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INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer (BC) and its treatment can impair patient quality of life (QoL), and those undergoing more aggressive treatments may be more severely impacted. Objective: Assess the level of perception of the QoL of patients treated for BC at the Hospital de Clínicas and the Departmental Hospital of Soriano. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire for cancer patients (EORTC, QLQ-C30) and one specific for BC (EORTC QLQ-BR23) were used. RESULTS: A total of 158 patients who had completed chemotherapy treatment at least one year prior to the evaluation were enrolled. The average age was 61 years old. QLQC QUESTIONNAIRE: The global QoL score (GQOL) was high: 70.9. Patients undergoing breast-conservation surgery (BCS) had better scores in physical and emotional functioning (p < 0.005) and presented less frequently with: pain, constipation, and financial difficulties (p < 0.005). Those undergoing sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) had higher scores for GQOL and for physical, role, and social functioning scales (p < 0.001) and had less fatigue, pain, insomnia, and financial difficulties (p < 0.005). QUESTIONNAIRE QLQBR: Sexual functioning and sexual enjoyment scales were relatively low. Patients undergoing BCS had better scores on the functional scales: body image and future outlook; and fewer breast symptoms (p < 0.005). Those undergoing SLNB also had better scores on the functional scales for body image and future outlook future and presented less frequently with symptoms (p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Uruguayan BC patients experience high values on the GQOL scale; those undergoing BCS and SLNB had better scores on most functional and problem/symptom scales. Patients undergoing BCS had better scores in physical and emotional functioning and presented less frequently with pain, constipation, and financial difficulties. With respect to the type of axillary surgery received, patients who underwent SLNB had higher scores on the GQOL scale and on the physical, role, and social functional scales. The implementation of intervention strategies aimed at improving the quality of life, and the physical and emotional care of patients is recommended.

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Objectives: Influenza-like illness (ILI) caused by respiratory viruses results in various respiratory clinical manifestations. The ILI002 prospective observational cohort study aimed to describe viral agents, seasonality, and outcomes of patients with ILI during four seasons in the influenza H1N1-pandemic and post-pandemic years (2010-2014). Methods: Patients from six Mexican hospitals were enrolled from April 2010 to March 2014. Clinical data and nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained and tested for viral respiratory pathogens by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: Of the 5662 enrolled participants, 64.9% were adults and 35.1% were children. Among the 5629 participants with single-pathogen detection, rhinovirus (20.2%), influenza virus (11.2%), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (7.2%), and coronavirus (6.8%) were the most frequent pathogens. Co-infection occurred in 14.5% of cases; 49.3% of participants required hospitalization, particularly in RSV cases (42.9% adults, 89.6% children). The mortality rate was 2.8% higher among older adult participants and those with comorbidities. Influenza H1N1 had the highest mortality rate, yet almost half of the deceased had no pathogen. Rhinovirus persisted year-round, while influenza, coronavirus, and RSV peaked during cooler months. Conclusions: Analyses showed that some viruses causing ILI may lead to severe disease and hospitalization irrespective of comorbidities. These findings may help in decision-making about public health policies on prevention measures, vaccination, treatment, and administration of health care.

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Resumen Objetivo: Determinar el impacto de la diabetes en el riesgo cardiovascular en pacientes con dislipidemia. Método: Estudio observacional, transversal y comparativo, en el que se determinó el riesgo cardiovascular en 100 pacientes con dislipidemia, de los cuales 50 eran diabéticos, sin complicaciones crónicas. Resultados: Ambos grupos tenían características similares en cuanto a edad, presión arterial, índice de masa corporal, niveles de c-HDL y c-LDL. Sin embargo, al comparar el porcentaje de riesgo cardiovascular, observamos que el grupo de diabéticos tenía casi el doble de riesgo cardiovascular, 13.7 contra 7.9 (p = 0.014), y la edad del corazón calculada también fue mayor en los pacientes con diabetes, 80 contra 66 años (p = 0.003). Incluso, en los pacientes diabéticos la diferencia entre la edad real y la edad del corazón fue mayor, 24 años contra 15 años (p = 0.000). Conclusión: Padecer diabetes y dislipidemia duplica el riesgo cardiovascular. En la población estudiada se encontró poco control metabólico, lo que aumenta significativamente las complicaciones en edades tempranas y la carga económica al sistema de salud y a las familias de los pacientes; por tanto, es necesario replantear las estrategias de tratamiento para mejorar el control metabólico y el pronóstico del paciente a largo plazo.

