Inflammation and Autonomic Function

Inflammation is generally a temporary and limited condition but may lead to a chronic one if immune and physiological homeostasis are disrupted. The autonomic nervous system has an important role in the short- and, also, long-term regulation of homeostasis and, thus, on inflammation. Autonomic modulation in acute and chronic inflammation has been implicated with a sympathetic interference in the earlier stages of the inflammatory process and the activation of the vagal inflammatory reflex to regulate innate immune responses and cytokine functional effects in longer processes. The present review focuses on the autonomic mechanisms controlling proinflammatory responses, and we will discuss novel therapeutic options linked to autonomic modulation for diseases associated with a chronic inflammatory condition such as sepsis

Preclinical pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of anticancer dinuclear Palladium(II)-Spermine Complex (Pd2Spm) in mice

Palladium-based compounds are regarded as potential analogs to platinum anticancer drugs with improved properties. The present study assessed the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of a dinuclear palladium(II)-spermine chelate (Pd2Spm), which has previously been shown to possess promising in vitro activity against several therapy-resistant cancers. Using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, the kinetic profiles of palladium/platinum in serum, serum ultrafiltrate and tissues (kidney, liver, brain, heart, lungs, ovaries, adipose tissue and mammary glands) were studied in healthy female Balb/c mice after a single intraperitoneal bolus injection of Pd2Spm (3 mg/kg bw) or cisplatin (3.5 mg/kg bw) between 0.5 and 48 h post-injection. Palladium in serum exhibited biphasic kinetics with a terminal half-life of 20.7 h, while the free palladium in serum ultrafiltrate showed a higher terminal half-life than platinum (35.5 versus 31.5 h). Palladium was distributed throughout most of the tissues except for the brain, with the highest values in the kidney, followed by the liver, lungs, ovaries, adipose tissue and mammary glands. The in vitro cellular accumulation was also evaluated in breast cancer cells, evidencing a passive diffusion as a mechanism of Pd2Spm’s cellular entry. This study reports, for the first time, the favorable pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of Pd2Spm, which may become a promising pharmacological agent for cancer treatmentinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Monitoring ten insect pests in selected orchards in three Azorean Islands : The project CUARENTAGRI

BACKGROUND: The data we present are part of the CUARENTAGRI project, which involves all archipelagos of the Macaronesia (Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and Cabo Verde). The project aims to: i) identify and evaluate the risks associated with the introduction of new arthropod pests; ii) study the population dynamics of selected arthropod pest species currently responsible for the damage of key target crops and iii) develop monitoring systems, based on prediction and/or population dynamics of the crop pests, creating warnings and a phytosanitary prevention system. In this contribution, we compile data for three Azorean Islands (Terceira, São Jorge and São Miguel Islands), where pheromone-baited traps were placed in pastures, potato fields and several orchards’ types (apples, banana, chestnuts, olives, orange and strawberry), during three consecutive years (2020, 2021 and 2022). NEW INFORMATION: A total of 114,827 specimens of insects (Arthropoda, Insecta) were collected, belonging to four orders, six families and ten recorded pest species. A total of eight species are considered introduced (Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar, 1824), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931), Bactrocera oleae (Rossi, 1790), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann, 1824), Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller, 1873), Cydia pomonella (Linnaeus, 1758), Cydia splendana (Hübner, 1799) and Grapholita molesta (Busck, 1916); n = 84,986 specimens) and two native non-endemic (Mythimna unipuncta (Haworth, 1809) and Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval, 1833); n = 17,465 specimens). This study intended to contribute to a better knowledge of the arthropods pests that can affect the Azorean crops and will serve as a baseline for future monitoring actions, pest risk assessments and prevention systems.This work was financed under the project CUARENTAGRI by Cooperation Programs INTERREG V A (Spain-Portugal) and MAC 2014-2020. Darwin Core Database management was funded by the Project project FCT-UIDB/00329/2020-2024 (Thematic Line 1 – integrated ecological assessment of environmental change on biodiversity) and Portal da Biodiversidade dos Açores (2022-2023) - PO Azores Project - M1.1.A/INFRAEST CIENT/001/2022. Lucas Lamelas-Lopez was supported by the Project FCT-UIDP/00329/2020-2023.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Conhecimento dos professores em relação à saúde bucal no município de Novo Oriente-CE.

