Fibromialgia: aspectos etiopatogênicos e papel do vírus da hepatite C

Fibromyalgia is one of the most common rheumatologic syndromes. It is specially characterized by a symptomatology of a diffuse and chronic pain, generally followed by fatigue; as far as the physical exam is concerned, it is followed by pain when specific superficial points (11 to 18) are pressed (“tender-points”). Its etiopathogeny is still obscure and has not been well defined. There is a great psychosomatic correlation in most patients: alterations in the pain perception. Bacterial and viral agents may be related with the origin of that pathology. The hepatitis C virus is notably the one that presents greater correlation with the etiopathogeny of the fibromyalgia. The present paper reviews the main fibromyalgia theories and the most frequent conditions related to its origin, emphasizing the possible participation of the hepatitis C virus.A fibromialgia é uma das síndromes reumatológicas mais comuns. Caracteriza-se especialmente por uma sintomatologia de dor difusa e crônica, geralmente acompanhada de fadiga, e, a um exame físico, de dor à pressão de pontos superficiais específicos (“tender-points”), presentes em número de pelo menos 11 de 18 possíveis. Sua etiopatogenia permanece ainda obscura e mal definida. Há uma grande correlação psicossomática na maior parte dos pacientes, com uma alteração na percepção da dor. Agentes bacterianos e virais podem estar relacionados com a origem da fibromialgia. Desses, o que possui maior correlação com a etiopatogenia dessa síndrome é o vírus da hepatite C. O presente artigo é uma revisão das principais teorias já apresentadas sobre a fibromialgia e das condições mais correlacionadas com a sua origem, com destaque para a possível participação do vírus da hepatite C

Músculo piramidal: estudo de 341 casos

Introdução: o estudo do piramidal, a despeito do tamanho reduzido e da função rudimentar desse músculo, tem revelado interesse renovado devido à sua utilidade em diversas condições clínicas. Objetivo: identificação do músculo piramidal em um grupo de cadáveres de mestiços provenientes das duas principais regiões metropolitanas do estado da Bahia (Salvador e Feira de Santana). Metodologia: estudo retrospectivo de necropsias nas quais os piramidais foram expostos para visualização e contagem direta. Resultados: músculo piramidal bilateral: 73,3%; unilateral: 5%; ausente: 21,7%. Conclusões: os achados sugerem que a presença do músculo foi correlacionada fracamente com características demográficas regionais em uma população miscigenada

Characteristics of patients with fibromyalgia syndrome assisted in a hospital of Salvador, BA, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: to describe the demographic, socioeconomic and clinical characteristics of patients with Fibromyialgia Syndrome (FS) assisted at the Hospital Santo Antônio in Salvador, BA, Brazil. METHODS: a hundred and twenty patients with FS were prospectively evaluated by two rheumatologists in relation to the clinical-epidemic data and clinical manifestations. RESULTS: all the patients were female, with average age of 29.8 years. Diffuse pain was found in all patients and fatigue was found in 94.2% (n = 113). Anxiety was referred by 105 patients (87.5%) and depression by 47 (39.2%) of them. The most common tender point found was the right subocciput, reported by 40% (n = 48) of the patients and the less found was the right gluteal, in 26.7% (n = 26). The mean of the total number of tender points was 13.6 (limits from 11 to 18), being the average and the median 14. The patients' group that had the number of tender points superior or equal to the median presented, significantly, lower family income (p < 0.01), larger smoking habit (p < 0.01) and sleeping disturbances (p < 0.05) when compared to the others. CONCLUSIONS: the appraised patients presented several characteristics in common with patients of previous studies, but they differed in relation to the frequencies of total and specific tender points. We found a significant association of low family income, sleeping disturbances and smoking habit with a larger amount of tender points.OBJETIVO: descrever as características demográficas, sócio-econômicas e clínicas de pacientes com síndrome da fibromialgia (SF) atendidos no Hospital Santo Antônio em Salvador, BA, Brasil. MÉTODOS: cento e vinte pacientes com SF foram avaliados prospectivamente por dois reumatologistas, quanto aos dados clínico-epidemiológicos e manifestações clínicas. RESULTADOS: todos os pacientes eram do sexo feminino, com média de idade igual a 29,8 anos. A dor difusa foi encontrada em todas as pacientes e fadiga em 94,2% (n=113). Ansiedade foi referida por 105 pacientes (87,5%) e depressão por 47 (39,2%). O tender-point mais encontrado foi o suboccipital direito, em 40% (n=48) dos pacientes e o menos encontrado foi o glúteo direito, em 26,7% (n=26). A média do número total de tender points foi 13,6 (limites de 11 a 18), sendo a média e a mediana 14. O grupo de pacientes que tiveram número de tender-points superior ou igual à mediana apresentou, significativamente, menor renda familiar (p<0,01), maior presença de tabagismo (p<0,01) e distúrbios do sono (p<0,05), quando comparados com os demais. Conclusões: os pacientes avaliados apresentaram diversas características em comum com pacientes de estudos anteriores, mas diferiram quanto às freqüências total e específica de tender-points. Foi significativa a associação de renda familiar baixa, distúrbios do sono e tabagismo com maior quantidade de tender-points.647

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The inventory of geological heritage of the state of São Paulo, Brazil: Methodological basis, results and perspectives

An inventory of geological sites based on solid and clear criteria is a first step for any geoconservation strategy. This paper describes the method used in the geoheritage inventory of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, and presents its main results. This inventory developed by the geoscientific community aimed to identify geosites with scientific value in the whole state, using a systematic approach. All 142 geosites representative of 11 geological frameworks were characterised and quantitatively evaluated according to their scientific value and risk of degradation, in order to establish priorities for their future management. An online database of the inventory is under construction, which will be available to be easily consulted and updated by the geoscientific community. All data were made available to the State Geological Institute as the backbone for the implementation of a future state geoconservation strategy.The authors acknowledge the Science Without Borders Programme, Process 075/2012, which supported this study and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Process 2011/17261-6. We also thanks C. Mazoca for his help with maps and figures.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