Comportamiento de la inmunidad natural y humoral en la hipertensión arterial

The changes that occur in response to stress are divided into “central adaptations” and “peripheral adaptations”. Within the latter there are the changes in the cardiovascular system (increased pulse and blood pressure), which are not sufficient in the adaptive system: the immune system must complete the classic response to stress to make it fully adaptive and a guarantee of survival. The known relationship between stress, high blood pressure and the immune system motivated the present work, which aims to evaluate the behavior of natural and humoral immunity in hypertensive patients under stress. A total of 33 patients were studied, who underwent an assessment of proteins of the complement C3 and C4 (natural immunity) and Igs: M, G and A (humoral immunity) by a turbidimetric quantitative method. At least 16 patients had one altered parameter in natural immunity and seven in humoral immunity. None ingested alcoholic drinks and six of them drank coffee and smoke, of these, three had the natural immunity affected, and, in one case, it was observed impaired parameters of both immunities. In the hypertensive patients under stress that were studied, it was evident the presence of alterations in the natural and humoral immunity. The lifestyle modification for the treatment of hypertension (no drug treatment) is essential to work on risk factors such as stress.  Los cambios que se producen como respuesta al estrés se dividen en “adaptaciones centrales” y “adaptaciones periféricas”; dentro de estas últimas se encuentran los cambios del sistema cardiovascular (el incremento del pulso y la tensión arterial), que no son suficientes en el sistema adaptativo: el sistema inmune debe completar la respuesta clásica al estrés para hacerla plenamente adaptativa y garantía de supervivencia. La conocida relación entre el estrés, la hipertensión arterial y el sistema inmune motivó la realización del presente trabajo, que tiene como objetivo evaluar el comportamiento de la inmunidad natural y humoral en pacientes hipertensos sometidos a estrés. Se estudiaron 33 pacientes a los que se les determinaron las proteínas del complemento C3 y C4 (inmunidad natural) y las inmunoglobulinas IgM, IgG e IgA (inmunidad humoral) por un método turbidimétrico cuantitativo; 16 enfermos tuvieron al menos un parámetro alterado en la inmunidad natural y siete en la humoral; ninguno ingería bebidas alcohólicas y seis consumían café y cigarro, de estos tres presentaron la inmunidad natural afectada y, en un caso, se observó alteración en parámetros de ambas inmunidades; en los hipertensos estudiados sometidos a estrés se evidenciaron alteraciones en la inmunidad natural y humoral. La modificación del estilo de vida para el tratamiento de la hipertensión arterial (tratamiento no farmacológico) es esencial para trabajar sobre factores de riesgo como el estrés

100 años investigando el mar. El IEO en su centenario (1914-2014).

Se trata de un libro que pretende divulgar a la sociedad las principales investigaciones multidisciplinares llevadas a cabo por el Instituto Español de Oceanografía durante su primer siglo de vida, y dar a conocer la historia del organismo, de su Sede Central y de los nueve centros oceanográficos repartidos por los litorales mediterráneo y atlántico, en la península y archipiélagos.Kongsberg 20

DISFUNCIÓN DIASTÓLICA EN EL INFARTO AGUDO DE MIOCARDIO / Diastolic dysfunction in acute myocardial infarction

Introduction and objectives: Ischemic heart disease is among the first causes of disability and death in the world. The acute myocardial infarction alters considerably the myocardial relaxation. The echocardiogram is a useful, economic and harmless method to assess diastolic function in these patients; that is why the aim of the study was to characterize the behavior of this left ventricular function by means of an echocardiography. Methods: an observational descriptive study was carried out with 91 patients with myocardial infarction who were hospitalized at the Cardiology Ward of the Arnaldo Milian Castro Provincial University Hospital in Santa Clara during 2008. An echocardiogram was performed between the fifth and the seventh day of evolution, and the patterns of diastolic function were compared with other variables. Results: There was a prevalence of the male sex (74,7 %), the infarctions without ST segment elevation were more frequent (83,1 %) – which showed a bigger alteration of the relaxation, much more when the anterior and lateral walls of the left ventricle were involved. The presence of complications was linked to a bigger alteration of the relaxation, and the most associate ones were the contractile dysfunction and malignant arrhythmias. The decrease of the ejection fraction was linked to (p = 0,000) the prolongation of the relaxation. Conclusions: There was a prevalence of the infarction without ST segment elevation. It was more frequent in the male sex and it was associated with a higher level of alteration of the relaxation. The infarctions with anterior or lateral location, and those which caused complications, presented a higher level of this alteration. All patients with a reduced ejection fraction had relaxation disorders

