A Experiência de Um Ano na Monitorização de Estenose Intracraniana nas Crianças com Anemia de Células Falciformes (Depranocitose) por Ecodoppler Transcraniano

O Laboratório de Neurossonologia do Hospital de S. José do CHLC, EPE propôs-se avaliar os registos velocimétricos obtidos na realização de Ecodoppler Transcraniano aos doentes em idade pediátrica portadores de Drepanocitose, durante o ano de 2010, verificando-se uma baixa incidência de estenose intracraniana

Does community deprivation determine longevity after the age of 75? A cross-national analysis

Objectives: Analyze the association between socioeconomic deprivation and old-age survival in Europe, and investigate whether it varies by country and gender. Methods: Our study incorporated five countries (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and England). A 10-year survival rate expressing the proportion of population aged 75–84 years who reached 85–94 years old was calculated at area-level for 2001–11. To estimate associations, we used Bayesian spatial models and a transnational measure of deprivation. Attributable/prevention fractions were calculated. Results: Overall, there was a significant association between deprivation and survival in both genders. In England that association was stronger, following a dose–response relation. Although lesser in magnitude, significant associations were observed in Spain and Italy, whereas in France and Portugal these were even weaker. The elimination of socioeconomic differences between areas would increase survival by 7.1%, and even a small reduction in socioeconomic differences would lead to a 1.6% increase. Conclusions: Socioeconomic deprivation was associated with survival among older adults at ecological-level, although with varying magnitude across countries. Reasons for such cross-country differences should be sought. Our results emphasize the importance of reducing socioeconomic differences between areas.This work was supported by Portuguese funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia in the framework of project UID/BIM/04293/2013. AIR and MFP would also like to thank to FC—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia for the Grants PTDC/SAU-EPI/113424/2009 and SFRH/BD/82529/2011. MSC was supported by CNpQ (309692/2013-0) and FAPERJ (E-26/203.557/2014).We are very grateful to the National Statistic Offices for sending us the required data and to all the members of the European Deprivation Index (EDI) team. The authors would like to thank Rogério Ribeiro for the help in preparing visual supports, Alexandra Guttentag for her work as language editor, and the anonymous reviewers for their highly valuable corrections and suggestions

Distance to parks and non-residential destinations influences physical activity of older people, but crime doesn’t: a cross-sectional study in a southern European city

Background: Physical activity (PA) has numerous health benefits, but older adults live mostly sedentary lifestyles. The physical and social neighborhood environment may encourage/dissuade PA. In particular, neighborhood crime may lead to feeling unsafe and affect older adults’ willingness to be physically active. Yet, research on this topic is still inconclusive. Older population, probably the age group most influenced by the neighborhood environment, has been understudied, especially in Southern Europe. In this study, we aimed to analyze the association between leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) in older adults and objective crime, alongside other neighborhood characteristics. Methods: We obtained data from a population-based cohort from Porto (2005–2008) to assess LTPA. Only adults aged 65 years or more were included (n = 532). A Geographic Information System was used to measure neighborhood characteristics. Neighborhood crime was expressed as crime rates by category (incivilities, criminal offenses with and without violence and traffic crime). Neighborhood characteristics such as socioeconomic deprivation, land gradient, street density, transportation network, distance to parks, non-residential destinations and sport spaces were also included. Generalized Additive Models were fitted to estimate the association between neighborhood characteristics and the participation (being active vs. inactive) and frequency (min/day) of LTPA. Results: Forty-six percent of the men and 61 % of the women did not engage in any kind of LTPA. Among the active participants, men spent on average 50.5 (35.2 Standard Deviation, SD) min/day in LTPA, whereas the average among women was 36.9 (35.1 SD) min/day (p < 0.001). Neighborhood crime was unrelated to the participation in, or frequency of, LTPA. On the other hand, two neighborhood characteristics – distance to the nearest park (β = −0.0262, p = 0.029) and to the nearest non-residential destination (β = −0.0735, p = 0.019) – were associated with time spent on LTPA, but only among active older women. No neighborhood characteristic was related to participation in LTPA. Conclusions: From a public health point of view, the provision of parks and non-residential destinations (shops, schools, cultural and worship places) might contribute to elevate PA levels of already active older women. On the other hand, in this setting, crime was not a big issue

Development of a measure of multiple physical environmental deprivation. After United Kingdom and New Zealand, Portugal