A escola é um ambiente que possui bastante influência de jovens e crianças, sendo propicio ao ensino de novos hábitos que venham a contribuir com a educação dos estudantes. Os professores possuem importante papel na construção do saber dos alunos á medida que contribuem para uma boa saúde bucal dos alunos. Através de projetos de formação em saúde bucal nas escolas devem abranger a educação de forma interdisciplinar. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar o conhecimento dos professores em relação a saúde bucal no município de Novo Oriente –CE. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de campo, quantitativa e qualitativa, mediante levantamento de dados por intermédio de questionário, a amostra realizada com 25 professores do 1º ao 5º ano, buscando identificar o conhecimento dos professores em relação a saúde bucal neste município. Para 12% (n=3) não transmitem nenhuma fonte de informação sobre o tema saúde bucal. 96% (n=24) dos educadores dissertaram que o trabalho em conjunto transformaria o ensino-aprendizagem das crianças e adolescentes, esta seria a maneira mais sensata de ensino durante a graduação pedagógica ou em reuniões de colegiados. Para que o programa e atividades em saúde bucal na escola seja executado com maior abrangência, é importante que haja um trabalho em conjunto, uma relação entre professores e profissionais em saúde bucal

Saúde bucal na escola: O professor na promoção da saúde.

As ações educacionais em saúde bucal realizadas nas escolas devem englobar a educação de modo interdisciplinar, proporcionando a atuação conjunta professor-dentista. Além de possuir um ambiente que seja propício a práticas educativas, tendo em vista que as crianças passam grande parte do seu dia nesse local e podem aprender por meio de um método educativo. O objetivo do presente trabalho é descrever a importância da dinâmica da relação professor-aluno para que boas condições de higiene oral sejam alcançadas. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo, do tipo pesquisa bibliográfica, com base nos temas mais relevantes acerca do tema saúde bucal sendo transmitido de professor para aluno. As bases de dados utilizadas foram Lilacs e Scielo, nos últimos 07 anos, contendo como critérios de inclusão, artigos dos últimos 07 anos, revistas, teses de mestrado e livros, como critérios de exclusão os artigos que possuíam metodologia incompleta ou pouco relevantes. Nesse contexto, a prevalência da doença cárie ainda é bastante alta no Brasil, e o método restaurador reforçado é uma realidade que incita compromisso e responsabilidade por parte do sistema de saúde do País e do cidadão. Logo, os pais e/ ou responsáveis são personagens cruciais para a tomada de decisões ao que se refere à saúde bucal e geral das crianças, tendo influência na prevenção de futuras doenças orais desses menores. Desse modo, para que o programa e as atividades em saúde bucal na escola sejam executados com maior abrangência e efetividade, é importante que se tenha a integração entre professores e profissionais em saúde bucal, uma vez que estes poderão sanar dúvidas referentes a práticas seguras de higiene bucal e a qualidade oral no ambiente escolar possa ser melhorada consideravelmente

Pd2Spermine Complex Shows Cancer Selectivity and Efficacy to Inhibit Growth of Triple-Negative Breast Tumors in Mice

Pd2Spm is a dinuclear palladium(II)-spermine chelate with promising anticancer properties against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a breast carcinoma subset with poor prognosis and limited treatment options. The present study evaluated the in vitro and in vivo anticancer effects of Pd2Spm compared to the reference metal-based drug cisplatin. Triple-negative breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells, non-cancerous MCF-12A breast cells and chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay were used for antiproliferative, antimigratory and antiangiogenic studies. For an in vivo efficacy study, female CBA nude mice with subcutaneously implanted MDA-MB-231 breast tumors were treated with Pd2Spm (5 mg/kg/day) or cisplatin (2 mg/kg/day) administered intraperitoneally during 5 consecutive days. Promising selective antiproliferative activity of Pd2Spm was observed in MDA-MB-231 cells (IC50 values of 7.3-8.3 µM), with at least 10-fold lower activity in MCF-12A cells (IC50 values of 89.5-228.9 µM). Pd2Spm inhibited the migration of MDA-MB-231 cells, suppressed angiogenesis in CAM and decreased VEGF secretion from MDA-MB-231 cells with similar potency as cisplatin. Pd2Spm-treated mice showed a significant reduction in tumor growth progression, and tumors evidenced a reduction in the Ki-67 proliferation index and number of mitotic figures, as well as increased DNA damage, similar to cisplatin-treated animals. Encouragingly, systemic toxicity (hematotoxicity and weight loss) observed in cisplatin-treated animals was not observed in Pd2Spm-treated mice. The present study reports, for the first time, promising cancer selectivity, in vivo antitumor activity towards TNBC and a low systemic toxicity of Pd2Spm. Thus, this agent may be viewed as a promising Pd(II) drug candidate for the treatment of this type of low-prognosis neoplasia

