Severidade clínica e funcionalidade de pacientes hemiplégicos pós-AVC agudo atendidos nos serviços públicos de fisioterapia de Natal (RN) Clinical severity and functionality of acute stroke patients attended at the physiotherapy public services of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil

O acidente vascular cerebral (AVC) representa a terceira causa de morte em vários países do mundo e principal causa de incapacidade física. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar por meio de uma equipe multidisciplinar a severidade clínica e a independência funcional de pacientes hemiplégicos pós-AVC. Trata-se de estudo descritivo composto por quarenta hemiplégicos atendidos nos quatro maiores serviços públicos de fisioterapia da cidade de Natal (RN). Foram utilizados uma ficha de avaliação, a medida de independência funcional e o NIHSS. A amostra é predominantemente feminina(55%), AVC isquêmico(90%), hemisfério cerebral direito(52,5%) e fator de risco hipertensão(90%). A média da severidade clínica é 13,32±4,7 e da independência funcional, 54,6±17,15. Não houve diferença significativa entre as médias funcionais dos pacientes quanto ao lado do AVC (pvalor=0,66). Existiu relação significativa entre severidade clínica e independência funcional (r=-0,45 pvalor=0,003). A severidade clínica e a dependência funcional de pacientes com AVC, ao darem entrada na fisioterapia, são significativas e evidenciam a necessidade de, além do tratamento clássico, serem incentivadas condutas educacionais que visem à conscientização da população.<br>This article investigates the severity and functional independence of hemiplegics patients' post-acute stroke by means of a multidisciplinary clinical staff. It is a descriptive study composed by 40 hemiplegics attended at the four largest physiotherapy public services in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte State. The methods used were an evaluation form, Functional Independence Measure and NIHSS. The results showed a sample predominantly female (55%), stroke ischemic (90%), right brain hemisphere (52.5%) and Hypertension Risk Factor (90%). The mean of clinical severity and functional independence was 13.32±4.7 and 54.6±17.15 respectively. There was no significant difference between the mean of functionality about stroke side (pvalue = 0.66). There is a significant relation between clinical severity and functional independence (r = -0.45 pvalue=0.003). It can be concluded that the level of clinical severity and functional dependence of stroke patients that make use of public physiotherapy services is significant and show the necessity, beyond the classic treatment, to be encouraged preventive educational actions to improve knowledge of this population

Genetic divergence between two sympatric species of the Lutzomyia longipalpis complex in the paralytic gene, a locus associated with insecticide resistance and lovesong production

The sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis s.l. is the main vector of American Visceral Leishmaniasis. L. longipalpis s.l. is a species complex but until recently the existence of cryptic sibling species among Brazilian populations was a controversial issue. A fragment of paralytic (para), a voltage dependent sodium channel gene associated with insecticide resistance and courtship song production in Drosophila, was isolated and used as a molecular marker to study the divergence between two sympatric siblings of the L. longipalpis complex from Sobral, Brazil. The results revealed para as the first single locus DNA marker presenting fixed differences between the two species in this locality. In addition, two low frequency amino-acid changes in an otherwise very conserved region of the channel were observed, raising the possibility that it might be associated with incipient resistance in this vector. To the best of our knowledge, the present study represents the first population genetics analysis of insecticide resistance genes in this important leishmaniasis vector