Metformin, but not glimepiride, improves carotid artery diameter and blood flow in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of glimepiride and metformin on vascular reactivity, hemostatic factors and glucose and lipid profiles in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: A prospective study was performed in 16 uncontrolled patients with diabetes previously treated with dietary intervention. The participants were randomized into metformin or glimepiride therapy groups. After four months, the patients were crossed over with no washout period to the alternative treatment for an additional four-month period on similar dosage schedules. The following variables were assessed before and after four months of each treatment: 1) fasting glycemia, insulin, catecholamines, lipid profiles and HbA1 levels; 2) t-PA and PAI-1 (antigen and activity), platelet aggregation and fibrinogen and plasminogen levels; and 3) the flow indices of the carotid and brachial arteries. In addition, at the end of each period, a 12-hour metabolic profile was obtained after fasting and every 2 hours thereafter. RESULTS: Both therapies resulted in similar decreases in fasting glucose, triglyceride and norepinephrine levels, and they increased the fibrinolytic factor plasminogen but decreased t-PA activity. Metformin caused lower insulin and pro-insulin levels and higher glucagon levels and increased systolic carotid diameter and blood flow. Neither metformin nor glimepiride affected endothelial-dependent or endothelial-independent vasodilation of the brachial artery. CONCLUSIONS: Glimepiride and metformin were effective in improving glucose and lipid profiles and norepinephrine levels. Metformin afforded more protection against macrovascular diabetes complications, increased systolic carotid artery diameter and total and systolic blood flow, and decreased insulin levels. As both therapies increased plasminogen levels but reduced t-PA activity, a coagulation process was likely still ongoing

Abordagem farmacocinética-farmacodinâmica (PK/PD) na avaliação da efetividade do Meropenem em pacientes sépticos queimados adolescentes versus adultos jovens / PK/PD approach to evaluate Meropenem effectiveness in critically ill burn adolescents versus young adults undergoing therapy of septic shock

Introdução: O meropenem é um carbapenêmico largamente prescrito aos pacientes sépticos em terapia intensiva com infecções graves causadas por patógenos hospitalares Gram-negativos Enterobacteriaceae (EB) e Non Enterobacteriaceae (NEB) CIM>2 mg/L. As alterações fisiopatológicas que ocorrem nestes pacientes pela síndrome da resposta inflamatória sistêmica decorrente do choque séptico podem causar profundas modificações na farmacocinética impactando o desfecho clínico desejado. Racional do estudo: O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar se o alvo terapêutico foi atingido na fase precoce do choque séptico nos pacientes grandes queimados pela comparação de adolescentes aos adultos jovens em terapia intensiva recebendo o meropenem no regime empírico recomendado. Casuística e Métodos: A aprovação ética foi obtida sob registro CAAE 07525118.3.0000.0068. Incluíram-se 14 pacientes grandes queimados 11M/3F com função renal preservada, após acidente com fogo ou alta voltagem (11/3). Os pacientes incluídos foram distribuídos em dois grupos: G1-Adolescentes, G2-Jovens adultos, sendo que as características dos pacientes, G1/G2 foram 16/24 anos, 60/70 kg, 42/35 % superfície corpórea total queimada, medianas. A lesão inalatória ocorreu em 9/14; a ventilação mecânica e o uso de vasopressor foram requeridos em 13/14 pacientes em choque séptico recebendo meropenem 1g q8h através de infusão estendida de 3 horas. As culturas foram coletadas imediatamente antes do início da terapia antimicrobiana. Apenas duas amostras de sangue (2 mL/cada) foram coletadas em momentos estratégicos para a dosagem sérica do meropenem no steady state, realizada por cromatografia líquida. Os resultados da farmacocinética obtidos para os pacientes foram comparados aos dados reportados para voluntários sadios. O alvo PK/PD de 100%f?T>CIM foi considerado para a avaliação da efetividade do meropenem. Resultados: Os resultados obtidos no presente estudo evidenciaram níveis de vale semelhantes nos dois grupos de pacientes investigados, que receberam a mesma dose de 3g diários. Ressalta-se que a farmacocinética do meropenem evidenciou alteração nos dois grupos de pacientes pela comparação dos dados obtidos aos reportados em voluntários sadios. Por outro lado, evidenciou-se diferença significativa entre grupos relacionada ao aumento da meia vida biológica e do volume aparente de distribuição. Evidenciou-se redução da depuração total corporal, apesar da função renal preservada ocorrer em todos os pacientes sépticos investigados. A cura clínica ocorreu para os pacientes, a partir dos isolados de Gram-negativos susceptíveis (CIM até 2mg/L) Enterobacteriaceae (EB) e Non-Enterobacteriaceae (NEB), sendo garantida para os pacientes com isolados de susceptibilidade intermediária até CIM 4mg/L, apesar da cobertura ter sido atingida pelo meropenem para todos os pacientes dos dois grupos. Conclusão: Não se registrou diferença entre grupos com relação à cobertura do meropenem, apesar das alterações registradas entre grupos na farmacocinética do carbapenêmico. Finalmente, a abordagem PK/PD baseada na dosagem sérica realizada em tempo real se mostrou importante ferramenta para acessar a efetividade do antimicrobiano nos pacientes sépticos, permitindo ainda a alteração precoce de conduta médica, de forma a se atingir o desfecho clínico desejado