DISFUNCIÓN DIASTÓLICA EN EL INFARTO AGUDO DE MIOCARDIO

Introduction and objectives: Ischemic heart disease is among the first causes of disability and death in the world. The acute myocardial infarction alters considerably the myocardial relaxation. The echocardiogram is a useful, economic and harmless method to assess diastolic function in these patients; that is why the aim of the study was to characterize the behavior of this left ventricular function by means of an echocardiography. Methods: an observational descriptive study was carried out with 91 patients with myocardial infarction who were hospitalized at the Cardiology Ward of the Arnaldo Milian Castro Provincial University Hospital in Santa Clara during 2008. An echocardiogram was performed between the fifth and the seventh day of evolution, and the patterns of diastolic function were compared with other variables. Results: There was a prevalence of the male sex (74,7 %), the infarctions without ST segment elevation were more frequent (83,1 %) � which showed a bigger alteration of the relaxation, much more when the anterior and lateral walls of the left ventricle were involved. The presence of complications was linked to a bigger alteration of the relaxation, and the most associate ones were the contractile dysfunction and malignant arrhythmias. The decrease of the ejection fraction was linked to (p = 0,000) the prolongation of the relaxation. Conclusions: There was a prevalence of the infarction without ST segment elevation. It was more frequent in the male sex and it was associated with a higher level of alteration of the relaxation. The infarctions with anterior or lateral location, and those which caused complications, presented a higher level of this alteration. All patients with a reduced ejection fraction had relaxation disorders.Introducción y objetivos: La cardiopatía isquémica es de las primeras causas de invalidez y muerte en el mundo. El infarto agudo de miocardio altera considerablemente la relajación del miocardio. El ecocardiograma es un método útil, económico e inocuo para evaluar la función diastólica en estos pacientes, por eso el objetivo fue caracterizar el comportamiento de esta función del ventrículo izquierdo mediante ecocardiografía. Método: Se realizó un estudio observacional descriptivo en 91 pacientes con infarto agudo de miocardio ingresados durante el 2008 en la sala de Cardiología del Hospital Universitario "Arnaldo Milián Castro" de Santa Clara. Se realizó ecocardiograma entre el quinto y séptimo día de evolución, y se compararon los patrones de función diastólica con otras variables. Resultados: Predominó el sexo masculino (74,7 %), fue más frecuente el infarto con supradesnivel del ST (83,1%), que mostró mayor alteración de la relajación, mucho más cuando se involucraron las caras anterior y lateral del ventrículo izquierdo. La presencia de complicaciones estuvo relacionada con una mayor alteración de la relajación y las más asociadas fueron la disfunción contráctil y las arritmias malignas. La disminución de la fracción de eyección estuvo relacionada (p = 0,000) con la prolongación de la relajación. Conclusiones: Predominó el infarto con supradesnivel del ST, fue más frecuente en el sexo masculino y se asoció a un mayor grado de alteración de la relajación. Los infartos con topografía anterior y lateral, y aquellos que produjeron complicaciones, presentaron un mayor grado de esta alteración. Todos los pacientes con fracción de eyección disminuida presentaron trastornos de la relajación

Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in Ecuador: A test-negative design

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic poses a significant global health threat, characterized by high morbidity, severity, and the emergence of concerning variants. Latin America has been greatly affected, with high infection and mortality rates. Vaccination plays a crucial role in mitigating severe disease and controlling the pandemic. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing SARS-CoV-2 severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) in hospitalized vaccination target groups in Ecuador. Methods: This is a test-negative design study. We used data reported through sentinel surveillance of SARI between May 2021 and March 2022 in Ecuador. Patients with case criteria of SARI and hospitalized for a minimum of 24 hours were included in the study. Cases were defined as patients with SARI with a positive RT-qPCR test for SARS-CoV-2 and controls were those with a negative result. Information on vaccination status was obtained from the national vaccination registry, a valid dose of vaccination was considered when it was administered at least 14 days prior to symptom onset. Vaccine effectiveness (VE) (1-OR/OR) was calculated using a logistic regression. Results: A total of 1,277 patients were included in the analysis of VE. The adjusted vaccine effectiveness (aVE) in preventing hospitalization, adjusted for sex, age group, presence of one or more comorbidities, and period of the predominance of the omicron variant, was 44.5% for the partial primary schedule, 74.7% for the complete primary schedule, and 79.9% for the complete primary schedule plus booster doses. The aVE in avoiding ICU admissions was close to 80% with both the complete primary schedule and the booster doses, and in avoiding deaths, the aVE was 89% and 98%, respectively. Conclusions: In Ecuador, COVID-19 vaccination prevents hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths. The effectiveness of the vaccines improves with more doses, offering increased protection across all age groups

Data Resource Profile: COVerAGE-DB: a global demographic database of COVID-19 cases and deaths

Riffe T, Acosta E, Aburto JM, et al. Data Resource Profile: COVerAGE-DB: a global demographic database of COVID-19 cases and deaths. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2021;50(2):390-390f