Advances in Pharmacological Activities and Chemical Composition of Propolis Produced in Americas

Propolis is a resinous material produced by bees from the selective collection of plant exudates that are subsequently mixed with beeswax and salivary bee secretions. Propolis has been used in folk medicine, and certainly, several studies have validated its biological properties. The chemical composition and pharmacological activities of propolis collected through North (including Central America and Caribbean) and South America have been studied in the last years, and several papers have reported differences and similarities among the analysed geographical samples. Propolis has been classified according to its aspect and plant source; however, the ecological diversity present along the Americas provides a plethora of botanical resins. Herein, we summarize and discuss most of the studies performed at present on this profitable product for apiculture, attempting to compare the bioactivity, phytochemical diversity and botanical sources of honeybee propolis produced in Americas

Implementing Standard Diagnosis and Treatment for Locally Advanced Breast Cancer Through Global Research in Latin America: Results From a Multicountry Pragmatic Trial

Purpose Breast cancer mortality rates in Latin America (LA) are higher than those in the United States, possibly because of advanced disease presentation, health care disparities, or unfavorable molecular subtypes. The Latin American Cancer Research Network was established to address these challenges and to promote collaborative clinical research. The Molecular Profiling of Breast Cancer Study (MPBCS) aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of LA participants with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC). Patients and Methods The MPBCS enrolled 1,449 participants from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay. Through harmonized procedures and quality assurance measures, this study evaluated clinicopathologic characteristics, neoadjuvant chemotherapy response, and survival outcomes according to residual cancer burden (RCB) and the type of surgery. Results Overall, 711 and 480 participants in the primary surgery and neoadjuvant arms, respectively, completed the 5-year follow-up period. Overall survival was independently associated with RCB (worse survival for RCBIII-adjusted hazard ratio, 8.19, P < .001, and RCBII [adjusted hazard ratio, 3.69, P < .008] compared with RCB0 [pathologic complete response or pCR]) and type of surgery (worse survival in mastectomy than in breast-conserving surgery [BCS], adjusted hazard ratio, 2.97, P = .001). The hormone receptor–negative-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–positive group had the highest proportion of pCR (48.9%). The analysis of the ASCO Quality Oncology Practice Initiative breast module revealed high compliance with pathologic standards but lower adherence to treatment administration standards. Notably, compliance with trastuzumab administration varied widely among countries (33.3%-88.7%). Conclusion In LABC, we demonstrated the survival benefit of BCS and the prognostic effect of the response to available neoadjuvant treatments despite an important variability in access to key treatments. The MPBCS represents a significant step forward in understanding the real-world implementation of oncologic procedures in LA.Fil: Retamales, Javier. Grupo Oncológico Cooperativo Chileno de Investigación; ChileFil: Daneri Navarro, Adrián. Universidad de Guadalajara; MéxicoFil: Artagaveytia, Nora. Hospital Universitario de Clínicas “Manuel Quintela”; UruguayFil: Alves Da Quinta, Daniela Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Argentina de la Empresa; ArgentinaFil: Abdelhay, Eliana. Instituto Nacional de Câncer Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Podhajcer, Osvaldo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Velázquez, Carlos. Universidad de Sonora; MéxicoFil: Giunta, Diego Hernan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Instituto Universitario Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. Departamento de Posgrado.; ArgentinaFil: Crocamo, Susanne. Instituto Nacional de Câncer Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Garibay Escobar, Adriana. Universidad de Sonora; MéxicoFil: Del Toro Arreola, Alicia. Universidad de Guadalajara; MéxicoFil: Rodriguez, Robinson. Hospital Universitario de Clínicas “Manuel Quintela”; UruguayFil: Aghazarian, Marta. Instituto Nacional de Cancer; UruguayFil: Alcoba, Elsa. Hospital Municipal de Oncologia Maria Curie ; Gobierno de la Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires;Fil: Alonso, Isabel. Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell; UruguayFil: Binato, Renata. Instituto Nacional de Câncer Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Bravo, Alicia I.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Interzonal de Agudos "Eva Perón"; ArgentinaFil: Canton Romero, Juan. Hospital de Gineco-Obstricia CMNO-IMSS; MéxicoFil: Carraro, Dirce M.. AC Camargo Cancer Center; BahamasFil: Castro, Mónica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Oncología "Ángel H. Roffo"; ArgentinaFil: Castro Cervantes, Juan. Hospital de Gineco-Obstricia CMNO-IMSS; MéxicoFil: Cataldi, Sandra. Instituto Nacional de Cancer; UruguayFil: Camejo, Natalia. Hospital Universitario de Clínicas “Manuel Quintela”; UruguayFil: Cortes Sanabria, Laura. Hospital de Gineco-Obstricia CMNO-IMSS; MéxicoFil: Valenzuela Antelo, Olivia. Universidad de Sonora; MéxicoFil: Venegas Godinez, Laura. Universidad de Guadalajara; MéxicoFil: Zagame, Livia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Gomez, Jorge. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Llera, Andrea Sabina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Müller, Bettina. Grupo Oncológico Cooperativo Chileno de Investigación; Chile. Instituto Nacional del Cáncer; Chil

