Reduction of host cell mitochondrial activity as Mycobacterium leprae's strategy to evade host innate immunity.

Leprosy is a much-feared incapacitating infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae or M lepromatosis, annually affecting roughly 200,000 people worldwide. During host-pathogen interaction, M leprae subverts the immune response, leading to development of disease. Throughout the last few decades, the impact of energy metabolism on the control of intracellular pathogens and leukocytic differentiation has become more evident. Mitochondria play a key role in regulating newly-discovered immune signaling pathways by controlling redox metabolism and the flow of energy besides activating inflammasome, xenophagy, and apoptosis. Likewise, this organelle, whose origin is probably an alphaproteobacterium, directly controls the intracellular pathogens attempting to invade its niche, a feature conquered at the expense of billions of years of coevolution. In the present review, we discuss the role of reduced host cell mitochondrial activity during M leprae infection and the consequential fates of M leprae and host innate immunity. Conceivably, inhibition of mitochondrial energy metabolism emerges as an overlooked and novel mechanism developed by M leprae to evade xenophagy and the host immune response.

Aspergillus clavatus UEM 04: An efficient producer of glucoamylase and α-amylase able to hydrolyze gelatinized and raw starch.

The best amylolytic activity production by Aspergillus clavatus UEM 04 occurred in submersed culture, with starch, for 72 h, at 25 °C, and 100 rpm. Exclusion chromatography partially purified two enzymes, which ran as unique bands in SDS-PAGE with approximately 84 kDa. LC-MS/MS identified a glucoamylase (GH15) and an α-amylase (GH13_1) as the predominant proteins and other co-purified proteins. Zn2+, Cu2+, and Mn2+ activated the glucoamylase, and SDS, Zn2+, Fe3+, and Cu2+ inhibited the α-amylase. The α-amylase optimum pH was 6.5. The optimal temperatures for the glucoamylase and α-amylase were 50 °C and 40 °C, and the Tm was 53.1 °C and 56.3 °C, respectively. Both enzymes remained almost fully active for 28-32 h at 40 °C, but the α-amylase thermal stability was calcium-dependent. Furthermore, the glucoamylase and α-amylase KM for starch were 2.95 and 1.0 mg/mL, respectively. Still, the Vmax was 0.28 µmol/min of released glucose for glucoamylase and 0.1 mg/min of consumed starch for α-amylase. Moreover, the glucoamylase showed greater affinity for amylopectin and α-amylase for maltodextrin. Additionally, both enzymes efficiently degraded raw starch. At last, glucose was the main product of glucoamylase, and α-amylase produced mainly maltose from gelatinized soluble starch hydrolysis.

