Equity, diversity, and inclusion at the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health.

A lack of diversity in genomics for health continues to hinder equitable leadership and access to precision medicine approaches for underrepresented populations. To avoid perpetuating biases within the genomics workforce and genomic data collection practices, equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) must be addressed. This paper documents the journey taken by the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (a genomics-based standard-setting and policy-framing organization) to create a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment for its standards and members.

Role of Histamine as a Peripheral Sympathetic Neuromediator and its Interrelation with Substance P.

This article is an educational review about the fundamental aspects related to the proposal of the existence of a peripheral sympathetic reflex regulated by histamine, through its effect on presynaptic H3 type receptors, under the interaction of a sensory neuron that would be mediated by Substance P. In this respect, we consider it useful to highlight the role of histamine, so we discuss some aspects about its history, metabolism, and function, as well as its interaction with H3 type receptors that are considered as neuroreceptors, which define and typify it as a neuromediator at both levels of the nervous system, central and peripheral.

Biochemical and clinical characterization of metabolic phenotypes: a cross-sectional study from Maracaibo city, Venezuela.

In 1980, Reuben Andresen observed that in certain individuals, obesity did not increase mortality, introducing an atypical phenotype called "healthy obese". Other studies reported that 10-15 % of lean individuals presented insulin resistance, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia. The objective of this study was to evaluate biochemical and clinical characteristics of metabolic phenotypes in Maracaibo city.

Venezuelan surgeons view concerning teaching human anatomical dissection.

Currently, the importance of human anatomical dissection have come under debate in many countries but there are not references in Venezuela on this concern. This survey's aim is to assess the insights of Venezuelan surgeons and their outlines of usage of human anatomical dissection in teaching and learning human anatomy. Sixty-five Venezuelan surgeons at the Centro Médico Docente La Trinidad completed an anonymous survey on current and future teaching practices in human anatomy.

José María Vargas (1786-1854): Reformer of anatomical studies in Venezuela.

José María Vargas (1786-1854): Venezuelan medical doctor, surgeon, optician, anatomist, chemist, botanist, professor, geologist, mineralogist, and mathematician. Second President of Venezuela (1835-1836), First republican dean, he reformed medicine studies in 1827 establishing human anatomical dissection in the Universidad Central de Venezuela where he taught human anatomy between 1827 and 1853 along with surgery and chemistry. In 1838, he wrote Curso de Lecciones y demostraciones Anatómicas, the first book on the subject printed in Venezuela for the teaching of human anatomy.

DA1 receptors modulation in rat isolated trachea.

We have previously demonstrated that low dose of inhaled dopamine (0.5-2 microg kg(-1) min(-1)) induces broncodilatacion in patients with acute asthma attack, suggesting that this dopamine effect is mediated by dopaminergic rather than by adrenergic receptors. To understand better these dopamine effect, rat tracheal smooth muscle was used as a model to evaluate the responses of beta2-, alpha1-, alpha2-adrenergic and DA1 and DA2 dopaminergic antagonists.

Effects of metoclopramide and metoclopramide/dopamine on blood pressure and insulin release in normotensive, hypertensive, and type 2 diabetic subjects.

The objective is to determine cardiovascular and insulin release effects under metoclopramide (MTC) and dopamine (DA) infusion by using an acute comparative design with the intravenous infusion of both drugs. We evaluated 15 normal (normotensive and normoglycemic) subjects, 13 hypertensive, and 15 type 2 diabetic subjects. Subjects were submitted to an experimental design in which we first gave them a 0.

Effect of drugs interacting with the dopaminergic receptors on glucose levels and insulin release in healthy and type 2 diabetic subjects.

Dopamine agonists play an important role in the regulation of the central nervous-cardiovascular, renal, and hormonal systems through stimulation of dopaminergic (DA1 and DA2) and alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptors. Several studies have shown that in fat and diabetic mice. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the interaction of the dopaminergic and endocrine systems by determining the effect of the dopaminergic antagonist, metoclopramide, and dopamine on insulin secretion and cardiovascular response by blockade and activation of dopamine receptors in healthy and type 2 diabetic subjects.

Metabolic and hemodynamic markers of endothelial dysfunction in patients with hypertension and patients with type 2 diabetes during the cold pressor test.

Leptin, a 167-amino acid peptidic hormone secreted by adipose tissue, acts mainly in the arcuate hypothalamus nucleus as a satiety signal, but given its closed connections with inflammatory and endothelial systems, a probable regulatory role in blood pressure (BP) control by interaction with nitric oxide (NO) and C-reactive protein (CRP) has also been described. The cold pressor test (CPT) is a simple test that indirectly determines endothelial dysfunction. In this work, biochemical indicators (CRP, leptin, and NO) and hemodynamic indicators (systolic and diastolic BP) were performed and evaluated in patients with hypertension, patients with type 2, and control subjects during a single CPT for assessment of endothelial dysfunction.

Human immunodeficiency virus-associated diffuse non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Venezuelan patients: treatment with full-dose cyclophosphamide-doxorubicin-vincristine-prednisone without routine use of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor.

The routine use of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) for 10 days during full-dose cyclophosphamide-doxorubicin-vincristine-prednisone (CHOP) chemotherapy in HIV-associated diffuse non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients is very expensive in developing countries. We treated 22 HIV-associated diffuse NHL patients with standard-dose CHOP and used G-CSF after an episode of febrile neutropenia until neutrophil count reached 1000/mm3. The clinical response was: complete response (36%), partial response (32%), stable disease (14%) and progression (18%).

Gastrointestinal and cutaneous AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma: different activity of liposomal doxorubicin according to location of lesions.

