Nutraceutical consumption, an alternative in the prevention of non transmissible chronic diseases

El conocimiento de la fisiopatología de enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles ha hecho que la dieta, los estilos de vida saludables y el autocuidado hagan parte de las estrategias para su prevención, esto se debe a que la terapéutica farmacológica tradicional puede traer consigo efectos adversos no deseados, por lo que se prefieren nuevas alternativas menos lesivas, más seguras y con la misma efectividad. Con base en lo anterior, se hace uso de diferentes estrategias para dar a conocer los efectos benéficos que los nutracéuticos le pueden brindar a la salud de sus consumidores, sus funciones fisiológicas y el tratamiento de enfermedades; pero sin duda alguna el aumento progresivo del consumo de estos suplementos ha generado preguntas sin resolver en la comunidad y el gremio médico sobre la real composición, los efectos fisiológicos y adversos que estos productos puedan tener para la población en general.The knowledge of the physiopathology of most of chronic non transmissible diseases has made diet, healthy lifestyles, and self-care become part of the strategies for their prevention because the traditional pharmacologic therapy can bring unwanted side effects, so new less harmful, safer and equally effective alternatives are preferred. Based on the above, different strategies are used to publicize the beneficial effects nutraceuticals can have on the health of their consumers, their physiological functions and disease treatment; but without a doubt, the progressive increase in consumption of these supplements has raised unresolved questions in the community and the medical professionals about the actual composition, and the physiological and adverse effects these products can have for the general population

Prevalencia y características del consumo de nutracéuticos en estudiantes universitarios de pregrado, Medellín-Colombia, 2013

Objective: determine the prevalence and characteristics of nutraceutical consumption in undergraduate students at a private university in Medellín, Colombia.Materials: a descriptive cross-sectional study was performed. The population constituted of undergraduate students enrolled during the 2013 academic year and a simple random sampling was performed. SPSS program version 17 was used to analyze the data. Nutraceutical consumption ratios were estimated by sex and age group. Percentages were estimated for nominal and ordinal variables, and for the reason type variables the media and standard deviation were estimated. Confidence intervals of 95% were calculated for the proportions of prevalence consumption. Statistical significance was evaluated with the probability value c2 test.Results: 427 students participated, the average age was 20.8 years (SD: 3.1), 56.1% were women. The prevalence of lifetime consumption of nutraceuticals was 66.3% and 51.8% were consumed annually. The main reasons for consumption were food complement (32.8%) and disease prevention (20.1%).Conclusion: the high prevalence of nutraceutical intake observed in the study iscomparable to studies performed with similar populations reported in the literature, suggesting an upward trend in the habit of consuming dietary supplements.Objetivo: determinar la prevalencia y características del consumo de nutracéuticos en estudiantes de pregrado de una Universidad privada de la ciudad de Medellín (Colombia)Materiales y métodos: estudio descriptivo de corte transversal. La población estuvo constituida por estudiantes matriculados en pregrado durante 2013 y se realizó un muestreo aleatorio simple. Para el análisis se empleó el programa SPSS Vr 17, se estimaron proporciones de consumo de nutracéuticos por sexo y grupo de edad; para las variables de tipo nominal y ordinal se estimaron porcentajes, y para las de razón, la media y la desviación estándar. A las proporciones de prevalencia de consumo se les calcularon los intervalos de confianza del 95%. La significancia estadística se apreció con el valor de probabilidad de la prueba de c2 .Resultados: participaron 427 estudiantes, con una edad promedio de 20.8 años (DE: 3.1), el 56.1% fueron mujeres. La prevalencia de vida de consumo de nutracéuticos fue de 66.3% y la anual de 51.8%. Los principales motivos para su consumo fueron complementar alimentación (32.8%) y prevenir enfermedades (20.1%)Conclusión: la alta prevalencia de consumo de nutracéuticos observada en el estudio, es comparable con lo reportado en la literatura en poblaciones similares, lo cual sugiere una tendencia al alza en el hábito de consumo de suplementos dietarios.

