OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of low-level laser therapy isolated and associated with Calendula officinalis oil in treating diabetic foot ulcers. METHOD An experimental, randomized, controlled, prospective, interventional clinical case study using a quantitative approach. The sample consisted of 32 diabetic patients of both genders. Participants were randomly divided into four groups. Doppler Ultrasound evaluation of the Ankle-Brachial Index, brief pain inventory and analog pain scale were performed at baseline and after 30 days. RESULTS Reduced pain was observed in the Low-level laser therapy and Low-level laser therapy associated with Essential Fatty Acids groups (p<0.01). Regarding the Ankle-Brachial Index and Doppler Ultrasound, all groups remained stable. By analyzing lesion area reduction, Low-level laser therapy associated with Essential fatty acids group showed a significance of p=0.0032, and the Low-level laser therapy group showed p=0.0428. CONCLUSION Low-level laser therapy, performed alone or associated with the Calendula officinalis oil was effective in relieving pain and accelerating the tissue repair process of diabetic foot.

Introduction: Repeated overloads of a tendon may give rise to an inflammatory response, called tendinitis, which usually begins suddenly. Researches report that the Brazilian Northeast is common to use the pequi oil (Caryocar Coriaceum wittm) in the treatment of inflammation and other diseases. Objective: To evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of pequi oil in tendon repair process in rats after induced tendinitis. Methods: 36 male rats were divided into groups: control, ultrasound + oil pequi and pequi oil. To induce tendinitis, it was used a intratendineous injection of collagenase in the right calcaneal tendon. The treatment consisted of daily application of ultrasound + pequi oil or just pequi oil on the tendon. Macroscopic analysis was performed with the pachymeter on 1st, 7th and 14th days. Posteriorly, the rats were sacrificed with an overdose of intravenous barbiturate, then it was dissected and removed the tendon to enable the histological analysis with Hematoxylin & Eosin (HE). Results: There was a reduction in the number of inflammatory cells in the animals treated for 7 days in the groups UST + pequi oil and pequi oil compared to the control, with p <0,001. At 14 days, the group UST + pequi oil showed greater number of fibroblasts than the other groups, with p<0,01. Conclusion: The pequi oil accelerated the tendon repair in the animals and the treatment with US + pequi oil was the most effective because it reached good statistical significance in seven and 14 days.

An ulcer is an injury that affects the skin and has many causes. Healing is a way of protecting the body against any infectious agent that tries to infect you through the wound. Low level laser (LLL) in the treatment of ulcers, aims at maintaining the stability of the physiological process of tissue repair and ultrasound (US) acts by increasing the elasticity of tissue and scarring. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of LLL and US in wound healing of ulcers induced in mice. In this experimental study, a sample of 36 guinea pigs was divided into 6 groups of 6 mice, 2 groups as control (C7) and (C14), 2 treated with laser (GL7) and (GL14) and the others 2 treated with ultrasound (GU7) and (GU14). The ulcer was induced and after 7 days, 6 mice from each group were sacrificed to obtain the histological sections for analysis, and the remaining 6 mice from each group continued under treatment and in day 14, they were sacrificed to obtain histologic specimens while macroscopic image was also carried out. Three aspects were analyzed, the percentage of wound regression where it was observed that there was a significant difference in the first 7 days. Regarding the inflammatory process, it was observed that in the first 7 days GL7 and GU7 improved significantly and within 14 days of the experimental period GU14 showed a significant difference when compared to C14. The number of fibroblasts present in the GL at 7 days showed a significant difference compared to the others, and at 14 days, the US group had a significant difference compared to the other groups. Thus, it was evident that the US had more effective results with anti-inflammatory action, better organization and increased deposition of collagen and fibroblasts. Therefore, it can be concluded that other studies are consistent with this taking into account the laser must be used during the early days of the initial healing process and the US during the end of this process.

