Socio-demographic and clinical predictors of post-acute, mid-and long-term psychological sequelae of COVID-19: a two-year cross-sectional investigation on 1317 patients at the University Hospital of Verona.

Background: The present paper focuses on socio-demographics, clinical variables, and the distance from the infection in predicting the long-term psycho-social consequences of COVID-19.

Methods: Patients were screened with a cross-sectional design at the Psychological Service of the University Hospital of Verona (Italy) at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months after their SARS-CoV-2 infection. The assessment was part of the Horizon 2020-funded ORCHESTRA Project and included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36), the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and ad-hoc questions measuring pre-post COVID-19 changes on psycho-social dimensions (sleep quality, nutrition, level of autonomy, work, social relationships, emotional wellbeing).

Malnutrition and intestinal parasitosis: Current prevalences and risk factors among schoolchildren in Misiones (Argentina).

Objectives: To assess the current prevalences of nutritional status and intestinal parasites, and their potential association with socio-environmental conditions among schoolchildren in Aristóbulo del Valle, Misiones.

Methods: We measured body weight and height in 444 schoolchildren aged 3-14 years and evaluated their nutritional status following WHO criteria. We examined fecal samples and anal swabs from 234 schoolchildren and collected socio-environmental data through questionnaires.

Cerebral palsy and sleep: nonpharmacological treatment and impact on the life of caregivers - an integrative review.

Background:  Children with cerebral palsy have a higher prevalence of sleep disorders, with numerous factors associated with a negative impact on the quality of life of caregivers.

Objective:  To identify factors related to sleep disorders, nonpharmacological treatment, and the impact on the lives of caregivers.

Methods:  The present literature review was carried out in the Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information (BIREME), the Cochrane Library, Scopus, PubMed, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycInfo, WorldCat, Web of Science, Latin American Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS), and Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), with the descriptors , and .

The Magee 3 Equation Predicts Favorable Pathologic Response to Neoadjuvant Endocrine Therapy in Breast Cancer Patients.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) remains a significant health care challenge, and treatment approaches continue to evolve. Among these, neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET) has gained prominence, particularly for postmenopausal, hormone-receptor positive, HER2-negative (HR+/HER2-) BC patients. Despite this, a significant gap exists in identifying patients who stand to benefit from NET.

Agricultural practices and intestinal parasites: A study of socio-environmental risk factors associated with leafy vegetable production in La Plata horticultural area, Argentina.

Foodborne diseases now represent one of the most important public health problems. The objectives were to analyze the leafy vegetables and crop soil to detect parasitic species and evaluate the factors that increase the risk of parasitic contamination in the productive units in La Plata horticultural area. The study included 261 leafy vegetable and 87 crop soil samples that were processed using washing, sedimentation, and flotation techniques.

Meningioma-Related Epilepsy: A Happy Ending?

(1) Background: More than one-third of patients with meningiomas experience at least one seizure during the course of their disease, and in the 20-50% of cases, seizure represents the onset symptom. After surgery, up to 30% of patients continue to have seizures, while others may experience them later; (2) Methods: The study analyzed retrospectively the risk factors for pre-operative seizures in a large cohort of 358 patients who underwent surgery for newly diagnosed brain meningioma; (3) Results: We identified age, peritumor edema, and location as risk factors for seizure at the onset. Patients with seizures differed from patients without seizures for the following characteristics: younger average age, lower pre-operative Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS), location on the convexity, lower Simpson Grade, lower incidence of pre-operative neurological deficits, and higher incidence of pre-operative peritumor edema.

Two decades of astrocytes in neurovascular coupling.

The brain is a highly energy demanding organ, which accounts in humans for the 20% of total energy consumption at resting state although comprising only 2% of the body mass. The necessary delivery of nutrients to brain parenchyma is ensured by the cerebral circulatory system, through the exchange of glucose and oxygen (O) at the capillary level. Notably, a tight spatial and temporal correlation exists between local increases in neuronal activity and the subsequent changes in regional cerebral blood flow.

Rescue of astrocyte activity by the calcium sensor STIM1 restores long-term synaptic plasticity in female mice modelling Alzheimer's disease.

Calcium dynamics in astrocytes represent a fundamental signal that through gliotransmitter release regulates synaptic plasticity and behaviour. Here we present a longitudinal study in the PS2APP mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) linking astrocyte Ca hypoactivity to memory loss. At the onset of plaque deposition, somatosensory cortical astrocytes of AD female mice exhibit a drastic reduction of Ca signaling, closely associated with decreased endoplasmic reticulum Ca concentration and reduced expression of the Ca sensor STIM1.

Quality of life: predictors and outcomes after stroke in a Brazilian public hospital.

Background: Some scales are applied after stroke to measure functional independence but qualify of life (QoL) is sometimes neglected in this scenario.

Objective: To analyze predictors and outcomes of QoL after stroke using a validated scale in our population.

Methods: Our study included patients who had their first ischemic stroke and were followed in the outpatient clinic for at least 6 months from stroke index.

Prevalence of Human Intestinal spp. in the Americas: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, 1990-2022.

Among the seven species of known to infect humans, is widely recognized as a pathogen. It is reported that infections are common in the developing world, but rare in developed countries. The best way to diagnose these protozoan parasites is to detect antigens or DNA in the stool.

Astrocytes mediate long-lasting synaptic regulation of ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons.