Can scenario-planning support community-based natural resource management? Experiences from three countries in latin america

Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) is a concept critical to managing socio-ecological systems, but whose implementation needs strengthening. Scenario-planning is one approach that may offer benefits relevant to CBNRM, but whose potential is not yet well understood. We therefore designed, trialled and evaluated a scenario-planning method intended to support CBNRM at three cases, located in Colombia, Mexico and Argentina. Implementing scenario-planning was judged as worthwhile in all three cases, although aspects of it could be challenging to facilitate. The benefits generated were relevant to strengthening CBNRM: encouraging the participation of local people and using their knowledge; enhanced consideration and adaption of future change; and supporting the development of systems thinking. Tracing exactly when and how these benefits arise is challenging, but two elements of the method seemed particularly useful. Firstly, using a systematic approach to discuss how drivers of change may affect local socio-ecological systems helped to foster systems thinking and identify connections between issues. Secondly, explicitly focusing on how to use and respond to scenarios helped identify specific practical activities ('response options') that would support CBNRM despite the pressures of future change. Discussions about response options also highlighted the need for support by other actors (e.g. policy groups): this raises the question of when and how other actors and other sources of knowledge should be involved in scenario-planning, so as to encourage their buy-in to actions identified by the process. We suggest other CBNRM initiatives may benefit from adapting and applying scenario-planning. However, these initiatives should be carefully monitored since further research is required to understand how and when scenario-planning methods may produce benefits, and their strengths and weaknesses versus other methods

POR UNA CULTURA DE PAZ: UNA MIRADA DESDE LAS CIENCIAS DE LA CONDUCTA

En
 virtud
 de
 lo
 anterior,
 los
 estudiosos
 de
 las
 ciencias
 de
 la
 conducta
 
de
 la
 Universidad
Autónoma 
del
 Estado 
de 
México,

ante 
la
persistencia
 y 
proliferación
 de
 estos 
hechos
 en
 diversas
 partes
 del
Mundo
 y
 de
 nuestro 
país 
en 
particular, se
 convocó
 a
 los
 estudiosos
 interesados
 y
 a
 la
 sociedad
 en
 general
 a
 presentar
 trabajos
 para
 analizar,
 debatir
 y
 proponer
 estrategias
 de
 acción
 y
 dirección,
 que
 fortalezcan
 una
 convivencia y bienestar con sentido humanista para una cultura de paz. El
 presente
 texto
 es
 producto
 de 
esta convocatoria 
que
 recoge 
los
trabajos 
de 

los
 interesados 
en 
la
 temática,

 de
 diferentes 
países
(España,
Argentina,
Cuba,
Brasil,
Costa
 Rica
 y
 México)
 retomando
 con
 ello
 sus
 experiencias
 relativas
 al
 estudio,
 análisis,
 comprensión
 e
 instrumentación
 de
 la
 cultura
 de
 paz
 en
 los
 distintos
 ámbitos
 institucionales
 en
 los
 que
 participan:
 educativo,
 salud,
 penitenciario,
 social,
laboral,
familia,
alimentario,
psicológico,
por 
mencionar 
algunos.
 El
 presente
 libro,
 propicia
 un
 espacio
 de
 reflexión,
 diálogo
 y
 posicionamiento
 de
 las 
ciencias 
de 
la 
conducta
 para 
la 
apropiación,
análisis,
debate
 y 
propuestas 
que
 fortalezcan 
una
 cultura
 de 
paz
 a
través
 de 
la
 convivencia 
y
 el 
bienestar
 social 
con
 sentido 
humanista.
El
 sistema 
económico
 neoliberal
 y 
el 
proceso
 de 
globalización 
han
 contribuido
al
 logro
 de
 avances
 significativos
 en
 la
 ciencia
 y
 la
 tecnología,
 pero
 también
 han
 propiciado
 la
 polarización
 de
 las
 sociedades
 lo
 que
 ha
 impactado
 de
 manera
 negativa
 a
 la
 sociedad
 en
 su
 conjunto,
 pero
 en
 mayor
 medida
 a
 los grupos
 vulnerables. Dicha
 polarización
 ha
 traído
 consigo
 un
 desarrollo
 desigual
 del
 mundo
 que
 se
 expresa
 de
 diferentes
 maneras
 tanto
 en
 países
 desarrollados
 como
 en
 los
 llamados
 del
 tercer
 mundo,
 en
 donde
 no
 están
 satisfechas
 las
 necesidades
 humanas 
elementales
 de
 todos 
los
sectores 
de 
la 
población,
siempre 
falta 
algo. 
Si 
a
 esto 
le
 sumamos 
los
conflictos
 internacionales por
 diferentes
 motivos
 que
 enfrentan
 algunas
 naciones,
 una
 insuficiente
 cobertura
 educativa
 y
 de
 salud,

 desempleo
 y
 pobreza 
extrema,
 entre 
otras
 cosas; 
estamos
 frente
 a
retos 
de
 gran
 envergadura
 para
 los
 gobiernos,
 para
 los
 estudiosos
 y
 para
 la
 sociedad
 civil
 en
 general. Uno 
de 
los
 intentos
 para
 frenar 
y prevenir 
la
 agudización
 de 
estas 
problemáticas
 es
 la
 cultura 
de 
paz,
cuyo
 estudio
y propuestas 
han 
ido 
avanzando 
en 
diferentes
 sentidos 
y 
de 
manera 
favorable,
el 
tema 
está 
presente 
en 
diferentes 
Organismos
 Internacionales
 como
 la
 ONU,
 la
 UNESCO,
 la
 OCDE,
 El
 Banco
 Mundial,
 entre
 otros.
 Pero
 falta 
mucho 
por 
hacer.Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Méxic

una mirada desde las Ciencias de la Conducta

Este libro es el resultado de los trabajos presentados en el 1er Congreso Internacional "Convivencia y bienestar con sentido humanista para una cultura de paz"

