Copaiba Oil-Loaded Polymeric Nanocapsules: Production and In Vitro Biosafety Evaluation on Lung Cells as a Pre-Formulation Step to Produce Phytotherapeutic Medicine.

Copaiba oil has been largely used due to its therapeutic properties. Nanocapsules were revealed to be a great nanosystem to carry natural oils due to their ability to improve the bioaccessibility and the bioavailability of lipophilic compounds. The aim of this study was to produce and characterize copaiba oil nanocapsules (CopNc) and to evaluate their hemocompatibility, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity. Copaiba oil was chemically characterized by GC-MS and FTIR. CopNc was produced using the nanoprecipitation method. The physicochemical stability, toxicity, and biocompatibility of the systems, in vitro, were then evaluated. Β-bisabolene, cis-α-bergamotene, caryophyllene, and caryophyllene oxide were identified as the major copaiba oil components. CopNc showed a particle size of 215 ± 10 nm, a polydispersity index of 0.15 ± 0.01, and a zeta potential of -18 ± 1. These parameters remained unchanged over 30 days at 25 ± 2 °C. The encapsulation efficiency of CopNc was 54 ± 2%. CopNc neither induced hemolysis in erythrocytes, nor cytotoxic and genotoxic in lung cells at the range of concentrations from 50 to 200 µg·mL-1. In conclusion, CopNc showed suitable stability and physicochemical properties. Moreover, this formulation presented a remarkable safety profile on lung cells. These results may pave the way to further use CopNc for the development of phytotherapeutic medicine intended for pulmonary delivery of copaiba oil.

Qualidade de vida de idosos brasileiros e portugueses: uma análise comparativa / Análisis comparativo de la calidad de vida de los adultos mayores de Brasil y Portugal / Quality of Life in Older Adults in Brazil and Portugal: A Comparative Analysis

Introdução: A longevidade tornou-se uma das maiores conquistas da segunda metade do século XX. Objetivo: Comparar a qualidade de vida de idosos brasileiros e portugueses usuários da atenção primária à saúde. Materiais e Métodos: Estudo quantitativo, transversal e comparativo, aplicado a amostra probabilística englobando 294 idosos acompanhados pela Saúde da Família divididos em dois grupos: 130 idosos em Benevides/Brasil, e 164 em Coimbra/Portugal, no período de 2015-2017. A caracterização sociodemográfica e avaliação da qualidade de vida foram obtidos pelo instrumento World Health Organization Questionnaire of Quality of Life (WHOQOL-bref), consta de 26 questões divididas em quatro domínios: físico, psicológico, relações sociais e meio ambiente. Aplicado o Teste U de Mann-Whitney para análise estatística comparativa. Resultados: Nos grupos verificou-se predomínio do sexo feminino, casados, aposentados e com baixo grau de escolaridade (1 a 4 anos). A média da distribuição etária foi 70 anos para brasileiros e 76 anos para portugueses; na comparação da qualidade de vida, os idosos brasileiros obtiveram os melhores escores no domínio psicológico (79,1) enquanto portugueses tiveram melhor escore no domínio meio ambiente (65,6). Em Benevides o escore mais baixo foi o domínio meio ambiente (56,3) e, em Coimbra, o domínio com escore mais baixo foi o físico (60,7). Discussão: A qualidade de vida no envelhecimento é importante preditor para a preservação da autonomia do idoso. Conclusões: Estes resultados ampliam a concepção da importância da atenção integral no processo de envelhecimento com vista a proporcionar melhor qualidade de vida contribuindo para satisfazer as necessidades especificas da população idosa.

Introduction: Longevity is one of the greatest achievements in the last half of the 20th century. Objective: To compare the quality of life in older adults in Brazil and Portugal receiving primary health care. Materials and Methods: A comparative cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted with a probability sample of 294 older adults, who had been assisted with the Family Health strategy, being divided into two groups: 130 older adults living in Benevides, Brazil and 164 in Coimbra, Portugal during 2015 and 2017. The sociodemographic characterization and the quality of life assessment were determined through the WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF), which consists of 26 questions assessing four domains: physical health, psychological health, social relationships and environment. The Mann-Whitney U test was applied for comparative statistical analysis. Results: There was a prevalence of married, retired women with a lower level of education (1 to 4 years) in the groups. The average age was 70 years in Brazil and 76 years in Portugal. In terms of quality of life, Brazilian older adults got better scores in the psychological health domain (79.1%) while Portuguese older adults scored best in the environmental domain (65.6%). The lowest scores were found in the environmental domain in Benevides (56.3%) and in the physical health domain in Coimbra (60.7%). Discussion: Quality of life in aging is a major predictor for the preservation of autonomy in older adults. Conclusion: These results help to broaden the importance of comprehensive care in the aging process to provide a better quality of life, which contributes to meeting the specific needs of older population.

