Evaluation of adherence to treatment by patients seen in a psychosocial care center in northeastern Brazil

No tratamento de desordens mentais, a não-adesão ao tratamento ocorre em cerca de 50% dos casos e é responsável por inúmeros prejuízos, além de ser a principal causa de morbidade psiquiátrica. O presente estudo objetivou avaliar a adesão ao tratamento medicamentoso de pacientes atendidos em um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial (CAPS) no Nordeste do Brasil. A avaliação da adesão ao tratamento foi feita através dos testes de Haynes-Sackett e Morisky-Green-Levine. Todos os pacientes cadastrados no CAPS foram incluídos no estudo (n = 101). Observou-se que apenas 11,88% dos pacientes aderiram ao tratamento medicamentoso. As principais razões para o não uso dos medicamentos foram: esquecimento (68,83%), sentir-se mal após a ingestão de medicamentos (54,22%), não ter dinheiro para comprar medicamentos (43,83%), não encontrar os medicamentos no serviço público de saúde (39,94%) e medo dos danos causados pelos medicamentos (28,90%). Além disso, observou-se que 85,1% dos pacientes não conheciam suas doenças, 88,1% não conheciam seus tratamentos, 86,4% não se sentiam bem quando usavam medicamentos e 88,1% usavam os medicamentos incorretamente. Os resultados demonstram que a falta de informação sobre doenças e medicamentos, os danos decorrentes da terapia medicamentosa e o baixo acesso aos medicamentos comprometem a adesão ao tratamento e, consequentemente, a eficácia do tratamento.In the treatment of mental disorders, nonadherence to medication, the main cause of psychiatric morbidity, is observed in about 50% of the cases and is responsible for numerous losses. This study evaluated adherence to drug treatment by patients seen in a Psychosocial Care Center (CAPS) in northeastern Brazil. Adherence to treatment was evaluated using the Haynes-Sackett and Morisky-Green-Levine tests. All patients registered in the CAPS were included in the study (n= 101). Only 11.88% of the patients adhered to drug treatment. The main reasons not to use medication were: oblivion (68.83%), feeling unwell after taking the medication (54.22%), not having money to buy the medication (43.83%), not finding the medication in the public health service (39.94%) and fear of harm that might be caused by the drug (28.90%). Furthermore, 85.1% of the patients did not know their diseases, 88.1% did not know their treatment, 86.4% did not feel good when they took their medication, and 88.1% took their medication incorrectly. The results revealed that the lack of information about diseases and drugs used, the nuisance posed by drug therapy and the low access to medications reduce adherence to treatment and, consequently, treatment effectiveness

Prospecção tecnológica do uso da prata contra microorganismos nocivos em sistemas de água

A água, apesar de hoje ser um elemento indispensável à vida, é também uma fonte de contaminação e veículo de transmissão de doenças. As pesquisas e tecnologias realizadas para tratamento de água são inúmeras e tornam-se uma preocupação constante dos pesquisadores. Nesse contexto, um elemento estudado e com seus efeitos antimicrobianos bem conhecidos é a prata (Ag). Assim, esse estudo objetivou a realização de uma prospecção tecnológica nas bases patentearias nacional e mundial, a fim de caracterizar as pesquisas que estão sendo realizadas com o uso da prata nesse meio. O estudo mostrou um acentuado avanço tecnológico na área de tratamento de água, sendo os Estados Unidos o país que mais deposita patentes. Entretanto, quando a pesquisa refere-se à tratamento de água com prata, o número de patentes é extremamente reduzido, tornando o seu uso uma lacuna tecnológica a ser explorada

Acute effects of a typical rhythmic gymnastic training session on physiological parameters in Olympic athletes

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a day with two separate training sessions (morning and afternoon) of rhythmic gymnastics on erythrocytes, leukocytes, muscle damage, oxidative stress, and hydration of Brazilian team [age 17.7 (±1.1) years; body height 165 (±0.5) cm; body mass 49.7 (±4.2) kg]. Heart rate and session-ratings of perceived exertion were used to monitor training intensity. Blood samples were collected immediately before (M1) and after (M2) the training day for analyzing erythrocytes, leukocytes, plasma creatine kinase activity, lactate dehydrogenase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, ferric reducing ability plasma, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and free T4. Saliva was collected for cortisol analysis. After 24 hours rest (M3), blood collection was performed to analyze creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase. The moderate-intensity training day induced significant elevations of total leukocytes (5,163.3 to 9,617.8), lymphocytes (1,752.7 to 2,729.7), neutrophils (2,873.9 to 6,163.6), monocytes (255.7 to 519.1), platelets (280,000.0 to 300,666.7), aspartate aminotransferase (13.1 to 25.6), lactate dehydrogenase (102.5 to 249.1), thyroid-stimulating hormone (1.0 to 3.2), and ferric reducing ability plasma (136.8 to 165.4), as well as significant reductions in red cells (4,691,111.1 to 4,497,777.8), hematocrit (42.1 to 39.3), and hemoglobin (12.9 to 12.5) at M2. There were also significant increases in creatine kinase (144.2 to 519.3) and lactate dehydrogenase (102.5 to 538.2) at M3. The average dehydration rate was 1.3%. A moderate-intensity day of training in rhythmic gymnastics of 8h21min duration caused hemolysis, leukocytosis, muscle damage, redox status perturbations, and insufficient hydration status. These findings show that athletes are exposed to physiological vulnerabilities that can possibly harm their performance and health

