Effects of dual-task interventions on gait performance of patients with parkinson’s disease: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE: Parkinson’s disease is characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms that impair patients’ gait performance, especially while performing dual/concurrent tasks. These deficits impair patients’ daily function, because dual-tasking is a crucial ability in terms of everyday living. The aim of this study was to systematically review the effects of dual task interventions on gait performance of patients with Parkinson’s disease. METHOD: Studies were retrieved from MEDLINE/PubMed, LILACS and SciELO. We used the PICOS strategy to determine eligibility criteria. The search strategy included an advanced search on the included databases, using the following search query: “Parkinson’s Disease” AND “Double Task” OR “Concurrent Tasks” OR “Gait” AND “Walk”. Study selection was carried out by two independent researchers and a third one was called when consensus was needed. RESULTS: A total of 188 articles were identified: 169 articles from Medline/PubMed, 10 articles in SciELO, 8 articles in LILACS and 1 item from manual searches. A total of 56 articles were analyzed regarding the eligibility and exclusion criteria based on full text. A final total of 7 studies were included in the systematic review. CONCLUSION: The different types of dual-task interventions reported (dance, sound stimuli, visual and somatosensory) were associated to improvements in several gait performance indicators of Parkinson’s disease patients, including gait speed, stride time and length, cadence and step length. External stimuli seem to play a critical role on specific training effects on dual-task gait performance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

New additions to the anuran fauna of the Cancão Municipal Natural Park, Serra do Navio, state of Amapá, Brazil

Twelve species of anurans (Amazophrynella teko, Rhinella castaneotica, Hyalinobatrachium mondolfii, H. tricolor, Pristimantis gutturalis, P. inguinalis, Ranitomeya variabilis, Osteocephalus leprieurii, Scinax proboscideus, Leptodactylus petersii, Chiasmocleis hudsoni, Synapturanus mirandaribeiroi), into the seven families (Bufonidae, Centrolenidae, Craugastoridae, Dendrobatidae, Hylidae, Leptodactylidae, Microhylidae) are reported for the first time from Cancão Municipal Natural Park, state of Amapá, North Brazil. The total number of species of anurans known from the park now stands at 61 species. Our results contribute to an increase in the knowledge of the anuran fauna of Eastern Amazonia and Guiana Shield.Asociación Herpetológica Argentin

Portuguese multidisciplinary recommendations for non-pharmacological and non-surgical interventions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

BACKGROUND: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) report significant levels of disease impact, which are improved, but not fully abrogated by immunosuppressive therapy, even when remission is achieved. This imposes the need for adjuvant interventions targeting the uncontrolled domains of disease impact. Non-pharmacological interventions are widely used for this purpose, but they have not been the object of professional recommendations or guidelines. OBJECTIVE: To propose multidisciplinary recommendations to inform clinical care providers regarding the employment of non-pharmacological and non-surgical interventions in the management of patients with RA. METHODS: The EULAR standardized operating procedures for the development of recommendations were followed. First, a systematic literature review was performed. Then, a multidisciplinary Technical Expert Panel (TEP) met to develop and discuss the recommendations and research agenda. For each developed recommendation i) the level of evidence and grade of recommendation were determined, and ii) the level of agreement among TEP members was set. A recommendation was adopted if approved by ≥75% of the TEP members, and the level of agreement was considered high when ≥8. All relevant national societies were included in this construction process to attain their endorsement. RESULTS: Based on evidence and expert opinion, the TEP developed and agreed on five overarching principles and 12 recommendations for non-pharmacological and non-surgical interventions in patients with RA. The mean level of agreement between the TEP members ranged between 8.5 and 9.9. The recommendations include a broad spectrum of intervention areas, such as exercise, hydrokinesiotherapy, psychological interventions, orthoses, education, general management of comorbidities, among others; and they set the requirements for their application. CONCLUSIONS: These recommendations are based on the consensus judgment of clinical experts from a wide range of disciplines and patients' representatives from Portugal. Given the evidence for effectiveness, feasibility and safety, non-pharmacological and non-surgical interventions should be an integral part of standard care for people with RA. It is hoped that these recommendations should be widely implemented in clinical practice. The target audience for these recommendations includes all health professionals involved in the care of patients with RA. The target patient population includes adult Portuguese people with RA.publishersversionpublishe