FODMAP project: Development, validation and reproducibility of a short food frequency questionnaire to estimate consumption of fermentable carbohydrates.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder that is characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms and that has a major impact on quality of life, resulting in direct and indirect health care costs. The majority of patients with IBS suffer from food intolerances, most commonly related to the consumption of fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAPs). This study aimed to develop and verify the validity and reproducibility of a short food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess typical FODMAP consumption in adults with IBS. METHODS: The primary FFQ list consisted of source foods of FODMAPs that contributed at least 10% to the frequency of consumption among 855 adults from a population-based study in the municipality of Campinas in 2014/2015. In addition, source foods of FODMAPs (according to the Monash University Low FODMAP Diet application) and foods commonly consumed by the Brazilian population (according to the FFQ for adults validated in the city of São Paulo) were included. One hundred and five (n = 105) healthy subjects were recruited to respond to the FFQ twice and to respond the 24-h dietary recall (24HR) three times during a 3-month period. The relative validity of the proposed instrument was compared with the average of the three 24HRs, and the reproducibility of the instrument was assessed by comparing both FFQ applications. The following statistical analyses were used for validation and reproducibility: Wilcoxon's test, Spearman's correlation analysis, weighted kappa, Bland Altman's plot and index, and interclass correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The final list of items for the short FFQ included 54 different foods. The foods were organized by FODMAP groups: free fructose, lactose, total oligosaccharides and total polyols, with variations of categories of responses for consumption frequency between 0 and 10 times and the unit of time in days, weeks or months. In the validity analyses, the correlation coefficients ranged from 0.209 (polyols) to 0.652 (lactose) (p < 0.05). There was no correlation between the methods in the fructose and oligosaccharide groups. The lactose group presented good agreement, and the remaining groups had a lack of agreement, with a mean of 15.7%. The Bland-Altman index values were 4.7% (fructose), 3.8% (lactose), 5.7% (oligosaccharides) and 6.6% (polyols). Regarding reproducibility, the interclass and Spearman's correlation coefficients varied from ICC = 0.781 and r = 0.725 (oligosaccharides) to ICC = 0.913 and r = 0.807 (lactose) (p < 0.05), showing strongly reproducible results for lactose and polyols and good results for fructose and oligosaccharides. Accurate agreement between FFQ applications had a mean of 67.3%, and 3.0% showed disagreement between FFQ1 and FFQ2. The weighted kappa coefficient ranged from 0.576 (polyols) to 0.645 (lactose). CONCLUSION: The semi-quantitative short FFQ was developed to evaluate the consumption of FODMAPs in adults in São Paulo. The instrument presents good reproducibility for all groups of FODMAPs, good validity for lactose and weaker validity for fructose, polyols and oligosaccharides. As the short FFQ was carefully designed for the study population, its estimates are relatively reliable at the population group level. A future reanalysis of this questionnaire would be useful when the chemical composition data of FODMAPs are available.

Scrapie at Abattoir: Monitoring, Control, and Differential Diagnosis of Wasting Conditions during Meat Inspection.

Wasting disease in small ruminants is frequently detected at slaughterhouses. The wasting disorder is manifested by the deterioration of the nutritional and physiological state of the animal indicated by thinness, emaciation, and cachexia. Evidence of emaciation and cachexia, alone, are pathological conditions leading to carcass condemnation during an inspection. Several diseases are associated with a wasting condition, including scrapie, pseudotuberculosis, tuberculosis, paratuberculosis, Maedi Visna, and tumor diseases. On the other hand, parasitic diseases, nutrition disorders, exposure or ingestion of toxins, metabolic conditions, inadequate nutrition due to poor teeth, or poor alimentary diet are conditions contributing to poor body condition. Classical and atypical scrapie is naturally occurring transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in small ruminants. The etiological agent for each one is prions. However, each of these scrapie types is epidemiologically, pathologically, and biochemically different. Though atypical scrapie occurs at low incidence, it is consistently prevalent in the small ruminant population. Hence, it is advisable to include differential diagnosis of this disease, from other possibilities, as a cause of wasting conditions detected during meat inspection at the abattoir. This manuscript is a review of the measures in force at the abattoir for scrapie control, focusing on the differential diagnosis of gross lesions related to wasting conditions detected in small ruminants during meat inspection.

NUTRITIONAL STATUS, QUALITY OF LIFE AND LIFE HABITS OF WOMEN WITH IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME: A CASE-CONTROL STUDY.

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome is a functional and chronic gastrointestinal disorder that may cause abdominal pain and altered bowel habits, affecting the nutritional status and quality of life of its carriers. Its prevalence is high, affecting about 10% to 15% of the general population in developed countries, being more prevalent in women than in men in the proportion 2:1. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to compare the profile of body adiposity, life habits, and the quality of life of women with irritable bowel syndrome with a healthy control group. METHODS: Case-control study on 70 women, 34 with irritable bowel syndrome and 36 healthy. We applied the "Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life Questionnaire"to assess quality of life. Body adiposity was assessed from body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio. We investigated the self-reporting of gastrointestinal symptoms with food deemed as problematic for carriers of irritable bowel syndrome and the presence of typical comorbidities. Assessment of life habits included: practice of physical activities, alcoholism, smoking, daytime sleepiness, and exclusion of foods from the feeding routine. For statistical analysis we used the IBM SPSS program, with a significance level at 5%. RESULTS: There was higher volume of central and general adiposity in the case group compared with the control group (P<0.05). Cases presented a higher chance of developing IBS-related comorbidities (P<0.05). About of 80% of patients with irritable bowel syndrome have excluded some food from the diet (P<0.01) and the total amount of troublesome foods varied from 7 to 21 (P<0.01). The case group featured worse quality of life compared with the control (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Compared to the control group, women with irritable bowel syndrome showed greater body adiposity, higher frequency of comorbidities, greater restriction on the consumption of problematic foods and worse quality of life.

