Publicaciones científicas

Costs Related to Frontotemporal Dementia in Latin America: A Scoping Review of Economic Health Studies

2025-10-31T18:48:20Z

Costs Related to Frontotemporal Dementia in Latin America: A Scoping Review of Economic Health Studies Alva-Dìaz, C.; Malaga, M.; Rodriguez-Calienes, A.; Morán-Mariños, C.; Velásquez-Rimachi, V.; Custodio, N. Introduction: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a complex syndrome characterized by changes in behavior, language, executive control, and motor symptoms. Its annual economic burden per patient in developed countries has been classified as considerable, amounting to US$119,654 per patient, almost double the patient costs reported for Alzheimer's disease. However, there is little information regarding cost-of-illness (COI) for FTD in Latin-America (LA). Aim: To describe the costs related to FTD in LA. Methods: We included COI studies on FTD conducted in LA published in English, Spanish, or Portuguese from inception to September 2020. We carried out a systematic search in Pubmed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Scielo, Cochrane, and gray literature. For quality assessment, we used a COI assessment tool available in the literature. All costs were reported in USD for 1 year and adjusted for inflation. Results: We included three studies from Argentina, Brazil, and Peru. Direct costs (DCs) included medication (from US$959.20 to US$ 4,279.20), health care costs (from US$ 2,275.80 to US$7,856.16), and caregiver costs (from US$9,634.00 to US$28,730.28). Indirect costs (ICs) amounted to US$43,076.88. Conclusions: In LA countries, the reporting of costs related to FTD continues to be oriented toward DCs. They remain lower than in developed countries, possibly due to the limited health budget allocated. Only one Brazilian report analyzed ICs, representing the highest percentage of the total costs. Therefore, studies on the COI of this disease in LA are essential, focusing on both out-of-pocket spending and the potential economic loss to patients' homes and families.

Prevalence of Avian Influenza H5N6 in Birds: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Other Viral Zoonosis

2025-10-31T18:48:19Z

Prevalence of Avian Influenza H5N6 in Birds: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Other Viral Zoonosis Katterine Bonilla-Aldana, D.; Holguin-Rivera, Y.; Cortes-Bonilla, I.; Cardona-Trujillo, M.C.; García-Barco, A.; Bedoya-Arias, H.A.; Patiño-Cadavid, L.J.; Aguirre-Florez, M.; Balbin-Ramon, G.J.; Erazo-Arana, D.C.; Zambrano, L.I.; Perez-Garcia, L.; Rodriguez-Morales, A.J.; Paniz-Mondolfi, A. Avian influenza viruses (AIV) are zoonotic pathogens that can potentially affect humans and potentially be epidemic in a region. Birds (such as poultry and wild birds) serve as potential reservoirs for these viruses, highlighting the importance of determining AIV prevalence in the avian population. No systematic reviews have been published on this issue in the world so far. The present systematic literature review following the PRISMA standard, with meta-analysis, used three databases to globally assess the Influenza H5N6 infection in birds (including poultry and wild birds). A model of random-effects meta-analysis was performed to calculate the pooled prevalence and 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) for the prevalence of Influenza H5N6 infection in birds. A total number of 14,605 articles published from 2015 to 2020 were retrieved. After screening the abstract/title, 37 articles were selected for full-text assessment, and 15 were included for qualitative and quantitative analyses. Of the total number of birds (n = 13,416 birds), the pool prevalence by RT-PCR was 3.5% (95% CI: 2.8-4.3%). From the total, 39.67% of the birds assessed were ducks (family Anatidae), in which pool prevalence was 7.7% (95% CI: 4.4-11.0). In chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), the pool prevalence was 3.3% (95% CI 1.9-4.8). Vietnam was the country with the highest pool prevalence; 7.9% (95% CI 4.0-11.7%). Bangladesh was the country with the lowest pool prevalence of 0.4% (95% CI 0.2-0.7%). A considerable proportion of infected birds tested positive highlighted the relevance of individual animals as reservoirs of H5N6. Ducks and chickens were found to be positive by RT-PCR in over 3% of the cases. These data suggest their relevance in maintaining zoonotic transmission and their potential implications for epidemics and even pandemics in the near future.

Bienestar psicológico y agresión reactiva en Latinoamérica en tiempos del COVID-19

2026-10-24T08:04:42Z

Bienestar psicológico y agresión reactiva en Latinoamérica en tiempos del COVID-19 García-Cadena, C.H.; Sierra, J.M.Q.; Caycho-Rodríguez, T.; Martínez, F.E.G.; Pinales, Ó.M.L. Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has generated consequences for the mental health of people, affecting their well-being. Regardless of the culture and context where people find themselves and depending on their individual situation and vulnerability, some may use certain adaptive psychological resources such as patience or inappropriate ones such as fear and aggression when faced with a non-normative event that generates stress such as a pandemic is, even going so far as to alter the perception of psychological well-being and affect health, Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the influence of patience, fear of contracting COVID-19, and stress on psychological well-being and reactive aggression, in the general Latin American population. Method: 1,138 adults participated, 759 women and 379 men from Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile, who answered the Brief Scale of Patience, the Stress Scale, the Scale on fear of contracting COVID-19, the Scale of Psychological Well-being, and the Aggression Scale. Results: Structural equation modeling was used. A large effect size was found in the explained variance of psychological well-being in the four samples, and a large effect size was found in the explained variance of reactive aggression in Colombia, Peru, and Chile, and a medium effect in Mexico. Conclusion: adaptive variables cushion the adverse effects of the uncertainty caused by a pandemic. It is recommended to use this knowledge to generate strategies that increase psychological well-being and reduce reactive aggression.

Asociación entre la presentación de endometritis y los niveles de calcio sérico en vacas lecheras de crianza intensiva (Lima, Perú)

2026-10-25T08:05:10Z

Asociación entre la presentación de endometritis y los niveles de calcio sérico en vacas lecheras de crianza intensiva (Lima, Perú) Irma Arévalo, R.; Luis Ruiz, G.; Néstor Chagray, A.; Rocío Sandoval, M. The aim of the research was to study the association between the presentation of endometritis and serum calcium levels in intensively reared dairy cows from Lima, Peru. The study was carried out with 76 Holstein cows. Blood samples were taken on the seventh day of parturition to measure calcium levels using a spectrophotometer, considering 8 mg/dl as the threshold to determine the presence of subclinical hypocalcemia. The diagnosis of endometritis was made at 35 ± 3 days postpartum using the commercial Metricheck® device to evaluate the appearance of vaginal fundus discharge, considering as endometritis a score greater than or equal to 2 on the McDougall scale. A significant difference was found between multiparous cows with and without hypocalcemia in the presentation of endometritis (p<0.02), showing 1.65 times more probability of presenting endometritis than animals with normocalcemia. It is concluded that there is an association between the presentation of endometritis in multiparous cows with subclinical hypocalcemia.