Mortality of central nervous system tumors in pediatric patients of Brazil from 1979 to 2019.

PURPOSE: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in children from 2001 to 2005 in Brazil. This study aimed to describe the pattern of mortality from central nervous system (CNS) tumors in children in Brazil from 1979 to 2019. METHODS: A descriptive study was carried out using data from the Mortality Information System (SIM) of the Ministry of Health, according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9 and ICD-10), between 1979 and 2019. The frequencies of the distribution of available variables were calculated: age (0 - 19 years), s skin color, tumor behavior, year and place of death (by region), ICD-10, and all of these, excluding skin color (by ICD-9). Mortality rates in general, mortality from neoplasms, and specific rates of CNS tumors were calculated considering the variables described above. RESULTS: In 40 years (1979 - 2019), there were 21,940 deaths due to brain tumors in children. A different pattern of the mortality rate of brain tumors was shown in children per age (increasing until age 5 - 9 years (28.9%) and then decreasing until age 15 - 19 years (20.2%)). The Southeast (44.3%), Northeast (23.4%), and South (17.5%) regions of Brazil had the highest rates; 94.7% of tumors were malignant, and 91.1% of deaths were observed in hospitals. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first description of the mortality rate epidemiology of brain/CNS tumors in children in Brazil over 40 years. Furthermore, tumor malignancy, hospitals, and the Southeast and Northeast region of Brazil are factors associated with a higher mortality rate.

Efeito da atividade física sobre a reatividade vascular em idosas hipertensas / Effect of physical activity on vascular reactivity in hypertensive elderly

Introdução: O crescimento da população idosa aumentou a incidência de doenças crônicas não transmissíveis, como por exemplo, a hipertensão arterial. Objetivo: Verificar o efeito da atividade física sobre a reatividade vascular em idosas hipertensas. Métodos: A coleta de dados foi realizada de outubro a novembro de 2016. Foi efetuado um programa de exercícios de treino de força e aeróbico realizados durante 4 semanas, com duração de 40 minutos. Após os exercícios realizou-se o Cold Pressor Test (CPT), em seguida foi aferida a pressão arterial e a frequência cardíaca imediatamente após o estímulo e aos 5, 10, 15 e 20 minutos subsequentes. Resultados: Mostraram que ambas as intervenções são efetivas para uma menor resposta de reatividade vascular das idosas, quando submetidas ao estresse. Conclusão: Conclui-se que as intervenções são efetivas como um tratamento não farmacológico para a hipertensão arterial, além de promover uma diminuição significativa da pressão arterial pós CPT.

Introduction: The growth of the elderly population has increased the incidence of chronic non communicable diseases, such as hypertension. Objective: To verify the effect of physical activity on vascular reactivity in hypertensive elderly women. Methods: Data were collected from October to November 2016. A program of strength training and aerobic exercises was carried out during 4 weeks, with duration of 40 minutes. After the exercises, the Cold Pressor Test (CPT) was performed, then blood pressure and heart rate were measured immediately after the stimulus and at 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes thereafter. Results: The results showed that both interventions are effective for a lower vascular reactivity response of the elderly, when submitted to stress. Conclusion: It is concluded that the interventions are effective as a non-pharmacological treatment for hypertension, in addition to promoting a significant decrease in AP (arterial pressure) after Cold Pressor Test.

In vitro cytotoxic and genotoxic evaluation of peptides used in nuclear medicine (DOTATATE and Ubiquicidin29-41) in CHO-K1 cells.

Micronucleus (MN) assay constitutes a valuable surrogate to the chromosome aberration technique for in vitro testing of the genotoxicity of substances. As test substances, two peptidic compounds (DOTATATE and Ubiquicidin29-41) used in nuclear medicine, were tested for in vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in CHO-K1 cells. None of the compounds showed detectable cytotoxicity (0.5-7.3 ng/mL for DOTATATE and 0.3-4.5 ng/mL for UBI29-41), genotoxicity (0.72, 7.2 and 72.0 ng/ml for DOTATATE and 0.45, 4.5 and 45.0 ng/mL for UBI29-41) or cell cycle changes as compared to untreated controls at the concentrations tested. Statistical analysis showed good concordance between two independent analysts. The results corroborate the notion of the safety of the compounds and present improvements of the in vitro MN assay when performed in a pre-clinical trial context that increase the throughput of small-to-medium testing facilities as an alternative to high content screening systems.

Plasmatic higher levels of homocysteine in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver disease, which includes a spectrum of hepatic pathology such as simple steatosis, steatohepatitis, fibrosis and cirrhosis. The increased serum levels of homocysteine (Hcy) may be associated with hepatic fat accumulation. Genetic mutations in the folate route may only mildly impair Hcy metabolism. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between liver steatosis with plasma homocysteine level and MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms in Brazilian patients with NAFLD. METHODS: Thirty-five patients diagnosed with NAFLD by liver biopsy and forty-five healthy controls neither age nor sex matched were genotyped for C677T and A1298C MTHFR polymorphisms using PCR-RFLP and PCR-ASA, respectively, and Hcy was determined by HPLC. All patients were negative for markers of Wilson's, hemochromatosis and autoimmune diseases. Their daily alcohol intake was less than 100 g/week. A set of metabolic and serum lipid markers were also measured at the time of liver biopsies. RESULTS: The plasma Hcy level was higher in NAFLD patients compared to the control group (p = 0.0341). No statistical difference for genotypes 677C/T (p = 0.110) and 1298A/C (p = 0.343) in patients with NAFLD and control subjects was observed. The genotypes distribution was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (677C/T p = 0.694 and 1298 A/C p = 0.188). The group of patients and controls showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) for BMI and HOMA_IR, similarly to HDL cholesterol levels (p < 0,006), AST, ALT, γGT, AP and triglycerides levels (p < 0.001). A negative correlation was observed between levels of vitamin B12 and Hcy concentration (p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that plasma Hcy was higher in NAFLD than controls. The MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms did not differ significantly between groups, despite the 677TT homozygous frequency was higher in patients (17.14%) than in controls (677TT = 4.44%) (p > 0.05). The suggested genetic susceptibility to the MTHFR C677T and A1298C should be confirmed in large population based studies.