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) continues to be a frequent neoplasm in third world AIDS patients. We carried out a prospective study to evaluate the effectiveness of liposomal doxorubicin (LD) in gastrointestinal KS patients as well as its differential clinical activity depending on the location of the lesions. The study included 15 male AIDS patients aged between 25 and 35 years (mean: 27 years) with more than 25 cutaneous lesions and extensive gastrointestinal KS.

The actions of dopamine on the airways.

Background: Dopamine exerts inhibitory and excitatory effects on different systems. In the lungs, dopamine modulates respiratory functions through carotid bodies and modulates pulmonary blood vessel tone, alveolar liquids, and bronchial exchange, and possibly participates in the regulation of airways diameter. It has been reported that dopamine has no acute effect on human airways in normal subjects or those with asthma background.

Role of angiotensin II AT1 receptor blockers in the treatment of arterial hypertension.

Hypertension is a very common condition and the most important risk factor for the occurrence of cardiovascular events. The hyperactivity of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system is considered a cardiovascular risk factor in subjects with essential hypertension. The intrinsic vascular abnormality in which the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system is clearly the milieu for the development of the pathologic changes in blood vessel walls is one of the causes of the establishment of hypertension.

Comparative study of antimicrobial resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from patients of Caracas and Asunción in a 4-year-period.

The antimicrobial resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to beta-lactams, aminoglycosides and ciprofloxacin was investigated in two Latin American hospitals, one in Venezuela and the other in Paraguay. The resistance of P. aeruginosa was investigated in 1,481 clinically isolated strains, 988 from Asunción and 493 from Caracas, collected between 1996 and 1999.

Antibody levels against galactosyl (alpha1 --> 3) galactose epitopes in cervical mucus from patients with human papillomavirus infection.

Objectives: The general objective of the present study is to quantify antigalactosyl (alpha1 --> 3) galactose (anti-Gal) antibody levels in the cervical mucus of patients with/without human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and, as specific objectives, to compare these levels in the different HPV subgroups and with the presence of intraepithelial lesions.

Methods: Sixty women between 18 and 35 years old (mean: 26 years) were studied through the following methods: vaginal cytology, colposcopy, biopsy of suspicious lesions, sample taking for evaluating HPV presence through PCR and hybridization, and quantification of anti-Gal levels using ELISA with laminin antigen extracted from the Engelbreth-Horm-Swarm cell line.

Results: The presence of HPV was detected in 55% of patients; 45% of them had intermediate/high oncogenic risk HPV, 12% had low oncogenic risk HPV, and the other 43% had both subgroups.

Treadmill exercise-induced stress causes a rise of blood histamine in normotensive but not in primary hypertensive humans.

We have previously shown an interaction between noradrenergic and histamine-containing neurons in the rat vas deferens. As a generalized phenomenon, this interaction is involved in a novel peripheral reflex that, in an inhibitory way, modulates sympathetic activity and arterial pressure. Consistent with this, an activation of postganglionic sympathetic neurons causes a rise in rat blood histamine.

Inhaled dopamine induces bronchodilatation in patients with bronchial asthma.

Objective: To determine the probable bronchodilating effect of dopamine administered by inhalation route in patients with crisis of bronchial asthma and the effect of dopamine on bronchial motor tone.

Design And Method: We have studied eighteen (18) patients with crisis of bronchial asthma, ten (10) subjects with bronchial hyperreactivity and ten (10) healthy subjects. Patients with other pulmonary or cardiac disease were excluded.

A survey of the appreciation of anaerobic infections by Venezuelan medical students.

The background of a successful clinical diagnosis of an anaerobic infection is dependent, to a large extent, on the skills, knowledge and awareness that the examining clinician acquired during his or her time as a medical student. To assess the quality of current teaching protocols in anaerobic microbiology in Venezuela, a survey was carried out among 300 medical students attending three medical schools. The survey consisted of a questionnaire of 18 questions on fundamental aspects of anaerobic bacteria,the infections they cause and their treatment.

Metoclopramide enhances labetalol-induced antihypertensive effect during handgrip in hypertensive patients.

The effects of metoclopramide, labetalol, and metoclopramide plus labetalol treatments on baseline cardiovascular parameters and isometric handgrip-induced changes were evaluated in 11 hypertensive subjects. Although all treatments were effective in reducing resting systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressures, the combination of metoclopramide and labetalol appeared to provide a greater decrease (changes in SBP/DBP: 15/11 mm Hg, P < 0.05; from 149 +/- 4/95 +/- 4 mm Hg to 134 +/- 5/84 +/- 3 mm Hg) than did labetalol alone (changes in SBP/DBP: 10/9 mm Hg, P < 0.

Dopamine: pharmacologic and therapeutic aspects.

Dopamine is a biogenic amine synthesized in the hypothalamus, in the arcuate nucleus, the caudad, and various areas of the central and peripheral nervous system. It has been widely established that dopamine and its agonists play an important role in cardiovascular, renal, hormonal, and central nervous system regulation through stimulation of alpha and beta adrenergic and dopaminergic receptors. There are several agonists of dopamine-2 (DA 2 ) dopaminergic receptors, such as bromocriptine, pergolide, lisuride, quinpirole, and carmoxirole, which inhibit norepinephrine release and produce a decrease in arterial blood pressure; in some cases, bromocriptine and pergolide also reduce heart rate.

Footshock-induced rise of rat blood histamine depends upon the activation of postganglionic sympathetic neurons.

We have previously shown the existence of a novel peripheral reflex inhibitorily modulating the vas deferens sympathetic activity. An interaction between noradrenergic and histamine-containing neurons is involved in this reflex. As an overall mechanism of sympathetic autoregulation, we found that enhanced sympathetic activity in the rat during the stress induced by brief inescapable footshocks caused a marked rise of blood histamine that was seemingly dependent upon sympathetic activity.