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Introduction: Immigration has increased significantly in Chile. Despite that all pregnant women, regardless of nationality and immigration status, have the right to access to all healthcare services during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum, inequities in health care outcomes and health provision have been reported. During COVID-19 pandemic, these inequities are completely unknown. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the incidence of c-sections according to mother's migration status, as well as other maternal care and perinatal outcomes in women giving birth at San José Hospital in Santiago, Chile, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was designed including 10,166 registered single births at the San José Hospital between March 2020 and August 2021. To compare between groups, statistical tests such as Chi-square and Fisher's exact were used. Log Binomial regression models were performed adjusted for potential confounding variables. To estimate the strength of association the relative risk was used. Results: Immigrant mothers account for 48.1% of the registered births. Compared to non-immigrant women, immigrants exhibit a higher proportion of c-section, specifically, emergency c-section (28.64% vs. 21.10%; p-value < 0.001) but a lower proportion of and having a preterm birth (8.24% vs. 13.45%; p < 0.05), receiving personalized childbirth care (13.02% vs. 14.60%; p-value < 0.05), companion during labor and childbirth (77.1% vs. 86.95%; p-value < 0.001), And postpartum attachment to newborn (73% vs. 79.50%; p-value < 0.001). The proportion of COVID exposure was not significant between groups, not the severity also. Haitians had a highest risk of undergoing emergency c-section (aRR = 1.61) and Venezuelans had a highest risk of elective c-section (aRR = 2.18) compared to non-immigrants. Conclusion: This study reports high rates of c-sections in the entire population, but in immigrant populations it is even higher. Additionally, it found gaps in maternal care and perinatal outcomes between immigrants and non-immigrants. More studies are needed to elucidate the possible causes of these differences and establish new regulations to protect the reproductive rights of the immigrant population.

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In humans, even where millions of spermatozoa are deposited upon ejaculation in the vagina, only a few thousand enter the uterine tube (UT). Sperm transiently adhere to the epithelial cells lining the isthmus reservoir, and this interaction is essential in coordinating the availability of functional spermatozoa for fertilization. The binding of spermatozoa to the UT epithelium (mucosa) occurs due to interactions between cell-adhesion molecules on the cell surfaces of both the sperm and the epithelial cell. However, in humans, there is little information about the molecules involved. The aim of this study was to perform a histological characterization of the UT focused on determining the tissue distribution and deposition of some molecules associated with cell adhesion (F-spondin, galectin-9, osteopontin, integrin αV/ß3) and UT's contractile activity (TNFα-R1, TNFα-R2) in the follicular and luteal phases. Our results showed the presence of galectin-9, F-spondin, osteopontin, integrin αV/ß3, TNFα-R1, and TNFα-R2 in the epithelial cells in ampullar and isthmic segments during the menstrual cycle. Our results suggest that these molecules could form part of the sperm-UT interactions. Future studies will shed light on the specific role of each of the identified molecules.

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PURPOSE: Changes in calbindin (CB) expression have been reported in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) with controversial implications on hippocampal functions. The aim of this study was to determine the CB immunoreactivity in hippocampal dentate gyrus of patients who underwent epilepsy surgery for drug-resistant TLE with and without comorbid depression and/or memory deficits. METHODS: Selected hippocampal samples from patients with TLE who underwent epilepsy surgery were included. Clinical and complementary assessment: EEG, video-EEG, MRI, psychiatric assessment (structured clinical interview, DSM-IV), and memory assessment (Rey auditory verbal learning test, RAVLT; Rey-Osterrieth complex figure test, RCFT), were determined before surgery. Hippocampal sections were processed using immunoperoxidase with the anti-calbindin antibody. The semiquantitative analysis of CB immunoreactivity was determined in dentate gyrus by computerized image analysis (ImageJ). RESULTS: Hippocampal sections of patients with TLE and HS (n = 24) and postmortem controls (n = 5) were included. A significant reduction of CB+ cells was found in patients with TLE (p < 0.05, Student's t-test). Among TLE cases (n = 24), depression (n = 12) and memory deficit (n = 17) were determined. Depression was associated with a higher % of cells with the CB dendritic expression (CB-sprouted cells) (F(1, 20) = 11.81, p = 0.003, hp2 = 0.37), a higher CB+ area (µm2) (F(1, 20) = 5.33, p = 0.032, hp2 = 0.21), and a higher optical density (F(1, 20) = 15.09, p = 0.001, hp2 = 0.43) (two-way ANOVA). The GAF scale (general assessment of functioning) of DSM-IV inversely correlated with the % of CB-sprouted cells (r = -0.52, p = 0.008) and with the CB+ area (r = -0.46, p = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: In this exploratory study, comorbid depression was associated with a differential pattern of CB cell loss in dentate gyrus combined with a higher CB sprouting. These changes may indicate granular cell dysmaturation associated to the epileptic hyperexcitability phenomena. Further investigations should be carried out to confirm these preliminary findings.

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The uterine tube (UT) is an important and complex organ of the women's reproductive system. In general, the anatomy and basic histology of this organ are well-known. However, the composition and function of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the UT is still poorly understood. The ECM is a complex supramolecular material produced by cells which is commonly restricted to the basement membrane and interstitial spaces. ECM molecules play not only a structural role, they are also important for cell growth, survival and differentiation in all tissues. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the deposition and distribution of type I and III collagens and proteoglycans (decorin, biglycan, fibromodulin and versican) in human UT during the follicular and luteal phases by using histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques. Our results showed a broad synthesis of collagens (I and III) in the stroma of the UT. The analysis by regions showed, in the mucosa, a specific distribution of versican and fibromodulin in the epithelial surface, whereas decorin and fibromodulin were observed in the lamina propria. Versican and decorin were found in the stroma of the muscular layer, whereas all studied proteoglycans were identified in the serosa. Curiously, biglycan was restricted to the wall of the blood vessels of the serosa and muscular layers. Furthermore, there was an immunoreaction for collagens, decorin, versican and fibromodulin in the UT peripheral nerves. The differential distribution of these ECM molecules in the different layers of the UT could be related to specific structural and/or biomechanical functions needed for the oviductal transport, successful fertilization and early embryogenesis. However, further molecular studies under physiological and pathological conditions are still needed to elucidate the specific role of each molecule in the human UT.

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Los accidentes cerebrovasculares en personas menores de 45 años han pasado a ser un capítulo especial dentro de la patología neurológica, y los médicos internistas tienen que enfrentarse con una frecuencia cada vez mayor a esta patología. El siguiente es un estudio retrospectivo de casos para tratar de aclarar algunos aspectos clínicos y epidemiológicos sobre dicha entidad nosológica. El estudio evaluó 24 pacientes con déficit neurológico agudo menores de 45 años hospitalizados en el Servicio de Medicina III, Hospital Vargas, Caracas, entre Enero de 1989 y Diciembre de 1993, encontrándose predominio de sexo femenino (17/24)(estadísticamente significativo P menor de 0,01). El promedio de edad para sexo femenino fue de 34,4 años (DS 8,1) y para sexo masculino 34,4 años (DS 4,4). Dominaron los fenómenos isquémicos sobre hemorrágicos (58,3 por ciento vs 33,3 por ciento). El 87,5 por ciento de los eventos evolucionaron hacia déficit establecido. El territorio comprometido estuvo relacionado con arteria cerebral media en el 64 por ciento de los casos sin dominancia hemisférica. La causa del déficit fue desconocida en el 50 por ciento de los casos. La evolución de los pacientes fue en el 62 por ciento de los casos hacia una limitación importante

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