Potential neuroprotective and antiinfammatory efects provided by omega-3 (DHA) against Zika virus infection in human SH-SY5Y cells

Zika virus (ZIKV) has a strong tropism for the nervous system and has been related to post-infection neurological syndromes. Once neuronal cells are infected, the virus is capable of modulating cell metabolism, leading to neurotoxicity and cellular death. The negative efect of ZIKV in neuron cells has been characterized. However, the description of molecules capable of reversing these cytotoxic efects is still under investigation. In this context, it has been largely demonstrated that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, is highly neuroprotective. Here, we hypothesized that DHA’s neuroprotective proprieties could have an infuence on ZIKV-induced neurotoxicity in SHSY5Y cells. Our data showed that pre-treatment of SH-SY5Y cells with DHA increased the cell viability and proliferation in ZIKV-infected cells. Moreover, DHA triggered an anti-infammatory response in those infected cells. Besides, DHA was capable of restoring mitochondria function and number in ZIKVinfected SH-SY5Y cells. In addition, cells pre-treated with DHA prior to ZIKV infection presented a lower viral load at diferent times of infection. Taking together, these results demonstrated that DHA has a potential anti-infammatory and neuroprotective efect against ZIKV infection in these neuron-like cells and could be a useful tool in the treatment against this virus

Importance of Early Recognition of Arterial Hypertension in Children and Adolescents: The Nursing Function in Ambulatory Monitoring

Arterial hypertension is considered an epidemic, remaining as the main cause of death and global disability. As high blood pressure in childhood is highly predictive of high blood pressure in adulthood, there has been a growing interest in the early recognition of this condition in the pediatric population, through outpatient screening in children over three years of age. Objective: to emphasize the importance of routine monitoring of blood pressure measurement in children and adolescents in childcare consultations. Methodology: This is a literature review of published articles, searched through the PubMed, Virtual Health Library and Google Scholar databases. Results: 12 scientific articles were selected as the data source for the present study, seven in English and five in Portuguese. Conclusion: the measurement of blood pressure in all consultations with children is important. If the disease is identified, treatment must be instituted, which will vary between non-pharmacological and pharmacological therapies, which should be introduced for all pediatric patients with blood pressure values above the acceptable percentile for age. In this sense, it is pertinent that nurses acquire and develop skills that make it possible to implement strategies for the prevention of hypertension, as well as the early identification of children and adolescents at risk of arterial hypertension

Alvarado’s Criteria for Diagnosis of Children’s Acute Apendicitis

Acute abdomen in children is a condition that causes great distress to parents, and appendicitis is its most common cause, being more frequent at school age. This pathology is the cause of numerous visits to public and private hospitals around the world, and brings several complications. It is important that the health team is aware of the possibility of appendicitis in children, due to its high incidence and difficulty in establishing its diagnosis, because the symptoms are nonspecific and there are different clinical presentations. Objective: to explain the importance of the Alvarado criterion for the diagnosis of acute childhood appendicitis. Methodology: This is an integrative bibliographic review, in articles published in the PubMed, Virtual Health Library and Google Scholar databases. For the search for data, the descriptors “Acute abdomen”, “Appendicitis”, “Children” and the keyword “Alvarado score” were used. Data were collected in December 2020. Results: 16 articles were selected as the final sample for analysis of the review, six in English, nine in Portuguese and one in Spanish. Conclusion: Through this review it can be concluded that the use of the Alvarado Score for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children is useful and effective, avoiding the use of imaging tests in patients with a score above 7 on this scale

Main Electroclinic Syndromes of The Infant: A Literature Review

An electroclinic syndrome (also known as epileptic syndrome) consists of a set of characteristics that associate with seizures, characteristics of electroencephalography and imaging that tend to occur together. Among them is a group that affects infants, usually having a genetic etiology. Objective: to carry out a literature review on the most common types of infant electroclinical syndromes, describing their main characteristics. Methodology: This is a narrative review of the literature of articles published between 2005 and 2020, in Portuguese and English. The research was carried out in December 2020. The following descriptors were used to search for the articles: Electroclinical syndromes. Epilepsy. Infant. Results: Through the research carried out, 12 scientific articles were selected, nine of them in English and three in Portuguese. Conclusion: The study identified 7 common electroclinical syndromes in infants and made it possible to conclude that knowledge of the clinical profile, types of crises and characteristics of the electroencephalography of the disease phenotype associated with the specific mutation can help improve the accuracy and management of the diagnosis of electroclinical syndromes

Dinâmicas de (investig)ação em contextos de promoção da língua portuguesa: a presença do CIDTFF na rede Camões, I.P.

Sem resumo disponível.publishe

Gut microbiota modulation induced by Zika virus infection in immunocompetent mice

Abstract Gut microbiota composition can modulate neuroendocrine function, inflammation, and cellular and immunological responses against different pathogens, including viruses. Zika virus (ZIKV) can infect adult immunocompetent individuals and trigger brain damage and antiviral responses. However, it is not known whether ZIKV infection could impact the gut microbiome from adult immunocompetent mice. Here, we investigated modifications induced by ZIKV infection in the gut microbiome of immunocompetent C57BL/6J mice. Adult C57BL/6J mice were infected with ZIKV and the gut microbiota composition was analyzed by next-generation sequencing of the V4 hypervariable region present in the bacterial 16S rDNA gene. Our data showed that ZIKV infection triggered a significant decrease in the bacteria belonging to Actinobacteria and Firmicutes phyla, and increased Deferribacteres and Spirochaetes phyla components compared to uninfected mice. Interestingly, ZIKV infection triggered a significant increase in the abundance of bacteria from the Spirochaetaceae family in the gut microbiota. Lastly, we demonstrated that modulation of microbiota induced by ZIKV infection may lead to intestinal epithelium damage and intense leukocyte recruitment to the intestinal mucosa. Taken together, our data demonstrate that ZIKV infection can impact the gut microbiota composition and colon tissue homeostasis in adult immunocompetent mice

