Tabaco na mídia: análise de matérias jornalísticas no ano de 2006 Tobacco in the media: analysis of journalistic texts in the year of 2006

Visando compreender a relação entre saúde, imprensa e políticas públicas sobre tabaco no Brasil, foram analisadas matérias sobre tabaco divulgadas na imprensa brasileira no ano de 2006. Através de clipping jornalístico de oito principais jornais e revistas do país, as matérias sobre tabaco foram identificadas e posteriormente submetidas à análise de conteúdo, que permitiu categorização e classificação dos textos. A frequência de matérias de 2006 foi comparada aos anos de 2000 e 2003. Foi observado predomínio de matérias com abordagem factual (46,7%). A maioria das matérias fez menção a consequências negativas, como problemas de saúde física (44,2%), morte (20%) e dependência (14,2%). Na análise das manchetes e lides, as principais categorias observadas foram políticas de controle e o movimentos antitabagistas e divulgação de pesquisas. A frequência de matérias de 2006 (N=120) foi semelhante ao ano de 2003 (N=124) e inferior a 2000 (N=174). A cobertura jornalística sobre tabaco em 2006 foi predominantemente restrita aos danos a saúde e ações antitabagistas. A elevada proporção de abordagem factual e a estabilização da frequência de matérias (2003-2006) podem indicar um empobrecimento na discussão sobre o tema no país.<br>Aiming at understanding the relation among health, press and public policies on Tobacco in Brazil, this article analyses the texts about Tobacco published in the Brazilian press in 2006. In the clipping process of eight newspapers and magazines, the information about Tobacco were identified and then submitted to content analysis allowing categorization and classification of the texts. The frequency of the texts in 2006 was compared to that of in 2000 and 2003. We observed a higher prevalence of factual approach among the texts (46.7%). Most of the texts mentioned the negative consequences, such as physical health problems (44.2%), death (20%) and dependence (14.2%). The analysis of the headlines and lead-ins showed control policies, anti-smoking movements and spreading of results as the main categories observed. The frequency of the articles in 2006 was similar to that of in 2003 and lower to that of in 2000. The journalistic coverage on Tobacco in 2006 was restricted predominantly to harm to health and anti-smoking movements. The high proportion of the factual approach and the stabilization in the frequency of texts (2003-2006) might suggest an impoverishment of the discussion on this issue in the country

The role of epigenetics in age-related macular degeneration

It is becoming increasingly evident that epigenetic mechanisms influence gene expression and can explain how interactions between genetics and the environment result in particular phenotypes during development. The extent to which this epigenetic effect contributes to phenotype heritability in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is currently ill defined. However, emerging evidence suggests that epigenetic changes are relevant to AMD and as such provide an exciting new avenue of research for AMD. This review addresses information on the impact of posttranslational modification of the genome on the pathogenesis of AMD, such as DNA methylation changes affecting antioxidant gene expression, hypoxia-regulated alterations in chromatin structure, and histone acetylation status in relation to angiogenesis and inflammation. It also contains information on the role of non-coding RNA-mediated gene regulation in AMD at a posttranscriptional (before translation) level. Our aim was to review the epigenetic mechanisms that cause heritable changes in gene activity without changing the DNA sequence. We also describe some long-term alterations in the transcriptional potential of a cell, which are not necessarily heritable but remains to be defined in the future. Increasing understanding of the significance of common and rare genetic variants and their relationship to epigenetics and environmental influences may help in establishing methods to assess the risk of AMD. This in turn may allow new therapeutic interventions for the leading cause of central vision impairment in patients over the age of 50 years in developed countries. Search strategy We searched the MEDLINE/PubMed database following MeSH suggestions for articles including the terms: 'ocular epigenetic mechanisms', 'human disease epigenetics', and 'age-related macular degeneration genetics'. The headline used to locate related articles in PubMed was 'epigenetics in ocular disease', and to restrict search, we used the headlines 'DNA methylation in age related macular degeneration', 'altered gene expression in AMD pathogenesis'. A manual search was also based on references from these articles as well as review articles