Menopausal symptoms and the awareness of menopausal-related information in low-income mid-aged women from Guayaquil, Ecuador.

OBJECTIVE: To assess menopausal symptoms and determine awareness of menopausal related information in mid-aged women. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study in which 140 women aged 40 to 60 years from Guayaquil, Ecuador were surveyed with the short 10-item Cervantes Scale (CS-10) and a questionnaire containing personal data and questions assessing awareness of menopause related information. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 48.0 ± 5.6 years. More than half of surveyed women had low education and non-urban residency, none were on menopausal hormone therapy, 33.6% had hypertension, 35% were postmenopausal, 78.6% had an increased body mass index (overweight/obese) and 92.9% had abdominal obesity (waist > 88 cm). The average CS-10 score was 15.3 ± 9.0 with a median of 14.0. The three most frequent menopausal symptoms were muscle-joint pain (75.0%), changes in skin texture (74.3%) and vaginal dryness (71.4%). Regarding awareness of information related to the menopause, it was found that 98.6% of women had no idea about what the menopause is and the average age of its onset. Interestingly, although 61.4% knew that during the menopause there is weight gain, 57.9% were sedentary. Married, postmenopausal, older and less educated women presented higher mean total CS-10 scores. Contrarily, those with less awareness of menopause related information present lower scores. CONCLUSION: In this low-income mid-aged female sample there was a high rate of non-awareness regarding information related to the menopause, including an unhealthy cardiometabolic profile. There is a need for educational programs aimed to increase awareness in this high-risk population in relation to the surveyed aspects in order to improve their health status and prevent chronic conditions.

Hiperwarburgismo: la "hipoglucemia feliz" de los pacientes oncológicos: Revisión narrativa / Hyperwarburgism: the "Happy hypoglycemia" of cancer patients: Case report and review of literature

Introducción: La glucosa es el combustible energético cerebral, esta relación es establecida de manera integral en la inmensa mayoría de revisiones, debido al ávido consumo -y casi exclusivo - glucósico por parte del tejido neuronal. En esta esfera, la hipoglucemia se traduce por defecto en un conjunto de síntomas neurológicos, resultado del estado neuroglucopénico. Cuando la caída de estos niveles glicémicos es pronunciada desencadena alteraciones del estado sensorial, pudiendo llegar al coma con daños irreversibles de sostenerse en el tiempo. Propósito de la revisión: El objetivo de la revisión es presentar un caso de hipoglucemia severa sin sintomatología neuroglucopénica. Recientes hallazgos: Al ausencia de sintomatología neurológica se da debido al consumo del lactato ­ tradicionalmente producto anaerobiótico ­ como una vía metabólica energética alternativa al consumo de glucosa. La hipoglucemia puede ser compensada a nivel neurológico con sistemas lanzadores de lactato en el tejido neuronal, este puede sustituir a la glucosa como sustrato energético del cerebro. Conclusiones: La hipoglicemia sin síntomas adrenérgicos o neuroglucopénicos es un tema vinculado a pacientes oncológicos, y propone al lactato como combustible del tejido nervioso adicional a la glucosa. Por otra parte, la asociación lactato = hipoperfusión, es otra entidad que debe ser revisada y reanalizada por todo lo que implica el lactato dentro de la vía fisiopatológica metabólica corporal.

Introduction: Glucose is the cerebral energy fuel; this relationship is fully established in most re-views due to neuronal tissue's avid and almost exclusive glucose consumption. In this sphere, hypoglycemia is translated by default into a set of neurological symptoms resulting from the neuroglycopenic state. When the drop in these glycemic levels is pronounced, it triggers alterations in the sensory state, being able to reach a coma with irreversible damage if sustained over time. Purpose of the review: The objective is to present a case of severe hypoglycemia without neu-roglycopenic symptoms. Recent findings: The absence of neurological symptoms is due to the consumption of lactate ­ traditionally an anaerobic product ­ as an alternative energy metabolic pathway to glucosa consumption. Hypoglycemia can be compensated at the neurological level with lactate launching systems in neuronal tissue, replacing glucose as the brain's energy substrate. Conclusions: Hypoglycemia without adrenergic or neuroglycopenic symptoms is an issue linked to cancer patients, and lactate is proposed as fuel for nervous tissue in addition to glucose. On the other hand, the lactate-hypoperfusion association is another entity that must be reviewed and reanalyzed for everything that lactate implies within the body's metabolic pathophysiological pathway.