Perfil dos usuários vivendo com HIV/Aids atendidos em um Centro de Testagem e Aconselhamento no interior da Bahia: um estudo longitudinal retrospectivo / Profile of users living with HIV/AIDS assisted at a Counseling and Testing Center in the countryside of Bahia state: a longitudinal retrospective study

RESUMO: Objetivo: Caracterizar o perfil clínico e epidemiológico dos usuários vivendo com HIV/Aids atendidos em um Centro de Testagem e Aconselhamento (CTA) localizado no município de Paulo Afonso, no interior da Bahia. Casuística e métodos: Estudo retrospectivo, observacional, baseado em dados secundários obtidos mediante consulta aos registros dos usuários cadastrados no serviço durante o período de 2002 a 2019. Os dados foram tratados e analisa-dos por estatística descritiva e inferencial. Resultados: Foram identificados 301 indivíduos vivendo com HIV/Aids, correspondendo a uma média de 12,4 ± 9,5 casos/ano; 58,4% eram do sexo masculino com idade média de 40,6 ± 13,8 anos. Os indivíduos mais afetados possuíam o ensino fundamental incompleto e eram provenientes de bair-ros periféricos. Dos 226 indivíduos avaliados laboratorialmente, 49 (21,7%) foram diagnosticados na fase de Aids. Diferenças significativas foram observadas na contagem de linfócitos T CD4+, razão entre os linfócitos T CD4+/CD8+e linfócitos T CD45+ entre indivíduos vivendo com HIV e aqueles diagnosticados na fase de Aids (p<0,001). Con-clusão: A taxa de detecção de pessoas vivendo com HIV/Aids aumentou nos últimos anos no município de Paulo Afonso, Bahia. Esse aumento no número de casos deve-se, possivelmente, aos avanços nos métodos diagnósticos, bem como da implementação do CTA na região. O perfil dos indivíduos avaliados segue a tendência nacional, com predomínio do sexo masculino, jovem, com ensino fundamental incompleto. Como esperado, indivíduos diagnosti-cados na fase Aids apresentam resultados laboratoriais diferentes dos indivíduos vivendo com HIV. (AU)

ABSTRACT: Objective: To characterize the clinical and epidemiological profile of users living with HIV/AIDS treated at a Coun-seling and Testing Center (CTC) located in the municipality of Paulo Afonso, in the countryside of Bahia. Casuistry and methods: A retrospective, observational study, based on secondary data obtained by consulting the records of users registered within the service, during the period from 2002 to 2019. The data were treated and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: 301 individuals living with HIV/AIDS were identified, corresponding to a mean of 12.4 ± 9.5 cases/year; 58.4% were male with a mean age of 40.6 ± 13.8 years. The most affected individuals had incomplete primary education and came from peripheral neighborhoods. Of the 226 individuals eval-uated in the laboratory, 49 (21.7%) were diagnosed in the AIDS phase. Significant differences were observed in the CD4+ T lymphocyte count, ratio between CD4+/CD8+ T lymphocytes and CD45+ T lymphocytes between individuals living with HIV and those diagnosed in the AIDS phase (p<0.001). Conclusion: The detection rate of people living with HIV/AIDS has increased in recent years in the municipality of Paulo Afonso, Bahia. This increase in the number is possibly due to advances in diagnostic methods, as well as the implementation of CTC in the region. The profile of the individuals evaluated follows the national tendency, with a predominance of young men with incomplete el-ementary education. As expected, individuals diagnosed in the AIDS phase have different laboratory results from individuals living with HIV.

The effect of folic acid supplementation with ferrous sulfate on the linear and ponderal growth of children aged 6-24 months: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Studies evaluating the effect of folic acid supplementation, either alone or in combination with iron, on the linear and ponderal growth of children are practically nonexistent. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of folic acid supplementation with ferrous sulfate on both linear growth and weight gain in anemic and nonanemic children attending Municipal Daycare Centers in Goiania, State of Goias, Brazil. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted on 188 children aged 6-24 months. The effects of ferrous sulfate and folic acid supplementation were evaluated using the analysis of variance procedure, based on a double factorial model with two factors of fixed effects (folic acid supplementation and ferrous sulfate supplementation), adjusted for initial weight. The level of significance was 0.05. RESULTS: The children who received folic acid supplementation showed greater weight gain than the monthly average weight gain of those not given the supplement (P=0.026). This effect was independent of the dose of ferrous sulfate (P for interaction=0.693). Folic acid supplementation increased the gain of weight-for-age Z-score when compared with the placebo group (P=0.018), independent of the dose of ferrous sulfate. CONCLUSION: Folic acid had no effect on linear growth. The use of folic acid supplementation increased the monthly average weight gain and the gain in weight-for-age Z-score compared with the placebo group. This effect was independent of the dose of ferrous sulfate.

Cratylia argentea seed lectin, a possible defensive protein against plant-eating organisms: effects on rat metabolism and gut histology.

This present work was undertaken to answer two basic questions (a) is C. argentea lectin part of the general defensive strategy of the plant against predation by animals? (b) if so, how does it act on them? To achieve these goals the lectin from C. argentea seeds was purified to homogeneity and included at a 2% level in a diet containing 10% total protein and given to growing rats for 10 days. In vivo it was noted that the lectin from C. argentea is resistant to gut proteolysis, binds to the cells lining the small intestine and induces enlargement in the small intestine, caecum and colon, kidneys and pancreas compared to control rats exposed to the egg-white diet (EW). As the diet containing the purified C. argentea lectin has the same basic composition and protein content of EW diet, the small intestine, kidney and pancreas enlargements are clearly lectin-specific effects. Moreover the animals exposed to the lectin-containing diet presented a significant reduction in the growth rate and lower values of digestibility, NPU and biological value compared to animals fed on a control lectin-free diet. Thus the data from this present study and the report that the C. argentea lectin has insecticidal activity upon Callosobruchus maculatus larvae which attacks cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) seeds reinforce the hypothesis that lectins take part in the mechanisms against herbivory.