Acetylsalicylic acid and salicylic acid present anticancer properties against melanoma by promoting nitric oxide-dependent endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis.

Melanoma is the most aggressive and fatal type of skin cancer due to being highly proliferative. Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA; Aspirin) and salicylic acid (SA) are ancient drugs with multiple applications in medicine. Here, we showed that ASA and SA present anticancer effects against a murine model of implanted melanoma. These effects were also validated in 3D- and 2D-cultured melanoma B16F10 cells, where the drugs promoted pro-apoptotic effects. In both in vivo and in vitro models, SA and ASA triggered endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, which culminates with the upregulation of the pro-apoptotic transcription factor C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP). These effects are initiated by ASA/SA-triggered Akt/mTOR/AMPK-dependent activation of nitric oxide synthase 3 (eNOS), which increases nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species production inducing ER stress response. In the end, we propose that ASA and SA instigate anticancer effects by a novel mechanism, the activation of ER stress.

Highly aggressive behavior induced by social stress is associated to reduced cytochrome c oxidase activity in mice brain cortex.

Violence and aggression represent severe social problems, with profound impacts on public health. Despite the development of experimental models to study aggressive behavior is highly appreciated, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Given the key contribution of mitochondria to central nervous system bioenergetics, we hypothesized that mitochondrial function in brain would be altered by social stress. Using a model of spontaneous aggression, we investigated here the effects of social stress on brain mitochondrial function in prefrontal cortex of Swiss mice. Animals were categorized as highly aggressive, subordinate and non-aggressive (harmonic) after stress induced by regrouping and compared them with non-regrouped animals. Despite social stress did not affect brain cortex oxygen consumption rates and NADH:cytochrome c oxidoreductase activity, cytochrome c oxidase expression and activity were significantly lower in highly aggressive animals compared to non-regrouped ones. These changes were not observed in ATP synthase and adenine nucleotide translocator content suggesting a selective effect of social stress on cytochrome c oxidase. Therefore, aggressive behavior generated upon social stress associates to selective reduction in cytochrome c oxidase activity, with potential detrimental effects on brain bioenergetics and function.

Perinatal Asphyxia and Brain Development: Mitochondrial Damage Without Anatomical or Cellular Losses.

Perinatal asphyxia remains a significant cause of neonatal mortality and is associated with long-term neurodegenerative disorders. In the present study, we evaluated cellular and subcellular damages to brain development in a model of mild perinatal asphyxia. Survival rate in the experimental group was 67%. One hour after the insult, intraperitoneally injected Evans blue could be detected in the fetuses' brains, indicating disruption of the blood-brain barrier. Although brain mass and absolute cell numbers (neurons and non-neurons) were not reduced after perinatal asphyxia immediately and in late brain development, subcellular alterations were detected. Cortical oxygen consumption increased immediately after asphyxia, and remained high up to 7 days, returning to normal levels after 14 days. We observed an increased resistance to mitochondrial membrane permeability transition, and calcium buffering capacity in asphyxiated animals from birth to 14 days after the insult. In contrast to ex vivo data, mitochondrial oxygen consumption in primary cell cultures of neurons and astrocytes was not altered after 1% hypoxia. Taken together, our results demonstrate that although newborns were viable and apparently healthy, brain development is subcellularly altered by perinatal asphyxia. Our findings place the neonate brain mitochondria as a potential target for therapeutic protective interventions.

