Association of Social Support Network with Telomere Length: A Cross-Sectional Study with Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Considering that telomere length can be determined not only by issues related to cell biology but also by aspects related to social factors and environmental exposures, studies on the relationship between social aspects and telomere length can help to better understand the still scarcely known aspects of the human aging process. Thus, this research seeks to verify whether social support networks are associated with telomere length in older adults. This is a cross-sectional study conducted with 448 individuals aged at least 60 years living in the urban area of an inland Brazilian municipality. Relative quantification of telomere length was obtained through real-time qPCR. Social support was assessed through the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression were used in data analysis. The evaluated social support networks for older adults consist in a mean of 16.4 people, and the percentage of older adults who reported up to five members in their network was 27.75%. Shorter telomere length was identified in 25% of the participants, and the older adults who reported having up to five members in their support network were more likely to have a shorter telomere length than those who reported more numerous networks (odds ratio: 1.89, p = 0.011) regardless of gender, age, household arrangement, cognitive decline, and dependence for basic and instrumental activities of daily living, which suggests that measures that stimulate the creation and maintenance of social support networks should be implemented to improve older adults' health.

Preclinical Evaluation of Polymeric Nanocomposite Containing Pregabalin for Sustained Release as Potential Therapy for Neuropathic Pain.

This study offers a novel oral pregabalin (PG)-loaded drug delivery system based on chitosan and hypromellose phthalate-based polymeric nanocomposite in order to treat neuropathic pain (PG-PN). PG-PN has a particle size of 432 ± 20 nm, a polydispersity index of 0.238 ± 0.001, a zeta potential of +19.0 ± 0.9 mV, a pH of 5.7 ± 0.06, and a spherical shape. Thermal and infrared spectroscopy confirmed nanocomposite generation. PG-PN pharmacokinetics was studied after a single oral dose in male Wistar rats. PG-PN showed greater distribution and clearance than free PG. The antinociceptive effect of PG-PN in neuropathic pain rats was tested by using the chronic constriction injury model. The parameter investigated was the mechanical nociceptive threshold measured by the von Frey filaments test; PG-PN showed a longer antinociceptive effect than free PG. The rota-rod and barbiturate sleep induction procedures were used to determine adverse effects; the criteria included motor deficit and sedative effects. PG-PN and free PG had plenty of motors. PG-PN exhibited a less sedative effect than free PG. By prolonging the antinociceptive effect and decreasing the unfavorable effects, polymeric nanocomposites with pregabalin have shown promise in treating neuropathic pain.

Radiographic and antimicrobial evaluation of enterococcus Faecalis and Actinomyces Israelii micro-organisms after photodynamic therapy (aPDT).

This study evaluated the action of Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy (aPDT) on Enterococcus faecalis and Actinomyces israelii. Samples were taken from the root canal system, at different stages of treatment and bacteria were identified through qPCR. Fifty teeth (incisors, canines, and premolars) with pulp necrosis and periapical lesion diagnosis were randomly selected and divided into 2 groups: Group 1 (G1) - Endodontic Therapy with Mechanical Chemical Preparation (MPQ) and intracanal medication; Group 2 (G2) - Endodontic therapy with MPQ, intracanal medication, and 2 applications of aPDT. APDT was performed with application of 0.005% methylene blue, wavelength of 660 nm, and 90 seconds. Follow-up was performed with an initial x-ray and an x-ray 60 days after the end of treatment. The radiographs were scored evaluated by two examiners to classify periapical repair: total repair, partial repair, doubtful repair, or no repair. Enterococcus faecalis was found more frequently in G1 than G2. Actinomyces israelii was found equally in G1 and G2. Evaluation of the two bacteria between collections 1, 2 and 3, showed that there was no difference, both in G1 and in G2. There was association between the variables group and repair classification in radiographs evaluation. APDT did not promote better results in endodontic treatment, being similar to conventional treatment. However, this study pointed out that molecular methods may not be efficient in detecting bacteria after treatment, and colony-forming units may complement, being an effective quantifying method. Therefore, new studies must be carried out to show the possible effectiveness of aPDT.

In vivo evaluation of anti-Leishmania activity of alkyltriazoles and alkylphosphocholines by oral route.

