Judicialization of health: lawsuits for access to medicines in Uruguaiana-RS / Judicialização da saúde: ações de acesso a medicamentos em Uruguaiana-RS

INTRODUCTION: In Brazil, the right to health has a constitutional and universal provision. However, the judicial route has been widely used to access health goods and services. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the lawsuits of medicines filed by citizens of a Brazilian municipality. METHODS: Quantitative and retrospective study evaluating 652 lawsuits filed in 2016 conducted in Uruguaiana, state of Rio Grande do Sul. The information was made available by the State Department of Health. RESULTS: 55.5% of lawsuits filed were related to drugs provided by the public health system Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). 44.5% did not fit into the guidelines of the Brazilian Policy for Pharmaceutical Services. Most of the lawsuits were filed by women over 60 years old. Regarding the therapeutic classification, the most requested drugs were for the nervous system. The most described pathological condition according to the ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases) was Diabetes Mellitus. CONCLUSION: These data corroborate the situation found in other parts of the country, demonstrating the need to reorganize the Pharmaceutical Service Policy to ensure universal and equitable access to medicines, as described in the Federal Constitution.

INTRODUÇÃO: No Brasil, o direito à saúde tem previsão constitucional e universal. No entanto, a via judicial tem sido muito usada para acessar bens e serviços de saúde. OBJETIVO: Analisar as demandas judiciais de medicamentos movidas por cidadãos de um município brasileiro. MÉTODOS: Realizou-se um estudo quantitativo e retrospectivo que avaliou 652 ações judiciais no ano de 2016 em Uruguaiana, estado do Rio Grande do Sul. As informações foram disponibilizadas pela Secretaria de Saúde estadual. RESULTADOS: 55,5% das demandas estavam relacionados a medicamentos fornecidos pelo Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). 44,5% não se enquadravam em nenhum dos componentes da Política Nacional de Assistência Farmacêutica do Brasil. A maioria dos processos foram movidos por mulheres acima de 60 anos. Em relação à classificação terapêutica, os medicamentos mais solicitados foram para o Sistema Nervoso. A condição patológica mais descrita, segundo o CID-10 (Classificação Internacional de Doenças) foi Diabetes Mellitus. CONCLUSÃO: Tais dados corroboram com a situação encontrada em outras partes do país, demonstrando a necessidade de reorganização da Assistência Farmacêutica para garantir o acesso universal e equitativo aos medicamentos, conforme descrito na Constituição Federal.

The use of Brazilian vegetable oils in nanoemulsions: an update on preparation and biological applications

ABSTRACT Vegetable oils present important pharmacological properties, which gained ground in the pharmaceutical field. Its encapsulation in nanoemulsions is considered a promising strategy to facilitate the applicability of these natural compounds and to potentiate the actions. These formulations offer several advantages for topical and systemic delivery of cosmetic and pharmaceutical agents including controlled droplet size, protection of the vegetable oil to photo, thermal and volatilization instability and ability to dissolve and stabilize lipophilic drugs. For these reasons, the aim of this review is to report on some characteristics, preparation methods, applications and especially analyze recent research available in the literature concerning the use of vegetable oils with therapeutic characteristics as lipid core in nanoemulsions, specially from Brazilian flora, such as babassu (Orbignya oleifera), aroeira (Schinus molle L.), andiroba (Carapa guaianiensis), casca-de-anta (Drimys brasiliensis Miers), sucupira (Pterodon emarginatus Vogel) and carqueja doce (Stenachaenium megapotamicum) oils.

Quinine-Loaded Polymeric Nanoparticles: Validation of a simple HPLC-PDA Method to Determine Drug Entrapment and Evaluation of its Photostability.

Liquid chromatographic method was developed and validated for quantitative determination of quinine in polymeric nanoparticles. The method was performed using a Waters RP-18 column using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile:water:triethylamine (60:40:0.01 v/v/v, and pH aqueous phase adjusted to 3.0 with phosphoric acid). The flow rate was 1.0 mL min-1 and the detection was achieved with a UV-PDA set at 232 nm. The response was linear over a range of 12.0 to 24.0 μg.mL-1 (r = 0.9995). The relative standard deviation values for intra-day and inter-day precision studies were less than 2% and the accuracy was 98.8% to Nc1 and 97.3% to Nc2. The samples free of quinine and quinine-loaded polymeric nanoparticles were subjected to photodegradation conditions. A considerable reduction of degradation of quinine occurred in polymeric nanoparticles. Through these results, it was clear that the nanoencapsulation of quinine protects the drug from degradation by exposure to UV-A light. The analytical method was validated according to International Conference on Harmonization Guidelines and Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Cutaneous melanoma: new advances in treatment

Cutaneous melanoma is a challenge to treat. Over the last 30 years, no drug or combination of drugs demonstrated significant impact to improve patient survival. From 1995 to 2000, the use of cytokines such as interferon and interleukin become treatment options. In 2011, new drugs were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including peginterferon alfa-2b for patients with stage III disease, vemurafenib for patients with metastatic melanoma with the BRAF V600E mutation, and ipilimumab, a monoclonal antibody directed to the CTLA-4 T lymphocyte receptor, to combat metastatic melanoma in patients who do not have the BRAF V600E mutation. Both ipilimumab and vemurafenib showed results in terms of overall survival. Other trials with inhibitors of other genes, such as the KIT gene and MEK, are underway in the search for new discoveries. The discovery of new treatments for advanced or metastatic disease aims to relieve symptoms and improve patient quality of life.

Influência da adição de extrato de chá-verde sobre a estabilidade e efeito fotoprotetor de emulsões fps 15 / Influence of green tea extract on the stability and photoprotective effect of spf 15 emulsions

A inserção de produtos de origem vegetal em cosméticos podem melhorar as suas características. Nesse estudo, objetivou-se o desenvolvimento de formulações fotoprotetoras contendo extrato glicólico de Camelia sinensis, a avaliação da atividade fotoprotetora in vitro após a adição do extrato vegetal, bem como a avaliação das características organolépticas, a determinação do valor de pH e comportamento reológico durante 30 dias de avaliação, quando as formulações foram armazenadas nas temperaturas de 25±2°C; 5±2 °C e 40±2 °C. Após 15 dias, alterações nas características organolépticas e reológicas foram observadas nas formulações armazenadas em altas temperaturas. Em 30 dias, as formulações mantidas a temperatura ambiente e em geladeira mantiveram as características organolépticas, apesar das alterações reológicas. Observou-se uma tendência a aumento do efeito fotoprotetor com a formulação contendo FPS15 e extrato glicólico de chá verde, entretanto, não se pode atribuir melhora na estabilidade física da emulsão pela adição do extrato.

The addition of plant material to a cosmetic may improve its characteristics. The stability profile allows the performance, safety, efficacy and consumer acceptance of an emulsion to be assessed. A stability study provides information about the behavior of the product over a given time interval, under various environmental conditions. The aims of this study were to prepare sunscreen formulations containing a glycolic extract of green tea (Camellia sinensis) and to assess the photoprotective activity in vitro, the organoleptic characteristics, pH and rheological behavior over a period of 30 days, during which the formulations were stored at temperatures of 25±2°C, 5±2°C and 40±2°C. After 15 days, changes in rheological characteristics were observed in the formulation stored at the higher temperatures. After 30 days, changes were observed at other temperatures. The addition of the extract significantly changed the rheological profile of the sunscreen formulations tested. An increase in the photoprotective effect was observed when the emulsion base was compared with the emulsion containing green tea extract. However, there was no evidence of an improvement of stability when the plant extract was added to the emulsions.