzyme Q10 in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia.

Physiological changes in platelet aggregation and nitric oxide levels during menstrual cycle in healthy women.

Hormonal levels, mainly those of estrogens, protect women from the appearance of cardiovascular diseases by an increasing nitric oxide (NO) activity. NO is an endogenous vasodilator and antiaggregating substance. We decided to investigate platelet function and plasma levels of nitric oxide during preovulatory and midluteal phases in young and healthy women with normal menstrual cycles (MCs).