Objetivo: Comparar Qualidade de Vida, sintomas osteomioarticulares e sobrecargas em cuidadores de idosos. Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo epidemiológico, observacional, descritivo, transversal e quantitativo, cuja amostra foi composta por setenta e seis indivíduos de ambos os sexos e com idade entre 18 e 55 anos, alocados em dois grupos, cuidadores formais (Grupo A) e cuidadores familiares (Grupo B). Os dados foram coletados com os questionários WHOQOL-BREF, QNSO e EZBI. Resultados: A Qualidade de Vida Geral (QVG) foi maior no Grupo A que no B. A sobrecarga leve concentrou-se majoritariamente no Grupo B e a sobrecarga grave no Grupo A. Nos sintomas musculoesqueléticos, o Grupo A sofreu acometimentos de região lombar, dorsal e ombros. Houve afastamentos por acometimento na região lombar, dorsal e ombros. No Grupo B, houve acometimentos de região lombar, ombros e dorsal. Não ocorreram afastamentos neste grupo, apesar de ter sofrido maiores sobrecargas e ter sido mais exposto a sintomas musculoesqueléticos e menor QVG, por executar suas atividades de forma anônima, sem vínculo formal no desempenho de suas funções. Conclusão: O Grupo A sofreu menos desgastes, afastando-se mais de atividades laborais, enquanto o Grupo B sofreu mais desgastes e sobrecargas, contudo com ausência de afastamentos.

The oil-in-water emulsion of C. macrophyllum Tul accelerated wound healing in diabetic rats.

PURPOSE:To compare the biomodulatory effects of LED and ultrasound combined with semipermeable dressing in the repair of cutaneous lesions. METHODS:Eighty-four Wistar rats were submitted to surgical injury (2.5 cm) and divided into four groups (n=21): Group I (control), Group II (LED therapy, LED), Group III (LED therapy + dressing, LED+D) and Group IV (ultrasound + dressing, US+D). At seven, 14 and 21 days, the animals were euthanized, and the specimens of interest removed for histological analysis. RESULTS:Histological and histomorphometric analysis revealed a greater percent wound regression in animals receiving the dressing (group III: 55.97; group IV: 53.06), as well as a greater reduction in the inflammatory infiltrate (group III: 29.14; group IV: 31.71) since day 7. A later effect, with progression of the tissue repair process only after 14 and 21 days, was observed in the LED group intense fibroblast proliferation and greater collagen fiber production and organization were seen in the LED+D and US+D groups compared to the other groups.CONCLUSION: LED combined with a dressing was more effective at accelerating in the repair of cutaneous lesions.

PURPOSE:To analyze the effects of the low-level laser therapy in the acute myositis induced in rats. METHODS:Fifteen male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) were randomly distributed into three categories: control group (C), induced Myositis without treament (MI) and treated induced myositis (MT), for the experimental period of seven days. The induction of the acute myositis was done with 1% acetic acid by intramuscular route. The rats belonging to the experimental group had daily treatment through the GaAs (gallium arsenide) laser, with 904,0 nm length, and 45 mW peak power, with 3J/cm 2 , applied for 5 minutes on the animals' right posterior limb. RESULTS:In the MT group there was a statistic significant decrease in the number of inflammatory cells, related to the MI group (p<0.05), increase in the fibroblastic proliferation, when compared to groups C and MI related to MT group (p<0.01) and statistic significant edema regression (p=0.0400) in the MT group. CONCLUSION:The low-level laser therapy was efficient in the reduction of the inflammatory process, increase of the fibroblastic proliferation and the reduction of the edema.

Introduction: Patients with diabetes mellitus exhibit a delay in the lesion repair process. The active components of Cenostigma macrophyllum may represent a viable alternative to facilitate the recovery of these lesions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of emulsion oil-water Cenostigma macrophyllum in the repair process of lesions in rats with induced diabetes. Methods: 63 male rats (Wistar, 200-250 g body weight, 30-40 days old) were distributed into the following groups: control (C), diabetic (D) and diabetic treated with Cenostigma macrophyllum (P), subdivided based on the experimental times, days 7, 14 and 28, with 21 animals per main group. Diabetes mellitus (DM) was induced by administration of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg via penile vein and 12-h fasting) and confirmed at day 21 (glycemic index > 240 mg/dL). In the animals of group P, 0.5 ml of the oil-water emulsion obtained from the plant seed was used. The samples were removed and hemisectioned, and one portion was used for the quantitative histological analysis of collagen using Masson's trichrome staining, while another portion was analyzed by FT-Raman spectroscopy. Results: A higher percentage area of the volume of collagen fibers was observed for the experimental time Day 14 in group P compared with group D (p < 0.001). Regarding the ratio of areas of the amides I (1700-1600 cm -1 ) and III (1245-1345 cm -1 ), the groups D and P show the opposite behavior. Conclusion: Cenostigma macrophyllum accelerated the repair process in skin of diabetic ratsfor14 days.