Subject(s)
Anti-Infective Agents , COVID-19 , Clostridium Infections , Humans , Clostridium Infections/epidemiologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Data supporting a link between frailty and risk of falls is mostly confined to individuals living in urban centers, where risk factors and lifestyles are different from that of rural settings. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between frailty and risk of falls in older adults living in rural Ecuador. DESIGN: Population-based cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwellers aged ≥60 years living in a rural Ecuadorian village, in whom frail status and risk of falls were assessed. MEASUREMENTS: Frailty was evaluated by the Edmonton Frailty Scale (EFS) and risk of falls by the Downton Fall Risk Index (DFRI). Multivariate models were fitted to evaluate whether frailty was associated with risk of falls (dependent variable), after adjusting for demographics, alcohol intake, cardiovascular risk factors, sleep quality, symptoms of depression, and history of an overt stroke. Correlation coefficients were constructed to assess confounders modifying this association. RESULTS: A total of 324 participants (mean age: 70.5±8 years) were included. The mean EFS score was 4.4±2.5 points, with 180 (56%) participants classified as robust, 76 (23%) as pre-frail and 68 (21%) as frail. The DFRI was positive in 87 (27%) participants. In univariate analysis, the EFS score was higher among participants with a positive DFRI (p<0.001). The number of frail individuals was higher (p<0.001), while that of robust individuals was lower (p<0.001) among those with a positive DFRI. Adjusted logistic regression models showed no association between frailty and the DFRI. Correlation coefficients showed that age, high glucose levels, and history of an overt stroke tempered the association between frailty and the risk of falls found in univariate analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty is not independently associated with risk of falls in older adults living in a remote rural setting. Further studies are needed to assess the impact of frailty on the risk of falls in these populations.
Subject(s)
Accidental Falls/statistics & numerical data , Frail Elderly/statistics & numerical data , Frailty/epidemiology , Independent Living/statistics & numerical data , Rural Population/statistics & numerical data , Aged , Cross-Sectional Studies , Ecuador/epidemiology , Humans , Middle Aged , Risk AssessmentABSTRACT
No disponible
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Adolescent , Hemangioma/complications , Hemangioma/diagnosis , Upper Extremity/pathology , Skin Neoplasms/diagnosis , Skin Neoplasms/pathology , Diagnosis, Differential , Arteriovenous Malformations/pathology , Arteriovenous Malformations , Immunohistochemistry/instrumentation , Immunohistochemistry/methods , Immunoglobulin E/analysis , AngiographyABSTRACT
No disponible
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pityriasis Lichenoides/complications , Pityriasis Lichenoides/diagnosis , Pityriasis Lichenoides/therapy , Psoriasis/complications , Psoriasis/etiology , Psoriasis/therapy , Methotrexate/administration & dosage , Methotrexate , Biological Therapy/instrumentation , Biological Therapy/methods , Exanthema/complications , Exanthema/diagnosis , Exanthema/therapyABSTRACT
No disponible
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Infant, Newborn , Porphyria, Erythropoietic/genetics , Bone Marrow Transplantation , Ultraviolet Therapy , Mutation/genetics , Genetic Markers/geneticsABSTRACT
No disponible
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Adult , Erythema/complications , Erythema/diagnosis , Erythema/drug therapy , Foot Dermatoses/complications , Hand Dermatoses/complications , Leg Dermatoses/complications , Methotrexate/therapeutic use , Acitretin/therapeutic use , Skin Diseases/complications , Skin Diseases/diagnosis , Psoriasis/complications , Psoriasis/diagnosis , Hyperkeratosis, Epidermolytic/complications , Hyperkeratosis, Epidermolytic/therapy , Keratoderma, Palmoplantar/complications , Keratoderma, Palmoplantar/drug therapyABSTRACT