Abstract Objective: To determine the impact of diabetes on cardiovascular risk in patients with dyslipidemia. Method: Observational, cross-sectional and comparative study in which cardiovascular risk was determined at 10 years in 100 patients with dyslipidemia, of these, 50 non-diabetic patients and 50 diabetic patients. Results: Both groups had similar characteristics in terms of age, blood pressure figures, average body mass index, and HDL and LDL levels. It was observed that the diabetic group has almost double the risk compared to the dyslipidemia group, 13.7 vs. 7.9 (p = 0.014), and the calculated heart age is also higher in patients with diabetes, 80 vs. 66 years (p = 0.003). Even in patients with diabetes there is a greater difference between the real age and the age of the heart, 24 years vs. 15 years of patients without diabetes (p = 0.000). Conclusion: Having diabetes and dyslipidemia doubles the cardiovascular risk of patients. Little metabolic control was found in the population studied, which significantly increases complications at an early age and the economic burden on the health system and the families of patients, so it is necessary to rethink treatment strategies to improve metabolic control and with it the prognosis for the patient in the long term.

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There is increasing awareness of epigenetics's importance in understanding disease etiologies and developing novel therapeutics. An increasing number of publications in the past few years reflect the renewed interest in epigenetic processes and their relationship with food chemicals. However, there needs to be a recent study that accounts for the most recent advances in the area by associating the chemical structures of food and natural product components with their biological activity. Here, we analyze the status of food chemicals and their intersection with natural products in epigenetic research. Using chemoinformatics tools, we compared quantitatively the chemical contents, structural diversity, and coverage in the chemical space of food chemicals with reported epigenetic activity. As part of this work, we built and curated a compound database of food and natural product chemicals annotated with structural information, an epigenetic target activity profile, and the main source of the food chemical or natural product, among other relevant features. The compounds are cross-linked with identifiers from other major public databases such as FooDB and the collection of open natural products, COCONUT. The compound database, the "Epi Food Chemical Database", is accessible in HTML and CSV formats at https://github.com/DIFACQUIM/Epi_food_Chemical_Database.

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In recent years, in addition to the well-established role of T cells in controlling or promoting tumor growth, a new wave of research has demonstrated the active involvement of B cells in tumor immunity. B-cell subsets with distinct phenotypes and functions play various roles in tumor progression. Plasma cells and activated B cells have been linked to improved clinical outcomes in several types of cancer, whereas regulatory B cells have been associated with disease progression. However, we are only beginning to understand the role of a particular innate subset of B cells, referred to as B-1 cells, in cancer. Here, we summarize the characteristics of B-1 cells and review their ability to infiltrate tumors. We also describe the potential mechanisms through which B-1 cells suppress anti-tumor immune responses and promote tumor progression. Additionally, we highlight recent studies on the protective anti-tumor function of B-1 cells in both mouse models and humans. Understanding the functions of B-1 cells in tumor immunity could pave the way for designing more effective cancer immunotherapies.

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BACKGROUNDS: Sleep restriction is considered a stressful condition itself, causing a wide variety of physiological alterations, from cognitive and hormonal to immunological status. In addition, it is established that stress in mother rats can modify milk ejection, milk composition, and maternal care of the pups. Also, sleep disturbances during the early stages of motherhood are a common feature of all studied species. In this context, while the impacts of sleep disruption in non-lactating animals were extensively investigated, its repercussions during the initial phases of motherhood have been poorly explored. Therefore, we wonder if maternal behavior, milk ejection and its macronutrient composition would be disrupted when mother rats are subjected to an additional acute or chronic sleep restriction to the already existing sleep disturbances. METHODS: Lactating rats were implanted with unilateral electrodes for polysomnographic recordings and for deep brain electrical stimulation into mesopontine waking-promoting area (for sleep deprivation). During the early postpartum period (postpartum day 5-9), mother rats were randomly assigned into one of three groups: chronic sleep restriction group (CSR; 6 h of sleep deprivation/day for five consecutive days), acute sleep restriction group (ASR; 6 h of sleep deprivation only for one day), or undisturbed group (control group). Active maternal behaviors (retrievals of the pups into the nest, mouthing, lickings [corporal and anogenital] and sniffing the pups) and passive maternal behaviors (kyphotic and supine nursing postures) were evaluated during a 30 min period without sleep restriction immediately after the sleep restriction or control period. The litter weight gain was assessed every day, and on the last experimental session mothers were milked for posterior macronutrients analysis (protein, carbohydrates and fat). RESULTS: When compared to control group, CSR decreased the amount of milk ejected in the middle days of the sleep restriction period, while ASR did not affect this parameter. Moreover, ASR reduced milk protein content compared to control and CSR groups. Finally, compared to the control group, CSR reduced active maternal behaviors towards the end of the treatment days. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that not only acute but also chronic sleep restriction impacts on the postpartum period, each one affecting different aspects of maternal behavior and lactation. Our results suggest the existence of a homeostatic recovery mechanism in breastfeeding during CSR, possibly ensuring the survival of the litter, while the decline in active maternal behaviors appears to be cumulative.

