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PubMedDate not supplied

HAM/TSP in Ecuador.

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Ecuador↗
PubMed1994

Safety, immunogenicity and protective effect of the SPf66 malaria synthetic vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum infection in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled field trial in an endemic area of Ecuador.

A total of 537 subjects were randomized to receive either SPf66 malaria vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum or placebo in three doses (days 0, 30 and 180). Subjects completing the course of vaccination (230 in the vaccine and 238 in the placebo group) were followed up for a further 12 months. Case detection surveillance was implemented by parasitological cross-sectional surveys every 2 months and by monthly household visits to each participant. Symptomatic subjects were also diagnosed in a local health centre. Minor local side-effects were observed mainly after the second dose in about 19% of the vaccinated subjects and in 3.7% of the placebo group. Thirty days after the third dose the prevalence of anti-SPf66 antibodies was 57% in the vaccine and 8.8% in the placebo groups. The prevaccination prevalence of antibodies measured by indirect immunofluorescence assay increased with age and seemed to be inversely related to anti-SPf66 antibody production. Immune response to SPf66 was independent of age. Vaccine efficacy was calculated based on person-time of exposure. The protective effect considering any malaria episode was 66.8% (95% confidence interval = -2.7-89.3%) and considering only one episode per individual was 60.2% (95% confidence interval = -26-87.5%).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Ethnomedical treatment of children's diarrheal illnesses in the highlands of Ecuador.

In rural communities in the Ecuadorian Highlands, gastrointestinal disease is the leading cause of death. This paper proposes a model of the world view that specifies the factors that condition illness or health and a traditional taxonomy that relies on certain criteria to categorize three classes of diarrhea. These determine whether ethnomedical or medical treatment will be used to 'cure' a child. The three illness classes: diarrhea produced by supernatural forces, by humoral imbalances, and by 'infection' differ etiologically. The ambient air and its temperatures, the constitution, humoral state and overt personality characteristics (character) of the individual, and the predelictions of the evil spirits that seek to sap their vital essence all figure in the origins of illness. The model of the world view is related to a folk taxonomy, which, it is asserted, provides a charter for families' responses to child illness, that more often than not, are appropriate under the economic conditions they suffer.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used in Loja and Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador.

This paper reports the results of an ethnobotanical survey on the uses of medicinal plants by inhabitants of two southern Ecuadorian provinces, namely, Loja and Zamora-Chinchipe. In this region, two surviving ethnic groups, the Saraguros and the Shuars, and the descendants of a now extinct culture, the Paltas, have been identified. The present study reports a total of 275 plant species, having 68 different therapeutical uses.

Data Collection↗
PubMed2004

Validation and cross-cultural adjustment of PDQL-questionnaire, Spanish version (Ecuador) (PDQL-EV).

OBJECTIVE: To validate the Ecuadorian Spanish-language version of the Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire (PDQL-EV). METHOD: Cross-sectional study of patients with Parkinson's Disease attending a Movement Disorders Clinic. MEASURES APPLIED: Hoehn and Yahr (HY), Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS-3.0), Schwab and England Scale (SES), Pfeiffer Questionnaire (SPMSQ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). PDQ-39 and PDQL-EV were applied, the latter after translation and back translation. RESULTS: The study included 137 patients with an age range of 69.43 +/- 10.18 years (mean +/- SD), duration of illness 5.87 +/- 2.58 years, and HY 2.28 +/- 0.77. The PDQL-EV internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) yielded: Parkinson's symptoms (PS) 0.85; systemic symptoms (SS) 0.69; social function (SF) 0.81; and emotional function (EF) 0.78. The correlation between measurements varied from 0.68 (PS-SS) to 0.46 (SS-EF), and total measurement correlation from 0.58 (EF) to 0.74 (PS) (altogether, p < 0.0001). The correlation of PDQL with clinical variables was: HY -0.62; UPDRS (subscales 1, 2 and 3) -0.55, -0.76, and -0.48, respectively; SES 0.65; SPMSQ -0.35; HADS-anxiety -0.55; HADS-depression -0.67; and PDQ-39 -0.91 (altogether p < 0.0001). PDQL-EV scores were significantly different (p < 0.0001) between moderate and advanced stages, for all domains except for EF (p = 0.006). CONCLUSION: The PDQ-EV has satisfactory internal consistency, and converging and discriminating validity.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Antiplatelet and antithrombotic activities of essential oil from wild Ocotea quixos (Lam.) Kosterm. (Lauraceae) calices from Amazonian Ecuador.