Perfil de mortalidade de crianças menores de 1 ano em Criciúma (SC), de 2015 a 2019 / Mortality profile of children under 1 year in Criciúma/SC from 2015 to 2019

Considerando os altos coeficientes de mortalidade neonatal por causas evitáveis registrados nos serviços brasileiros de saúde, o presente estudo teve como objetivo analisar o perfil de mortalidade, nos últimos 5 anos, de crianças menores de 1 ano residentes no município de Criciúma (SC), utilizando banco de dados da vigilância epidemiológica de Santa Catarina. Estudo epidemiológico descritivo, retrospectivo, com base nos dados do Sistema de Informação sobre Nascidos Vivos (SINASC) e Sistema de Informação sobre Mortalidade (SIM), sendo estes dados de domínio público submetidos a uma análise crítica sobre associação com tipo de parto e causa evitabilidade. Destaca-se a necessidade de aprofundar a temática evitabilidade dentro do contexto causas óbitos e, através das declarações de nascimento, construir uma classificação mais específica das causas óbitos e assim elaborar mecanismos para melhorar a assistência à saúde dentro do município, não somente voltados à assistência imediata e sim à prevenção.

Considering the high coefficients of neonatal mortality from preventable causes registered in Brazilian health services, this study aimed to analyze the mortality profile in the last 5 years of children under 1 year old living in the city of Criciúma/SC using a database from the epidemiological surveillance of Santa Catarina. This is a descriptive, retrospective epidemiological study based on data from the Information System on Live Births and the Information System on Mortality. . We highlight the need to make an in-depth examination of the theme of preventability within the context of causes of death and, through birth certificates, to build a more specific classification of causes of death and thus develop mechanisms to improve health care within the municipality, not only focused on immediate care, but also on prevention.

Considerando los altos coeficientes de mortalidad neonatal por causas prevenibles registrados en los servicios de salud brasileños, el objetivo de ese estudio fue analizar el perfil de mortalidad en los últimos 5 años de los niños menores de 1 año residentes en la ciudad de Criciúma / SC utilizando una base de datos de la vigilancia epidemiológica de CS. Estudio epidemiológico descriptivo retrospectivo a partir de datos del Sistema de Información de Nacidos Vivos (SINASC) y del Sistema de Información de Mortalidad (SIM). Destacamos la necesidad de profundizar en el tema de la evitabilidad en el contexto de las causas de muerte y, a través de las partidas de nacimiento, construir una clasificación más específica de las causas de muerte y así desarrollar mecanismos para mejorar la atención de la salud dentro de la ciudad, no solo enfocada a la atención inmediata, y sí a la prevención.

Heme modulates Trypanosoma cruzi bioenergetics inducing mitochondrial ROS production.

Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of Chagas disease and has a single mitochondrion, an organelle responsible for ATP production and the main site for the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). T. cruzi is an obligate intracellular parasite with a complex life cycle that alternates between vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, therefore the development of survival strategies and morphogenetic adaptations to deal with the various environments is mandatory. Over the years our group has been studying the vector-parasite interactions using heme as a physiological oxidant molecule that triggered epimastigote proliferation however, the source of ROS induced by heme remained unknown. In the present study we demonstrate the involvement of heme in the parasite mitochondrial metabolism, decreasing oxygen consumption leading to increased mitochondrial ROS and membrane potential. First, we incubated epimastigotes with carbonyl cyanide p-(trifluoromethoxy) phenylhydrazone (FCCP), an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation, which led to decreased ROS formation and parasite proliferation, even in the presence of heme, correlating mitochondrial ROS and T. cruzi survival. This hypothesis was confirmed after the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant ((2-(2,2,6,6 Tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl-4-ylamino)-2-oxoethyl) triphenylphosphonium chloride (MitoTEMPO) decreased both heme-induced ROS and epimastigote proliferation. Furthermore, heme increased the percentage of tetramethylrhodamine methyl ester (TMRM) positive parasites tremendously-indicating the hyperpolarization and increase of potential of the mitochondrial membrane (ΔΨm). Assessing the mitochondrial functional metabolism, we observed that in comparison to untreated parasites, heme-treated epimastigotes decreased their oxygen consumption, and increased the complex II-III activity. These changes allowed the electron flow into the electron transport system, even though the complex IV (cytochrome c oxidase) activity decreased significantly, showing that heme-induced mitochondrial ROS appears to be a consequence of the enhanced mitochondrial physiological modulation. Finally, the parasites that were submitted to high concentrations of heme presented no alterations in the ultrastructure. Consequently, our results suggest that heme released by the insect vector after the blood meal, modify epimastigote mitochondrial physiology to increase ROS as a metabolic mechanism to maintain epimastigote survival and proliferation.

