Evaluation of a program of Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Phase 1 modified for patients submitted to a surgery for Coronary artery bypass graft

The coronary heart disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in the modern world. Its surgical treatment for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), aims to improve the functioning and the prognostic state. Physiotherapy and cardiac rehabilitation programs have an important role in the patient recuperation after the surgical treatment for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The program rehabilitation should be initiated as early as possible to reduce the deleterious effects of prolonged bed rest, establish the intensity of the effort scheduled, and reduce the patient permanence in the hospital. The objective of this study was to compare the walking distance by patients undergoing CABG following the standard protocol for cardiac rehabilitation (Emory School of Medicine) with a new suggested protocol (modified protocol by Department of cardiac rehabilitation of Faculty of Physiotherapy, University of Franca – UNIFRAN). Data from 37 patients that have undergone CABG at the Hear Hospital “Octávio Quercia” of Franca, included in the group of hospital rehabilitation (Phase I), was analyzed in this study. These patients were submitted to walking just after discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU). The program started with two walking sessions daily, each one having twenty minutes that was gradually increased in accordance with the patient tolerance. The suggested protocol showed a better performance than the standard protocol. The patients following the new protocol walked a larger distance than those following the standard protocol, reduced the length of hospital staying

Hyaluronidase recruits mesenchymal-like cells to the lung and ameliorates fibrosis

Hyaluronidases (HYALs) comprise a group of enzymes that degrade hyaluronic acid (HA). In this report, we reveal that a single intranasal inoculation of HYAL induces an increase in mononuclear cells within the bronchoalveolar space demonstrating a mesenchymal-like phenotype, expressing stem cell antigen-1 (SCA-1), CD44 and CD73 but not CD34, CD45, CD3, CD4, CD8 or CD19. This influx of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-like cells was dependent on leukotriene production within the lung parenchyma. These findings prompted experiments demonstrating that HYAL treatment potently blocked bleomycin-induced lung injury and fibrosis while decreasing transforming growth factor (TGF)-β production and collagen deposition. These data suggest that HYAL is a novel and promising tool to use autologous MSC-like cells in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis

Ultrasonic tissue characterization of vulnerable carotid plaque: correlation between videodensitometric method and histological examination

BACKGROUND: To establish the correlation between quantitative analysis based on B-mode ultrasound images of vulnerable carotid plaque and histological examination of the surgically removed plaque, on the basis of a videodensitometric digital texture characterization. METHODS: Twenty-five patients (18 males, mean age 67 ± 6.9 years) admitted for carotid endarterectomy for extracranial high-grade internal carotid artery stenosis (≥ 70% luminal narrowing) underwent to quantitative ultrasonic tissue characterization of carotid plaque before surgery. A computer software (Carotid Plaque Analysis Software) was developed to perform the videodensitometric analysis. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to symptomatology (group I, 15 symptomatic patients; and group II, 10 patients asymptomatic). Tissue specimens were analysed for lipid, fibromuscular tissue and calcium. RESULTS: The first order statistic parameter mean gray level was able to distinguish the groups I and II (p = 0.04). The second order parameter energy also was able to distinguish the groups (p = 0,02). A histological correlation showed a tendency of mean gray level to have progressively greater values from specimens with < 50% to >75% of fibrosis. CONCLUSION: Videodensitometric computer analysis of scan images may be used to identify vulnerable and potentially unstable lipid-rich carotid plaques, which are less echogenic in density than stable or asymptomatic, more densely fibrotic plaques

Helminth Coinfection Does Not Affect Therapeutic Effect of a DNA Vaccine in Mice Harboring Tuberculosis

From 14 diseases considered by WHO as Neglected Tropical Diseases, four involve helminth infections, such as schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis. Toxocariasis is a soil-transmitted worm highly prevalent in many developing countries, while schistosomiasis causes an annual mortality of 14,000 deaths per year, with 200–300 million infected people and 10% at risk of infection worldwide. Additionally, tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in many settings, particularly in the world's poorest countries. Mycobacteria and helminths are co-endemic and induce opposing patterns of immune responses in the host, recognized as Th1 and Th2 respectively. These co-existing patterns could be associated with the failure of TB vaccines. In this sense, we investigated the inflammatory and immune response in a coinfection model with T. canis or S. mansoni and M. tuberculosis analyzing the effects of an immunotherapy that has previously shown efficacy in experimental TB. This immunotherapy is based on a DNA vaccine that codifies a mycobacterial heat shock protein (hsp65), which can prevent TB in a prophylactic and also therapeutic setting. In this work, we show that helminth coinfection does not abrogate the therapeutic effects of DNAhsp65 vaccine against TB

Morte súbita e angina vasoespástica

Variant angina is defined by chest pain occurring at rest associated with transitory ST segment elevation on ECG, and is caused by a spasm of a coronary artery. Frequently, variant angina is associated with atherosclerotic coronary obstruction and patients with normal coronary arteries are rare. Patients with variant angina and normal coronary arteries have good prognosis, and the development of ventricular arrhythmias or sudden death is rare. The authors present two cases of sudden cardiac death in patients with variant angina and normal coronary arteries

Protection against tuberculosis by a single intranasal administration of DNA-hsp65 vaccine complexed with cationic liposomes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The greatest challenges in vaccine development include optimization of DNA vaccines for use in humans, creation of effective single-dose vaccines, development of delivery systems that do not involve live viruses, and the identification of effective new adjuvants. Herein, we describe a novel, simple technique for efficiently vaccinating mice against tuberculosis (TB). Our technique consists of a single-dose, genetic vaccine formulation of DNA-hsp65 complexed with cationic liposomes and administered intranasally.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We developed a novel and non-toxic formulation of cationic liposomes, in which the DNA-hsp65 vaccine was entrapped (ENTR-hsp65) or complexed (COMP-hsp65), and used to immunize mice by intramuscular or intranasal routes. Although both liposome formulations induced a typical Th1 pattern of immune response, the intramuscular route of delivery did not reduce the number of bacilli. However, a single intranasal immunization with COMP-hsp65, carrying as few as 25 μg of plasmid DNA, leads to a remarkable reduction of the amount of bacilli in lungs. These effects were accompanied by increasing levels of IFN-γ and lung parenchyma preservation, results similar to those found in mice vaccinated intramuscularly four times with naked DNA-hsp65 (total of 400 μg).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our objective was to overcome the significant obstacles currently facing DNA vaccine development. Our results in the mouse TB model showed that a single intranasal dose of COMP-hsp65 elicited a cellular immune response that was as strong as that induced by four intramuscular doses of naked-DNA. This formulation allowed a 16-fold reduction in the amount of DNA administered. Moreover, we demonstrated that this vaccine is safe, biocompatible, stable, and easily manufactured at a low cost. We believe that this strategy can be applied to human vaccines to TB in a single dose or in prime-boost protocols, leading to a tremendous impact on the control of this infectious disease.</p