Therapy of adrenocortical cancer: present and future

Adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare endocrine malignancy with an estimated worldwide incidence of 0.5 - 2 per million/year. This neoplasm is characterized by a high risk of recurrence and a dismal prognosis owing to unsatisfactory overall survival. Surgery represents the cornerstone of adrenocortical carcinoma therapy, which can be associated to radiotherapy and adjuvant mitotane administration. In advanced cases, different chemotherapy regimens are used, but their relative efficacy is still unknown until the results of clinical trials under way will be published. Novel drugs have been recently developed based on the discovery of molecular pathways that trigger development and evolution of these tumors. More efficient treatments are widely expected in the future from these new targeted therapies as a hope of cure for patients affected with this aggressive malignancy

Biotransformation of steviol derivatives by Aspergillus niger and Fusarium moniliforme

Steviol derivatives have been submitted to biotransformations by fungi. Methyl ent-11beta,13-dihydroxy-15,16-epoxikauran-19-oate was hydroxylated at C-11 by Aspergillus niger, whereas ent-16beta-hydroxybeyeran-19-oic acid was hydroxylated at C-6 and C-7 by Fusarium moniliforme. The hydroxylation at non-activated positions at the carbon skeleton is discussed in connection with the properties of important polyhydroxylated diterpenoids described in the literature

HPLC analysis of flavonoids in Eupatorium littorale

The isolation and identification of eupafolin and hispidulin in the dried leaves of Eupatorium littorale (Asteraceae) are described. A method for the detection of those flavonoids and rutin was also developed using reversed-phase HPLC with a photodiode array detector. Eupafolin and hispidulin were quantified and the concentrations found were 0.29% and 0.21%, respectively

Influence of rosmarinic acid and Salvia officinalis extracts on melanogenesis of B16F10 cells

Melanin is a photoprotective skin pigment, and pathologies characterized by hypo or hyperpigmentation are common. New compounds that regulate melanogenesis are, therefore, opportune, and many natural products with this property, as polyphenols, have been described. Salvia officinalis L., Lamiaceae, is a widely used food spice that contains high amounts of phenol derivates, including rosmarinic acid. The aim of this work was to evaluate the contribution of rosmarinic acid in the melanogenic activity of sage extracts. Fluid and aqueous extracts of sage and purified rosmarinic acid were assayed for B16F10 cytotoxicity and, then, evaluated on melanin production and tyrosinase activity. While sage extracts showed a concentration-dependent ability to significantly increase melanin production without necessarily changing the enzymatic activity, rosmarinic acid showed a dual behavior on melanogenesis, increasing melanin biosynthesis and tyrosinase activity at low concentrations and decreasing it at higher levels. Rosmarinic acid may collaborate with sage extracts activity on melanogenesis, although other compounds may be involved. This is the first time that a dual action of rosmarinic acid on melanogenesis is reported, which may be useful in further studies for therapeutic formulations to treat skin pigmentation disorders

A atuação do serviço de saúde na violência sob o olhar de lideranças comunitárias de Londrina (PR) The health team's performance in the context of violence under the perspective of community-based leaderships in Londrina (PR)

Nos últimos anos, no Brasil, observa-se um aumento da violência urbana. A cidade de Londrina, no estado do Paraná, particularmente, vem assistindo a um preocupante aumento dos índices de violência. Isso tem levado as lideranças da cidade a se mobilizarem. O objetivo deste estudo é levantar qual a visão que lideranças comunitárias de duas regiões da periferia da cidade de Londrina, que apresentam diferentes níveis de mobilização popular, têm da atuação de serviços de saúde sobre a problemática da violência. A abordagem utilizada é de pesquisa qualitativa. Foi utilizado o referencial teórico das Representações Sociais e a técnica da análise de conteúdo de Bardin. Foram realizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas com lideranças identificadas a partir do processo chamado de "bola de neve" ou amostragem em rede. As entrevistas foram realizadas até que se atingiu a saturação das representações sociais, totalizando vinte e seis entrevistas, treze em cada região pesquisada. Os resultados mostraram que, de modo geral, a atuação dos serviços de saúde é considerada precária na visão das lideranças comunitárias. Na região onde a comunidade é mais mobilizada, porém, essa atuação ocorre de maneira mais articulada. Já na região menos mobilizada, a atuação é mais pontual e foram relatados alguns casos de violência contra o profissional de saúde. Este estudo mostra que é necessário que a saúde invista mais na questão da violência, valorizando a parceria com segmentos organizados da comunidade.<br>In the last few years Brazil has been experiencing an increase in urban violence. Particularly in the city of Londrina (state of Paraná), there has been a disturbing growth of violence rates which has caused the city leaderships to take action. The aim of this study is to investigate what community-based leaderships think about the health team's performance regarding the violence issue. The leaderships are from two regions on the periphery of Londrina which have different levels of community mobilization. This is a qualitative study that used the theoretical framework of the Social Representations and Bardin's content analysis technique. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with leaderships chosen through the "snowball" process or network sampling. Interviews were conducted until a saturation of social representations was reached, totaling 26 interviews, 13 in each researched area. Results showed that, in general, the health team's performance is considered poor by the community-based leaderships. In the region where the community is more proactive, this performance is more articulated, whereas in the less proactive one, the performance is more focused and violence against the health professional has been reported. This study shows that it is necessary for health teams to give more attention to the violence issue, forming partnerships with organized segments in the community