Microbiota and Mitochondrial Sex-Dependent Imbalance in Fibromyalgia: A Pilot Descriptive Study.

Fibromyalgia is a widespread chronic condition characterized by pain and fatigue. Among the long list of physiological disturbances linked to this syndrome, mitochondrial imbalance and oxidative stress stand out. Recently, the crosstalk between mitochondria and intestinal microbiota has caught the attention of biomedical researchers, who have found connections between this axis and several inflammatory and pain-related conditions. Hence, this pilot descriptive study focused on characterizing the mitochondrial mass/mitophagy ratio and total antioxidant capacity in PBMCs, as well as some microbiota components in feces, from a Peruvian cohort of 19 females and 7 males with FM. Through Western blotting, electrochemical oxidation, ELISA, and real-time qPCR, we determined VDAC1 and MALPLC3B protein levels; total antioxidant capacity; secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) levels; and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes, Bacteroides/Prevotella, and Roseburia/Eubacterium ratios; as well as Ruminococcus spp., Pseudomonas spp., and Akkermansia muciniphila levels, respectively. We found statistically significant differences in Ruminococcus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. levels between females and males, as well as a marked polarization in mitochondrial mass in both groups. Taken together, our results point to a mitochondrial imbalance in FM patients, as well as a sex-dependent difference in intestinal microbiota composition.

Efectos de Omega-3 en el Sueño: Revisión Sistemática

RESUMEN: Objetivo: Determinar el efecto de omega-3 sobre la calidad/cantidad de sueño en humanos. Métodos: Se realizó la búsqueda sistemática de artículos (2010-2019), incluyendo pacientes sin limitación de edad/sexo, sometidos a cambio o suplemento de dieta con omega-3 y evaluaciones de sueño. La revisión se realizó bajo los criterios PICOT y PRISMA, la calidad de la evidencia y riego de sesgo fueron evaluados con criterios GRADE. Resultados: Seis ensayos superaron todos los filtros, dos estudios incluyeron pescado en la dieta y cuatro ingesta de cápsulas de omega-3. En cuatro estudios Omega-3 favorece el sueño presentando impacto moderadamente positivo en calidad y alto en cantidad. Los estudios fueron efectuados con variables de alta heterogeneidad, imposibilitando el análisis cuantitativo de los datos. El riesgo de sesgo fue moderado-alto. Conclusión: Omega-3, como suplemento dietético o directamente en los alimentos, interviene como coadyuvante para mejorar el sueño. No se pudo concluir sobre su recomendación de uso clínico en la gestión del sueño debido a la heterogeneidad de las metodologías para medir la intervención, las poblaciones estudiadas y cantidad de ingesta. Se necesitan estudios con mayor estandarización metodológica, para determinar dosis óptima, período de intervención y proporción de ácidos eicosapentaenoico/docosahexaenoico, necesarios para mejorar la calidad y la cantidad del sueño.

ABSTRACT: Objective: To determine the effect of omega-3 on the quality/quantity of sleep in humans. Methods: We conducted a systematic search for articles (2010-2019), including patients without age or sex limitation, undergoing omega-3 diet change or supplementation and sleep assessments. The review was conducted under the PICOT and PRISMA criteria, the quality of evidence and risk of bias were evaluated with GRADE criteria. Results: Six trials passed all filters. Two studies included dietary fish and four omega-3 capsule intake. In four studies, omega-3 favored sleep with moderately positive impact on quality and high impact on quantity. The studies were conducted with highly heterogeneous variables, making a quantitative analysis of the data impossible. The risk of bias was moderate to high. Conclusion: Omega-3 as a dietary supplement or directly in food intervenes as an adjuvant to improve sleep. We could not conclude on its recommendation for clinical use in sleep management due to the heterogeneity of the methodologies to measure the intervention, the populations studied and amount of intake. Studies with greater methodological standardization are needed, to determine optimal dose, intervention period and eicosapentaenoic/docosahexaenoic acid ratio, needed to improve sleep quality and quantity.

Psychosocial adjustment and employment outcome 2, 5 and 10 years after TBI.

OBJECTIVE: A patient's return to work has been considered a good indicator of his/her overall adaptation after suffering from TBI. A study has been designed at the Hospital del Trabajador to evaluate patients' psycho-pathological and social situations and to describe evolution and return-to-work predictors. Particular attention was paid to subjects' employment situations 2, 5 and 10 years after TBI. METHOD: TBI patients who had also suffered spinal cord injuries, amputations and other physical impairments were excluded. A total of 202 individuals were evaluated by a psychologist and an occupational therapist during clinical interviews using the Hamilton Anxiety and Depression Rating Scale and the Neurobehavioural Rating Scale (NRS-R). Work situations were evaluated by interviewing the subjects and family members and, whenever possible, a patient's immediate supervisor at his or her place of employment. RESULTS: Unemployed patients presented more severe symptoms of anxiety and depression than those who were working. Significant differences were observed in the NRS-R between employed and unemployed patients. There was no change in the marital status for at least 10 years after TBI. CONCLUSION: Factors determining a poor prognosis for adaptation and re-insertion into the workplace are age, a low educational level, a lack of job qualifications and greater cognitive impairments. The significant differences found between the NRS-R of employed and unemployed patients suggest that this variable may be used to predict a subject's ability to return to work.

Estrogenic effect of leachates and soil extracts from lysimeters spiked with sewage sludge and reference endocrine disrupters.