Introducción: La longevidad se ha convertido en uno los mayores logros de la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Objetivo: Comparar la calidad de vida de los adultos mayores de Brasil y Portugal que reciben atención primaria de salud. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio cuantitativo transversal comparativo con una muestra probabilística de 294 adultos mayores que fueron acompañados por la estrategia de Salud Familiar y divididos en dos grupos: 130 adultos mayores ubicados en Benevides, Brasil y 164 en Coímbra, Portugal durante 2015 y 2017. La caracterización sociodemográfica y la evaluación de la calidad de vida se obtuvieron mediante el Cuestionario de Calidad de Vida de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (WHOQOL-BREF), que consta de 26 preguntas divididas en cuatro áreas: salud física, salud psicológica, relaciones sociales y ambiente. Se aplicó la prueba U de Mann-Whitney para el análisis estadístico comparativo. Resultados: En los grupos se observó el predominio de las mujeres casadas, jubiladas y con baja escolaridad (entre 1 y 4 años). La edad media fue de 70 años en Brasil y 76 años en Portugal. En cuanto a la calidad de vida, los adultos mayores brasileños obtuvieron mejores puntuaciones en el área de salud psicológica (79.1%) mientras que los adultos mayores portugueses tuvieron la mejor puntuación en el área ambiental (65.6%). Las puntuaciones más bajas se presentaron en el área ambiental en Benevides (56.3%) y en la salud física (60.7%) en Coímbra. Discusión: La calidad de vida en el proceso de envejecimiento es un importante predictor para la preservación de la autonomía de los adultos mayores. Conclusiones: Estos resultados amplían la concepción de la importancia de la atención integral en el proceso de envejecimiento para brindar una mejor calidad de vida, lo que contribuye a satisfacer las necesidades específicas de la población de edad avanzada.

High throughput fluorimetric assessment of iron traffic and chelation in iron-overloaded Caenorhabditis elegans.

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is a convenient tool to evaluate iron metabolism as it shares great orthology with human proteins involved in iron transport, in addition to being transparent and readily available. In this work, we describe how wild-type (N2) C. elegans nematodes in the first larval stage can be loaded with acetomethoxycalcein (CAL-AM) and study it as a whole-organism model for both iron speciation and chelator permeability of the labile iron pool (LIP). This model may be relevant for high throughput assessment of molecules intended for chelation therapy of iron overload diseases.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for pain relief after liposuction: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Liposuction is a common cosmetic surgical procedure, which requires analgesia for postoperative pain. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) has been used for postoperative pain relief; however, there is no evidence of its effectiveness in liposuction patients and this is the focus of this paper. METHODS: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial was conducted with 42 adult patients who underwent liposuction. Patients were randomly allocated to either the TENS group (active TENS) or control group (sham TENS). All patients received morphine (0.1 mg/kg) and dipyrone 1 g immediately after surgery; TENS was delivered 2 h later. The primary outcome was pain intensity. Secondary outcomes were analgesic requirement, number and types of adverse effects of TENS, quality of pain, treatment success, and patient satisfaction. Postoperative pain was measured using a visual analog scale (VAS) and the Brazilian version of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (Br-MPQ). RESULTS: Patients in the TENS group reported significantly lower pain intensity (P < 0.001, effect size = 0.92) compared with those in the control group. TENS significantly decreased the consumption of analgesics in the postoperative period (P < 0.001). No withdrawals or adverse effects were observed in the TENS group, but 33.3% of patients in the control group reported drowsiness and nausea. About 95 and 38% of patients in the TENS and control groups, respectively, were satisfied with the analgesic treatment. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that TENS is effective as an adjunct to analgesics for pain relief after liposuction. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE I: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.