Gestantes em situação de rua no município de Santos, SP: reflexões e desafios para as políticas públicas

O estudo teve como objetivo investigar o cotidiano de gestantes em situação de rua e sua relação com as políticas públicas na cidade de Santos, litoral do Estado de São Paulo. A coleta de dados foi feita através do registro e estudo de narrativas de memórias de vida. A análise deu-se pelo agrupamento temático de trechos das narrativas, sendo identificadas quatro principais categorias: vida na rua; cuidado e gestação; projetos futuros; e rede pública de serviços. As narrativas revelam mulheres com capacidade criativa para desejar uma vida melhor a partir da possibilidade de ter um filho. Entretanto, a condição social em que vivem, envolvendo a luta diária pela sobrevivência e, em alguns casos, a dependência química dificultam o planejamento de estratégias que transformem o desejo em um projeto de vida. Dessa forma, na maioria das vezes perdem a guarda de seus filhos. Embora conheçam os serviços públicos, quase sempre os acessam apenas em casos de urgência. Não se identificaram na rede de serviços assistenciais - pública e do terceiro setor - programas focados na questão da gestante em situação de rua, ainda que o Brasil já viva, atualmente, histórias de famílias que têm a situação de rua como experiência intergeracional. Os resultados apontam para a necessidade de constituição de políticas intersetoriais, voltadas para gestantes em situação de rua

Characterization of soy allergic Brazilian patients using a Microarray technique for detection of multiple IgE reactivity

Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, BR-05508 São Paulo, BrazilABC Fac Med Fdn, Santo Andre, BrazilUniv Fed Sergipe, Sergipe, BrazilPhadia AB, Uppsala, SwedenUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Evidence for involvement of IL-9 and IL-22 in cows’ milk allergy in infants

Although allergic inflammation is characterized by a T helper (Th) 2-dominant immune response, the discovery of a role for new T cell subsets in inflammatory diseases has added an additional layer of complexity to the understanding of the pathogeneses of allergic diseases. We evaluated plasma cytokine profiles in infants with cows’ milk allergy (CMA), who were being treated with an elimination diet. In a prospective, randomized and controlled study, infants (aged 8.4 ± 3.9 months) with CMA were treated with an elimination diet for 120 days, which replaced cows’ milk with a hydrolysed soy protein formula (n = 26) or a free amino acid formula (n = 20). Blood samples were collected before treatment during active disease (T0) and after 120 days, when symptoms were absent (T1). Plasma cytokine concentrations were measured. Infants with CMA had higher plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 and lower concentrations of IL-9, IL-17A and interferon-γ, compared with healthy breast-fed infants. At T0, there was a positive correlation between blood eosinophil numbers and plasma concentrations of IL-4, IL-9, IL-17A and IL-22. Treatment with a cows’ milk elimination diet resulted in a decrease in plasma IL-4, IL-9, IL-13 and IL-22 and an increase in plasma IL-17A. We conclude that IL-4 and IL-13 are elevated in active CMA. The association of IL-9 and IL-22 with eosinophilia, and the decrease in these two cytokines with cows’ milk elimination, suggests that they both play a role in the symptoms observed in CMA and may be important targets for future intervention

The C-terminus of murine S100A9 protein inhibits hyperalgesia induced by the agonist peptide of protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2)

Background and purpose: S100A9 protein induces anti-nociception in rodents, in different experimental models of inflammatory pain. Herein, we investigated the effects of a fragment of the C-terminus of S100A9 (mS100A9p), on the hyperalgesia induced by serine proteases, through the activation of protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR(2)).Experimental approach: Mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia induced by PAR(2) agonists (SLIGRL-NH2 and trypsin) was measured in rats submitted to the paw pressure or plantar tests, and Egr-1 expression was determined by immunohistochemistry in rat spinal cord dorsal horn. Calcium flux in human embryonic kidney cells (HEK), which naturally express PAR(2), in Kirsten virus-transformed kidney cells, transfected (KNRK-PAR(2)) or not (KNRK) with PAR(2), and in mouse dorsal root ganglia neurons (DRG) was measured by fluorimetric methods.Key results: mS100A9p inhibited mechanical hyperalgesia induced by trypsin, without modifying its enzymatic activity. Mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia induced by SLIGRL-NH2 were inhibited by mS100A9p. SLIGRL-NH2 enhanced Egr-1 expression, a marker of nociceptor activation, and this effect was inhibited by concomitant treatment with mS100A9p. mS100A9p inhibited calcium mobilization in DRG neurons in response to the PAR(2) agonists trypsin and SLIGRL-NH2, but also in response to capsaicin and bradykinin, suggesting a direct effect of mS100A9 on sensory neurons. No effect on the calcium flux induced by trypsin or SLIGRL in HEK cells or KNRK-PAR(2) cells was observed.Conclusions and implications: These data demonstrate that mS100A9p interferes with mechanisms involved in nociception and hyperalgesia and modulates, possibly directly on sensory neurons, the PAR(2)-induced nociceptive signal.Univ Calgary, Dept Pharmacol & Therapeut, Fac Med, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, CanadaButantan Inst, Lab Pathophysiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Inst Biomed Sci, Dept Physiol & Biophys, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Inst Pharmacol, Dept Biophys, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Inst Pharmacol, Dept Biophys, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc