Análise vacinal de estudantes em uma faculdade de medicina / Analysis of the vaccination status of students at a medical school / Análisis de vacunación de estudiantes de una facultad de medicina

Objetivo: O estudo analisa a situação vacinal dos estudantes de medicina de uma faculdade do interior de São Paulo, além de verificar seu conhecimento em relação à imunização. Método: Foi realizada a análise na carteira vacinal de 277 estudantes de medicina e disponibilizado um questionário autoaplicável. A análise dos dados foi conduzida de maneira estatística descritiva para interpretação dos resultados. Resultados: Verificou-se que mais da metade dos estudantes apresentam carteiras vacinais desatualizadas e poucos conhecem quais vacinas são indicadas aos profissionais de saúde, embora mais da metade dos estudantes reconheça o risco de contágio e transmissão de doenças relacionadas ao esquema vacinal incompleto. Conclusão: Esses resultados demonstram a necessidade de conscientização dos acadêmicos de medicina quanto à atualização de seus cartões vacinais e do aprofundamento do conhecimento e domínio sobre o tema vacinação (AU).

Objective: The study analyzes the vaccination status of medical students at a college in the interior of São Paulo, in addition to verifying their knowledge regarding immunization. Method: An analysis was carried out on the vaccination records of 277 medical students and a self-administered questionnaire was made available. Data analysis was conducted in a descriptive statistical manner to interpret the results. Results: It was found that more than half of the students have outdated vaccination records and few know which vaccines are indicated to health professionals, although more than half of the students recognize the risk of contagion and transmission of diseases related to an incomplete vaccination schedule. Conclusion: These results demonstrate the need for medical students to be aware of updating their vaccination cards and deepening their knowledge and mastery of the topic of vaccination (AU).

Objetivo: El estudio analiza el estado de vacunación de estudiantes de medicina de una facultad del interior de São Paulo, además de verificar sus conocimientos sobre vacunación. Método: Se realizó un análisis de los registros de vacunación de 277 estudiantes de medicina y se dispuso de un cuestionario autoadministrado. El análisis de datos se realizó de manera estadística descriptiva para interpretar los resultados. Resultados: Se encontró que más de la mitad de los estudiantes tienen cartilla de vacunación desactualizada y pocos saben qué vacunas están indicadas a los profesionales de la salud, aunque más de la mitad de los estudiantes reconocen el riesgo de contagio y transmisión de enfermedades relacionadas con un esquema de vacunación incompleto. Conclusión: Estos resultados demuestran la necesidad de que los estudiantes de medicina estén atentos a la actualización de sus carnés de vacunación y profundicen en el conocimiento y dominio del tema de la vacunación (AU).

Jacalin Has Chemopreventive Effects on Colon Cancer Development.

Colorectal cancer, which is one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, has a slow natural history that provides a great opportunity for prevention strategies. Plant-derived natural products have received considerable attention because of their inherent colorectal cancer chemopreventive effects. The plant lectin jacalin specifically recognizes the tumor-associated Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen and has antiproliferative effects on human colon cancer cells, highlighting its potential antitumor activity. To evaluate jacalin's potential application in colorectal cancer chemoprevention, we studied its effects on the early stages of carcinogenesis. Balb/c mice were given 4 intrarectal deposits of 0.1 ml solution of Methyl-N'-Nitro-N-Nitroso-Guanidine (5 mg/ml) twice a week (with a 3-day interval) for 2 weeks. Starting 2 weeks before carcinogen administration, animals were treated orally with jacalin (0.5 and 25 µg) three times a week (on alternate weekdays) for 10 weeks. We show that jacalin treatment reduced the number of preneoplastic lesions in carcinogen-exposed mice. This anticarcinogenic activity was associated with decreased colonic epithelial cell proliferation and stromal COX-2 expression and with increased intestinal production of TNF-α. Our results demonstrate that jacalin is able to modulate the early stages of colon carcinogenesis and emphasize its promising chemopreventive activity in colorectal cancer.

Partial lipectomy reduces dimethylhydrazine-induced carcinogenic initiation in the colon of rats.

This study investigated whether visceral adipose tissue directly modulates the development of preneoplastic lesions in the colon of carcinogen-treated rats. Wistar rats (n=64) were randomly assigned to 8 experimental groups in two experiments. In one experiment, 32 rats were exposed or not to either carcinogen treatment (dimethylhydrazine, DMH; 125 mg/kg) or high-fat diet (standard chow enriched with 14% lard) or both for 56 days. In a second experiment, 32 rats were exposed to a carcinogen or they underwent partial lipectomy or both for 30 days (partial lipectomy groups underwent ablation of mesenteric and parametrial fat pads, whereas sham groups did not; all rats were fed with standard chow). Colon was collected for histopathological analysis. After 56 experimental days a high-fat diet increased carcinogenic mutations in the colonic epithelia. Partial lipectomy reduced weight gain in carcinogen-exposed rats and decreased the de novo formation of mesenteric and parametrial fat pads. Partial lipectomy significantly inhibited the mutational process after 30 days: there were fewer colonic preneoplastic lesions and less proliferation, apoptosis, and inflammation. These data suggest that visceral adipose tissue promotes colon carcinogenesis and enhances the establishment and expansion of genetically mutated cells in colonic epithelia.

The anti-obesity agent Orlistat is associated to increase in colonic preneoplastic markers in rats treated with a chemical carcinogen.

Orlistat is an anti-obesity agent that increases the fecal fat excretion, which promotes colon carcinogenesis. Therefore, the present study was designed to verify the effects of Orlistat on the formation of rat colonic aberrant crypt foci (ACF) and cell proliferation evaluated by the PCNA method. Male Wistar rats received either a standard diet or a high fat diet (HFD), supplemented or not with Orlistat (200mg/kg chow) and two doses of the carcinogen dimethyl-hydrazine (25mg/Kg). After 30 days, Orlistat was associated to a significant increase in the number of colonic ACFs and cell proliferation in DMH-treated animals, independently of the HFD.