Work process related to cerebral palsy of neurological rehabilitation centers.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the work process for CP cases in different rehabilitation centers according to Brazilian health policies and recommendations from the "World Report on Disability". METHODS: A questionnaire - Evaluation Process of Rehabilitation of Children with CP was applied to the Coordinators of 13 services. This instrument has a maximum score of 108 points. RESULTS: The results of the questionnaire varied from 28 to 64 points. The mean and SD were 43.5 and 10.9, respectively. The main administrative difficulties were: (a) presence of unmet demand, (b) patient absenteeism, (c) referral to primary care services, (d) inadequate physical facilities, (e) the scarce provision of prosthetics and orthotics, (f) insufficient financial resources, (g) human resources training, (h) difficulties with the use of the information system and (i) transportation difficulties for patients. CONCLUSION: Administrative and clinical guidelines are needed for uniformity of the work process of the rehabilitation centers.

Estado nutricional, qualidade de vida e hábitos de vida em mulheres com síndrome do intestino irritável: um estudo caso-controle / Nutritional status, quality of life and life habits of women with irritable bowel syndrome: a case-control study

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome is a functional and chronic gastrointestinal disorder that may cause abdominal pain and altered bowel habits, affecting the nutritional status and quality of life of its carriers. Its prevalence is high, affecting about 10% to 15% of the general population in developed countries, being more prevalent in women than in men in the proportion 2:1. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to compare the profile of body adiposity, life habits, and the quality of life of women with irritable bowel syndrome with a healthy control group. METHODS: Case-control study on 70 women, 34 with irritable bowel syndrome and 36 healthy. We applied the "Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life Questionnaire"to assess quality of life. Body adiposity was assessed from body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio. We investigated the self-reporting of gastrointestinal symptoms with food deemed as problematic for carriers of irritable bowel syndrome and the presence of typical comorbidities. Assessment of life habits included: practice of physical activities, alcoholism, smoking, daytime sleepiness, and exclusion of foods from the feeding routine. For statistical analysis we used the IBM SPSS program, with a significance level at 5%. RESULTS: There was higher volume of central and general adiposity in the case group compared with the control group (P<0.05). Cases presented a higher chance of developing IBS-related comorbidities (P<0.05). About of 80% of patients with irritable bowel syndrome have excluded some food from the diet (P<0.01) and the total amount of troublesome foods varied from 7 to 21 (P<0.01). The case group featured worse quality of life compared with the control (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Compared to the control group, women with irritable bowel syndrome showed greater body adiposity, higher frequency of comorbidities, greater restriction on the consumption of problematic foods and worse quality of life.