Background : Spatial inequalities in health have been identified, but the contribution of physical environment has been largely ignored. In Portugal, strong spatial differences in morbidity and mortality remain unexplained. Based on previous United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand (NZ) research, we aimed to develop a Portuguese measure of multiple environmental deprivation (PT-MEDIx) to assist in understanding spatial inequalities in health. Methods : PT-MEDIx was built at municipality level in four stages: (i) identify health-relevant environmental factors; (ii) acquire datasets about selected environmental factors and calculate municipality-level measures using Geographical Information Systems; (iii) test associations between selected environmental factors and mortality using negative binomial models, adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic deprivation and interactions and (iv) construct a summary measure and assess its association with mortality. Results : We included five dimensions of the physical environment: air pollution, climate, drinking water quality, green space availability and industry proximity. PT-MEDIx score ranged from −1 (least environmental deprivation) to +4 (most) and depicted a clear spatial pattern: least deprived municipalities in the depopulated rural areas and most deprived in urban and industrial settings. Comparing with those in the intermediate category of environment deprivation, less deprived municipalities showed lower mortality rate ratios (MRRs) and vice versa: MRRs for all-cause mortality were 0.962 (95% confidence interval: 0.934–0.991) and 1.209 (1.086–1.344), in the least and most deprived municipalities, respectively, and for cancer, 0.957 (0.911–1.006) and 1.345 (1.123–1.598). Conclusions : The methods used to create UK and NZ indexes have good transferability to Portugal. MEDIx might contribute to untangle the complex pathways that link health, socioeconomic and physical environment

Indoor environmental quality in households of families with infant twins under 1 year of age living in Porto

Exposure to air pollution in early years can exacerbate the risk of noncommunicable diseases throughout childhood and the entire life course. This study aimed to assess temperature, relative humidity (RH), carbon dioxide (CO2) and monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), ultrafine particles, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOC) levels in the two rooms where infant twins spend more time at home (30 dwellings, Northern Portugal). Findings showed that, in general, the worst indoor environmental quality (IEQ) settings were found in bedrooms. In fact, although most of the bedrooms surveyed presented adequate comfort conditions in terms of temperature and RH, several children are sleeping in a bedroom with improper ventilation and/or with a significant degree of air pollution. In particular, mean concentrations higher than recommended limits were found for CO2, PM2.5, PM10 and total VOC. Additionally, terpenes and decamethylcyclopentasiloxane were identified as main components of emissions from indoor sources. Overall, findings revealed that factors related to behaviors of the occupants, namely related to a conscientious use of cleaning products, tobacco and other consumer products (air-fresheners, incenses/candles and insecticides) and promotion of ventilation are essential for the improvement of air quality in households and for the promotion of children's health.The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding of Project HEALS – ‘Health and Environment-wide Associations based on Large Population Surveys’, through the European Union's Seventh Program for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement No info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/603946/EU. MFG, FF and ZM also gratefully acknowledge the funding of Project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000010, Health, Comfort and Energy in the Built Environment (HEBE), cofinanced by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (NORTE2020), through Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). The co-author CR was supported by a PhD Grant PD/BD/135925/2018 funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) - Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education

Influence of P53 on the radiotherapy response of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and it has a poor prognosis and few therapeutic options. Radiotherapy is one of the most effective forms of cancer treatment, and P53 protein is one of the key molecules determining how a cell responds to radiotherapy. The aim of this study was to determine the therapeutic efficacy of iodine-131 in three human HCC cell lines

Stimulation of endothelial progenitor cells: a new putative effect of several cardiovascular drugs

The role of vascular endothelium in cardiovascular disorders is well recognized. Mature endothelial cells contribute to the repair of endothelial injury, but they only have a limited capacity to do so. This has led to growing interest and further investigation into circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and their role in vascular healing, repair, and postnatal neovascularization. The current perception of vascular health is that of a balance between ongoing injury and resultant vascular repair, mediated at least in part by circulating EPCs. Circulating EPCs play an important role in accelerating endothelialization at areas of vascular damage, and EPC enumeration is a viable strategy for assessing reparative capacity. Recent studies have shown that EPCs are affected both in number and function by several cardiovascular risk factors as well as various cardiovascular disease states, such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and coronary artery disease. The present review summarizes the most relevant studies on the effects of cardiovascular drugs on vascular function and EPCs, focusing on their mechanisms of action