Ocotea quixos essential oil was shown to possess significant inhibitory activity of platelet aggregation and clot retraction in rodent plasma. This study is aimed at fully characterizing the antiplatelet activity of the whole essential oil and its main components trans-cinnamaldehyde and methyl cinnamate also in human plasma, at investigating the mechanism underlying such activity and at evaluating the potential antithrombotic activity of subacute treatment of mice with Ocotea essential oil. In vitro Ocotea essential oil and trans-cinnamaldehyde inhibited arachidonic acid-, U46619-, ADP-, phorbol12-myristate13-alcetate-, collagen-induced platelet aggregation and thrombin-induced clot retraction in human and rodent plasma; Ocotea oil and trans-cinnamaldehyde competitively antagonized contractions induced by thromboxane A2 receptor agonist U46619 in rat isolated aortic ring (K(B) = 18 and 3.2 microg ml(-1), respectively). In vivo Ocotea oil, orally administered in a subacute treatment (30-100 mg kg(-1) day(-1) for 5 days) to mice, prevented acute thrombosis induced by collagen-epinephrine intravenous injection. This antithrombotic activity was not accompanied by pro-haemorragic side effect, as detected by the inactivity in bleeding test, thus showing a favourable safety profile compared to the conventional antiplatelet agent, acetylsalicylic acid. Present findings indicate that Ocotea essential oil possesses potent and safe antithrombotic activity attributable to its antiplatelet and vasorelaxant effects. The main constituent trans-cinnamaldehyde seems to be the primary responsible for this activity through a putative mechanism involving the inhibition of thromboxane A2 receptors.

Acrolein↗
PubMed2005

Oil development and health in the Amazon basin of Ecuador: the popular epidemiology process.

Recent decades have witnessed an increasing corporate access to and control over natural resources resulting in environmental degradation, inequalities and ill health. Since 1972, oil companies have extracted more than two billion barrels of crude oil from the Ecuadorian Amazon. During this process, millions of gallons of untreated toxic wastes, gas and oil have been released into the environment. Indigenous federations, peasant's movements and environmental groups have claimed that contamination has caused widespread damage to both people and the environment. This article tells the story of how the relationship between local organisations and research institutions developed around an epidemiological study constructed to address communities' concerns. Local organisations set the agenda of the research: they were involved in the hypothesis formulation, consulted in each step during the study and responsible of the dissemination of the findings. This process is known as popular epidemiology. Practical and personal issues and dilemmas faced during the research process are discussed with emphasis on the communication and dissemination of the findings. The article concludes the need of alliances between communities and researchers in order to protect health and environment. Popular epidemiology is an essential approach for public health researchers to reaffirm their roots in improving public health as a primary value.

Community-Institutional Relations↗
PubMed2006

The role of geography and ecology in shaping the phylogeography of the speckled hummingbird (Adelomyia melanogenys) in Ecuador.

The Andes of South America contain one of the richest avifaunas in the world, but little is known about how this diversity arises and is maintained. Variation in mitochondrial DNA and morphology within the speckled hummingbird (Adelomyia melanogenys) was used to elucidate the phylogeographic pattern along an Ecuadorian elevational gradient, from the coastal cordillera to the inland Andean montane region. We examined sequence, climatic/remote sensing and morphological data to understand the effects of topography and ecology on patterns of variation. Populations on either side of the Andes are genetically divergent and were separated during a period that corresponds to the final stages of Andean uplift during the Pliocene. Despite isolation, these two populations were found to be morphologically similar suggesting a strong effect of stabilizing selection across ecologically similar Andean cloud forests, as assessed using climatic and remote sensing data. In contrast, little genetic divergence was found between coastal and west-Andean individuals, suggesting recent interruption of gene flow between these localities. However, coastal populations were found to inhabit different habitats compared to Andean populations as shown by climatic and remote sensing variables. Furthermore, coastal individuals had significantly longer bills compared to their montane relatives, indicative of differential directional selection and the influence of habitat differences in shaping phenotypic variation. Results highlight the role of both isolation and ecology in diversification in Ecuadorian montane regions, while suggesting the two may not always act in concert to produce divergence in adaptive traits.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Bartonellosis in Zamora Chinchipe province in Ecuador.

Human bartonellosis was investigated in the Ecuadorian province of Zamora Chinchipe; 17 cases were identified retrospectively from hospital records over the period 1984-1995, mostly from 6 communities in the provincial district of Zumba. A questionnaire concerning risk factors for disease transmission was administered in these 6 communities. Blood samples were taken from individuals with current febrile illnesses or skin lesions suggestive of bartonellosis. Samples for detection of Bartonella bacilliformis were also taken from all school-age children in communities where historical cases had been identified by questionnaire. No bacteriologically positive case was identified and no evidence of asymptomatic infection was detected. Risk factors for disease transmission, identified by the questionnaire, included the presence of sick or dying chickens and guinea-pigs. It was suggested that bartonellosis is a zoonosis with wild animals, probably rodents, as the reservoir. The widespread use of residual insecticides and the easy availability of antibiotics is likely to have modified the epidemiology of this disease over the last decade.

Adolescent↗