RESUMO CONTEXTO: A síndrome do intestino irritável é uma desordem gastrointestinal crônica e funcional que pode causar dor abdominal e alteração do hábito intestinal, afetando o estado nutricional e a qualidade de vida. Sua prevalência é alta, acomete cerca de 10% a 15% da população geral em países desenvolvidos, sendo mais prevalente em mulheres do que em homens na proporção 2:1. OBJETIVO: O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar o perfil de adiposidade corporal, os hábitos de vida e a qualidade de vida de indivíduos portadores da síndrome do intestino irritável com um grupo controle saudável. MÉTODOS: Estudo caso-controle com 70 mulheres, 34 com a síndrome do intestino irritável e 36 saudáveis. Foi aplicado o Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life Questionnaire para avaliação da qualidade de vida. A adiposidade corporal foi avaliada a partir do índice de massa corporal, circunferência da cintura e relação cintura-quadril. Foi investigado o auto-relato de sintomas gastrointestinais de alimentos considerados problemáticos para portadores da síndrome do intestino irritável e a presença de comorbidades típicas. A análise do estilo de vida incluiu a prática de atividade física, alcoolismo, tabagismo, sonolência diurna e exclusão de alimentos. Para análise estatística foi utilizado o programa IBM SPSS, com o nível de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS: Houve maior acúmulo de adiposidade central e periférica no grupo caso em comparação ao grupo controle (P<0,05). Os casos apresentaram maior chance de desenvolver comorbidades associadas à síndrome do intestino irritável (P<0,05). Cerca de 80% dos pacientes com a síndrome do intestino irritável excluíram algum alimento da dieta (P<0,01) e o total de alimentos problemáticos pode variar de 7 a 21 alimentos (P<0,01). Grupo caso apresentou pior qualidade de vida para o escore geral e para todos os domínios avaliados (P<0,05). CONCLUSÃO: Em comparação aos controles, as mulheres portadoras da síndrome do intestino irritável apresentaram maior adiposidade corporal, maior frequência de comorbidades, maior restrição ao consumo de alimentos considerados problemáticos e pior qualidade de vida.

Paediatric idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) can occur in paediatric age with clinical characteristics that may differ from adult presentation. The authors present a case of an 11-year-old boy, presenting with severe holocranial headaches for the past 4 weeks. Best-corrected visual acuities (BCVA) were 20/200 bilaterally and the fundus examination showed marked bilateral optical disc and macular oedema. CT scan with contrast as well as MRI showed no space occupying lesions, normal permeability of the dural venous sinuses and a partially empty sella. Lumbar puncture revealed an opening pressure of 540 mm Hg, with clear cerebrospinal fluid, with normal biochemistry and cytology. The patient was treated medically and subsequently submitted to a ventriculoperitoneal shunting procedure. 3 months after surgery the symptoms got completely resolved and his BCVA were 20/20 bilaterally.

Content identification of the interdisciplinary assessment of cerebral palsy using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health as reference.

PURPOSE: To identify relevant items and most frequents categories related to functioning and disability recorded by professionals involved in rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy (CP) and to assess the filling of the records. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study based on the written documents provided by an interdisciplinary rehabilitation team. Participated in the study 40 patients with CP, aged 10 months to 17 years. Two raters extracted information from the patients' medical documents as recorded by physicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, social workers, psychologists and dieticians using the ICF-CY. Patients' records were scored (+functioning, -disability and *environmental factors) using 27 ICF-CY items to assess the filling of the records. RESULTS: Eighty-one items in the medical records [body structure(15), bodily functions(32), activity(24) and environmental factors(10)] were identified as related to the evaluation of the different professions involved with neuro-rehabilitation. Physiotherapy and occupational therapy provided the most comprehensive assessments performed. Fourteen categories had a minimum frequency of 40% during the registration process. CONCLUSIONS: The content of the information involves categories related to the structures and body functions, activities and environmental factors. The information follows a heterogeneous pattern in content and number of categories. The most frequent items can comprise a set of codes for triage of CP. It is necessary to establish an interdisciplinary consensus based on ICF-CY for systematize the information's record.

Chikungunya virus infection: report of the first case diagnosed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Initially diagnosed in Africa and Asia, the Chikungunya virus has been detected in the last three years in the Caribbean, Italy, France, and the United States of America. Herein, we report the first case for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2010.

