Quantification of respiratory parameters in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy

Dysfunction affecting cardiac or pulmonary systems has been postulated as a major factor in sudden death in epilepsy (SUDEP). Whilst the majority of studies of cardiorespiratory function have focused on changes during seizures, here we investigate whether epilepsy influences basal respiratory parameters in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) during the interictal period. Spirometry was performed in 10 females and 10 males. Measurements of Vital Capacity (VC), Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (FEV1) and ratios of FEV1 to FVC (FEV1/FVC) were obtained, and these values were analyzed as percentages of predicted values. None of the patients had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and no significant alterations in respiratory function tests were found among these patients. No association between seizure frequency, antiepileptic drugs and SUDEP could be found in this study. Although the study did not identify any specific respiratory abnormality in TLE patients during the interictal period, re-evaluation of clinical data on pulmonary disorders in people with epilepsy should be better investigated

Incorporação das ciências sociais na produção de conhecimentos sobre trabalho e saúde Incorporation of the social sciences in the production of knowledge about work and health

Este artigo apresenta uma revisão bibliográfica sobre a influência das ciências sociais para a superação de concepções reducionistas de relação trabalho-saúde, nas duas últimas décadas. Trata-se de um tipo de diagnóstico da produção científica, no qual destacam-se: as contribuições para a caracterização da saúde do trabalhador, como campo de conhecimento e de intervenção, e para a análise da política e das práticas das instituições públicas; as abordagens compreensivas e as questões de gênero. Efetuou-se um levantamento de artigos de periódicos indexados e de dissertações e teses de pós-graduação. Foram consultados: o banco de dissertações e teses da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento do Ensino Superior e do Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia; a Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde da Biblioteca Regional de Medicina e o site do Scientific Electronic Library On-line. Constatou-se a predominância de estudos sobre temáticas específicas e determinadas categorias de trabalhadores, em contraposição a tentativas de abordagens totalizadoras. Apesar dos notáveis avanços em termos de conhecimento, existe carência significativa de investigações sobre segmentos da população trabalhadora que apresentam maior vulnerabilidade social.<br>This article presents a bibliographical revision on the influence of the social sciences to overcome the reducing conceptions of relationship work-health, in the last two decades. It is a type of diagnosis of the scientific production, in which outstanding aspects are: the contributions for the characterization of the worker’s health, as knowledge field and of intervention, and for the analysis of the politics and of the practices of the public institutions; the comprehensive approaches and gender questions. It was conducted an assessment of indexed journals and masters degree dissertations and doctoral thesis. It was consulted: the bank of dissertations and thesis organized by the Coordination of Improvement of the Higher Education and for the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology; the Virtual Library in Health of the Regional Library of Medicine and Scientific Electronic site On-line Library. It was verified the predominance of studies on specific themes and certain categories of workers, in opposition to attempts of totalizing approaches. In spite of the outstanding progresses in knowledge terms and of enlargement of study objects, significant lack of investigations exists on segments of the working population that present larger social vulnerability