Parkinson's disease (PD) is an idiopathic neurodegenerative disease, and it has been linked to long-term pesticide exposure. In this study, we aimed to determine whether pesticide exposure was associated with the risk of PD and other neurological manifestations. We conducted a pilot case-control study in patients from two neurology outpatient clinics. PD cases (n = 29) were matched with controls (n = 83) randomly selected from the same outpatient clinics. For data collection, telephone-based interviews were performed using a structured questionnaire. Overall, PD cases were proportionally more exposed to pesticides than the control group, but the association was not statistically significant (OR= 1.92; 95%, CI: 0.77–4.66; p = 0.15). We identified a high prevalence of neurological and psychological symptoms among the study participants, especially among the individuals who reported pesticide exposure. Our results reinforce the importance of further studies investigating the relationship between PD and pesticides to better understand this phenomenon.
Since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a pandemic, huge efforts to promote better treatment for the patients raised from the scientific community. One of the most effective treatment is the administration of corticosteroid in specific stages of the disease, once that severe COVID-19 pathophysiology evolves an exuberant inflammatory response, resulting in uncontrolled pulmonary inflammation and multisystem damage. However, it is still discussed whether some drugs, such as dexamethasone, are more effective than others, such as hydrocortisone and methylprednisolone. Therefore, we constructed here a comprehensive overview, based on clinical studies with detailed methodological procedures, regarding the role of corticosteroids in COVID-19 treatment. We aimed to address how the current evidence support their use in this scenario.
After over one year, the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) has still affected millions of people. For this reason, global efforts to promote better treatment of covid-19 have been undertaken focused on the repurposing of existing medications.In Brazil, azithromycin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, has been used in association with other drugs as an immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and anti-viral agent, regardless of bacterial co-infection. Indeed, data from experimental studies have demonstrated the capacity of this drug in reducing the production of infection-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-8, IL-6, and TNF-alpha. However, observational studies revealed conflicting results regarding its effect, whereas well-conducted clinical trials have not shown a considerable effect of this agent on the improvement of clinical outcomes. This narrative review addressed the possible role of this antibiotic in the management of covid-19, based on data from clinical and preclinical studies.
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