Publications by authors named "Vilma Carolina Bekker Mendez"

There is scarce evidence on sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics that may explain adherence to different dietary patterns (DPs) during pregnancy. Our aims were to identify dietary patterns in a sample of pregnant Mexican women and to describe their association with selected sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics. This is a secondary cross-sectional analysis of 252 mothers of children that participated as controls in a hospital-based case-control study of childhood leukemia.

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Article Synopsis
  • Acute leukemias (AL) are a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children under 20 in Mexico, particularly noted in the central-south region, which has been previously understudied compared to Greater Mexico City.
  • A population-based study conducted from 2021-2022 identified 388 new cases of AL among children in Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Oaxaca, calculating various incidence rates using demographic data.
  • The overall age-standardized incidence rate was around 51.5 cases per million children, with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia being the most prevalent subtype, revealing trends and differences in leukemia incidence among the states.
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Background: A heterogeneous geographic distribution of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cases has been described, possibly, related to the presence of different environmental factors. The aim of the present study was to explore the geographical distribution of childhood ALL cases in Greater Mexico City (GMC).

Methods: A population-based case-control study was conducted.

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  • Epidemiological studies on acute leukemia (AL) risk factors in infants are limited, but maternal diet during pregnancy may play a crucial role in influencing the occurrence of AL in offspring.
  • A case-control study conducted in Mexico City from 2010 to 2019 analyzed maternal dietary habits in 109 infants with AL compared to 252 matched controls, using food frequency questionnaires.
  • Results indicated that higher consumption of allium vegetables was linked to a reduced risk of AL, while high-fat dairy products were associated with an increased risk, highlighting the potential impact of maternal nutrition on infant health.
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Introduction: Our understanding of HIV-associated gut microbial dysbiosis in children perinatally-infected with HIV (CLWH) lags behind that of adults living with HIV. Childhood represents a critical window for the gut microbiota. Any disturbances, including prolonged exposure to HIV, antiretroviral drugs, and antibiotics are likely to have a significant impact on long-term health, resulting in a less resilient gut microbiome.

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Background: The distribution of , , , , and in the pediatric population with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in many countries of Latin America is largely unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the frequency of these fusion genes in children with AML from Mexico City, which has one of the highest incidence rates of acute leukemia in the world. Additionally, we explored their impact in mortality during the first year of treatment.

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Introduction: Over the years, the Hispanic population living in the United States has consistently shown high incidence rates of childhood acute leukemias (AL). Similarly, high AL incidence was previously observed in Mexico City (MC). Here, we estimated the AL incidence rates among children under 15 years of age in MC during the period 2010-2017.

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Background: In Mexico, the incidence of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has increased in the last few years. Mortality is higher than in developed countries, even though the same chemotherapy protocols are used. CCAAT Enhancer Binding Protein Alpha () mutations are recurrent in AML, influence prognosis, and help to define treatment strategies.

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Background: B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) is the most frequent pediatric cancer worldwide. Despite improvements in treatment regimens, approximately 20% of the cases cannot be cured, highlighting the necessity for identifying new biomarkers to improve the current clinical and molecular risk stratification schemes. We aimed to investigate whether is a biomarker in ALL and to explore its expression level in other human cancer types.

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Introduction: In Mexico, HIV genotyping is performed in people living with HIV (PLWH) failing their first-line antiretroviral (ARV) regimen; it is not routinely done for all treatment-naive PLWH before ARV initiation. The first nationally representative survey published in 2016 reported that the prevalence of pretreatment drug mutations in treatment-naive Mexican PLWH was 15.5% to any antiretroviral drug and 10.

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Mexico City has one of the highest incidences of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) globally, with patients showing low survival, and high relapse rates. To gain more insight into the molecular features of B-ALL in Mexican children, we isolated CD10 + /CD19 + precursor B lymphoblasts from four bone marrow and nine peripheral blood samples of B-ALL patients using a fluorescence-activated cell sorting protocol. The global gene expression profile (BM vs PB) revealed 136 differentially expressed genes; 62 were upregulated (45.

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Objective: Describe the frequency of thrombotic and non-thrombotic clinical manifestations, laboratory, treatment and prognosis in patients with pediatric primary antiphospholipid syndrome.

Material And Methods: A retrospective study was carried out in patients with a diagnosis of primary antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, under 16 years of age, under follow-up by the pediatric rheumatology service of the General Hospital, National Medical Center, La Raza, from January 2013 to December 2020. The antiphospholipid syndrome was defined when it met the laboratory criteria of the Sidney criteria and the presence of thrombosis or non-criteria manifestations of the disease (hematological, neurological, cutaneous, renal, cardiac or pulmonary).