Aerobic exercise program with or without motor complexity as an add-on to the pharmacological treatment of depression – study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Patients with major depression disorder presents increased rates of cognitive decline, reduced hippocampal volume, poor sleep quality, hypertension, obesity, suicidal ideation and behavior, and decreased functionality. Although continuous aerobic exercise (CAE) improves some of the aforementioned symptoms, comorbidities, and conditions, recent studies have suggested that performing aerobic exercise with motor complexity (AEMC) may be more beneficial for cognitive decline, hippocampal volume, and functionality. Therefore, this randomized controlled trial will compare the effects of CAE and AEMC on depression score, cognitive function, hippocampal volume, brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression, sleep parameters, cardiovascular risk parameters, suicidal behavior, functionality, and treatment costs in patients with depression. Methods/design Seventy-five medicated patients with depression will be recruited from a Basic Healthcare Unit to participate in this prospective, parallel group, single blinded, superiority, randomized controlled trial. Patients with depression according to DSM-V criteria will be balanced and randomly assigned (based on depression scores and number of depressive episodes) to a non-exercising control (C), CAE, and AEMC groups. The CAE and AEMC groups will exercise for 60 min, twice a week for 24 weeks (on non-consecutive days). Exercise intensity will be maintained between 12 and 14 points of the rating of perceived exertion scale (~ 70–80% of the maximum heart rate). The CAE group will perform a continuous aerobic exercise while the AEMC group will perform exercises with progressively increased motor complexity. Blinded raters will assess patients before and after the intervention period. The primary outcome measure will be the change in depression score measured by the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Secondary outcomes will include measures of cognitive function, hippocampal volume, brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression, sleep parameters, cardiovascular risk parameters, suicidal behavior, functionality, and treatment costs. Discussion This study was selected in the call of public policy programs for the Brazilian Unified National Health System – “PPSUS 2015”. To our knowledge, this is the first pragmatic trial to test the effect of adding AEMC to the pharmacological treatment of patients with depression and to evaluate the possible reductions in depression symptoms and healthcare costs. Trial registration Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry (ReBec) - RBR-9zgxzd - Registered on 4 Jan. 2017

Chemical composition, immunostimulatory, cytotoxic and antiparasitic activities of the essential oil from Brazilian red propolis.

Most studies of Brazilian red propolis have explored the composition and biological properties of its ethanolic extracts. In this work, we chemically extracted and characterized the essential oil of Brazilian red propolis (EOP) and assessed its adjuvant, antiparasitic and cytotoxic activities. The chemical composition of EOP was analyzed using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). EOP was tested for in vitro activity against Trichomonas vaginalis (ATCC 30236 isolate); trophozoites were treated with different concentrations of EOP (ranging from 25 to 500 μg/mL) in order to establish the MIC and IC50 values. A cytotoxicity assay was performed in CHO-K1 cells submitted to different EOP concentrations. BALB/c mice were used to test the adjuvant effect of EOP. The animals were divided in 3 groups and inoculated as follows: 0.4 ng/kg BW EOP (G1); 50 μg of rCP40 protein (G2); or a combination of 0.4 ng/kg BW EOP and 50 μg of rCP40 (G3). Total IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a levels were assessed by ELISA. The major constituent compounds of EOP were methyl eugenol (13.1%), (E)-β-farnesene (2.50%), and δ-amorphene (2.3%). Exposure to EOP inhibited the growth of T. vaginalis, with an IC50 value of 100 μg/mL of EOP. An EOP concentration of 500 μg/mL was able to kill 100% of the T. vaginalis trophozoites. The EOP kinetic growth curve showed a 36% decrease in trophozoite growth after a 12 h exposure to 500 μg/mL of EOP, while complete parasite death was induced at 24 h. With regard to CHO-K1 cells, the CC50 was 266 μg/mL, and 92% cytotoxicity was observed after exposure to 500 μg/mL of EOP. Otherwise, a concentration of 200 μg/mL of EOP was able to reduce parasite proliferation by 70% and was not cytotoxic to CHO-K1 cells. As an adjuvant, a synergistic effect was observed when EOP was combined with the rCP40 protein (G3) in comparison to the administration of each component alone (G1 and G2), resulting in higher concentrations of IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a. EOP is constituted by biologically active components with promising antiparasitic and immunostimulatory activities and can be investigated for the formulation of new vaccines or trichomonacidal drugs

Kinetic growth curve of the <i>Trichomonas vaginalis</i> 30236 isolate after exposure to EOP at 500 μg/mL for 1 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 96 h.

<p>Data represent mean ± standard deviation of at least three experiments, all in triplicate. Different letters indicate a significant difference (p < 0.05).</p

CHO-K1 cell viability after treatment with different concentrations of EOP.

<p>Cell proliferation in CHO-K1 was investigated by the MTT assay, and metronidazole was used as a positive control. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM of the viabilities of CHO-K1 cells in three independent experiments. (*) indicates a difference between the treatments in CHO-K1 cells. The differences were considered significant at p < 0.05. VC = vehicle control; MTZ = metronidazole.</p