Antiprotozoal compounds from Mikania periplocifolia (Asteraceae).

Chagas disease, African trypanosomiasis and Leishmaniasis are neglected parasitic diseases which affect millions of people worldwide. In a previous work, we report the antiprotozoal activity of the dichloromethane extract of Mikania periplocifolia Hook. & Arn. (Asteraceae). The aim of this work was to isolate and identify the bioactive compounds present in the extract. The fractionation of the dichloromethane extract has led to the isolation of the sesquiterpene lactone miscandenin and the flavonoid onopordin, together with the sesquiterpene lactones mikanolide, dihydromikanolide and deoxymikanolide, which have previously shown antiprotozoal activity. Miscandenin and onopordin were assayed in vitro against Trypanosoma cruzi, T. brucei and Leishmania braziliensis. Miscandenin was active against T. cruzi trypomastigotes and amastigotes with IC50 values of 9.1 and 7.7 µg/ml, respectively. This sesquiterpene lactone and the flavonoid onopordin showed activity against T. brucei trypomastigotes (IC50 = 0.16 and 0.37 µg/ml) and L. braziliensis promastigotes (IC50 = 0.6 and 1.2 µg/ml), respectively. The CC50 values on mammalian cells were 37.9 and 53.4 µg/ml for miscandenin and onopordin, respectively. Besides, the pharmacokinetic and physicochemical properties of miscandenin were assessed in silico, showing a good drug-likeness profile. Our results highlight this compound as a promising candidate for further preclinical studies in the search of new drugs for the treatment of trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis.

Ozonoterapia en el dolor crónico osteoarticular

Introducción: El dolor crónico es una de las causas más frecuentes de consulta médica en el mundo, las de causa osteomioarticular son las más frecuentes. Esto genera un gran consumo de medicamentos, muchos de los cuales producen efectos adversos que comprometen la calidad de vida de los pacientes. Objetivos: Obtener información sobre la efectividad de la ozonoterapia en el dolor crónico osteoarticular. Método: Se realizó una revisión bibliográfica de los artículos publicados en los últimos 15 años sobre esta temática. A través del buscador Google Académico, se revisaron documentos de carácter académico como artículos, tesis, libros, patentes, documentos relativos a congresos y resúmenes de diferentes bases de datos, como son Web of Science, MEDLINE, SciELO, pubmed, todas ellas ajustadas al ámbito biomédico. En primer lugar, se realizó una búsqueda general, y en función de lo que se vio que era más relevante con respecto al tema, se realizaron posteriormente nuevas búsquedas con términos más concretos, en los idiomas español e inglés. No se aplicó ninguna restricción de ámbito geográfico, edad, ni campo de investigación. Se encontraron 750 resultados iniciales, de los cuales se seleccionaron un total de 36. Conclusiones: Se concluye que hay artículos sobre la ozonoterapia, que respaldan su uso como una herramienta terapéutica efectiva y económica en el tratamiento del dolor crónico osteomioarticular, con mayor evidencia en el tratamiento del dolor por enfermedades del disco intervertebral.

Introduction: Chronic pain is one of the most frequent causes of medical consultation in the world, those osteoarticular causes are the most frequent. This generates a large consumption of drugs, many of which produce adverse effects that compromise the quality of life of patients. Objectives: To obtain information on the effectiveness of ozone therapy in chronic osteoarticular pain. Method: A bibliographic review of the articles published in the last 15 years on this subject was carried out. Using the Google Scholar search engine, academic documents such as articles, theses, books, patents, conference papers and abstracts from different databases, such as Web of Science, MEDLINE, SciELO, PubMed, all of them adjusted to the biomedical field, were reviewed. First, a general search was carried out, and depending on what was seen to be most relevant to the topic, new searches were subsequently carried out with more specific terms, in Spanish and English. No restriction of geographic scope, age, or field of research was applied. A total of 750 initial results were found, of which a total of 36 were selected. Conclusions: It is concluded that there are articles on ozone therapy, which support its use as an effective and economical therapeutic tool in the treatment of chronic osteoarticular pain, with greater evidence in the treatment of pain due to intervertebral disc disease.

An exploratory study of factors motivating Mexican women to undertake and continue with nutritional programs.

The purpose of this paper is to study and provide a framework for the motivations of women to engage in and maintain a nutritional program in Mexico. Focusing on a physician-dietician counseling program, 10 in-depth interviews were conducted with women age 30-60 engaged in the program. Two different sets of motivations for women were found, intrinsic and extrinsic, consistent with the self-determination theory. A model presents each set of motivations including subsets that explain specifically what makes women want to continue a nutrition program. Also, marketing implications from these motivations are discussed.

De madres a madres: programa comunitario para un mayor acceso a la atención prenatal / De madres a madres: a community partnership to increase access to prenatal care

Se publica en inglés en Bull. PAHO. Vol. 27(3), 1993

De madres a madres: A community partnership to increase access to prenatal care

Mission Statement: De Madres a Madres is an organization of volunteers promoting mother-to-mother support for a risk pregnant Hispanic women through caring, sharing information, and developing a safety network for a healthier community

This report will also be published in Spanish in the Bol. Oficina Sanit. Panam. Vol. 116(1)