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Article Synopsis
  • Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is linked to both genetic and environmental factors, with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in specific genes potentially increasing risk in pediatric populations in Mexico.
  • A multicenter study was conducted comparing children diagnosed with ALL to healthy controls, examining the impact of SNPs rs2910164, rs12803915, rs11614913, and rs3746444 through DNA analysis.
  • The results indicated a significant association of the rs3746444 SNP with a higher risk of developing ALL, particularly in males, highlighting the need for further research on the genetic mechanisms behind ALL.
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Background: Refining risk stratification to avoid very early relapses (VER) in Mexican patients with B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) could lead to better survival rates in our population.

Aim Of The Study: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between the United Kingdom ALL (UKALL)-CNA classifier and VER risk in Mexican patients with childhood B-ALL.

Methods: A nested case-control study of 25 cases with VER and 38 frequency-matched controls without relapse was conducted within the MIGICCL study cohort.

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The interplay between the gut microbiota, the intestinal barrier and the mucosal immune system is profoundly altered in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. An HIV-associated microbial dysbiotic signature has been difficult to define due to the strong impact of confounders that are intimately linked with HIV infection, namely HIV risk behaviors. When controlling for sexual preference and gender, HIV-associated microbial dysbiotic signatures are characterized by an increase in deleterious taxa and a decrease in beneficial bacteria and their respective metabolic end-products.

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Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the main type of cancer in children. In Mexico and other Hispanic populations, the incidence of this neoplasm is one of the highest reported worldwide. Functional polymorphisms of various enzymes involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics have been associated with an increased risk of developing ALL, and the risk is different by ethnicity.

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Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the second most frequent leukemia in childhood. The gene participates in hematopoietic stem cell proliferation. mutations are recurrent in AML and influence prognosis.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to explore the relationship between parental age at conception and the risk of childhood acute leukaemia (AL) among Mexican children, given the high incidence of the disease in that population.
  • - A multicenter case-control approach was used, comparing children diagnosed with AL to matched controls, and applying statistical analysis to investigate the impacts of maternal and paternal ages on this risk.
  • - The findings revealed minimal associations between parental ages and childhood AL, though a higher risk for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) was noted when mothers were 20-24 years old, and some association for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) with younger mothers and fathers.
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  • Recent studies have highlighted the significance of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the development of leukemia, suggesting their potential use as biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
  • A microarray analysis focused on children with B-lineage ALL found that high expression of lncRNAs LINC00152 and LINC01013 was linked to increased risks of early relapse and mortality, with specific hazard ratios calculated for different expression levels.
  • The findings suggest that LINC00152 might play a regulatory role in certain biological processes related to cell adhesion and could serve as a promising biomarker for predicting relapse in children suffering from B-ALL.
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Tryptophan hydroxylase-type 2 (Tph2) is the first rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of serotonin (5-HT) in the brain. The ophthalmic administration (Op-Ad) is a non-invasive method that allows delivering genetic vehicles through the eye and reaches the brain. Here, the murine Tph2 gene was cloned in a non-viral vector (pIRES-hrGFP-1a), generating pIRES-hrGFP-1a-Tph2, plus the FLAG-tag.

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  • Mexico City has a high incidence and mortality rate of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), with a noted rise in childhood obesity, which is linked to worse outcomes in these patients.
  • A study analyzed 1,070 children under 15 diagnosed with ALL to determine if obesity/overweight predicted early mortality and relapse within the first 24 months.
  • Results indicated that being overweight or obese at diagnosis significantly increased the risk of early mortality, but there was no strong association found between these conditions and early relapse rates.
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  • The CYP450 complex is involved in the metabolism of ifosfamide, a drug for treating solid tumors, and genetic variations, particularly SNPs, impact enzyme activity.
  • A study analyzed 148 DNA samples from children using real-time PCR to compare ifosfamide levels and the effects of specific gene variants on treatment outcomes.
  • Results showed that certain genotypes were linked to higher or lower levels of ifosfamide, with a specific variant correlating to a poorer response to treatment.
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Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common type of childhood cancer worldwide. Mexico City has one of the highest incidences and mortality rates of this cancer. It has previously been recognized that chromosomal translocations are important in cancer etiology.

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Background: The CATSPER1 gene encodes a CATSPER channel protein that selectively permeates Ca ions, and CATSPER expression in sperm is essential for flagellum hyperactivation and, thus, male fertility. Little is known regarding the transcriptional regulation of CATSPER1, but previous studies have performed in silico analyses of transcription factor binding sites, including three CRE sites designated 0-2, in which CRE0 is located near the transcription start site.

Objetives: We investigate if overexpression of CREB-A and CREMτ transcription factors might regulate CATSPER1 expression.

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