Overactive bladder-18 years - Part II

Traditionally, the treatment of overactive bladder syndrome has been based on the use of oral medications with the purpose of reestablishing the detrusor stability. The recent better understanding of the urothelial physiology fostered conceptual changes, and the oral anticholinergics - pillars of the overactive bladder pharmacotherapy - started to be not only recognized for their properties of inhibiting the detrusor contractile activity, but also their action on the bladder afference, and therefore, on the reduction of the symptoms that constitute the syndrome. Beta-adrenergic agonists, which were recently added to the list of drugs for the treatment of overactive bladder, still wait for a definitive positioning - as either a second-line therapy or an adjuvant to oral anticholinergics. Conservative treatment failure, whether due to unsatisfactory results or the presence of adverse side effects, define it as refractory overactive bladder. In this context, the intravesical injection of botulinum toxin type A emerged as an effective option for the existing gap between the primary measures and more complex procedures such as bladder augmentation. Sacral neuromodulation, described three decades ago, had its indication reinforced in this overactive bladder era. Likewise, the electric stimulation of the tibial nerve is now a minimally invasive alternative to treat those with refractory overactive bladder. The results of the systematic literature review on the oral pharmacological treatment and the treatment of refractory overactive bladder gave rise to this second part of the review article Overactive Bladder - 18 years, prepared during the 1st Latin-American Consultation on Overactive Bladder.Univ Fed Sao Paulo, EPM, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Dept Urol, BR-05508 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilFac Med ABC, Dept Urol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Los Andes, Dept Urol, Bogota, ColombiaEscuela Med Mil, Dept Urol, Mexico City, DF, MexicoHosp Clin Jose San Martin, Catedra Urol, Buenos Aires, DF, ArgentinaMae de Deus Ctr Hosp, Dept Urol, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilUniv Fed Ciencias Saude Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilAC Camargo Hosp, Dept Urol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilHosp Clinico Fuerza Area Chile, Santiago, ChileInst Mexicano Seguro Social, Mexico City, DF, MexicoHosp Souza Aguiar, Dept Urol, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilComplejo Med Policial Churruca Visca, Serv Urol, Buenos Aires, DF, ArgentinaCtr Policlin Valencia Vina, Valencia, VenezuelaHosp Pablo Tobon Uribe, Medellin, ColombiaClin Indisa, Serv Urol, Providencia, ChileCtr Reabilitacao & Readaptacao Dr Henriqe Santill, Goiania, Go, BrazilHosp Univ Caracas, Serv Urol, Caracas, VenezuelaUniv Fed Ceara, Div Urol, Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, EPM, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Overactive bladder-18 years - Part I

Overactive bladder syndrome is one of the lower urinary tract dysfunctions with the highest number of scientific publications over the past two decades. This shows the growing interest in better understanding this syndrome, which gathers symptoms of urinary urgency and increased daytime and nighttime voiding frequency, with or without urinary incontinence and results in a negative impact on the quality of life of approximately one out of six individuals - including both genders and almost all age groups. The possibility of establishing the diagnosis just from clinical data made patients' access to specialized care easier. Physiotherapy resources have been incorporated into the urological daily practice. A number of more selective antimuscarinic drugs with consequent lower adverse event rates were released. Recently, a new class of oral drugs, beta-adrenergic agonists has become part of the armamentarium for Overactive Bladder. Botulinum toxin injections in the bladder and sacral neuromodulation are routine modalities of treatment for refractory cases. During the 1st Latin-American Consultation on Overactive Bladder, a comprehensive review of the literature related to the evolution of the concept, epidemiology, diagnosis, and management was conducted. This text corresponds to the first part of the review Overactive Bladder 18-years.Univ Fed Sao Paulo, EPM, Rua Dr Oscar Monteiro Barros 617-141, BR-05641010 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Dept Urol, BR-05508 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilFac Med ABC, Dept Urol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Los Andes, Dept Urol, Bogota, ColombiaEscuela Med, Dept Urol, Mexico City, DF, MexicoHosp Clin Jose San Martin, Catedra Urol, Buenos Aires, DF, ArgentinaMae de Deus Ctr Hosp, Dept Urol, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilUniv Fed Ciencias Saude Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilAC Camargo Hosp, Dept Urol, Sao Paulo, BrazilHosp Clin Fuerza Area Chile, Santiago, ChileInst Mexicano Seguro Social, Mexico City, DF, MexicoHosp Souza Aguiar, Dept Urol, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilComplejo Med Policial Churruca Visca, Serv Urol, Buenos Aires, DF, ArgentinaCtr Policlin Valencia Vina, Valencia, VenezuelaHosp Pablo Tobon Uribe, Medellin, ColombiaClin Indisa, Serv Urol, Providencia, ChileCtr Reabilitacao & Readaptacao Dr Henriqe Santill, Goiania, Go, BrazilHosp Univ Caracas, Serv Urol, Caracas, VenezuelaUniv Fed Ceara, Div Urol, Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, EPM, Rua Dr Oscar Monteiro Barros 617-141, BR-05641010 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Genetic variation in PFKFB3 impairs antifungal immunometabolic responses and predisposes to Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis

Copyright © 2021 Gonçalves et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.Activation of immune cells in response to fungal infection involves the reprogramming of their cellular metabolism to support antimicrobial effector functions. Although metabolic pathways such as glycolysis are known to represent critical regulatory nodes in antifungal immunity, it remains undetermined whether these are differentially regulated at the interindividual level. In this study, we identify a key role for 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) in the immunometabolic responses to Aspergillus fumigatus. A genetic association study performed in 439 recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and corresponding donors revealed that the donor, but not recipient, rs646564 variant in the PFKFB3 gene increased the risk of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) after transplantation. The risk genotype impaired the expression of PFKFB3 by human macrophages in response to fungal infection, which was correlated with a defective activation of glycolysis and the ensuing antifungal effector functions. In patients with IPA, the risk genotype was associated with lower concentrations of cytokines in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples. Collectively, these findings demonstrate the important contribution of genetic variation in PFKFB3 to the risk of IPA in patients undergoing HSCT and support its inclusion in prognostic tools to predict the risk of fungal infection in this clinical setting. IMPORTANCE The fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus can cause severe and life-threatening forms of infection in immunocompromised patients. Activation of glycolysis is essential for innate immune cells to mount effective antifungal responses. In this study, we report the contribution of genetic variation in the key glycolytic activator 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) to the risk of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The PFKFB3 genotype associated with increased risk of infection was correlated with an impairment of the antifungal effector functions of macrophages in vitro and in patients with IPA. This work highlights the clinical relevance of genetic variation in PFKFB3 to the risk of IPA and supports its integration in risk stratification and preemptive measures for patients at high risk of IPA.This work was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) (PTDC/SAU-SER/29635/2017, PTDC/MED-GEN/28778/2017, UIDB/50026/2020, and UIDP/50026/2020), the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Program (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000039), the Institut Mérieux (Mérieux Research Grant 2017), the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID Research Grant 2017), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 847507, and the “la Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434) and FCT under the agreement LCF/PR/HR17/52190003. Individual support was provided by FCT (SFRH/BD/136814/2018 to S.M.G., PD/BD/137680/2018 to D.A., CEECIND/04058/2018 to C.C., and CEECIND/03628/2017 to A.C.). M.G.N. was supported by an ERC Advanced Grant and a Spinoza Grant of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Políticas públicas, autonomía y participación docente en contextos de transformación y cambio

Son muy escasos los organismos internacionales que se preocupan por la situación de los docentes: en América Latina la Red Estrado es uno de los contados colectivos que realiza estudios, investigaciones y propuestas por mejorar la condición humana y profesional de los educadores. En el Ecuador, en sus pocos años de funcionamiento, la Red Estrado ha tenido una presencia muy poco activa para denunciar los problemas y dificultades que afectan a los docentes, dar a conocer las fortalezas y cualidades de quienes educan a los ecuatorianos del presente y del futuro y proponer acciones concretas que aseguren el desarrollo de los integrantes del magisterio. Esta organización de la sociedad civil está integrada por un selecto grupo de académicos pertenecientes a varias universidades, quienes con una actitud totalmente desinteresada y altruista, con el apoyo de sus respectivos centros de educación superior, han organizado algunos eventos nacionales, han publicado varios libros sobre la situación docente y, de manera excepcional, han colocado este tema en el imaginario nacional, a fin de dar a conocer los aspectos relacionados con la formación inicial, el ejercicio de la carrera, las condiciones de salud y trabajo, la formación permanente, los problemas salariales, la evaluación y los demás asuntos que se relacionan con la trayectoria profesional de los educadores. El libro políticas públicas, autonomía y participación docente en contextos de transformación y cambio, que se pone a consideración de los lectores, contiene varios estudios e investigaciones llevados a cabo en estos años por algunos docentes de centros educativos ecuatorianos y otros países de América Latina