Hormonal Approach for Postmenopausal Vulvovaginal Atrophy

Menopause is a physiological and progressive phenomenon secondary to decreased ovarian follicular reserve that significantly affects the genital tract. Although postmenopausal vulvovaginal atrophy primarily affects postmenopausal women, it is also seen in premenopausal women. The hypoestrogenic condition results in hormonal and anatomical changes, with the main symptoms, are dryness, burning and genital irritation, decreased lubrication, urinary urgency, dysuria, and recurrent urinary tract infections. This review aims to update hormone therapy for urogenital atrophy, both local and systemic, and discusses the importance of understanding and the need for active treatment of this condition. The main therapeutic objective is the relief of symptoms, and hormonal therapy (HT) is still the most effective choice for treating clinical manifestations, despite the side effects of its use. HT should be used in an individualized way to the needs of the women and appropriate to the stage in which she is menopausal, perimenopausal, or after menopause.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause: Epidemiology, Physiopathology, Clinical Manifestation and Diagnostic

Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) is a term used to define a compilation of signs and symptoms arising from decreased estrogenic stimulation of the vulvovaginal and lower urinary tract. Among 27-84% of women in postmenopausal are affected for symptoms of GSM, and these can unquestionably impair health, sexual function, consequently the quality of life of these women. The main signs and symptoms of GSM include, among others, burning, irritation, vulvovaginal dryness, dyspareunia, urinary symptoms of urgency, dysuria, or recurrent urinary tract infection. The diagnosis can be made through anamnesis, questionnaires, physical exams, and, sometimes, complementary exams. Objective vaginal assessment is essential and can be complemented by using the Vaginal Health Index (VHI), Vaginal Maturation Index (VMI), or vaginal pH measurement. The acknowledgment of this condition by health professionals is crucial for its identification and proper management and exclusion of other conditions that make a differential diagnosis with it.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Use of Moisturizers and Lubricants for Vulvovaginal Atrophy

The estrogen decrease in postmenopausal women results in functional and anatomical changes in the genitourinary tract. The most prevalent and bothersome symptoms are vaginal dryness, dyspareunia, and reduced lubrication, which can significantly affect the quality of life of these women, principally those who are sexually active. Hormonal therapy with local estrogens is generally considered the "gold standard." However, there are cases in which there are clinical concerns about its use or women opt for non-hormonal options. Thus, safe and effective non-hormonal options are needed to improve symptoms in these women. Moisturizers and lubricants are first-line therapy for breast cancer survivors.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of oxazole derivatives

Comunicação oral sob a forma de painelAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia among persons over 65 years of age. It is a brain neurodegenerative disorder characterised by loss of memory and cognition. Current treatment is symptomatic, with the major therapeutic strategy based on the “cholinergic hypothesis”, specifically acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition. Tacrine (THA) was the first and one of the few drugs approved in the last decade for the treatment of AD. However, due to the important adverse effects, such as hepatotoxicity, it is no longer widely used. Therefore, more potent and less aggressive THA analogues are necessary. This prompted us to evaluate the AChE inhibitory activity of new oxazole derivatives (compounds 1-5), presenting a pyridine ring (compounds 2,3) or a benzene ring (compounds 4,5) in the molecule (1). The biological activity of the compounds was evaluated by measuring the AChE inhibitory activity by an adaptation of the method reported by Ellman et al (2). The reaction rates were compared and the percent of inhibition by the test compounds was calculated. Assays were performed in quadruplicate in at least two independent experiments, and THA was used as a reference compound. At the maximum soluble concentrations, compounds 1 and 2 inhibited AChE activity by nearly 50%, while the inhibition by the derivative 3 was only around 30%. In contrast, the oxazolo-derivatives 4 and 5 were devoid of any inhibitory activity, which we can speculate to be due to the absence of the N atom in the benzene ring in these compounds. Collectively, these preliminary findings point to a potential interest of precursor 1 and THA-derivative 2 for AD therapeutics, although structural modifications are needed to improve the solubility of the compounds, which is an essential step to enhance their activity. References: 1. Carreiras MC, Eleutério A, Marco-Contelles J, unpublished results. 2. Ellman, G. L. et al. Biochem. Pharmacol. 1961; 7: 88-95.Financial support: Centro de Estudos de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Centro de Patogénese Molecular – UBMBE and Instituto de Química Orgánica General – CSIC

