Highlights Efforts should be made to improve all aspects of prenatal care. The criteria used in this study were multidimensional and cover different aspects of care. Prenatal care must include recognition of socioeconomic and cultural differences among users.   ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate prenatal and puerperium care levels received and identify their association with sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted from May to December 2020 and included women who gave birth at the Municipal Hospital of […]

Highlights We compared characteristics between patients admitted during the first and second waves. There were 1,427 intensive care unit patients with COVID-19: 421 (first wave) and 1,006 (second wave). The patients in the second wave were younger and less severely ill at the time of intensive care unit admission. Patients exhibited similar mortality rates and need for invasive organ support. ABSTRACT Objective To describe and compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients admitted to intensive care units during the […]

Highlights ■ Serum amyloid A is an acute phase inflammatory protein. ■ Excess weight causes meta-inflammation with a consequent increase in the synthesis of C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A. ■ Carotid intima-media thickness measurement evaluates atherosclerosis before atheromatous plaque formation. ABSTRACT Objective To compare serum amyloid A concentrations between overweight and eutrophic children and adolescents and to relate it to lipid profiles, glucose tolerance, and carotid intima-media thickness. Methods One hundred children and adolescents (mean age: 10.8±3.16 years) were […]

Highlights ■ Less than half of the patients (37.93%) reached first medical unit within 6h of pain onset. ■ Patients with delayed first medical attendance showed higher orchiectomy rates. ■ A high delay in seeking assistance and considerable time spent on interhospital transport were observed. ■ Late presentation (D1) and interhospital transport (D2) had a negative impact on testis preservation. ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate the time interval and possible delay in transportation to referral units for the treatment of testicular […]

Highlights ■ The clinico-functional characteristics of post-stroke patients changed in the pandemic. ■ The sociodemographic characteristics of post-stroke patients did not change in the pandemic. ■ Post-stroke patients had a greater stroke severity and disability at the beginning of the pandemic. ■ The occurrence of ischemic stroke increased with the advancement of the pandemic. ABSTRACT Objective To compare the sociodemographic and clinico-functional characteristics of patients admitted to a stroke unit immediately before and during two different COVID-19 pandemic phases. Methods […]

Highlights ■ Physical activity level is associated with responsiveness to hormones in women with breast cancer. ■ Sedentary behavior is significantly related to the histological tumor grade in women with breast cancer. ABSTRACT Objective A comparative analysis of the association between sedentary behavior versus physical activity levels and tumor staging in women with breast cancer. Methods The present research adopted a cross-sectional study design to recruit a total of 55 adult and elderly women newly diagnosed with breast cancer for […]

Highlights ■ AKT signaling sustains the immune evasion mechanisms in acute myeloid leukemia. ■ AKT inhibition increases the susceptibility of acute myeloid leukemia cells to natural Killer-mediated apoptosis. ■ Partial blockage of AKT signaling promotes the suppression of PDL1 and overexpression of pro-apoptotic genes. ABSTRACT Objective To determine the role of the AKT pathway in the regulating of natural Killer-induced apoptosis of acute myeloid leukemia cells and to characterize the associated molecular mechanisms. Methods BALB/c nude mice were injected with […]

Highlights Neck circumference can be used in clinical evaluation for health monitoring. The prevalence of increased neck circumference is high and is associated with relative muscular strength in men and level of moderate and vigorous physical activity and relative muscular strength in women. Neck circumference is an important predictor of low moderate and vigorous physical activity and relative muscular strength in men, and the results are more pronounced in adult and older adult women. We suggest implementing exercise programs to […]

Highlights A novel in vitro experimental model was described for Rocio Flavivirus replication in a primary mouse neural cell culture. ROCV efficiently infects primary neural cell cultures, causing cytopathic changes and cell death from the 2nd and 7th days post infection, respectively. A higher viral titer was observed on the 2nd days post infection. The viral replication kinetics was compatible with the cell death kinetics of ROCV-infected cultures. ABSTRACT Objective This study verified the replication efficiency of the Rocio virus […]

Highlights Viral suppression improved after introducing a dolutegravir-based regimen. HIV viral loads <50 copies/mL were lower than expected (<90%). Higher viral suppression was found when antiretroviral therapy adherence/alterations were controlled (per-protocol analysis). Some baseline characteristics can influence the effectiveness of first-line antiretroviral therapy. ABSTRACT Objective To compare viral suppression in treatment-naïve adults starting antiretroviral therapy with dolutegravir (50mg)- and efavirenz (600mg)-based regimens. Methods We analyzed secondary data from Brazilian health information systems of people living with human immunodeficiency virus who […]