Publications by authors named "Veronica Barbosa"

Urine is one of the biological matrices most used for detecting human contamination, as it is representative and easily obtained via noninvasive sampling. This study proposes a fast, accurate, and ecological method based on liquid-liquid microextraction with low-temperature partition (μLLE/LTP). It was validated to determine nine pesticides (lindane, alachlor, aldrin, chlorpyrifos, dieldrin, endrin, DDT, bifenthrin, and permethrin) in human urine, in association with gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Diagnose risk environments for schistosomiasis in coastal localities of Pernambuco using geoprocessing techniques.

Methods: A coproscopic and malacological survey were carried out in the Forte Orange and Serrambi areas. Environmental variables (temperature, salinity, pH, total dissolved solids and water fecal coliform dosage) were collected from Biomphalaria breeding sites or foci.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We aimed to investigate which items of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Severity Scale best discriminate the reduction in total scores in obsessive-compulsive disorder patients after 4 and 12 weeks of pharmacological treatment. Data from 112 obsessive-compulsive disorder patients who received fluoxetine (⩽80 mg/day) for 12 weeks were included. Improvement indices were built for each Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Severity Scale item at two timeframes: from baseline to week 4 and from baseline to week 12.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The occurrence of schistosomiasis is directly linked to the presence of its snail intermediate host Biomphalaria spp. Knowledge of geographical distribution, habitats and behaviour of these snails in relation to the climate is essential for guiding measures for disease prevention and control. This study aims to model the distribution of B.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The expansion of schistosomiasis to previously unaffected areas is being monitored by identifying new cases and georeferencing outbreaks of vector snails.

Methods: In 2014, the Laboratório de Esquistossomose began an epidemiological survey in Serrambi and registered 2,574 people living there.

Results: Of these subjects, 1,414 (54.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The aim of this study was to report the experience of an epidemiological field survey for which data were collected and analyzed using tablets.

Methods: The devices used Epi Info 7 (Android version), which has been modeled a database with variables of the traditional form.

Results: Twenty-one households were randomly selected in the study area; 75 residents were registered and completed household interviews with socioeconomic and environmental risk variables.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In 2012 a malacological survey of the breeding sites of Biomphalaria glabrata and B. straminea , the two intermediate host snails of Schistosoma mansoni , was carried out on Itamaraca Island in Pernambuco, Brazil. This study has now been extended by studying the competition between the two species.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Investigate breeding sites with host snails and autochthonous human cases of schistosomiasis.

Methods: Between July 2010 and September 2012 were performed: (1) malacological survey searching for breeding sites, collection and identification of Biomphalaria snails positive for Schistosoma mansoni in Recife, PE, Northeastern Brazil; (2) prevalence survey in 2,718 schoolchildren aged from seven to 14 years old to identify cases of schistosomiasis, clinical examination and ultrasound in positive cases of S. mansoni.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We developed a stochastic model for quantitative risk assessment for the Schistosoma mansoni (SM) parasite, which causes an endemic disease of public concern. The model provides answers in a useful format for public health decisions, uses data and expert opinion, and can be applied to any landscape where the snail Biomphalaria glabrata is the main intermediate host (South and Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa). It incorporates several realistic and case-specific features: stage-structured parasite populations, periodic praziquantel (PZQ) drug treatment for humans, density dependence, extreme events (prolonged rainfall), site-specific sanitation quality, environmental stochasticity, monthly rainfall variation, uncertainty in parameters, and spatial dynamics.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Hypothalamic hamartomas are very rare (1:200,000) and range in size from 17.9 to 18 mm. When their dimensions exceed 30-40 mm, they are classified as giant hypothalamic hamartomas.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The prevalence and intensity of geohelminth infections and schistosomiasis remain high in the rural areas of Zona da Mata, Pernambuco (ZMP), Brazil, where these parasites still represent a significant public health problem. The present study aimed to spatially assess the occurrences of schistosomiasis and geohelminthiasis in the ZMP.

Methods: The ZMP has a population of 1,132,544 inhabitants, formed by 43 municipalities.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The association of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and acute chorea is rare. We report an 8-yr-old boy with T1DM who developed acute hemichorea-hemiballism of the right arm in whom magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed hyperintense signal in putamen and considerable atrophy and focal area of gliosis in the right putamen. There was a deposition of deoxyhemoglobin indicating recent bleeding in the left lentiform nucleus.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A malacological survey of permanent and temporary breeding sites was conducted in the Piedade neighborhood of Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Pernambuco, between November 2006 and November 2007, with the aim of determining the malacological fauna at this locality, along with the potential for Schistosomiasis mansoni transmission. In addition to Biomphalaria glabrata (Say, 1818), the molluscs Drepanotrema cimex (Moricand, 1837), Pomacea sp and Melanoides tuberculatus (Muller, 1774) were collected. Among the specimens of Biomphalaria glabrata that were collected, 1,490 were found alive, and 74 (5%) were positive for Schistosoma mansoni.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We report a case of intramedullary cavernous angioma in a 56 years old woman with history of back pain. MRI show discal protrusion and disclose an intramedullary lesion, with heterogeneous sinal. The MRI is more sensitive than CT and the most appropriate technique is the sequence eco-gradient.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a recently proposed cliniconeuroradiologic entity. The most common causes of PRES are hypertensive encephalopathy, eclampsia, cyclosporin A neurotoxicity and the uremic encephalopathies. Most patients are markedly hypertensive at presentation, although some have only mildly elevated or even normal blood pressure.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF