Assessment of health-related quality of life in children with functional defecation disorders

Objective: To evaluate the health-related quality of life in children with functional defecation disorders. Methods: One hundred children seen consecutively were enrolled and subdivided into three subsets according to the Roma II classification criteria: functional constipation (n = 57), functional fecal retention (n = 29) and nonretentive functional soiling (n = 14). The generic instrument Child Health Questionnaire - Parent Form 50 (CHQ-PF50®), was used to measure quality of life and to assess the impact of these disorders from the point of view of parents. The instrument measures physical and psychosocial wellbeing in 15 health domains, each of which is graded on a scale from 0 to 100, with higher values indicating better health and greater wellbeing. Ten of these are then used to obtain two aggregated and summary scores: the physical and psychosocial scores. Results: No statistically significant differences were detected between subsets in terms of demographic or anthropometric characteristics. In 14 domains, children with defecation disorders scored lower than healthy children. When subsets were compared, statistically significant differences were detected between children with nonretentive functional soiling (lower scores) and those with functional constipation. Physical and psychosocial scores for the entire sample were lower than those for the group of healthy children used as controls. Conclusions: The CHQ-PF50® was considered adequate for demonstrating compromised quality of life in children with functional defecation disorders, as has been reported for other diseases, being a useful tool for making treatment decisions and for patient follow-up. Copyright © 2006 by Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria.

Characterization of language disorders in children with lead poisoning

Background: lead poisoning can have a negative impact on the neuropsychological functions, including language, due to the damage it causes to the developthent of the Central Nervous System. Aim: to verify the occurrence of language disorders in children who suffered from led poisoning and to verify the correlation between the lead concentration level in the blood and the language disorders presented by the children. Method: language evaluation of 20 preschoolers, with lead concentration level in the blood above 10μg/dl. Results: 13 children presented language impairment involving only phonology or more than one language subsystem. The statistical analysis indicated that no correlation exists between the severity of the language impairment and the concentration levels of lead. Conclusion: the number of children with language impairment indicates lead poisoning as a risk factor for the present alterations, even though other risk factors for language disorders were found and the absence of correlation between the investigated variables.

Subtelomeric region of chromosome 2 in patients with autism spectrum disorders

Autism spectrum disorders are severe psychiatric diseases commonly identified in the population. They are diagnosed during childhood and the etiology has been much debated due to their variations and complexity. Onset is early and characterized as communication and social interaction disorders and as repetitive and stereotyped behavior. Austistic disorders may occur together with various genetic and chromosomal diseases. Several chromosomal regions and genes are implicated in the predisposition for these diseases, in particular those with products expressed in the central nervous system. There are reports of autistic and mentally handicapped patients with submicroscopic subtelomeric alterations at the distal end of the long arm of chromosome 2. Additionally, there is evidence that alterations at 2q37 cause brain malformations that result in the autistic phenotype. These alterations are very small and not identified by routine cytogenetics to which patients are normally submitted, which may result in an underestimation of the diagnosis. This study aimed at evaluating the 2q37 region in patients with autistic disorders. Twenty patients were studied utilizing the fluorescence in situ hybridization technique with a specific probe for 2q37. All of them were also studied by the GTC banding technique to identify possible chromosomal diseases. No alterations were observed in the 2q37 region of the individuals studied, and no patient presented chromosomal diseases. This result may be due to the small sample size analyzed. The introduction of routine analysis of the 2q37 region for patients with autistic disorders depends on further studies. ©FUNPEC-RP.

Utilização do alcohol use disorders identification test (Audit) para identificação do consumo de álcool entre estudantes do ensino médio

Alcohol is one of the drugs most widely used among teenagers. Just recently, studies have been developed regarding the screening of use of alcohol by this population. This work aimed to investigate the use of AUDIT as a method for screening and evaluation of alcohol consumption among High School students. The sample was composed by 1227 students from two public schools, who answered to the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and informed their socioeconomic level, religion, and occurrence of relationship problems caused by drunkenness of family members. Using an 8 cut-off point, AUDIT has identified 17.8% of students with risk drinking. These results have revealed that AUDIT is easy to be applied and well accepted by the students. It was also evident the importance of this instrument in the follow-up programs of prevention and intervention of alcoholic beverages use.

Eating disorders in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: Prevalence and clinical correlates

Objective: The objective is to evaluate the prevalence and associated clinical characteristics of eating disorders (ED) in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Method: This is a cross-sectional study comparing 815 patients with OCD. Participants were assessed with structured interviews and scales: SCID-I, Y-BOCS, (Int J Eat Disord 2010; 43:315-325) Dimensional Y-BOCS, BABS, Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Results: Ninety-two patients (11.3%) presented the following EDs: binge-eating disorders [= 59 (7.2%)], bulimia nervosa [= 16 (2.0%)], or anorexia nervosa [= 17 (2.1%)]. Compared to OCD patients without ED (OCD-Non-ED), OCD-ED patients were more likely to be women with previous psychiatric treatment. Mean total scores in Y-BOCS, Dimensional Y-BOCS, and BABS were similar within groups. However, OCD-ED patients showed higher lifetime prevalence of comorbid conditions, higher anxiety and depression scores, and higher frequency of suicide attempts than did the OCD-Non-ED group. Primarily diagnosed OCD patients with comorbid ED may be associated with higher clinical severity. Discussion: Future longitudinal studies should investigate dimensional correlations between OCD and ED. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

COX-2 and TGF-β expression in proliferative disorders of canine prostate

COX-2 and TGF-β expression was determined in order to correlate non-neoplastic lesions, preneoplastic lesions and carcinoma in the prostate of dogs. The results show that neoplastic and preneoplastic lesions express more COX-2 and TGF-β when compared to carcinomas, which suggests these proteins may cooperate in the process of prostate tumorigenesis.

Absence of mutagenicity of plants used to treat gastrointestinal disorders

The Brazilian Savanna (locally called Cerrado) is an important biome presenting several plants that are used in popular medicine. However, the risks associated with the consumption of derivatives from these plants are generally unknown. Studies with compounds obtained from different species have shown the risks of DNA damage. The present work assessed the in vivo mutagenicity of three plant species used in popular medicine to treat human gastrointestinal disorders (Mouriri pusa, Qualea grandiflora and Qualea multiflora). The micronucleus assay was performed in peripheral blood of mice submitted to acute treatments. Results showed that no assessed extracts were mutagenic in vivo. In fact, the absence of mutagenicity in the present study indicates that the extracts do not contain compounds capable of inducing DNA breaks or chromosomal loss. However, further analysis should be performed in others systems to guarantee their safety, mainly to human chronic use.

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in dancers and former dancers participating in the largest dance festival in the world

Objective: To verify the presence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in dancers and former dancers participating in the 27th Joinville Dance FestivalMaterial and methods: The research was conducted at the 27th Joinville Dance Festival in Santa Catarina, Brazil, with 173 participants in the competition, where 139 were dancers and 34 were former dancers with at least ten years of practiceIn order to obtain information related to MSDs, dancers answered a specific questionnaireResults: The study group consisted of adults (28±9 years) with body mass index within the normal range (21.3±2.3) with high weekly training time (955.7±837.2) and featuring long-time experience in dancing (18±7years)The lumbar spine and knees were the most affected by MSDsThe pain of high intensity was the symptom that most often appeared in reports among survey participantsConclusion: It is important to have deeper knowledge of the prevalence of pain among professional dancers, the factors associated with pain conditions and its impact on everyday life in order to plan new forms of prevention and plan new forms of prevention and treatment within a multidisciplinary approach© 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS.

Time-course morphological and functional disorders of the kidney induced by long-term high-fat diet intake in female rats

BackgroundEvidence is emerging that highlights the far-reaching consequences of a high-fat diet (HFD) on kidney morphology and function disorders.MethodsThe present study was performed on 3-, 5-, 7- and 9-week-old HFD female rats compared with the appropriate gender and age-matched animals. We evaluated the kidney expression of angiotensin type II receptor and fibrotic and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, by immunoblotting and immunohistochemical and histological techniques, in parallel with kidney function.ResultsIn the current study, the time-course HFD-treated group showed, by immunoblotting and immunohistochemical analysis, an early time-course increase in the expression of transforming growth factor β-1 (TGFβ-1) in the entire kidney of HFD-treated rats, compared with that observed in the control group. Simultaneously, the study shows a transient increase in the expression of ZEB2 in the HFD whole kidney accompanied by a fall in the E-cadherin expression and increased collagen and fibronectin deposition. A pronounced decrease in fractional urinary sodium excretion was also demonstrated in the long-term HFD-treated rats. The decreased FENa + was accompanied by a fall in FEPNa + and FEPP Na +, which occurred in association with significantly decreased CCr and, certainly on the sodium-filtered load. The reduction in the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) occurred in parallel to proteinuria and glomerular desmin overexpression.ConclusionsThe results of the current study suggest that podocyte injury in parallel with observed proteinuria and evidence of EMT transformation are associated with long-term loss of kidney function and renal sodium and water retention. © 2013 The Author. All rights reserved.

Temporomandibular disorders, sleep bruxism, and primary headaches are mutually associated.

To investigate the association among temporomandibular disorders (TMD), sleep bruxism, and primary headaches, assessing the risk of occurrence of primary headaches in patients with or without painful TMD and sleep bruxism. The sample consisted of 301 individuals (253 women and 48 men) with ages varying from 18 to 76 years old (average age of 37.5 years). The Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders were used to classify TMD. Sleep bruxism was diagnosed by clinical criteria proposed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and primary headaches were diagnosed according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders-II. Data were analyzed by chi-square and odds ratio tests with a 95% confidence interval, and the significance level adopted was .05. An association was found among painful TMD, migraine, and tension-type headache (P < .01). The magnitude of association was higher for chronic migraine (odds ratio = 95.9; 95% confidence intervals = 12.51-734.64), followed by episodic migraine (7.0; 3.45-14.22) and episodic tension-type headache (3.7; 1.59-8.75). With regard to sleep bruxism, the association was significant only for chronic migraine (3.8; 1.83-7.84). When the sample was stratified by the presence of sleep bruxism and painful TMD, only the presence of sleep bruxism did not increase the risk for any type of headache. The presence of painful TMD without sleep bruxism significantly increased the risk in particular for chronic migraine (30.1; 3.58-252.81), followed by episodic migraine (3.7; 1.46-9.16). The association between painful TMD and sleep bruxism significantly increased the risk for chronic migraine (87.1; 10.79-702.18), followed by episodic migraine (6.7; 2.79-15.98) and episodic tension-type headache (3.8; 1.38-10.69). The association of sleep bruxism and painful TMD greatly increased the risk for episodic migraine, episodic tension-type headache, and especially for chronic migraine.

Função cardíaca em cães com Diabetes Mellitus

Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária - FCAV

Complexo hiperplasia endometrial cística/piometra em cadelas: fisiopatogenia, características clínicas e laboratoriais e abordagem terapêutica

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estudo farmacológico e neuroquímico dos óleos essenciais de Cymbopogon citratus (D.C) Stapf e Citrus ayrantium L

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Inherited hemoglobin disorders in an Afro-Amazonian community: Saracura

ABSTRACT: The most common hemoglobinopathies, viz, hemoglobins S and C, and α-and β-thalassemias, were investigated through the molecular screening of 116 subjects from the community of Saracura, comprising fugitive African slaves from farms of the municipality of Santarém, in the west of Pará State, Brazilian Amazon. The observed frequency of the HBB*S gene (0.9%) was significantly lower than that encountered in other Afro-derived communities in the region. Concomitantly, the absence of the HBB*C allele has been reported for most of the Afro-Amazonian communities thus far studied. As remnant populations of quilombos are generally small, the heterogeneous distribution of HBB*S and HBB*C alleles among them is probably due to genetic drift and/or founder effect. The observed frequency of 3.7 kb deletion in Saracura (8.5%) was consistent with the African origin of the population, with a certain degree of local differentiation and admixture with individuals of Caucasian ancestry, placed in evidence by the occurrence of - -(MED) deletion (1.2%), a common mutation in Mediterranean regions. As regards f-thalassemia, among the seven different mutations found in Saracura, three βºand two β+ mutations were of Mediterranean origin, and two β+ of African. Thus, only 28% of the local β-thalassemia mutations found in Saracura were of African origin.

