Tumor cerebral e gravidez Brain tumors and pregnancy

O diagnóstico de um tumor cerebral durante a gravidez é um fato raro que coloca a mãe e o concepto em risco de vida. OBJETIVO: Avaliar a melhor forma de conduzir uma paciente grávida portadora de um tumor cerebral. MÉTODO: Realizamos análise retrospectiva dos prontuários e imagens de seis pacientes grávidas portadoras de tumor cerebral. RESULTADOS: Vários tipos histológicos de tumor cerebral podem estar associados à gravidez. O meningioma é o mais freqüente. Nessa série não observamos óbito cirúrgico materno. Em duas pacientes, o parto ocorreu antes da craniotomia e em outras quatro o parto foi realizado após a neurocirurgia. CONCLUSÃO: O momento mais adequado para a realização da craniotomia para remoção tumoral irá depender da gravidade do quadro neurológico, do tipo histológico presumível da lesão, e da idade gestacional do embrião.BACKGROUND: Despite not being a common fact, the occurrence of brain tumors during pregnancy poses a risk to both the mother and infant. AIM: To identify the best medical procedure to be followed for a pregnant patient harboring a brain tumor. METHOD: The records of 6 patients with brain tumors, diagnosed during pregnancy were examined. RESULTS: Several types of brain tumors have been associated with pregnancy, but the meningioma is, by far, the most frequent. It seems that pregnancy aggravates the clinical course of intracranial tumors. There were no operative mortality in these series. In 2 patients the labor occurred before the craniotomy and in others, the delivery occurred after the surgery. CONCLUSION: The best moment to recommend the craniotomy and the neurosurgical removal of the tumor will depend of the mother’s neurological condition, the tumor histological type as well as the gestational age

Elasticidades preço e renda da demanda de energia elétrica domiciliar no Brasil

This paper investigates the price elasticity of Brazilian residential electricity demand for 2012-2016. The estimations use random and fixed effects panel data and impulse response function in a VAR/VECM model for time series analysis. Furthermore, we analyze the consumers in two categories, Low Income consumer and B1 consumer (household electricity average consumer). The most relevant contribution of this research is the analysis of the different kinds of consumers and the impact of change in electric power prices on these consumers. The results of the panel estimation are lower than the unity and have a negative relation on the consumption for positive changes in prices. The results show that, for the average consumer, the response of price change is less relevant than to lower income consumers. In the impulse response function, we can see the lower income consumers respond faster than the average consumers. Moreover in impulse response function, for electricity price change the response is more drastically negative. We can infer from these results, that the impact of a price change in elasticity is more sensitive in consumers that have a lower income and lower electricity consumption. However, an average consumer, which has a higher electricity demand, the relation between changes in prices and changes in consumption is more inelastic. This occurs, we suppose, because electricity is a most necessary good and also a smaller share of the consumption basket for the average consumer. The study also presents an estimate for the income elasticity of demand for electricity in Brazil, which, although it does not differentiate consumers by income brackets, shows a positive, inelastic relationship with a high correlation between the wages of families and their consumption of energy, which can be used for the formulation and evaluation of sectoral policies

Fatty Acid Content, Oxidation Markers and Mercury in Fish Oil Supplements Commercialized in Brasília, Brazil

Fish oil supplements are good sources of eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids, which are important in the prevention and treatment of hypertriglyceridemia. The purpose of this study was to examine the content of EPA and DHA, oxidation markers and mercury of fish oil supplements marketed in Brasilia, Brazil. Fatty acid contents were determined by gas chromatography using internal (C23:0) and external methyl ester standards. For this analysis, samples were prepared by alkali-catalyzed methylation with boron trifluoride (14% in methanol). Mercury was determined by direct vapor detection method. Oxidation markers were evaluated by measuring peroxide value (PV), anisidine value (AV) and by calculating TOTOX. The adequacy of EPA and DHA ranged from 75.9 to 105.1% and from 88.9 to 137.4%, respectively, compared to the information in the label. Mercury concentration was above limit of quantification levels, between 11 and 15 mg/kg in 14.4% of the products. Twenty percent of the products exceeded recommended levels of PV and TOTOX. Despite the high percentage of adequacy of the parameters analyzed, about 2/3 of the products showed some inadequacies according to the law. These data deserve concern due to the potential side effects of oxidized and contaminated fish oils to their proclaimed health benefits. This survey shows the relevance of constant monitoring of fish oil quality, considering current legislation and scientific advance. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v11i3.1390<br /