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BACKGROUND: This study sought to determine whether intensive blood pressure (BP) control for patients with successful reperfusion following acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is beneficial, compared to conventional BP management. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the subject. The studied outcomes included dependency or death at 90 days (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] 3-6); severe disability at 90 days (mRS 3-5); mortality at 90 days; and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals were used to compare the treatment effects for categorical outcomes. We employed a fixed-effect model for analyses with low heterogeneity (I2 < 25%) and a random-effects model for analyses with higher heterogeneity. RESULTS: A total of 1519 patients were included, with 50% (n = 760) receiving intensive BP control (systolic BP < 140 mmHg). Functional disability or death at 90 days was significantly higher in the intensive group (54.9%) compared to the conventional treatment group (44.1%) (OR = 1.51; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.15-1.96; p = 0.003; I2 = 29%). Severe functional disability (mRS 3-5) was significantly higher in the intensive group (30.6% vs. 43.5%, OR = 1.75; 95%CI = 1.36-2.25; p < 0.0001; I2 = 0%). There was no difference in symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (OR = 1.13; 95%CI = 0.76-1.67) or mortality (OR = 1.22; 95%CI = 0.9-1.64). CONCLUSIONS: Intensive BP control is harmful in patients who underwent EVT for AIS and achieved successful reperfusion. It yields higher rates of functional dependence, with no differences in mortality or symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage.

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Food chemicals have a fundamental role in our lives, with an extended impact on nutrition, disease prevention, and marked economic implications in the food industry. The number of food chemical compounds in public databases has substantially increased in the past few years, which can be characterized using chemoinformatics approaches. We and other groups explored public food chemical libraries containing up to 26,500 compounds. This study aimed to analyze the chemical contents, diversity, and coverage in the chemical space of food chemicals and additives and, from here on, food components. The approach to food components addressed in this study is a public database with more than 70,000 compounds, including those predicted via omics techniques. It was concluded that food components have distinctive physicochemical properties and constitutional descriptors despite sharing many chemical structures with natural products. Food components, on average, have large molecular weights and several apolar structures with saturated hydrocarbons. Compared to reference databases, food component structures have low scaffold and fingerprint-based diversity and high structural complexity, as measured by the fraction of sp3 carbons. These structural features are associated with a large fraction of macronutrients as lipids. Lipids in food components were decompiled by an analysis of the maximum common substructures. The chemical multiverse representation of food chemicals showed a larger coverage of chemical space than natural products and FDA-approved drugs by using different sets of representations.

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Objective: To determine the impact of diabetes on cardiovascular risk in patients with dyslipidemia. Method: Observational, cross-sectional and comparative study in which cardiovascular risk was determined at 10 years in 100 patients with dyslipidemia, of these, 50 non-diabetic patients and 50 diabetic patients. Results: Both groups had similar characteristics in terms of age, blood pressure figures, average body mass index, and HDL and LDL levels. It was observed that the diabetic group has almost double the risk compared to the dyslipidemia group, 13.7 vs. 7.9 (p = 0.014), and the calculated heart age is also higher in patients with diabetes, 80 vs. 66 years (p = 0.003). Even in patients with diabetes there is a greater difference between the real age and the age of the heart, 24 years vs. 15 years of patients without diabetes (p = 0.000). Conclusion: Having diabetes and dyslipidemia doubles the cardiovascular risk of patients. Little metabolic control was found in the population studied, which significantly increases complications at an early age and the economic burden on the health system and the families of patients, so it is necessary to rethink treatment strategies to improve metabolic control and with it the prognosis for the patient in the long term.

Objetivo: Determinar el impacto de la diabetes en el riesgo cardiovascular en pacientes con dislipidemia. Método: Estudio observacional, transversal y comparativo, en el que se determinó el riesgo cardiovascular en 100 pacientes con dislipidemia, de los cuales 50 eran diabéticos, sin complicaciones crónicas. Resultados: Ambos grupos tenían características similares en cuanto a edad, presión arterial, índice de masa corporal, niveles de c-HDL y c-LDL. Sin embargo, al comparar el porcentaje de riesgo cardiovascular, observamos que el grupo de diabéticos tenía casi el doble de riesgo cardiovascular, 13.7 contra 7.9 (p = 0.014), y la edad del corazón calculada también fue mayor en los pacientes con diabetes, 80 contra 66 años (p = 0.003). Incluso, en los pacientes diabéticos la diferencia entre la edad real y la edad del corazón fue mayor, 24 años contra 15 años (p = 0.000). Conclusión: Padecer diabetes y dislipidemia duplica el riesgo cardiovascular. En la población estudiada se encontró poco control metabólico, lo que aumenta significativamente las complicaciones en edades tempranas y la carga económica al sistema de salud y a las familias de los pacientes; por tanto, es necesario replantear las estrategias de tratamiento para mejorar el control metabólico y el pronóstico del paciente a largo plazo.