Avaliação pré-clínica da duloxetina em modelo de convulsão: análise comportamental, eletroencefalográfica e influência no estresse oxidativo

O transtorno epiléptico apresenta alta prevalência e severidade. Além da gravidade da epilepsia per se, este distúrbio pode ser acompanhado de várias comorbidades, sendo a depressão a principal comorbidade psiquiátrica. Os mecanismos envolvidos na relação epilepsia/depressão ainda não estão bem esclarecidos, e sabe-se que o tratamento de ambos os distúrbios pode ser problemático, já que alguns anticonvulsivantes podem causar ou aumentar sintomas depressivos, enquanto alguns antidepressivos parecem aumentar a susceptibilidade a convulsões. Por outro lado, estudos têm demonstrado que alguns antidepressivos, além de seguros, também possuem atividade anticonvulsivante como a venlafaxina, um inibidor da recaptação de serotonina e noradrenalina (IRSN). Considerando que a duloxetina, outro IRSN, apresenta uma inibição mais potente sobre transportados monoaminérgicos e que não existe nada na literatura a respeito de sua influência sobre convulsões apesar de que está sendo aplicado atualmente na clínica, o objetivo do nosso estudo é verificar o possível efeito anticonvulsivante da duloxetina através do modelo de convulsões induzidas pelo pentilenotetrazol (PTZ) em camundongos. Para tal, camundongos foram pré-tratados com duloxetina (10, 20, 40 mg/kg/i.p.) e trinta minutos após receberam uma injeção intraperitoneal de PTZ (60 mg/kg). Por vinte minutos os animais foram monitorados para a avaliação dos tempos de latência para o primeiro espasmo mioclônico e a primeira crise tônico-clônica, como também o tempo de duração das convulsões e de sobrevida. A análise eletroencefalográfica foi utilizada para avaliar a severidade das crises (aumento da amplitude das ondas). Após esse período os animais foram sacrificados, o córtex cerebral dissecado e análises bioquímicas (atividade da superóxido desmutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), níveis de nitritos e peroxidação lipídica) foram feitas para investigação dos mecanismos pelos quais a droga influencia as convulsões. Os resultados preliminares demonstraram que a duloxetina apresenta atividade anticonvulsivante, sendo capaz de aumentar significativamente o tempo de latência tanto para o primeiro espasmo clônico, como para a primeira convulsão tônico-clônica induzidas pelo pentilenotetrazol. Ainda a avaliação eletroencefalográfica demonstrou que a duloxetina na dose de 20 mg/kg diminuiu significativamente a amplitude das ondas enquanto a dose de 40 mg/kg aumentou significativamente a amplitude em comparação a todos os tratamentos. Quanto à avaliação da influência no estresse oxidativo, animais tratados apenas com PTZ apresentaram um aumento significativo do nível de peroxidação lipídica, e diminuição da atividade da SOD e da CAT. Quanto ao nível de nitritos não houve nenhuma alteração significativa entre os tratamentos. A duloxetina na dose de 20 mg/kg se mostrou efetiva para evitar as alterações induzidas pelo PTZ nos parâmetros de estresse oxidativo avaliados. A atividade anticonvulsivante da duloxetina (20 mg/kg) colabora com a teoria que tem sido apresentada nos últimos ano de que a modulação da neurotransmissão serotonérgica e noradrenérgica pode ter efeito anticonvulsivante. Ainda, a capacidade da duloxetina de inibir a exacerbação do estresse oxidativo envolvido nas convulsões induzidas pelo PTZ corrobora com estudos que demonstram que algumas substâncias anticonvulsivantes podem modular as convulsões pelo menos em parte por sua atividade antioxidante. Portanto concluímos que a duloxetine é um adjuvante promissor para o tratamento de pacientes que apresentam a comorbidade epilepsia e depressão.