Several experiments were conducted to evaluate the behavior and performance of some potential endocrine disrupters (ECDs). Two in vitro screening assays, one based on MCF7-cell proliferation (E-screen test) and the other on estrogenic receptor activity [enzyme-linked receptor assay (ELRA)], were used for the tests, which were done in lysimeters 80 cm in diameter with depth of 30 cm (shallow) or 90 cm (deep). A sandy soil was used to fill in all lysimeters, which were spiked on the surface with either: (a) a sewage sludge (SS) at a dose equivalent to 20 tons ha-1; (b) a mixture of reference ECDs, comprising 17 alpha- and 17 beta-estradiol (E2), nonylphenol, octylphenol, and bisphenol A at doses 100 times higher than the maximum concentrations respectively found in the applied SS; or (c) a mixture of ECDs and SS. After percolation of the lysimeters with rain and/or artificial water, five leachates were sampled from each lysimeter during a period of 210 days. Immediately after the lysimeter percolation experiments, four and six soil fractions were dissected from, respectively, the 30-cm and 90-cm lysimeters and extracted by water. Both the leachate and soil extract samples were analyzed for their estrogenicity using the assays indicated above. The E-screen assay was highly sensitive only for some leachate and extract samples but gave no response for most leachates and soil extracts. The results of the ELRA assay suggests a significantly higher estrogenicity of leachate samples from shallow lysimeters compared with that of leachates from deep lysimeters. In contrast, the estrogenic effect measured for soil extracts of shallow lysimeters was lower than that measured for soil extracts of deep lysimeters. The results of the E-screen assay suggests the occurrence of a fast mobilization of applied ECDs and a moderate retardation effect of native ECDs contained in applied SS in the sandy soil used in the lysimeters. In lysimeters spiked with a mixture of SS and ECDs, the washing-out effect of ECDs in the first leachate fraction decreased, but the distribution of ECDs in the lysimeters increased. The relatively high estrogenic impact measured for soil water extracts suggests that the ECDs were mostly associated with water-soluble fractions of organic matter and/or water-suspended fractions of the mineral soil matrix. The application of SS to agricultural and forest fields may determine the immobilization of ECDs in soil or their movement to surface and/or groundwater. Therefore, an endocrine risk of exposure exists for the water and soil organisms.

Antes y en medio del crimen y el castigo / Before and in the middle of crime and punishment

Crimen y castigo, obra literaria en que de manera imponente, Dostoievski relata la historia de Raskolnikov, un joven que vive en un tugurio de Petesburgo pasando hambre, frío y soledad, lleno de resentimiento y orgullo, que se pasa los días encerrado pensando sobre su miseria, la que al parecer es la que lo moviliza a cometer un crimen... y es así, como una noche, luego de muchas dudas, el ex-estudiante, por fin lo decide y se va armado con una hacha a asesinar a una vieja usurera y rica que el define como un "piojo inútil y dañino" que esta reteniendo el dinero que necesita para retomar sus estudios y ayudar a su hermana y a su madre.

Crime and punishment, a literary work in which, in an imposing way, Dostoevsky tells the story of Raskolnikov, a young man who lives in a slum in Petesburg going hungry, cold and lonely, full of resentment and pride, who spends his days locked up thinking about his misery, which apparently is what mobilizes him to commit a crime ... and that is how, like one night, after many doubts, the former student finally decides and goes armed with an ax to kill an old and rich usurer who he defines as a "useless and harmful louse" who is holding back the money he needs to resume his studies and help his sister and mother.

Psicoanálisis o salud mental / Psychoanalysis or mental health

Este texto nace, en primera instancia, como una pretensión en el concepto psicológico de la salud mental y los conceptos psicoanalíticos, o por lo menos de alguno de ellos. Sin embargo, al aproximarme a cada termino, fue necesario para aceptar la muerte inminente de este primer intento, y tratar de argumentar desde mis aun escasos conocimientos, que es imposible, o mas bien impertinente, tratar de ubicar el psicoanálisis y la salud mental en un mismo punto de una sola línea, cuando en realidad pueden constituir cada uno de ellos una línea tan paralela a la otra que no encuentren punto alguno de articulación.

This text is born, in the first instance, as a claim in the psychological concept of mental health and psychoanalytic concepts, or at least one of them. However, as I approached each term, it was necessary to accept the imminent death of this first attempt, and try to argue from my still scarce knowledge, that it is impossible, or rather impertinent, to try to locate psychoanalysis and mental health in the same point of a single line, when in fact they can each constitute a line so parallel to the other that they do not find any point of articulation.

Evaluación ocupacional: pruebas norteamericanas son aplicables en Chile / Occupational evaluation: North American tests are applicable in Chile

Este trabajo muestra la validación de la aplicabilidad de tres pruebas o simuladores de trabajo de la serie americana de evaluación ocupacional Valpar. Se aplican las pruebas a personas sin discapacidad (152 trabajadores de la ACHS), las cuales simulan tareas laborales en el ámbito industrial y requieren habilidades motoras manuales de coordinación, destreza y capacidad de trabajar en grupo. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el rendimiento de las personas evaluadas está distribuido dentro de los parámetros establecidos en las tablas de resultado americanas. Por tanto, se determina que es posible realizar una evaluación de rendimiento laboral en niveles industriales y conformar un perfil de la persona como trabajador en Chile, sin requerir de modificaciones en la forma de entregar las instrucciones, de registrar la información y de valorizar los resultados