Qualidade de Vida e Hipertensão Arterial / Quality of Life and Hypertension

Devido ao aumento da expectativa de vida e, consequentemente, do número de pacientes com doenças crônicas e comorbidades associadas, a preocupação com a qualidade de vida destas pessoas torna-se imperativa. Questionários validados têm sido utilizados para a quantificação da qualidade de vida, sendo o Miniquestionário de Qualidade de Vida em Hipertensão Arterial (MINICHAL) um instrumento específico para a população de hipertensos. Com o objetivo de avaliar a qualidade de vida de funcionários hipertensos de uma empresa pública participante do Programa de Apoio à Hipertensão Arterial, foram avaliados 48 pacientes utilizando-se o MINICHAL. Os valores da mediana dos escores, correspondentes aos domínios mental, somático e global, foram, 3, 1 e 4, respectivamente, o que indica boa qualidade de vida. Embora nenhuma das variáveis mensuradas tenha influenciado na pontuação de maneira significativa, a variável sexo foi determinante para a modificação do resultado, sendo o escore mais elevado nas mulheres, indicando pior qualidade de vida.

Critérios de avaliação da qualidade da informação em sites de saúde:uma proposta / Criteria to evaluate quality of information on health sites: a proposal / /Los criterios de evaluación de calidad de la información en sitios web desalud: una propuesta

A internet oferece ao cidadão uma quantidade incomensurável de informações em todas as áreas do conhecimento. Elas são disponibilizadas sem que haja qualquer tipo avaliação. Na saúde, essas informações podem prejudicar o cidadão. O usuário precisa compreender o que encontra na rede e acreditar no que lê. A avaliação da qualidade das informações sobre saúde encontradas na internet é um problema que muitas instituições e pesquisadores têm procurado resolver. Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar alguns critérios de avaliação da qualidade das informações encontradas em sites de saúde. Para isso, foi realizada uma pesquisa de modo a identificar os principais instrumentos nacionais e internacionais que têm essa finalidade, foram analisados seus métodos de aplicação e comparados os critérios adotados. Como resultado, oitenta critérios de qualidade de sites de saúde foram agrupados em três dimensões: técnica, de conteúdo e design. Recomenda-se a criação de um selo de qualidade para sites de saúde no Brasil...

The internet provides citizens with an immeasurable amount of information in all areas of knowledge. They are available without any evaluation. In health, this information may harm the citizen. The usersmust understand what they find online and believe that the information is true. The evaluation of quality of health information found on the internet is a problem that many institutions and researchers are seekingto solve. This article aims to present some criteria to evaluate the quality of information found on health sites. A research was conducted to identify the main national and international instruments that have this purpose, then we have analyzed its application methods and compared the criteria adopted. As result eighty quality criteria of health websites were grouped into three dimensions: technical, content and design. Werecommend that the health sites in Brazil can be certified by the development of a seal of quality...

Internet ofrece a los ciudadanos una cantidad inconmensurable de informaciones en todas las áreas del conocimiento. Están disponibles sin ningún tipo de evaluación. En materia de salud, esas informaciones pueden hacer daño al ciudadano. El usuario debe entender lo que está en la red y creer que las informaciones son verdaderas. La evaluación de la calidad de las informaciones acerca de la salud que están en internet es un problema que muchas instituciones y investigadores procuran resolver. Este artículo tiene el objetivo de presentar algunos criterios de evaluación de la calidad de las informaciones encontradas en sitios web de salud. Realizamos una investigación para identificar los principales instrumentos nacionales e internacionales que tienen este propósito y, después, analizamos sus métodos de aplicación y comparamoslos criterios adoptados. Como resultado, ochenta criterios de calidad para sitios web de salud fueron agrupados en tres dimensiones: técnica, contenido y diseño. Recomendamos la creación de un sello de calidad para los sitios de salud en Brasil...

Chikungunya virus infection: report of the first case diagnosed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil / Infecção pelo virus Chikungunya: relato do primeiro caso diagnosticado no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Initially diagnosed in Africa and Asia, the Chikungunya virus has been detected in the last three years in the Caribbean, Italy, France, and the United States of America. Herein, we report the first case for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2010.

