Social representations of malaria in a southern malian community: an ethnographic qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Malaria is one of the prime reasons for medical consultation and the major cause of morbidity and mortality in Mali. To assess and understand the dynamics of social representations of malaria, the anthropological research was conducted in the Wayerema II neighbourhood of the health district of Sikasso, southern Mali. METHODS: This was an ethnographic study conducted qualitatively in 2011 and 2016 through informal conversations, 70 semi-structured interviews, and participant observations with key actors. The observations, conversations, and interviews investigated local people's perceptions and knowledge about malaria, and how and to what extent the cultural and popular representations of the disease can have an impact on therapeutic routes. RESULTS: Mosquitoes are the principal agent of the transmission of malaria. However, the ubiquitous yet casually-claimed aetiological agents, causative, nosographic entities differ from-although sometimes integrated into-the biomedical dimension. For example, some communities perceive Kono, a complicated and pernicious form of malaria that often occurs among children, to originate from a supernatural force. "Bird disease" is another term used for Kono in Mali and other West African countries. Thus, overall, Kono is defined through the entanglements with cultural factors, namely the idiosyncratic habits, customs, and beliefs of the population of Wayerema II neighbourhood in the health district of Sikasso, Southern Mali. Wayerema II residents particularly tend to link therapeutic recourse amongst the afflicted not only to biomedical models but to sociocultural and popular perceptions and representations of malaria. CONCLUSION: In the findings, self-medication through both traditional and modern medical techniques was the most frequent therapeutic modality. Hence, the integration of local popular knowledge with the biomedical register can contribute to a comprehensive understanding of social representations and perceptions of malaria, and qualitative improvements in the malaria control programme.

Neuropathic pain modeling: Focus on synaptic and ion channel mechanisms.

Animal models of pain consist of modeling a pain-like state and measuring the consequent behavior. The first animal models of neuropathic pain (NP) were developed in rodents with a total lesion of the sciatic nerve. Later, other models targeting central or peripheral branches of nerves were developed to identify novel mechanisms that contribute to persistent pain conditions in NP. Objective assessment of pain in these different animal models represents a significant challenge for pre-clinical research. Multiple behavioral approaches are used to investigate and to validate pain phenotypes including withdrawal reflex to evoked stimuli, vocalizations, spontaneous pain, but also emotional and affective behaviors. Furthermore, animal models were very useful in investigating the mechanisms of NP. This review will focus on a detailed description of rodent models of NP and provide an overview of the assessment of the sensory and emotional components of pain. A detailed inventory will be made to examine spinal mechanisms involved in NP-induced hyperexcitability and underlying the current pharmacological approaches used in clinics with the possibility to present new avenues for future treatment. The success of pre-clinical studies in this area of research depends on the choice of the relevant model and the appropriate test based on the objectives of the study.

Sam Domains in Multiple Diseases.

BACKGROUND: The sterile alpha motif (Sam) domain is a small helical protein module, able to undergo homo- and hetero-oligomerization, as well as polymerization, thus forming different types of protein architectures. A few Sam domains are involved in pathological processes and consequently, they represent valuable targets for the development of new potential therapeutic routes. This study intends to collect state-of-the-art knowledge on the different modes by which Sam domains can favor disease onset and progression. METHODS: This review was build up by searching throughout the literature, for: a) the structural properties of Sam domains, b) interactions mediated by a Sam module, c) presence of a Sam domain in proteins relevant for a specific disease. RESULTS: Sam domains appear crucial in many diseases including cancer, renal disorders, cataracts. Often pathologies are linked to mutations directly positioned in the Sam domains that alter their stability and/or affect interactions that are crucial for proper protein functions. In only a few diseases, the Sam motif plays a kind of "side role" and cooperates to the pathological event by enhancing the action of a different protein domain. CONCLUSION: Considering the many roles of the Sam domain into a significant variety of diseases, more efforts and novel drug discovery campaigns need to be engaged to find out small molecules and/or peptides targeting Sam domains. Such compounds may represent the pillars on which to build novel therapeutic strategies to cure different pathologies.

