Modelling the COVID-19 pandemic: variants and vaccines

In December 2019, a new coronavirus, the SARS-CoV-2, was detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Since then, many mathematical models have been developed to study the possible evolution of the COVID-19 disease and shed some light on the different biological processes of concern. On 14 December 2020, the United Kingdom reported a potentially more contagious and lethal variant of the virus, at the same time that different vaccines were being tested in order to prevent severe forms of the disease. In the following lines, we revisit a model proposed by our team, which took into account these two determining facts, showing its performance with real Italian data

Abatacept in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and interstitial lung disease: A national multicenter study of 63 patients

OBJECTIVE: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is one of the most serious complications of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In the present study, we aimed to assess the efficacy of abatacept (ABA) in patients with ILD associated to RA. METHODS: National multicenter, non-controlled, open-label registry study of RA patients with ILD treated with ABA. RESULTS: 63 patients (36 women) with RA-associated ILD undergoing ABA therapy were studied. The mean ± standard deviation age at the time of the study was 63.2 ± 9.8 years. The median duration of RA and ILD from diagnosis were 6.8 and 1 year, respectively. RA was seropositive in 55 patients (87.3%). In 15 (23.8%) of 63 patients the development of ILD was closely related to the administration of synthetic or biologic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. After a follow-up of 9.4 ± 3.2 months, two-thirds of patients remained stable whereas one-quarter experienced improvement in the Modified Medical Research Council scale. At that time forced vital capacity remained stable in almost two-thirds of patents and improved in one out of five patients assessed. Also, diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide remained stable in almost two-thirds and showed improvement in a quarter of the patients assessed. At 12 months, 50% of the 22 patients in whom chest HRCT scan was performed due persistence of respiratory symptoms showed stabilization, 8 (36.4%) improvement and 3 worsening of the HRCT scan pattern. Eleven of 63 patients had to discontinue ABA, mainly due to adverse events. CONCLUSION: ABA appears to be an effective in RA-associated ILD.Funding: This work was partially supported by RETICS Programs, RD08/0075 (RIER) and RD12/0009/0013 from ‘‘Instituto de Salud Carlos III’’ (ISCIII), Spain

Influence of early neurological complications on clinical outcome following lung transplant

Sistema Nerviós Autònom; Risc de malalties cardiovasculars; Procediments mèdics quirúrgics i invasiusSistema nervioso autónomo; Riesgo de enfermedad cardiovascular; Procedimientos médicos quirúrgicos e invasivosAutonomic Nervous System; Cardiovascular disease risk; Surgical and invasive medical proceduresBackground Neurological complications after lung transplantation are common. The full spectrum of neurological complications and their impact on clinical outcomes has not been extensively studied. Methods We investigated the neurological incidence of complications, categorized according to whether they affected the central, peripheral or autonomic nervous systems, in a series of 109 patients undergoing lung transplantation at our center between January 1 2013 and December 31 2014. Results Fifty-one patients (46.8%) presented at least one neurological complication. Critical illness polyneuropathy-myopathy (31 cases) and phrenic nerve injury (26 cases) were the two most prevalent complications. These two neuromuscular complications lengthened hospital stays by a median period of 35.5 and 32.5 days respectively. However, neurological complications did not affect patients’ survival. Conclusions The real incidence of neurological complications among lung transplant recipients is probably underestimated. They usually appear in the first two months after surgery. Despite not affecting mortality, they do affect the mean length of hospital stay, and especially the time spent in the Intensive Care Unit. We found no risk factor for neurological complications except for long operating times, ischemic time and need for transfusion. It is necessary to develop programs for the prevention and early recognition of these complications, and the prevention of their precipitant and risk factors.JG is the recipient of a grant from the Spanish Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS PI13-01272-FEDER)

The Latin American experience of allografting patients with severe aplastic anaemia: real-world data on the impact of stem cell source and ATG administration in HLA-identical sibling transplants

We studied 298 patients with severe aplastic anaemia (SAA) allografted in four Latin American countries. The source of cells was bone marrow (BM) in 94 patients and PBSCs in 204 patients. Engraftment failed in 8.1% of recipients with no difference between BM and PBSCs (P = 0.08). Incidence of acute GvHD (aGvHD) for BM and PBSCs was 30% vs 32% (P = 0.18), and for grades III–IV was 2.6% vs 11.6% (P = 0.01). Chronic GvHD (cGvHD) between BM and PBSCs was 37% vs 59% (P = 0.002) and extensive 5% vs 23.6% (P = 0.01). OS was 74% vs 76% for BM vs PBSCs (P = 0.95). Event-free survival was superior in patients conditioned with anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG)-based regimens compared with other regimens (79% vs 61%, P = 0.001) as excessive secondary graft failure was seen with other regimens (10% vs 26%, P = 0.005) respectively. In multivariate analysis, aGvHD II–IV (hazard ratio (HR) 2.50, confidence interval (CI) 1.1–5.6, P = 0.02) and aGvHD III–IV (HR 8.3 CI 3.4–20.2, Po0.001) proved to be independent negative predictors of survival. In conclusion, BM as a source of cells and ATG-based regimens should be standard because of higher GvHD incidence with PBSCs, although the latter combining with ATG in the conditioning regimen could be an option in selected high-risk patient

Famílies botàniques de plantes medicinals

Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona. Ensenyament: Grau de Farmàcia, Assignatura: Botànica Farmacèutica, Curs: 2013-2014, Coordinadors: Joan Simon, Cèsar Blanché i Maria Bosch.Els materials que aquí es presenten són els recull de 175 treballs d’una família botànica d’interès medicinal realitzats de manera individual. Els treballs han estat realitzat per la totalitat dels estudiants dels grups M-2 i M-3 de l’assignatura Botànica Farmacèutica durant els mesos d’abril i maig del curs 2013-14. Tots els treballs s’han dut a terme a través de la plataforma de GoogleDocs i han estat tutoritzats pel professor de l’assignatura i revisats i finalment co-avaluats entre els propis estudiants. L’objectiu principal de l’activitat ha estat fomentar l’aprenentatge autònom i col·laboratiu en Botànica farmacèutica

IV Premio Nacional Educación para el Desarrollo "Vicente Ferrer" 2012 : buenas prácticas

La Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID) junto con el Ministerio de Educación convoca anualmente los premios de educación para el desarrollo que están dirigidos a todos los centros docentes españoles sostenidos con fondos públicos que impartan educación infantil, educación primaria, educación secundaria obligatoria, bachillerato y formación profesional. Se recogen las buenas prácticas de los docentes premiados en esta segunda edición. Docentes que en el ejercicio de su función educadora han convertido el proceso educativo en un proceso dinámico e interactivo que permite al alumnado desarrollar un conocimiento crítico de nuestro mundo. Profesores y profesoras que han estimulado la participación del alumnado en la construcción de estructuras sociales más justas y solidarias, y han promovido actuaciones basadas en el principio de la corresponsabilidad de todos los actores implicados.ES

Mis casos Clínicos de Odontopediatría y Ortodoncia

Libro que conjunta casos en el área de Odontopediatría y OrtodonciaEs para los integrantes de la Red de Investigación en Estomatología (RIE) una enorme alegría presentar el tercer libro del 2021, sobre casos clínicos, revisiones de la literatura e investigaciones. La RIE está integrada por cuerpos académicos de la UAEH, UAEM, UAC y UdeG