The plasticity of glutamatergic transmission in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) represents a fundamental mechanism in the modulation of dopamine neuron burst firing and phasic dopamine release at target regions. These processes encode basic behavioral responses, including locomotor activity, learning and motivated behaviors. Here we describe a hitherto unidentified mechanism of long-term synaptic plasticity in mouse VTA.

Protocol for an open randomised controlled trial investigating Fibrin Glue in Skin grafts for Skin cancer (FiGSS).

Introduction: Skin cancer is a common disease in the tropics, and oncological resection typically requires reconstruction with skin grafts. Fibrin glue, initially established as a haemostatic agent, has been studied extensively as an adhesive for skin grafts in burns. This study aims to investigate the use of fibrin as an adhesive for split skin grafts in skin cancers.

Changes in the prevalence of undernutrition, overweight and obesity in children and adolescents from Buenos Aires, Mendoza, and Misiones provinces (Argentina) over the last two decades.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine changes in the prevalence of undernutrition, overweight and obesity in Argentine children and adolescents over the last two decades, and analyze their relationship with family socioeconomic conditions.

Methods: We compared data in two cross-sectional studies (C) of schoolchildren (n: 4971) aged 4 to 13 years from three provinces: Buenos Aires, Mendoza and Misiones. C1 was carried out between 2005 and 2009 and C2 between 2010 and 2019.

Nutritional status, intestinal parasitic infections, and socio-environmental conditions in Mbyá-guaraní children: The current situation in communities in central Misiones, Argentina.

Objectives: Our previous research in Mbyá-guaraní communities of central Misiones showed high levels of growth stunting and intestinal parasites in children, as well as associations between these variables and deficient sanitary conditions. New studies were necessary to update the present health status of the previously studied Mbyá populations after around two decades. Therefore, we evaluated the current nutritional status, intestinal parasites, and socio-environmental conditions among Mbyá-guaraní children from these communities.

Functionality and disease severity in spinocerebellar ataxias.

Background: Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are a group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by deterioration of balance and functionality that tends to follow disease progression. There is no established link between formal clinical markers for severity and functional/balance scores that could guide rehabilitation teams.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between functional scales and ataxia severity in order to identify cutoff landmarks for functional loss and estimate the mean SARA (Scale for Assessment and Rating of Ataxia) score for the risk ratings for falls on the BBS (Berg Balance Scale).

Rehabilitation in patients with cerebellar ataxias.

Cerebellar ataxias comprise a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms, which can be acquired, degenerative, or have a genetic cause, such as spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA). Usually, the genetic and neurodegenerative forms of cerebellar ataxias present a progressive and inevitable worsening of the clinical picture so that rehabilitation treatment is fundamental. Rehabilitation treatment includes physical therapy, respiratory therapy, speech, voice and swallowing therapy, occupational therapy, and new technologies, such as the use of exergames.

Comparing loss of balance and functional capacity among patients with SCA2, SCA3 and SCA10.

Background: Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) presents different rates of functional decline depending on the type of ataxia.

Objective: To compare the progression of disability, imbalance and severity of ataxia in patients with the three most common types of SCA in southern Brazil.

Methods: 126 patients (31-SCA2, 58-SCA3 and 37-SCA10) were stratified into four groups based on disease duration.

Cytomorphometric Evaluation of Oral Mucosa of Patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a rare genetic disorder in which patients progressive muscle deterioration and low life expectancy. Since DMD has no cure, treatment slows the deterioration process using corticosteroids and other medications, including oral bisphosphonates (BP). These drugs can lead to toxicities in both soft and hard tissues.

Metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma in a single sentinel lymph node.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) and malignant melanoma are aggressive skin cancers that usually arise in sun-exposed parts of the body. This report describes an 85-year-old man who underwent a wide local excision and sentinel lymph node biopsy for primary MCC and was subsequently found to have metastatic MCC and malignant melanoma within the left inguinal sentinel lymph node. Dual diagnoses of aggressive cutaneous carcinomas, although rare, may become more common in regions of high ultraviolet exposure and an ageing population.

Calcium Signals in Astrocyte Microdomains, a Decade of Great Advances.

The glial cells astrocytes have long been recognized as important neuron-supporting elements in brain development, homeostasis, and metabolism. After the discovery that the reciprocal communication between astrocytes and neurons is a fundamental mechanism in the modulation of neuronal synaptic communication, over the last two decades astrocytes became a hot topic in neuroscience research. Crucial to their functional interactions with neurons are the cytosolic Ca elevations that mediate gliotransmission.

Intestinal parasites in child and youth populations of Argentina: Environmental factors determining geographic distribution.

The transmission of intestinal parasites is generally considered to be "mediated by the environment" which suggests that they are particularly sensitive to the changes that occur in it. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the environmental variables that act as risk factors for intestinal parasitosis in children and youths in Argentina. The association between environmental variables related to temperature, precipitation and soil and parasitosis found in children and youths from different provinces was evaluated, including land use/cover classes obtained from satellite images.

Parasitic risk factors in migrant horticultural families from Bolivia settled in the rural area of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Objective: The aims were to diagnose intestinal parasites in migrant horticultural families in the rural area of La Plata, and assess factors that increase the risk of parasitic infection.

Materials And Methods: Serial stool samples and anal swabs of 350 individuals were processed using sedimentation and flotation techniques. Socio-sanitary and environmental characteristics were surveyed using a semi-structured questionnaire.