Metformin, but not glimepiride, improves carotid artery diameter and blood flow in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of glimepiride and metformin on vascular reactivity, hemostatic factors and glucose and lipid profiles in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: A prospective study was performed in 16 uncontrolled patients with diabetes previously treated with dietary intervention. The participants were randomized into metformin or glimepiride therapy groups. After four months, the patients were crossed over with no washout period to the alternative treatment for an additional four-month period on similar dosage schedules. The following variables were assessed before and after four months of each treatment: 1) fasting glycemia, insulin, catecholamines, lipid profiles and HbA(1) levels; 2) t-PA and PAI-1 (antigen and activity), platelet aggregation and fibrinogen and plasminogen levels; and 3) the flow indices of the carotid and brachial arteries. In addition, at the end of each period, a 12-hour metabolic profile was obtained after fasting and every 2 hours thereafter. RESULTS: Both therapies resulted in similar decreases in fasting glucose, triglyceride and norepinephrine levels, and they increased the fibrinolytic factor plasminogen but decreased t-PA activity. Metformin caused lower insulin and pro-insulin levels and higher glucagon levels and increased systolic carotid diameter and blood flow. Neither metformin nor glimepiride affected endothelial-dependent or endothelial-independent vasodilation of the brachial artery. CONCLUSIONS: Glimepiride and metformin were effective in improving glucose and lipid profiles and norepinephrine levels. Metformin afforded more protection against macrovascular diabetes complications, increased systolic carotid artery diameter and total and systolic blood flow, and decreased insulin levels. As both therapies increased plasminogen levels but reduced t-PA activity, a coagulation process was likely still ongoing.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo-FAPESPFundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP

Flavonoids from the Brazilian plant Croton betulaster inhibit the growth of human glioblastoma cells and induce apoptosis

This study investigated the effects of the flavonoids 5-hydroxy-7,4′-dimethoxyflavone, casticin, and penduletin, isolated from Croton betulaster Müll Arg., Euphorbiaceae, a plant utilized in popular medicine in Brazil, on the growth and viability of the human glioblastoma cell line GL-15. We observed that 5-hydroxy-7,4′-dimethoxyflavone and casticin were not toxic to GL-15 cells after 24 h of exposure. However, casticin and penduletin inhibited the metabolic activity of glioblastoma cells significantly at a concentration of 10 μM (p ≤ 0.05). Flavonoids casticin and penduletin also induced a significant and dose-dependent growth inhibition beginning at 24 h of exposure, and the most potent flavonoid was penduletin. It was also observed that penduletin and casticin induced an enlargement of the cell body and a reduction of cellular processes, accompanied by changes in the pattern of expression of the cytoskeletal protein vimentin. Signs of apoptosis, such as the externalization of membrane phosphatidyl serine residues, nuclear condensation, and fragmentation, were also detected in cells treated with 50–100 μM flavonoids. Our results indicate that flavonoids extracted from C. betulaster present antitumoral activity to glioblastoma cells, with penduletin proving to be the most potent of the tested flavonoids. Our results also suggest that these molecules may be promising supplementary drugs for glioblastoma treatment

Building and revolutionising public healthcare: A living ecosystem to link and improve patient health data and outcomes in a Brazilian hospital

Objectives To develop a Brazilian public hospital, Sao Paulo University Medical School Clinics Hospital, HCFMUSP, informational model to link and improve multiple patients' health data, care pathways and outcomes, to build a living real world ecosystem aiming to subsidize policy decision-making, support research and promote patients' engagement and involvement. Methods Policy-relevant linkage data including demography, diagnostics, outpatient and emergency room visits, hospitalizations, intensive care evolution, assisted mechanical ventilation or special equipment’s uses, electronic prescriptions, imaging and clinical laboratory tests results, surgery records, blood components use, and medical and multidisciplinary teams’ evolutions. Telemedicine-based hub developed for patient’s access to his own visits or procedures schedule, comprehensive data and results temporal series, and specific communications channels. Anonymized data sharing for Sao Paulo State Health Secretariat policy decision-making and SP Research Agency multicenter Data Lake for Covid-19 pandemic research. Stratified impact and economic analysis regarding clinical and co-morbid conditions research were published. Results Since March 2020, this informational model example comprises over 10,000 Covid-19 patient’s related data with more than 100,000 events registered. During the first pandemic trimester, upon SP Health Secretariat policy, the HCFMUSP Central Institute’s 900 ward and 300 ICU beds were the SP central reference for severe and critical admissions. In this first evaluation 88.4% had co-morbidities (e.g. 48.1% hypertension, 30.5% diabetes), 51.7% required ICU admission and 28.9% died. Average hospital length of stay was 10.7 days, mean cost per admission was US$12,637.42, and the overall daily cost was US$919.24. Age strata >69 years confirmed COVID-19, ICU, elevated C-reactive protein (inflammation) adjusted by D-dimer levels (thrombosis biomarker), higher mSOFA, mechanical ventilation, dialysis, surgery and comorbidities, remained significantly associated with higher (24%-200%) costs and poorer outcomes. Conclusion The informational model is proving to be beneficial for all stakeholders. Technology-based organized systems increased management accuracy and efficiency, emergency preparedness, facilitates patient’s involvement and participation, promote medical and multi-professionals teams’ knowledge development, and permits to subsidize policy decisions and to improve public health

práticas artísticas no ensino básico e secundário

A inclusão, a desmaterialização, a difusão das práticas artísticas para novos campos mais além das manualidades, as novas abordagens não formais pelos museus, trouxeram desafios acrescidos à educação artística. O panorama de pesquisa pelos investigadores é cada vez mais exigente e as propostas apresentam abordagens ao Museu sem lugar, ao emtrosamento cultural das pedagogias criticas, a aproximação às identidades, à complexidade da hibridação dos média, à ameaça dos cortes políticos nas esferas de decisão ou à crescente urbanização dos imaginários culturais contemporâneos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Statement of Second Brazilian Congress of Mechanical Ventilarion : part I

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