The failures in the treatment of leishmaniasis is an increasing problem around the world, especially related to resistance. Thus, we describe the synthesis and in vivo anti-Leishmania activity of alkylphosphocholine and alkyltriazoles; besides, their likely action mechanisms stem from some eventual inhibition of parasite enzymes using computational tools. These compounds were tested in an in vivo hamster model infected with Leishmania Leishmania infantum chagasi. Fifty days after parasite inoculation, the two compounds 12-azidedodecylphosphocholine (3) and 3-(1-(12-fluorododecyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)propano-1-ol (9), were separately administered once a day as oral suspensions (25 and 12.5 mg/kg/day, respectively) during ten days, and their efficacy was compared to the reference compound pentavalent antimonial Glucantime (GLU). Compound 3 significantly reduced the number of parasites in the spleen (4.93 × 102 amastigotes/g) and liver (4.52 × 103 amastigotes/g). Compound 9 reduced the number of amastigotes in the spleen to 1.30 × 104 and 1.36 × 103 amastigotes/g in the liver. GLU was the most effective overall treatment (7.50 × 101 and 2.28 × 102 amastigotes/g in the spleen and liver, respectively). The high activity levels of these compounds in vivo may stem from their high in vitro leishmanicidal activity and lipophilicity. The in silico absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion studies also showed some anti-Leishmania potential. Compound 9 had more lipophilic characteristics than those of compound 3. In silico studies of the nine enzymes of compounds 3 and 9 showed significant evidence of interactions with nicotimidase and tyrosine aminotransferase, demonstrating possible inhibition enzymes present in L. (L.) infantum chagasi. These compounds could be a promising template for developing a new class of leishmanicidal agents, by oral route, and deserve further investigation to explore different therapeutic regimens.

Risk of Trypanosoma cruzi transmission in southern Minas Gerais, Brazil - Data from 2014 to 2020.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, is widely distributed in the Americas and is transmitted through vectorial, transfusional, and oral routes. This study aimed to evaluate the risk of vectorial transmission of Chagas disease in municipalities located in southern Minas Gerais, Brazil, by analyzing triatomine specimens collected from 2014 to 2020. All 1522 hematophagous triatomines were identified as Panstrongylus megistus, and were subjected to parasitological and molecular examinations. From 2014 to 2016, approximately 10% of insects were positive in the microscopic analysis of intestinal content, and 27% were positive as detected by the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) of the same sampling. However, in the last investigated years, an increase in infected triatomines was observed in microscopic analysis (22%) and qPCR methods (41%). This corroborates the findings of acute human Chagas disease cases, which have increased in the study area from a maximum of 2 cases in previous years to 20 cases in 2019, and 17 cases in 2020 through June. Additionally, bloodmeal sources of infected triatomines were investigated; human blood was detected in up to 85.7% of the samples. Moreover, canine blood was also detected in triatomine intestinal content in recent years, reaching 91% of analyzed insects in 2018. Data on bloodmeal sources have demonstrated human-vector contact and have suggested the participation of dogs in the parasite transmission cycle. These results indicate the risk of T. cruzi vectorial transmission in Southern Minas Gerais and São Paulo owing to the boundary between these states. Thus, enhanced surveillance and vector control of Chagas disease are highly recommended in these areas.

Polyphenols of jabuticaba [Myrciaria jaboticaba (Vell.) O.Berg] seeds incorporated in a yogurt model exert antioxidant activity and modulate gut microbiota of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced colon cancer in rats.

The chemical composition, antioxidant activity (AA), cytotoxic activity, antihemolytic effects, and enzyme inhibition (EI) of lyophilized jabuticaba (Myrciaria jaboticaba) seed extract (LJE) was studied. The main compounds found were castalagin, vescalagin, procyanidin A2, and ellagic acid. LJE was more toxic to cancer cells than to normal cells, meaning relative toxicological safety. This cytotoxic effect can be attributed to the pro-oxidant effect observed in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation assay. LJE inhibited α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and ACE-I activities and protected human erythrocytes from hemolysis. LJE was incorporated into yogurts at different concentrations and the total phenolic content, AA, and EI increased in a dose-dependent manner. LJE-containing yogurt presented 86% sensory acceptance. The yogurt was administered to Wistar rats bearing cancer and it modulated the gut bacterial microbiota, having a prebiotic effect. LJE is a potential functional ingredient for food companies looking for TPC, AA, and prebiotic effect in vivo.

Investigation of 8-methoxy-3-(4-nitrobenzoyl)-6-propyl-2H-chromen-2-one as a promising coumarin compound for the development of a new and orally effective antileishmanial agent.