New routes in frontotemporal dementia drug discovery.

INTRODUCTION: Research into the pathogenic mechanisms behind frontotemporal dementia (FTD) has yielded several new targets for therapeutic intervention; such targets include specific new pathways uncovered by mutations as well as targets involving the modulation, formation and degradation of protein aggregates. Areas covered: Herein, the authors outline the principal molecular causes underlying FTD to date and the research that has been performed in these areas with respect to an eventual corrective strategy. Expert opinion: While it is worthwhile targeting pathways affected by specific mutations with a causative loss of function linked to FTD, research still has to contend with issues including the remaining presence of protein aggregates or that treatments are rarely universally applicable. Aiming to recover function in a downstream target caused by the protein aggregates will likely be insufficient due to the large cascade of events affected. It is our belief that the clearance of these aggregates and the inhibition of protein misfolding are more appropriate and direct routes to an eventual therapy.

O caminho trilhado por usuários de um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial do Estado do Pará: construindo itinerários na busca do cuidado / The way taken by users of a Psychosocial Care Center in Pará state: building itineraries in search of assistence / El camino recorrido por usuarios de un Centro de Atención Psicosocial del Estado de Pará: construyendo itinerarios en la búsqueda del cuidado

Este artigo buscou conhecer e compreender os caminhos percorridos pelos usuários de um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial (CAPS) do Estado do Pará na busca do cuidado. A metodologia utilizada foi de abordagem qualitativa, de cunho discursivo e etnográfico. Participaram do estudo 14 usuários cadastrados no CAPS. As entrevistas foram analisadas de acordo com as categorias que emergiram a partir dos discursos e das produções de sentidos dos entrevistados quanto aos seus itinerários terapêuticos, quais sejam: trajetória assistencial; o acesso aos serviços de saúde; religiosidade e saúde mental; usuários e a busca por cuidado quando estão em sofrimento. Os itinerários terapêuticos escolhidos pelos usuários levaram em consideração aspectos concernentes ao contexto sociocultural no qual estão inseridos, utilizando-se de recursos e estratégias ligadas ao próprio acesso aos serviços de saúde da rede formal, bem como aos recursos pertinentes à religiosidade e aos aspectos relacionados ao apoio da família e dos amigos.

This paper aimed to know and understand the paths taken by users of a Psychosocial Care Centre of Pará state. The method used was qualitative, discursive and ethnographic. A total of 14 registered users were participants in this study. Interviews were analyzed according to the categories emerged from interviewed speeches and their sense of productions about therapeutic itineraries, which were: trajectory assistance care; access to health services; religiosity and mental health; users and their search for assistance when they are in distress. The therapeutic itineraries chosen by the users took in account aspects related to sociocultural context which they were involved, using the resources and strategies related to their own access in a formal health network service, as well as the relevant resources, religiosity and support offered by family and friends.

En este artículo se buscó conocer y comprender los caminos tomados por los usuarios de un Centro de Atención Psicosocial (CAPS) del Estado de Pará, en la búsqueda de cuidado. La metodología utilizada fue el enfoque cualitativo, de naturaleza discursiva y etnográfica. Los participantes del estudio fueron 14 usuarios registrados en el CAPS. Las entrevistas fueron analizadas de acuerdo a las categorías que surgieron de los discursos y de las producciones de sentidos de los usuarios en cuanto a sus itinerarios terapéuticos, los que sean: trayectoria asistencial; el acceso a los servicios de salud; religiosidad y salud mental; usuarios y la búsqueda por cuidado cuando están en sufrimiento. Los itinerarios terapéuticos elegidos por los usuarios tuvieron en cuenta aspectos relacionados con el contexto sociocultural en el que se insertan, utilizándose recursos y estrategias inherentes al propio acceso a los servicios de salud en la red formal, así como los recursos correspondientes a la religiosidad y a los aspectos relacionados con el apoyo de amigos y familiares.