-There are no published studies on the characteristics of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients from the south of Brazil. Objective: To identify the clinical features of a series of MS patients and to compare to other Brazilian series. Method: Retrospective study with 67 patients followed in The MS Reference Center -RS, Brazil during the year of 2008. We analyzed demographic and clinical data. Results: Most were women (74.6%), the general average age was 43.5 years old, and the general average EDSS score was 4.1. Of those patients, 81.8% had relapsing-remitting MS. Sexual dysfunction prevalence was 31.1% in men and 68.9% in women (p<0.01). We found a positive correlation (Spearman=0.444, p<0.05) between EDSS and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: This study showed a very similar sample compared to other states of Brazil. Moreover, there was found a high prevalence of sexual dysfunction and a straight relation between EDSS and depressive symptoms.KEy WORDS: multiple sclerosis, epidemiology, depressive symptoms, sexual dysfunctions.Características clínicas da esclerose múltipla no sul do Brasil: uma análise parcial resumo -Não há dados publicados sobre as características clínicas da esclerose múltipla (EM) no estado do Rio Grande do Sul (RS). Objetivo: Identificar e comparar as características clínicas de uma série de pacientes com EM no RS com as de outras séries nacionais. Método: Foram coletados e avaliados dados demográficos e clínicos de 67 pacientes atendidos em nosso centro. Resultados: Houve predomínio de mulheres (74,6%), idade média geral foi de 43,5 anos e EDSS médio de 4,1. O tipo surto-remissão correpondeu a 81,8%. A prevalência de disfunção sexual foi de 31,1% nos homens e 68,9% nas mulheres (p<0,01). Encontrou-se correlação de 0,444 (p<0,05) entre depressão e EDSS. Conclusão: Este estudo demonstrou uma amostra semelhante às demais amostras brasileiras, apresentando, adicionalmente, elevada prevalência de sintomas sexuais e a estreita associação entre depressão e o grau de incapacidade. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: esclerose múltipla, epidemiologia, sintomas depressivos, disfunção sexual.

os níveis de atenção à saúde se inserem no modelo hierárquico através do sistema de referência e contrarreferência. Em um projeto para atender às demandas represadas do nível primário ao secundário, denominado "Mutirão da Saúde", realizado em Porto Alegre, os médicos neurologistas do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, após cada atendimento realizado, responderam a um instrumento para avaliar os encaminhamentos realizados pela rede de atenção primária à saúde (APS). A avaliação foi positiva, mostrando que os encaminhamentos foram realmente necessários em 85% dos casos; entretanto, foi parcialmente contraditória, tendo em vista que 41,7% dos encaminhamentos eram situações clínicas que deveriam ser manejadas no atendimento primário. A avaliação também revelou que 50% dos casos necessitavam de exames complementares. Devido a uma possível regionalização aleatória dos encaminhamentos, o resultado não nos possibilitou uma estimativa apropriada da prevalência por territórios das unidades de APS, informação esta importante para a organização do fluxo de encaminhamentos e planejamento dos recursos alocados pelos gestores, tanto locais quanto municipais.

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The three brands have adequate sensitivity for the advertised cutoffs. The Strip Test Plus® test had the best performance to identify urinary concentrations of β-hCG > 12.5 mIU/mL, and consequently, to confirm pregnancy, while Visitect® had the best performance to exclude β-hCG in urine (negative post-test probability: zero).

It is well known that humidity can deleteriously affect composite mechanical properties. In the present study the tensile properties of hybrid jute/cotton and sisal/cotton fabrics— polyester matrix composites were analyzed as a function of fiber content, immersion time in distilled water and of fabric drying just prior to composite manufacture. The results indicate that, as expected, tensile properties increase with fiber content, and that sisal reinforced composites were slightly more affected by water exposure than jute reinforced ones. This behavior was attributed to the higher affinity of sisal fibers toward water absorption. Fabric drying immediately before their incorporation onto the composites was shown to play an important role on composite mechanical properties. Fabric pre-drying led to composites with lower water absorption and higher overall mechanical properties. These composites also displayed a smaller strain at rupture, evincing better fiber to polymer matrix interaction. The data obtained suggests that water acts as a plasticizer for the systems investigated and that plasticization occurred in the early stages of composite immersion in water.

ABSTRACT. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of polymorphisms in the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C19 gene (CYP2C19) on the Helicobacter pylori eradication rate in Brazilian patients with functional dyspepsia. Adults diagnosed with functional dyspepsia based on the ROME III criteria and infected with H. pylori were recruited to this study. The patients were subjected to gastrointestinal endoscopy and the H. pylori status was defined when both urease test and histopathology results were negative or positive. The patients were treated with proton pump inhibitor-based triple therapy (omeprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin). CYP2C19*2 and CYP2C19*3 were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. One hundred and forty-eight patients (81.8% women) with a mean (± SD) age of 46.1 (12.2) years were included in this study. Based on the CYP2C19 genotypes, the patients were classified as homozygous extensive metabolizer (HomEM; 67.6%), heterozygous extensive metabolizer (HetEM; 26.3%), or poor metabolizer (PM; 6.1%). The H. pylori eradication rates in patients with HomEM, HetEM, and PM were 85.0, 89.7, and 100.0% (P = 0.376), respectively. The included study population comprised a high frequency of patients carrying the HomEM genotype. Although the genotypes of CYP2C19 variants were not statistically significant, the results of this study suggest a possible effect of the PM genotype on the efficacy of H. pylori eradication.