Changes in host immunity and parasite resistance to drugs are among the factors that contribute to decreased efficacy of antiparasitic drugs such as the antimonial compounds pentamidine, amphotericin (AMP B) and miltefosine. Bioactive natural products could be alternatives for the development of new drugs to treat neglected human diseases such as leishmaniasis. Natural coumarins and synthetic analogues have shown leishmanicidal activity, mainly in vitro. This study investigated the in vitro and in vivo leishmanicidal activity of synthetic coumarin compounds (C1-C5) in parasites Leishmania (L.) amazonensis and L. (L.) infantum chagasi. The cytotoxicity of these compounds in mammalian cells and their influence on production of reactive oxygen species was also investigated. In vitro assays showed that 8-methoxy-3-(4-nitrobenzoyl)-6-propyl-2H-chromen-2-one (C4) was as active as AMP B mainly in the amastigote form (p < 0.05); C4 presented a selectivity index (65.43) four times higher than C2 (15.4) in L. amazonensis and six times higher (33.94) than C1 (5.46) in L. infantum chagasi. Additionally, coumarin C4 reduced the H2O2 concentration 32.5% more than the control group in L. amazonensis promastigotes during the lag phase of proliferation. No interference of C4 was observed on the mitochondrial membrane potential of the parasites. In vivo, coumarin C4 in corn oil (oral route) led to a reduction in the number of amastigotes from L. infantum chagasi to 1.31 × 106 and 4.09 × 104 in the spleen and liver, respectively (p < 0.05). Thus, C4 represents a candidate for further studies aiming at new treatments of leishmaniasis.

Reactivity of purified and axenic amastigotes as a source of antigens to be used in serodiagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis.

Although there is a great diversity of techniques and antigens used in the serodiagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL), total sensitivity and specificity have not yet been found. Since the use of amastigote forms in the indirect immunofluorescence assay has shown an improvement in the specificity of the test for the diagnosis of CVL, the performance of amastigotes forms of L. (L.) infantum chagasi as antigen source were evaluated in automatized ELISA test using crude antigen of axenic amastigote and purified amastigote from spleen of hamster chronically infected comparing with ELISA using total antigen produced with promastigote forms of L. (L.) infantum chagasi. One hundred and fifteen sera from dogs with positive parasitological diagnosis by PCR were used. The animals were classified into 2 groups: symptomatic (n = 67) and asymptomatic (n = 48) animals, in accordance with the clinical signs and laboratory tests were. As control, ninety-four sera from dogs with negative parasitological diagnosis were included. No significant difference was found in sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and accuracy between ELISA using whole antigens produced with both axenic and purified amastigotes in comparison with promastigotes forms. Correlation and concordance between the three total antigens tested in ELISA was observed. According to the similar performance among antigens, data pointed out to use antigen from promastigote forms for diagnosing canine leishmaniasis, especially due the easily in the production, lower cost and the abundance of correlative literature.

Synthesis and evaluation of the antileishmanial activity of silver compounds containing imidazolidine-2-thione.

A new series of silver compounds could be of interest on designing new drugs for the treatment of leishmaniasis. The compounds [Ag(phen)(imzt)]NO3(1), [Ag(phen)(imzt)]CF3SO3(2), [Ag(phen)2](BF4)·H2O (3), [Ag2(imzt)6](NO3)2(4), and imzt have been synthesized and evaluated in vitro for antileishmanial activity against Leishmania. (L.) amazonensis (La) and L. (L.) chagasi (Lc), and two of them were selected for in vivo studies. In addition to investigating the action on Leishmania, their effects on the hydrogen peroxide production and cysteine protease inhibition have also been investigated. As for antileishmanial activity, compound (4) was the most potent against promastigote and amastigote forms of La (IC50 = 4.67 and 1.88 µM, respectively) and Lc (IC50 = 9.35 and 8.05 µM, respectively); and comparable to that of amphotericin B, reference drug. Beside showing excellent activity, it also showed a low toxicity. In the in vivo context, compound (4) reduced the number of amastigotes in the liver and spleen when compared to the untreated group. In evaluating the effect of the compounds on Leishmania, the level of hydrogen peroxide production was maintained between the lag and log phases; however, in the treatment with compound (4) it was possible to observe a reduction of 25.44 and 49.13%, respectively, in the hydrogen peroxide rates when compared to the lag and log phases. It was noticed that the presence of a nitrate ion and imzt in compound (4) was important for the modulation of the antileishmanial activity. Thus, this compound can represent a potentially new drug for the treatment of leishmaniasis.

Seroepidemiological aspects of human infection by Strongyloides stercoralis in Alfenas, southern Minas Gerais, Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: In most Strongyloides stercoralis infected individuals, nematoidosis occurs asymptomatically, but in immunocompromised patients, it can cause hyperinfection. Serological techniques seem to be a good alternative for detecting this parasite. METHODS: The frequency of seropositivity for strongyloidiasis in Alfenas, MG, was estimated using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay on blood samples, between May and August of 2015. RESULTS: Out of 258 samples tested, 53.9% were positive, and the frequency of seropositive individuals was higher in the peripheral districts of the municipality. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate high seropositivity rates for strongyloidiasis among the residents of Alfenas city.

Seroepidemiological aspects of human infection by Strongyloides stercoralis in Alfenas, southern Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract INTRODUCTION: In most Strongyloides stercoralis infected individuals, nematoidosis occurs asymptomatically, but in immunocompromised patients, it can cause hyperinfection. Serological techniques seem to be a good alternative for detecting this parasite. METHODS The frequency of seropositivity for strongyloidiasis in Alfenas, MG, was estimated using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay on blood samples, between May and August of 2015. RESULTS: Out of 258 samples tested, 53.9% were positive, and the frequency of seropositive individuals was higher in the peripheral districts of the municipality. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate high seropositivity rates for strongyloidiasis among the residents of Alfenas city.

Comparative analysis of real-time PCR assays in the detection of canine visceral leishmaniasis.

Dogs are important hosts and reservoirs of leishmaniasis, a disease caused by protozoan parasites from the genus Leishmania, affecting ~12 million people worldwide. The detection of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in dogs by real-time PCR (qPCR) may improve on diagnosis, but the different qPCR methods available for Leishmania DNA detection have not been established as routine in diagnostic tools and/or epidemiologic studies for canine VL. Here, we compared three qPCR assays (DNApol, Linj31, and LDON) in the detection of VL by Leishmania infantum in spleen (n = 48; 7), skin (n = 48; 7), and whole blood (n = 44; 7) samples from serologically positive and negative dogs, respectively. Overall, the DNApol performed better than the Linj31 and LDON assays in the detection of positive samples in all tissues tested, yielding from 66.7 to 100.0% of positivity for both skin and spleen samples. For spleen samples, we observed no statistically significant differences between positive detection by the LDON and DNApol assays. Whole blood samples yielded the lowest rates of positive detection, regardless of the qPCR assay used. In contrast, positive detection of Leishmania DNA was as efficient from skin samples using the DNApol assay as from spleen samples using either the DNApol or the LDON assay. Although qPCR assays from skin samples may not be practical for use in the field, our study suggests that the DNApol and LDON assays from skin samples could be used in future to evaluate canine VL treatment in veterinary clinics.

Primeiros socorros: objeto de educação em saúde para professores / First aid: object of health education for teachers

Objetivo: avaliar o impacto do ensino de primeiros socorros no conhecimento e habilidade de professores. Método: estudo bibliográfico, descritivo, tipo revisão integrativa, com busca de artigos entre os meses de novembro e dezembro de 2017, nas bases de dados LILACS, BDENF e MEDLINE, utilizando-se os descritores em Ciências da Saúde School Teachers, First Aid e Health Education. Resultados: foram incluídos sete estudos, publicados entre os anos de 2008 a 2017. Embora não se observe um padrão de métodos de intervenção nos estudos analisados, os testes pré-intervenção revelaram resultados inferiores em relação aos testes pósintervenção que, por sua vez, apresentaram melhoras significativas na média de respostas corretas. Conclusão: o ensino de Primeiros Socorros como objeto de educação em saúde impacta positivamente os níveis de conhecimento e habilidade de professores escolares.(AU)

Leishmania infantum INFECTION IN DOGS FROM THE SOUTHERN REGION OF MINAS GERAIS STATE, BRAZIL.

Visceral leishmaniasis is a systemic and chronic disease and dogs are the main reservoir of the etiologic agent, Leishmania infantum (syn L. chagasi). A serological and molecular investigation of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) was performed in the municipality of Alfenas, located in the southern region of Minas Gerais, where the disease is not endemic. Samples from 87 dogs were submitted to serological tests including the Dual Path Platform (DPP (r) ) CVL Bio-Manguinhos rapid test, an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and an immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT), as well as molecular techniques such as a conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with the RV1/RV2 primers and a quantitative PCR (qPCR) with the LinJ31, Ldon and DNApol primers. Of the 87 serum samples, eight (9.2%) were positive for Leishmania using the DPP rapid test, but only four (4.6%) were confirmed by ELISA and two (2.3%) by IFAT. In these two serologically confirmed cases, spleen and liver samples were positive by all the employed molecular and parasitological procedures performed on spleen samples. When whole blood samples were used in the molecular assays, two samples (2.3%) were positive only by qPCR. DNA extracted and amplified from the spleens of seropositive dogs was sequenced, showing 100% of similarity with the Leishmania infantum (syn L. chagasi) sequence. Thus, the first cases of CVL have been confirmed in the Alfenas region, suggesting the importance of canine surveys in non-endemic municipalities for CVL to monitor disease progression and to prevent outbreaks.