Características clínicas, epidemiológicas y manejo terapéutico de la meningitis pediátrica en dos instituciones de Medellín, Colombia

Introduction: Meningitis is a medical emergency that requires early diagnosis and treatment to avoid complications. Objective: To determine the clinical, epidemiological characteristics and therapeutic management of meningitis in early childhood. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study, which evaluated children up to six years old with bacterial or aseptic meningitis from 2010 to 2013, was conducted in two centers in Medellin. Clinical, paraclinical and therapeutic characteristics were collected. The qualitative variables were described by absolute and relative frequencies, and the quantitative ones with median and interquartile range. Differences in patient characteristics according to age group were explored, using the Chi-square or Fisher test. Results: From the 56 patients studied, 33 (58.9%) were male; 26 (46.4%) showed bacterial meningitis, 20 (35.7%) aseptic one and 10 (17.9%) indeterminate one; 36 (64.3%) were older than two months, with non-specific clinical manifestations (fever and irritability). Gram-negative microorganisms were mainly isolated in blood cultures and Gram positive in cerebrospinal fluid. The most common antibiotic treatment was third-generation cephalosporins in 13 (65%) children who were less than 2 months and 28 (77.8%) in older ones. Two patients died and six children presented complications. Conclusions: Bacterial meningitis was the most frequent in children under one year old. Combined treatment is ideal to ensure adequate coverage and avoid complications

Clinical, epidemiological characteristics and therapeutic management of pediatric meningitis in two institutions of Medellin, Colombia

Introduction: Meningitis is a medical emergency that requires early diagnosis and treatment to avoid complications. Objective: To determine the clinical, epidemiological characteristics and therapeutic management of meningitis in early childhood. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study, which evaluated children up to six years old with bacterial or aseptic meningitis from 2010 to 2013, was conducted in two centers in Medellin. Clinical, paraclinical and therapeutic characteristics were collected. The qualitative variables were described by absolute and relative frequencies, and the quantitative ones with median and interquartile range. Differences in patient characteristics according to age group were explored, using the Chi-square or Fisher test. Results: From the 56 patients studied, 33 (58.9%) were male; 26 (46.4%) showed bacterial meningitis, 20 (35.7%) aseptic one and 10 (17.9%) indeterminate one; 36 (64.3%) were older than two months, with non-specific clinical manifestations (fever and irritability). Gram-negative microorganisms were mainly isolated in blood cultures and Gram positive in cerebrospinal fluid. The most common antibiotic treatment was third-generation cephalosporins in 13 (65%) children who were less than 2 months and 28 (77.8%) in older ones. Two patients died and six children presented complications. Conclusions: Bacterial meningitis was the most frequent in children under one year old. Combined treatment is ideal to ensure adequate coverage and avoid complications

Basal cell carcinoma treated with Mohs micrographic surgery in young Ibero-American patients

The incidence of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in younger individuals has increased in recent decades. However, the characteristics of BCCs in this population, especially in Ibero-Latin American countries, have not been completely defined. To describe the demographic, clinical, and histopathological characteristics of BCCs in patients younger than 40 treated with Mohs Micrographic Surgery (MMS). A multicenter, retrospective study conducted between January 2009 and December 2014, in five Ibero-American countries, included biopsy-proven BCCs in patients younger than 40 that were treated with MMS. Demographic, clinical, histopathological, and surgical characteristics were described. The study included 301 tumors in 241 patients, of whom 61% were female. The most common Fitzpatrick phototype was III. The most common histological subtypes were nodular (37.5%) and infiltrative (18.9%). Perineural invasion was encountered in 1.7%, and tumor clearance was achieved in 87.4% within two stages of MMS. This is the first Ibero-Latin American transnational study describing the characteristics of BCCs in young patients treated with MMS. Despite darker skin phototypes in this population, BCCs can occur in early ages and may present with aggressive features. Therefore, MMS may be considered an appropriate first-line treatment option in this population

Por una cultura de paz, una mirada desde las Ciencias de la Conducta

Este libro es el resultado de los trabajos presentados en el 1er Congreso Internacional "Convivencia y bienestar con sentido humanista para una cultura de paz"