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Biomedical subjects

A C Guedes

Publications and source records attributed to A C Guedes.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Abortion in Brazil: legislation, reality and options.

Abortion is illegal in Brazil except when performed to save the woman's life or in cases of rape. This paper gives a brief history of parliamentary and extra-parliamentary efforts to change abortion-related legislation in Brazil in the past 60 years, the contents of some of the 53 bills that have been tabled in that time, the non-governmental stakeholders involved and the debate itself in recent decades. The authorities in Brazil have never assumed full public responsibility for reproductive health care or family planning, let alone legal abortion; the ambivalence of the medical profession is an important obstacle. Most politicians avoid getting involved in the abortion debate, but the majority of bills in the 1990s have favoured less restrictive legislation. Incremental legislative and health service changes could help to improve the situation for women. Advocacy is probably the most important action, to promote an environment conducive to change. Clandestine abortion is a serious public health problem in Brazil, and the inadequacy of family planning services is one of the causes of this problem. The solutions should be made a priority for the Brazilian public health system.

Abortion, Illegal↗

HTLV-I associated infective dermatitis may be an indolent HTLV-I associated lymphoma.

When present for a first time blood donation, a 28-year-old Brazilian white female reported a pruritic eczema of the scalp and retroauricular areas since childhood that had been frequently infected. Her mother had been diagnosed as having HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (HAM), and the patient was found to be a human T-lymphotropic virus type-I (HTLV-I) carrier. The patient had been breast-fed for 6 months. The patient had a complete examination, and a biopsy was taken from eczema in the retroauricular area. The biopsy indicated chronic lymphohistiocytic dermatitis with no abnormal lymphocytes. Eleven months later, the patient had an infiltration in the skin of the retroauricular area and a new biopsy revealed atypical lymphocytes. Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was positive for HTLV-I and immunohistochemistry of the tissue at this time confirmed adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). Retrospective immunohistochemistry showed that the first fragment submitted from the biopsy 11 months before was also compatible with the diagnosis of ATLL. This case fulfilled all major criteria for diagnosis of HTLV-I-associated infective dermatitis (HTLV-I-ID). We postulate that the patient had indolent ATLL associated with HTLV-I infective dermatitis since childhood. We recommend that tissue immunohistochemistry analysis be done in any patient with HTLV-associated infective dermatitis.

Adult↗

[Eating patterns among the elderly of different socioeconomic groups living in a urban area of southeastern Brazil].

Two hundred and eight three male and female elderly subjects were studied. They participated in the Multicentric project: "Health assessment of elderly people living in the urban area of S. Paulo", Brazil, and were stratified by socio-economic level in three areas of S. Paulo city. The food frequency questionnaire was applied in order to discover their food pattern. The results show that for the energy-producing foods more than 90% of the total sample eat tubers, rice, bread and pasta; however, only the rice and bread are consumed daily. As for protein, 70% or more of the elderly people eat beans, beef, poultry, milk and eggs but for the daily consumption there are differences between the 3 regions. More than 85% of the subjects eat fruits, leafy and other vegetables; nevertheless, the frequency of their daily consumption is bigger in the wealthier area. The dietetic information shows that the group analysed has the same food pattern as other population groups as far the energy-producing foods are concerned; there are, however, some difference as regards the protein foods and fruit and vegetables.

Aged↗

Human papillomavirus type 16 variants isolated from vulvar Bowenoid papulosis.

Tissues from two cases of Bowenoid papulosis of the vulva were found to contain human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 DNA by Southern blot hybridization. Analysis of the hybridization pattern revealed differences in a restriction fragment of one specimen as compared to the HPV 16 DNA prototype. To investigate if these differences could interfere with the expression of such oncogenic viral genomes, the corresponding DNA fragments were cloned and further analyzed. After amplification by PCR and DNA sequencing, a 213 base pairs duplication was mapped in the long control region (LCR) of this HPV 16 variant. One single PCR fragment was obtained from the other Bowenoid papulosis, which is identical in size with the same region in the HPV-16 prototype. The duplication in the HPV-16 LCR analyzed in this study maps upstream of a region containing several regulatory elements.

Adult↗

[Localized xanthoma in lymphedema].

We report a case of xanthoma and lymphoedema in a patient who has aortic insufficiency. The association of lymphoedema and vascular malformations has been reported and seems to be occasional. The lymphoedema is primary and of early onset. Localized xanthomas follow the ingestion of lipoproteins by local histiocytes. We observed partial regression of xanthomas with alleviation of lymphoedema. There seems to be the ten reports of such association.

Adolescent↗

Isolation of Leishmania sp. from aqueous humor of a patient with cutaneous disseminated leishmaniasis and bilateral iridocyclitis (preliminary report).

The authors report an uncommon case of leishmaniasis with disseminated cutaneous lesions, systemic manifestations and ocular involvement, the latter being characterized by bilateral nongranulomatous iridocyclitis. The severity of the ophthalmologic lesions and its unresponsiveness to therapy (in spite of satisfactory regression of both systemic and cutaneous manifestations) lead to a needle aspiration of the anterior eye chamber content. From this material Leishmania sp was isolated. To our knowledge this is the first time that Leishmania has been shown into the ocular globe.

Amphotericin B↗