Strengthening the Pharmacovigilance System in Mexico: Implementation of VigiFlow and VigiLyze, as ICSR and Signal Detection Management Systems.

Pharmacovigilance (PV) activities aim to identify potential risks of medicines and vaccines after they have been authorised in the market by collecting and analysing information on suspected adverse events from different stakeholders. These can be captured and transmitted electronically in the form of Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs). Hence, up-to-date ICSRs management systems, like VigiFlow and signal detection and management systems as VigiLyze, have an important role in the PV system of a country. In 2019, after various attempts to establish a PV database that could fulfil the needs of the country, Mexico's National Regulatory Authority, COFEPRIS (Federal Commission for the Prevention against Sanitary Risks) decided to implement these tools. This has been a successful project that is still ongoing, it has involved national and international organisations, and has required the participation and integration of different components of the national PV system. The implementation of these tools has allowed COFEPRIS to increase its reporting trends and quality of reporting, while contributing to make more efficient interactions and processes with PV stakeholders, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also allowed them to strengthen their commitment to the WHO-Programme for International Drug Monitoring, while highlighting opportunities for improvement in the national PV scenario and in the PV tools themselves. The aim of this article is to describe the implementation process, give an overview of current results regarding ICSR data and processes, and highlight the achievements, challenges, and opportunities for improvement after the three years since the beginning of the project.

Early Developmental Low-Dose Methylmercury Exposure Alters Learning and Memory in Periadolescent but Not Young Adult Rats.

Few studies have assessed the effects of developmental methylmercury (MeHg) exposure on learning and memory at different ages. The possibility of the amelioration or worsening of the effects has not been sufficiently investigated. This study aimed to assess whether low-dose MeHg exposure in utero and during suckling induces differential disturbances in learning and memory of periadolescent and young adult rats. Four experimental groups of pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were orally exposed to MeHg or vehicle from gestational day 5 to weaning: (1) control (vehicle), (2) 250 µg/kg/day MeHg, (3) 500 µg/kg/day MeHg, and (4) vehicle, and treated on the test day with MK-801 (0.15 mg/kg i.p.), an antagonist of the N-methyl D-aspartate receptor. The effects were evaluated in male offspring through the open field test, object recognition test, Morris water maze, and conditioned taste aversion. For each test and stage assessed, different groups of animals were used. MeHg exposure, in a dose-dependent manner, disrupted exploratory behaviour, recognition memory, spatial learning, and acquisition of aversive memories in periadolescent rats, but alterations were not observed in littermates tested in young adulthood. These results suggest that developmental low-dose exposure to MeHg induces age-dependent detrimental effects. The relevance of decreasing exposure to MeHg in humans remains to be determined.