RESUMO
Pesticides have been pointed out as hormone disruptors and may significantly affect the prognosis of hormone-dependent diseases such as breast cancer (BC). Here, we investigated the impact of occupational pesticide exposure on systemic cortisol levels in female rural workers diagnosed with BC. Occupational exposure was assessed by interviews with a standardized questionnaire. Plasma samples (112 from pesticide-exposed women and 77 from unexposed women) were collected in the afternoon, outside the physiological cortisol peak, and analyzed by a chemiluminescent paramagnetic immunoassay for the quantitative determination of cortisol levels in serum and plasma. The results from both groups were categorized according to patients' clinicopathological and exposure data. BC pesticide-exposed women presented higher levels of cortisol than the unexposed. Higher cortisol levels were also detected in the exposed group with more aggressive disease (triple-negative BC), with tumors over 2 cm, with lymph node metastases, and with high risk of disease recurrence and death. These findings demonstrated that there is an association between pesticide exposure and BC that affected cortisol levels and correlated to poor disease prognosis.
RESUMO
The aim of this study was to verify the presence of glyphosate in breast milk and to characterize maternal environmental exposure. Sixty-seven milk samples were collected from lactating women in the city of Francisco Beltrão, Paraná, living in urban (n=26) and rural (n=41) areas, at the peak of glyphosate application in corn and soy crops in the region (April and May 2018). To characterize the study population, socio-epidemiological data of the women were collected. To determine glyphosate levels, a commercial enzyme immunosorbent assay kit was used. Glyphosate was detected in all breast milk samples analyzed with a mean value of 1.45 µg/L. Despite some descriptive differences, there were no statistically significant differences (P<0.05) between the categories of the variables tested. Also, glyphosate was detected in drinking water samples from the urban area and in artesian well water from the rural area of the region where the studied population lived. The estimation of the total amount of glyphosate ingested by breastfeeding babies in a period of 6 months was significant. These results suggest that the studied lactating population was contaminated with glyphosate, possibly through continued environmental exposure.
RESUMO
Antiretroviral therapy advances have proportioned to AIDS patients a survival increase. At the same time, the permanence of the seropositive people in the nosocomial environment becomes common not only by the adverse reactions caused by this therapy, but also by several opportunistic diseases that take them into and out of hospital environment. During the hospital permanence, the patients expose their impaired immune system to the nosocomial virulent microorganisms, and acquire destructive nosocomial infections that sometimes can be lethal. Among several hospital syndromes described, little is known about infections in immunocompromised patients and how their immune system is able to determine the course of the infection. The objective of this study was to describe the major microorganisms involved in the nosocomial infections of HIV-1 seropositive patients associated with their immunological status. The survey was carried out with the Hospital Infection Control Service records, from University Hospital, Londrina, Paraná, Southern of Brazil, during the period from July 2003 to July 2004. From all the cases studied (n=969), 24 patients (2.5%) had AIDS diagnosis and a half of them was women with the mean of CD4+ T cells counts of 158/mm³. The main topography of the infection was pulmonary (50.0%) and the main isolated microorganisms were Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. A major incidence of infection was observed in patients with CD4+ T cells counts lower than 50/mm³. The study of the relationship between the impairment of the immune system and infectious agents could provide a better healthcare of people living with HIV/AIDS and advances into the nosocomial infection control systems.
Avanços na terapia anti-retroviral têm proporcionado aos pacientes com AIDS um aumento na sobrevida. Ao mesmo tempo, a permanência de pacientes soropositivos no ambiente nosocomial torna-se comum não só pelos efeitos colaterais desta terapia, mas também pelas diversas doenças oportunistas que acometem estes indivíduos dentro e fora do ambiente hospitalar. Durante o período de internação, a fragilidade do sistema imunológico é exposta à virulência da microbiota nosocomial, adquirindo infecções hospitalares graves e muitas vezes fatais. Dentre as diversas síndromes de infecções hospitalares descritas, pouco se sabe sobre estas infecções em pacientes imunocomprometidos e sobre como o estado imunológico é capaz de determinar o curso destas infecções. Este trabalho teve como objetivo determinar os principais microrganismos envolvidos nas infecções hospitalares de pacientes soropositivos para a infecção pelo HIV-1 e descrever a associação com seu perfil imunológico. Realizou-se análise de dados de notificações do Serviço de Controle de Infecção Hospitalar do Hospital Universitário, Londrina, Paraná, na região sul do Brasil, no período de julho de 2003 a julho de 2004. Do total de casos estudados (n=969), 24 pacientes (2,5%) tinham o diagnóstico de AIDS, sendo metade do gênero feminino, com contagem média de células T CD4+ de 158,4/mm³. A principal topografia foi o sítio pulmonar (50,0%), sendo Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa e Escherichia coli os principais microrganismos isolados. Observou-se maior incidência de infecção em pacientes com contagem de células T CD4+ menor que 50/mm³. O estudo da relação entre sistema imunológico e microrganismos causadores de infecções poderá contribuir para melhorias nos cuidados de pacientes com AIDS e avanços nos sistemas de controle de infecção hospitalar.