Escherichia coli y Klebsiella pneumoniae comunitarias y hospitalarias productoras de &#946;-lactamasas en hospitales de Hermosillo, Sonora Hospital and community-acquired &#946;-lactamases-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae at hospitals in Hermosillo, Sonora

OBJETIVO: Determinar la prevalencia de Escherichia coli y Klebsiella pneumoniae productoras de &#946;-lactamasas de espectro extendido (BLEE) en hospitales de Hermosillo, Sonora, México. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se analizaron 1 412 aislamientos obtenidos durante un año (2008-2009). La detección de productores de BLEE se realizó por el método de sinergia de doble disco con y sin ácido clavulánico. RESULTADOS: Se aislaron E.coli y K.pneumoniae productores de BLEE hospitalarios (31.8 y 35.3%) con mayor prevalencia que los comunitarios (14.4 y 0.0%) (pOBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of extended-spectrum &#946;-lactamases (ESBL)-producing Esherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in hospitals of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. MATERIAL AND METHODS: To detect ESBL-production, 1 412 bacterial isolates obtained over a one year period (2008-2009) were analyzed using the double-disk synergy test, with and without clavulanic acid. RESULTS: Hospitalaryacquired ESBL-producing E.coli and K.pneumoniae (31.8% and 35.3%) were isolated with higher prevalence that community-acquired isolates (14.4% and 0.0%) (p<0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows the presence of ESBL-producing bacteria in the three hospitals

Effects of Dietary Zinc Manipulation on Growth Performance, Zinc Status and Immune Response during Giardia lamblia Infection: A Study in CD-1 Mice

Associations between Giardia lamblia infection and low serum concentrations of zinc have been reported in young children. Interestingly, relatively few studies have examined the effects of different dietary zinc levels on the parasite-infected host. The aims of this study were to compare the growth performance and zinc status in response to varying levels of dietary zinc and to measure the antibody-mediated response of mice during G. lamblia infection. Male CD-1 mice were fed using 1 of 4 experimental diets: adequate-zinc (ZnA), low-zinc (ZnL), high-zinc (ZnH) and supplemented-zinc (ZnS) diet containing 30, 10, 223 and 1383 mg Zn/kg respectively. After a 10 days feeding period, mice were inoculated orally with 5 × 106 G. lamblia trophozoites and were maintained on the assigned diet during the course of infection (30 days). Giardia-free mice fed ZnL diets were able to attain normal growth and antibody-mediated response. Giardia-infected mice fed ZnL and ZnA diets presented a significant growth retardation compared to non-infected controls. Zinc supplementation avoided this weight loss during G. lamblia infection and up-regulated the host’s humoral immune response by improving the production of specific antibodies. Clinical outcomes of zinc supplementation during giardiasis included significant weight gain, higher anti-G. lamblia IgG antibodies and improved serum zinc levels despite the ongoing infection. A maximum growth rate and antibody-mediated response were attained in mice fed ZnH diet. No further increases in body weight, zinc status and humoral immune capacity were noted by feeding higher zinc levels (ZnS) than the ZnH diet. These findings probably reflect biological effect of zinc that could be of public health importance in endemic areas of infection

Molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. in children from Mexico.

Cryptosporidiosis is a parasitic disease caused by Cryptosporidium spp. In immunocompetent individuals, it usually causes an acute and self-limited diarrhea; in infants, infection with Cryptosporidium spp. can cause malnutrition and growth retardation, and declined cognitive ability. In this study, we described for the first time the distribution of C. parvum and C. hominis subtypes in 12 children in Mexico by sequence characterization of the 60-kDa glycoprotein (GP60) gene of Cryptosporidium. Altogether, 7 subtypes belonging to 4 subtype families of C. hominis (Ia, Ib, Id and Ie) and 1 subtype family of C. parvum (IIa) were detected, including IaA14R3, IaA15R3, IbA10G2, IdA17, IeA11G3T3, IIaA15G2R1 and IIaA16G1R1. The frequency of the subtype families and subtypes in the samples analyzed in this study differed from what was observed in other countries

Molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. in children from Mexico.

Cryptosporidiosis is a parasitic disease caused by Cryptosporidium spp. In immunocompetent individuals, it usually causes an acute and self-limited diarrhea; in infants, infection with Cryptosporidium spp. can cause malnutrition and growth retardation, and declined cognitive ability. In this study, we described for the first time the distribution of C. parvum and C. hominis subtypes in 12 children in Mexico by sequence characterization of the 60-kDa glycoprotein (GP60) gene of Cryptosporidium. Altogether, 7 subtypes belonging to 4 subtype families of C. hominis (Ia, Ib, Id and Ie) and 1 subtype family of C. parvum (IIa) were detected, including IaA14R3, IaA15R3, IbA10G2, IdA17, IeA11G3T3, IIaA15G2R1 and IIaA16G1R1. The frequency of the subtype families and subtypes in the samples analyzed in this study differed from what was observed in other countries