Analysis of flood warning and evacuation efficiency by comparing damage and life-loss estimates with real consequences related to the São Francisco tailings dam failure in Brazil

Economic damage and life-loss estimates provide important insights for the elaboration of more robust alerts and effective emergency planning. On the one hand, accurate damage analysis supports decision-making processes. On the other hand, the comparison of different flood alert scenarios through modeling techniques is crucial for improving the efficiency of alert and evacuation systems design. This work evaluates the use of flood damage and life-loss models in floods caused by tailings dams through the application of these models in the real case of the São Francisco dam failure, which occurred in January 2007 in the city of Miraí in Brazil. The model results showed great agreement with observed damage and loss of life. Furthermore, different simulations were done in order to measure the impact of increasing and decreasing alert system efficiency on life-loss reduction. The simulated scenarios exploring the inefficiency of flood alert and evacuation revealed that life loss could have reached the maximum rate of 8.7 % of the directly exposed population when considering the more pessimistic and uncertain scenario instead of the actual null life loss achieved. The results of this work indicate that the models could represent both the observed accident and different alert and evacuation efficiency impacts. It highlights the importance of developing and implementing robust alert and evacuation systems and regulations in order to reduce flood impacts.</p

Biomass and leaf area in Eucalyptus clones in crop-livestock-forestry systems: implications for pruning.

Resumo

Avaliação da ingestão alimentar de vitamina D de adolescentes açorianos.

X Congresso de Nutrição e Alimentação; II Congresso Ibero-Americano de Nutrição. Centro de Congressos de Lisboa, 12 e 13 de Maio de 2011 (Poster Comunication)

Rifabutin encapsulated in liposomes exhibits increased therapeutic activity in a model of disseminated tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of death amongst infectious diseases. The low permeation of antimycobacterial agents and their difficult access to infected macrophages necessitate long-term use of high drug doses. Liposomes preferentially accumulate in macrophages, increasing the efficacy of antibiotics against intracellular parasites. In the present work, several rifabutin (RFB) liposomal formulations were developed and characterised and their in vivo profile was compared with free RFB following intravenous administration. With the RFB liposomal formulations tested, higher concentrations of the antibiotic were achieved in liver, spleen and lungs 24h post administration compared with free RFB. The concentration of RFB in these organs was dependent on the rigidity of liposomal lipids. The liposomal RFB formulation prepared with dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine:dipalmitoyl phosphatidylglycerol (DPPC:DPPG) was the most effective and was selected for biological evaluation in a mouse model of disseminated TB. Compared with mice treated with free RFB, mice treated with the DPPC:DPPG RFB formulation exhibited lower bacterial loads in the spleen (5.53 log(10) vs. 5.18 log(10)) and liver (5.79 log(10) vs. 5.41 log(10)). In the lung, the level of pathology was lower in mice treated with encapsulated RFB. These results suggest that liposomal RFB is a promising approach for the treatment of extrapulmonary TB in human immunodeficiency virus co-infected patients.This work was supported by grants from FCT (POCTI/FCB/36416/99) and from the Health Services of FCG. Fellowships were granted by FCT (SFRH/BD/9624/2002- GABBA Program to A. Cruz and SFRH/BD/15911/2005 to A.G. Fraga

Avaliação da ocorrencia de secas no município de Viçosa-MG, utilizando o índice de precipitação padronizada (SPI).

A metodologia do Índice de Precipitação Padronizada (SPI) foi testada e avaliada a ocorrência de eventos de seca no município de Viçosa-MG, nas escalas de tempo 3, 6 e 12 meses