Antihypertensive therapeutic potential of citronellal

Cardiovascular effects induced by citronellal in rats were investigated in this study. In LNAME hypertensive rats, the oral acute administration of citronellal (200 mg/kg) was able to significantly reduce the blood pressure. In normotensive rats, citronellal (5-40 mg/kg, i.v.) induced hypotension, which was not affected by pre-treatment with atropine, hexamethonium, L-NAME or indomethacin, and bradycardia, which was abolished by atropine and hexamethonium, but not by L-NAME or indomethacin. ECG records revealed that citronellal induced sinoatrial block, which was abolished after atropine. In intact rings of rat mesenteric artery pre-contracted with phenylephrine (10 μM), citronellal (10 –6 to 10 –1 M) was able to induce relaxations (Emax = 106.3 ± 9.4 %) that were not affected by endothelium removal or after pre-contraction with KCl 80 mM. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that citronellal reduces blood pressure. Furthermore, citronellal induces endothelium-independent vasorelaxation in rat artery that appears to involve inhibition of Ca2+ influx.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Atividade anti-protozoário in vitro do p-Cimeno sobre Leishmania amazonensis

As doenças tropicais se constituem em um grave problema de saúde pública, por serem negligenciadas e atingirem especialmente as populações mais pobres. Entre os principais problemas mundiais de saúde, a leishmaniose se destaca por apresentar altas taxas de mortalidade. Grandes esforços tem sido empregados na busca por novos medicamentos nas ultimas décadas, sendo o uso da fitoterapia investigado com grande interesse, devido às plantas serem consideradas uma ampla fonte de compostos com potencial biomedicinal. A atividade anti-protozoário da substância p-Cimeno sobre formas promastigotas e amastigotas axênicas de Leishmania amazonensis, foi avaliado. Após 72 horas de cultivo, o p-Cimeno apresentou concentração inibitória de 50% (CI50) igual à 65,0 µg/mL e 55,0 µg/mL sobre as formas promastigotas e amastigotas axênicas, respectivamente. Análises de citotoxicidade do p-Cimeno, foram realizadas por meio do método colorimétrico da sulforodamina-B sobre macrófagos J774G8 e a concentração citotóxica para 50% das células (CC50) foi de 54,0 µg/mL. Os dados obtidos indicam efeito antiparasitário do p-Cimeno sobre Leishmania amazonensis, principalmente sobre sua forma amastigota, sendo considerado potencial candidato para novos estudos contra o parasito

Natural Products as Promising Pharmacological Tools for the Management of Fibromyalgia Symptoms – A Review

Fibromyalgia (FM) is the second most common rheumatologic disorder, affecting 5% of the world population, and has a serious effect on the quality of life of patients, as well as an economic impact through lost workdays. This pain syndrome is a common cause of chronic widespread pain and is characterized by reduced pressure pain thresholds with hyperalgesia and allodynia, nonrestorative sleep, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and mood disturbances. The pharmacological treatment strategies for FM include the use of antidepressants, calcium channel modulators, muscle relaxants, and analgesics but have shown limited efficacy and therapeutic adherence. Thus, researchers have been seeking potential substances (new chemical entities or through drug repositioning) that could be used for FM treatment. In this context, natural products (NPs) have been shown to be promising pharmacological tools due to the variety of their pharmacological activity and the number of molecular sites available as possible active targets. Recent clinical and preclinical studies have been conducted to verify the possible applicability of NPs such as essential oils (EOs), plants extracts, terpenes, sapogenins, and alkaloids in the treatment of FM. The results have shown that natural products have an analgesic effect in different animal models of FM, probably by activation of inhibitory descending pathways, such as the periaqueductal gray and rostroventromedial medulla. Natural products and their secondary metabolites could therefore be a promising source for FM management. However, translational studies that seek to validate the preclinical studies are scarce, incipient, and lacking an approach focused on the traditional pharmaceutical market

Atividade antinociceptiva e estudo toxicológico de extrato aquoso de Egletes viscosa Lessa (Asteraceae)

Egletes viscosa Less (Asteraceae), popularmente conhecida como "macela" ou "macela-da-terra", é uma planta largamente usada na medicina popular devido as suas propriedades: anti-inflamatória, bactericida, antidiarréica, mio-relaxante, anti-espasmódica, antinociceptiva, digestiva e anti-viral. Análise fitoquímica do extrato aquoso da Egletes viscosa (AEEV) mostrou elevada presença de flavonóides. Este estudo examinou o potencial antinociceptivo do AEEV em roedores usando diferentes concentrações (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg, p.o.). Os resultados mostraram significante efeito antinociceptivo quando testadas as doses (200 mg/kg-pEgletes viscosa Less (Asteraceae), popularly known as "macela" or "macela-da-terra", is a plant widely used in popular medicine due to its anti-inflammatory, bactericidal, antidiarrhoea, mio-relaxant, antispasmodic, antinociceptive, digestive, and anti-viral properties. Phytochemical screening of aqueous extract of Egletes viscosa (AEEV) revealed the high presence of flavonoids. This study examined the oral antinociceptive potential of AEEV in rodents using different concentrations (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg, p.o.). The results showed significant antinociceptive action when tested in writhing (200 and 400 mg/kg-