Effects of long-term angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition on cardiovascular variability in aging rats

We studied the effects of chronic (4 weeks) angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition with captopril on arterial pressure (AP) and heart rate (HR) variability, as well as on cardiac baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), in aged (20 months) rats. Series of basal RR interval (RRi) and systolic AP (SAP) were studied by autoregressive spectral analysis with oscillations quantified in low (LF: 0.2-0.8 Hz) and high frequency (HF: 0.8-2.5 Hz). BRS was measured by linear regression between HR and MAP changes. Captopril did not affect the spectra of RRi or SAP in young rats. Aged rats presented a reduction in variance (time domain) and in LF and HF oscillations of RRi and SAP. Captopril induced, in aged rats, a decrease in absolute and normalized LF oscillations and in LF/HF ratio of RRi. Captopril also reduced the variance, without changing its LF or HF components of SAP. Reflex tachycardia was reduced in aged as compared to young rats (-1.1+/-0.2 versus -3.4+/-0.5 bpm/mm Hg) and captopril did not affect it. Reflex bradycardia was also reduced in aged rats (-0.7+/-0.5 versus -2.0+/-0.4 bpm/mm Hg), but captopril prevented this attenuation in aged rats (-2.3+/-0.3 versus -0.7+/-0.5 bpm/mm Hg). These data indicate that there is a reduction in HR and SAP variability during aging, suggesting impairment of cardiovascular autonomic control. Captopril was able to change the power of oscillatory components of RRi, suggesting a shift in cardiac sympatho/vagal balance toward parasympathetic predominance. In addition, blockage of ACE improved the reflex bradycardia, but not the reflex tachycardia in aged rats.     

Update on therapy for superficial mycoses: review article part I

Superficial fungal infections of the hair, skin and nails are a major cause of morbidity in the world. Choosing the right treatment is not always simple because of the possibility of drug interactions and side effects. The first part of the article discusses the main treatments for superficial mycoses - keratophytoses, dermatophytosis, candidiasis, with a practical approach to the most commonly-used topical and systemic drugs , referring also to their dosage and duration of use. Promising new, antifungal therapeutic alternatives are also highlighted, as well as available options on the Brazilian and world markets.     

Treatment of superficial mycoses: review - part II

Superficial fungal infections of the hair, skin and nails are a major cause of morbidity in the world. Choosing the right treatment is not always simple because of the possibility of drug interactions and side effects. The first part of the article discusses the main treatments for superficial mycoses - keratophytoses, dermatophytosis, candidiasis, with a practical approach to the most commonly-used topical and systemic drugs , referring also to their dosage and duration of use. Promising new, antifungal therapeutic alternatives are also highlighted, as well as available options on the Brazilian and world markets.     

Case for diagnosis

The chondroid syringoma is a rare benign tumor, also called mixed cutaneous tumor by the presence of epithelial and mesenchymal components, consisting of sweat elements in cartilaginous, collagenous, myxoid or osseous stroma, among others. It mainly affects middle-aged men and is characterized by asymptomatic and slowgrowing, dermal or subcutaneous nodules. The most common locations are the head and neck. It is rare on the extremities. There are reports of malignant variants predominantly in women, located on the extremities. We report a case of a female patient with a lesion on the toe, with excellent outcome after surgical treatment.     

Measures of quality of life in children with cochlear implant: systematic review

The use of cochlear implant (CI) in children enables the development of listening and communication skills, allowing the child's progress in school and to be able to obtain, maintain and carry out an occupation. However, the progress after the CI has different results in some children, because many children are able to interact and participate in society, while others develop limited ability to communicate verbally. The need for a better understanding of CI outcomes, besides hearing and language benefits, has spurred the inclusion of quality of life measurements (QOL) to assess the impact of this technology.ObjectiveIdentify the key aspects of quality of life assessed in children with cochlear implant.MethodThrough a systematic literature review, we considered publications from the period of 2000 to 2011.ConclusionWe concluded that QOL measurements in children include several concepts and methodologies. When referring to children using CI, results showed the challenges in broadly conceptualizing which quality of life domains are important to the child and how these areas can evolve during development, considering the wide variety of instruments and aspects evaluated.     

An adenovirus vectored mucosal adjuvant augments protection of mice immunized intranasally with an adenovirus-vectored foot-and-mouth disease virus subunit vaccine

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is a highly contagious pathogen that causes severe morbidity and economic losses to the livestock industry in many countries. The oral and respiratory mucosae are the main ports of entry of FMDV, so the stimulation of local immunity in these tissues may help prevent initial infection and viral spread. E. coli heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) has been described as one of the few molecules that have adjuvant activity at mucosal surfaces. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of replication-defective adenovirus 5 (Ad5) vectors encoding either of two LT-based mucosal adjuvants, LTB or LTR72. These vectored adjuvants were delivered intranasally to mice concurrent with an Ad5-FMDV vaccine (Ad5-A24) to assess their ability to augment mucosal and systemic humoral immune responses to Ad5-A24 and protection against FMDV. Mice receiving Ad5-A24 plus Ad5-LTR72 had higher levels of mucosal and systemic neutralizing antibodies than those receiving Ad5-A24 alone or Ad5-A24 plus Ad5-LTB. The vaccine plus Ad5-LTR72 group also demonstrated 100% survival after intradermal challenge with a lethal dose of homologous FMDV serotype A24. These results suggest that Ad5-LTR72 could be used as an important tool to enhance mucosal and systemic immunity against FMDV and potentially other pathogens with a common route of entry.     

Hyptis pectinata: Redox Protection and Orofacial Antinociception

Hyptis pectinata L. Poit, known as ‘sambacaitá’, is used in Brazil to treat inflammatory and painful disorders. In this study, the antioxidant and orofacial antinociceptive properties of the aqueous extract of H. pectinata leaves (AEPH) were assessed using in vitro and in vivo models. Thus, AEPH reduced the 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical up to 72.10% with an EC₅₀ of 14.56 µg/ml. It also inhibited 40.80% of the lipoperoxidation induced by 2′‐azobis (2‐amidinopropane) dihydrochloride in the thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substances assay. The orofacial antinociceptive activity was evaluated in mice pre‐treated with AEPH (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg, p.o.) and morphine (5 mg/kg, i.p.), which received afterwards formalin‐ (20 µl, 2% solution, s.c.), glutamate‐ (40 µl, 25 mM, s.c.) and capsaicin‐ (20 µl, 2.5 µg, s.c.) to induce orofacial nociception. AEPH at all doses reduced (p < 0.001) the nociceptive response in the first (43–62%) and second (47–80%) phases of the formalin test. Besides, the effect of AEPH (400 mg/kg) was not changed in the presence of naloxone (1.5 mg/kg, i.p.), an opioid antagonist. AEPH significantly inhibited mice face rubbing for capsaicin (23–69%, p < 0.05) and glutamate (48–77%, p < 0.001) at all doses. The findings suggested the AEPH has peripheral and central antinociceptive activities, which are not related to opioid receptors. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.