RESUMO
Background: Neurosciences research has increased significantly in recent years around the world. It has led to the development of interdisciplinary work, moving from activities from isolated fields (such as biology, psychology or neurology) to research that involves different scientific perspectives. In developing regions, such as Latin America, it has additional challenges, related to available funding and infrastructure.Aim: To analyze key factors in scientific productivity in neurosciences in Latin America.Methods: A bibliometric analysis of the scientific productivity in neurosciences in main five Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico) was carried out.Results: Brazil was the largest producer of scientific articles, and receptor of citations, in neurosciences in 1998-2017, followed by Mexico. We identified highly cited papers, top institutions, networks of authors, main journals and key areas in neurosciences for this period in the 5 countries.Conclusions: Scientific productivity in neurosciences in Latin America would benefit from the consolidation of more regional, interdisciplinary and international research networks. In this work, we discuss key elements for the consolidation of neurosciences research in Latin America.
Assuntos
Bibliometria , Neurociências/estatística & dados numéricos , Publicações Periódicas como Assunto/estatística & dados numéricos , Pesquisa Biomédica/estatística & dados numéricos , Humanos , América Latina , Revisão da Pesquisa por ParesRESUMO
Obesity is becoming an epidemic in Latin American countries. Genetic analyses of endophenotypes for obesity, such as body mass index (BMI), are quite useful for research. In this study, we analysed two functional polymorphisms in the dopamine receptor 4 (DRD4) and dopamine transporter (SLC6A3) genes. A sample of 232 Colombian young subjects were recruited and evaluated for BMI. Two functional polymorphisms in the DRD4 and SLC6A3 and genes were genotyped by PCR and electrophoresis. A significant association was found between BMI and the polymorphisms in DRD4 and SLC6A3 genes. DRD4 4/4 genotype was associated with a lower mean BMI and SLC6A3 10/10 genotype was associated with a higher mean BMI. Our work provides additional novel findings about the association of dopaminergic genes with BMI in healthy young adults. In addition, our study is one the first analyses of candidate genes for BMI in Latin American samples.
Assuntos
Proteínas da Membrana Plasmática de Transporte de Dopamina/genética , Predisposição Genética para Doença , Sobrepeso/genética , Polimorfismo Genético , Receptores de Dopamina D4/genética , Adolescente , Adulto , Alelos , Animais , Índice de Massa Corporal , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Colômbia , Proteínas da Membrana Plasmática de Transporte de Dopamina/metabolismo , Feminino , Frequência do Gene , Estudos de Associação Genética , Humanos , Masculino , Sobrepeso/sangue , Sobrepeso/metabolismo , Obesidade Infantil/sangue , Obesidade Infantil/genética , Obesidade Infantil/metabolismo , Receptores de Dopamina D4/metabolismo , Estudantes de Medicina , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Infectious myocarditis (IM) is a commonly undiagnosed condition that may cause several heart diseases, including dilated cardiomyopathy and chronic heart failure. The understanding of the physiopathology of myocardial inflammation is crucial for a timely diagnosis and for the control of the tissue damage, which may occur in some cases of IM. Of note, some experimental studies suggest that dilated cardiomyopathy could be a consequence of untreated IM. However, further research is required to address the molecular mechanisms that may link these two clinical entities. Here we review the mechanisms involved in the regulation at different levels of the immune response during IM, with a special focus on diagnostic and therapeutic perspectives of molecules that have been linked to the development of IM and the resulting chronic heart diseases.