Antes diagnosticado na África e na Ásia, o vírus Chikungunya foi detectado nos últimos três anos, no Caribe, na Itália, na França e nos Estados Unidos. Relatamos o primeiro caso do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, em 2010.

Sedentarismo em população específica de funcionários de uma empresa pública / Sedentarism in the population of employees of a public company

JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS: Nas sociedades contemporâneas surge uma doença que representa elevado risco para doenças cardiovasculares e morte, um novo problema de saúde pública que afeta todas as idades, denominado sedentarismo. O objetivo deste estudo foi discutir as nuances da definição de indivíduo ativo e sedentário, através de diferentes métodos descritos na literatura médica, analisando-se a incidência de sedentarismo e o perfil da população de empregados de uma empresa pública. MÉTODO: Os funcionários do sistema do Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Social (BNDES) foram solicitados a responder ao Questionário Internacional de Atividade Física (IPAQ), durante a realização do exame periódico de 2008 para quantificação da atividade física por eles realizada. RESULTADOS: Encontrou-se incidência de 25% de sedentarismo, sem correlação definitiva com idade, sexo ou índice de massa corporal (IMC). CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados afirmam a necessidade de estimular-se a prática de atividade física nas empresas como forma de redução dos fatores de risco cardiovasculares.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In the contemporary society, arises a new disease that carries high risk to cardiovascular diseases and death, a new public health problem that affects all ages, sedentarism. The object of this paper was to define what it means to be an active and sedentary individual, through the methods available in the literature and to investigate the incidence of sedentarism in a public company. METHOD: The application of the international physic activity questionnaire (IPAQ) to the employees of the Brazilian Development Bank, intending to quantify the intensity of the physical activity realized in their daily activities.RESULTS: It was found an incidence of 25% of sedentarism in the studied population, without definitive correlation with age, sex or body mass index (BMI). CONCLUSION: The results show the necessity to fight sedentarism and to stimulate the practice of physical activities as a way to reduce the incidence on cardiovascular risk factors.

Critérios de avaliação de qualidade para sites de saúde: uma proposta / Evaluation criteria for quality health sites: a proposal

O rápido crescimento da Internet tem provocado um crescente volume de informação sem garantia de qualidade. Apesar de seus benefícios, o aumento da disponibilidade de informações também pode resultar em muitos efeitos potencialmente prejudiciais tanto para os usuários, quanto para os profissionais de saúde se não disponibilizadas de forma adequada. Com o objetivo de definir critérios de avaliação de qualidade para sites de saúde, a pesquisa identificou os instrumentos utilizados para avaliar a qualidade da informação em saúde na Internet e seus critérios utilizados. Analisou e comparou os principais instrumentos desenvolvidos no mundo, identificando métodos de aplicação como autorregulação e certificação de qualidade de sites de saúde. Concluiu-se que muitos dos instrumentos são incompletos para avaliar informações em saúde para o ambiente da Internet. A maioria dos instrumentos julga se a informação é crível, mas a busca por informação em saúde em site pode apresentar um desafio maior do que apenas encontrar informações de credibilidade. O site pode ser difícil de usar, apresentar linguagem incompreensível para o leigo ou até mesmo ser inacessível. No entanto, a credibilidade da informação é um ponto de partida, enfatiza-se que tais informações precisam estar disponíveis para todos. Neste sentido, a presente pesquisa apresenta uma proposta com 80 itens para verificação da qualidade de sites de saúde agrupados em três dimensões de avaliação: Dimensão Conteúdo - refere-se aspectos relacionados à Acurácia, Abrangência e Legibilidade das informações apresentadas. Dimensão Técnica – refere-se aos aspectos de Credibilidade, Publicidade e patrocínio, Segurança e privacidade, Aspectos éticos, Interatividade e Suporte ao usuário. Dimensão Design – refere-se aos aspectos de Usabilidade e Acessibilidade do site. Além disso, sugere a criação de um selo de qualidade para sites de saúde no Brasil.