Cathelicidins are phylogenetically ancient, pleiotropic host defense peptides-also called antimicrobial peptides (AMPs)-expressed in numerous life forms for innate immunity. Since even the jawless hagfish expresses cathelicidins, these genetically encoded host defense peptides are at least 400 million years old. More recently, cathelicidins with varying antipathogenic activities and cytotoxicities were discovered in the venoms of poisonous snakes; for these creatures, cathelicidins may also serve as weapons against prey and predators, as well as for innate immunity. We report herein the expression of orthologous cathelicidin genes in the venoms of four different South American pit vipers (Bothrops atrox, Bothrops lutzi, Crotalus durissus terrificus, and Lachesis muta rhombeata)-distant relatives of Asian cobras and kraits, previously shown to express cathelicidins-and an elapid, Pseudonaja textilis. We identified six novel, genetically encoded peptides: four from pit vipers, collectively named vipericidins, and two from the elapid. These new venom-derived cathelicidins exhibited potent killing activity against a number of bacterial strains (S. pyogenes, A. baumannii, E. faecalis, S. aureus, E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and P. aeruginosa), mostly with relatively less potent hemolysis, indicating their possible usefulness as lead structures for the development of new anti-infective agents. It is worth noting that these South American snake venom peptides are comparable in cytotoxicity (e.g., hemolysis) to human cathelicidin LL-37, and much lower than other membrane-active peptides such as mastoparan 7 and melittin from bee venom. Overall, the excellent bactericidal profile of vipericidins suggests they are a promising template for the development of broad-spectrum peptide antibiotics.
Subject(s)
Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides/chemistry , Bothrops/metabolism , Peptides/chemistry , Venoms/chemistry , Animals , Anti-Infective Agents/chemistry , Bacteria/drug effects , Hemolysis , Humans , Immunity, Innate , Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins , Melitten/chemistry , Species Specificity , Wasp Venoms/chemistry , CathelicidinsABSTRACT
No disponible
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Biopsy, Fine-Needle/methods , Biopsy, Fine-Needle , Foreign Bodies/surgery , Foreign Bodies , Dementia/complications , Dementia/diagnosis , Foreign Bodies/complications , Foreign Bodies/diagnosis , Neurosurgery/standardsABSTRACT
Scedosporium apiospermum is a filamentous fungus that can cause cutaneous or extracutaneous disease. A large number of cases have been published over the last decades, mainly in patients immunocompromised as a result of their disease or treatment. These kinds of infections can progress rapidly and become disseminated, leading to very serious or even fatal complications. We report two new cases of skin infection by Scedosporium apiospermum from our hospital.
Subject(s)
Antifungal Agents/therapeutic use , Dermatomycoses/immunology , Immunocompromised Host , Naphthalenes/administration & dosage , Pyrimidines/administration & dosage , Scedosporium/isolation & purification , Triazoles/administration & dosage , Abscess/drug therapy , Abscess/surgery , Aged , Dermatomycoses/diagnosis , Dermatomycoses/drug therapy , Humans , Male , Scedosporium/drug effects , Terbinafine , VoriconazoleABSTRACT
No disponible
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Informed Consent/ethics , Informed Consent/legislation & jurisprudence , Practice Management, Medical/ethics , Practice Management, Medical/legislation & jurisprudence , Practice Guidelines as Topic/standards , Informed Consent/standards , Disclosure/ethics , Disclosure/legislation & jurisprudence , Disclosure/standardsABSTRACT
Due to the high importance of bacterial infections in medical devices there is an increasing interest in the design of anti-fouling coatings. The application of substrates with controlled chemical gradients to prevent microbial adhesion is presented. We describe here the co-polymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate with a hyperbranched multimethacrylate (H30MA) using a chemical gradient generator; and the resulting films were characterized with respect to their ability to serve as coating for biomedical devices. The photo-polymerized materials present special surface properties due to the hyperbranched structure of H30MA and phase separation at specific concentrations in the PEGDM matrix. This approach affords the investigation of cell response to a large range of different chemistries on a single sample. Two bacterial strains commonly associated with surgical site infections, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, have been cultured on these substrates to study their attachment behaviour. These gradient-coated samples demonstrate less bacterial adhesion at higher concentrations of H30MA, and the adhesion is substantially affected by the extent of surface phase segregation.