Policies for biosimilar uptake in Europe : an overview

Background: Across European countries, differences exist in biosimilar policies, leading to variations in uptake of biosimilars and divergences in savings all over Europe. Objectives: The aim of this article is to provide an overview of different initiatives and policies that may influence the uptake of biosimilars in different European countries. Recommendations will be formulated on how to create sustainable uptake. Methods: An overview of policies on biosimilars was obtained via a questionnaire, supplemented with relevant articles. Topics were organized in five themes: availability, pricing, reimbursement, demand-side policies, and recommendations to enhance uptake. Results: In all countries studied, biological medicines are available. Restrictions are mainly dependent on local organization of the healthcare system. Countries are willing to include biosimilars for reimbursement, but for commercial reasons they are not always marketed. In two thirds of countries, originator and biosimilar products may be subjected to internal reference pricing systems. Few countries have implemented specific incentives targeting physicians. Several countries are implementing pharmacist substitution; however, the scope and rules governing such substitution tend to vary between these countries. Reported educational policies tend to target primarily physicians, whereas fewer initiatives were reported for patients. Recommendations as proposed by the different country experts ranged from the need for information and communication on biosimilars to competitive pricing, more support for switching and guidance on substitution. Conclusions: Most countries have put in place specific supply-side policies for promoting access to biosimilars. To supplement these measures, we propose that investments should be made to clearly communicate on biosimilars and educate stakeholders. Especially physicians need to be informed on the entry and use of biosimilars in order to create trust. When physicians are well-informed on the treatment options, further incentives should be offered to prescribe biosimilars. Gainsharing can be used as an incentive to prescribe, dispense or use biosimilars. This approach, in combination with binding quota, may support a sustainable biosimilar market

Animais de laboratório: será possível dispensá-los?

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Discussão sobre vacinas e medicamentos para a COVID-19: necessidade de acrescentar uma dimensão ética

O surto de pneumonia provocado por uma nova espécie de coronavírus no final de 2019, em Wuhan (China) originou uma pandemia com a infeção de mais de 200 milhões de pessoas infetadas e cerca de 4,5 milhões de mortes em todo o mundo e que continuam a aumentar. Apesar do pouco tempo volvido (menos de dois anos), muitos progressos têm vindo a ser conseguidos na gestão da doença e dos doentes e no desenvolvimento de vacinas e outros medicamentos para prevenção e tratamento da COVID-19, associados a diversos desafios éticos. Muitos medicamentos aprovados para outras indicações terapêuticas usados fora das indicações formalmente aprovadas, levantando questões relativamente à validade dos resultados e à observância de princípios éticos fundamentais. A Organização Mundial de Saúde tomou uma posição clara sobre utilização de medicamentos sem evidência suficiente a doentes COVID-19 e promoveu a realização de ensaios clínicos randomizados. Atualmente estão registados mais de 6 mil estudos clínicos com o objetivo de estudar diferentes abordagens terapêuticas para a COVID-19. Ao mesmo tempo, foram desenvolvidas e aprovadas as primeiras vacinas contra a COVID-19, seguras e eficazes. As vacinas e o processo de vacinação têm também levantado questões com uma componente ética importante. Hoje, não é aceitável a experimentação de potenciais terapêuticas fora do contexto de ensaios clínicos, devendo ser fomentada uma estratégia para a descoberta de tratamentos eficazes para a COVID-19. É também fundamental uma discussão, incluindo a dimensão ética sobre a melhor utilização dessas vacinas tendo em consideração o combate global à pandemia