Doppler tecidual do miocárdio de gatos submetidos à anestesia dissociativa Tissue Doppler imaging of the myocardium in cats submitted to dissociative anesthesia

O Doppler tecidual é uma técnica recente que permite avaliar a velocidade de movimentação do miocárdio durante as fases do ciclo cardíaco, fornecendo informações importantes da função cardíaca. Na medicina veterinária, estudos têm sido realizados para a caracterização de disfunções da contratilidade cardíaca e o estabelecimento de padrões de normalidade. O presente trabalho objetivou avaliar a velocidade de contração do miocárdio pela técnica de Doppler tecidual em gatos submetidos à anestesia dissociativa. Para tanto, foram utilizados nove gatos adultos, hígidos, sem distinção de sexo ou raça. Foram medidos os valores de Ea (velocidade máxima longitudinal no início da diástole), Aa (velocidade máxima longitudinal na sístole atrial) e Sa (velocidade máxima longitudinal na sístole ventricular) nas bordas lateral e septal do anel mitral. Os valores médios observados para Ea septal e Sa septal foram de 7,2&plusmn;2,5cm s-1 e 6,3&plusmn;1,7cm s-1, respectivamente. O valor médio obtido para Ea lateral foi de 12,0&plusmn;4,1cm s-1, enquanto que o valor médio de Sa lateral foi de 8,3&plusmn;1,6cm s-1. Foi obtido um valor médio de 7,0&plusmn;3,1cm s-1 para Aa lateral e 4,7&plusmn;1,5cm s-1 para Aa septal. A padronização dos valores médios da velocidade de contração do miocárdio na espécie felina é de grande importância, podendo auxiliar no diagnóstico precoce de alterações da função contrátil do coração. Em razão da escassez de estudos com a técnica de Doppler tecidual em gatos, os valores obtidos neste trabalho permitem a realização de estudos comparativos, auxiliando a aplicação dessa técnica em protocolos experimentais e no diagnóstico precoce de cardiopatias na espécie felina.<br>The tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) is a recent technique that allows the evaluation of the myocardium movement velocity during the cardiac cycle phases, providing important informations of the cardiac function. In veterinary medicine, studies have been realized for the characterization of cardiac contractility dysfunctions and to establish the normality patterns. The present work meant to evaluate the myocardium contractility velocity by the technique of TDI in healthy cats submitted to dissociative anesthesia. For that purpose, there were used nine cats, all adult, healthy and without sexual or breeding distinction. There were measured the values of Ea (early diastolic peak velocity), Aa (late diastolic peak velocity) and Sa (systolic peak velocity) in the lateral and septum wall sides. The mean values observed to septum Ea and septum Sa were of 7.2&plusmn;2.5cm s-1 and 6.3&plusmn;1.7cm s-1, respectively. The mean value obtained for lateral Ea was of 12.0&plusmn;4.1cm s-1, while the mean value of lateral Sa was of 8.3&plusmn;1.6cm s-1. It was obtained a mean value of 7.0&plusmn;3.1cm s-1 for the lateral Aa, and 4.7&plusmn;1.5cm s-1 for septum Aa. The standard of the myocardium contraction velocities mean values in the feline specie is of great importance, and it may help in the early diagnosis of heart contraction alterations. Due to the lack of studies with the TDI technique in cats, the values obtained in our work allow the realization of comparative studies, helping to apply this technique in experimental protocols and to the early diagnosis of cardiomyopathies in the feline specie