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A test that detects antibodies against Zika virus in samples of blood serum with high specificity – and hence a low risk of cross-reaction with related microorganisms such as dengue virus – is set to come on to the Brazilian market before 2018 is out. The method was designed by Brazilian scientists. Technology firm Inovatech, with the support from the São Paulo Research Foundation – FAPESP through its Innovative Research in Small Business Program (PIPE), developed the test in [...]

A scientific study conducted at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo State, Brazil, has identified genetic factors associated with the severity of acute viral bronchiolitis. The study was supported by the Sao Paulo Research Foundation – FAPESP. Its results were published in the journal Gene. Principal investigator for the study and a professor at UNICAMP’s Medical School (FCM-UNICAMP), José Dirceu Ribeiro recalls that bronchiolitis is the most common disease during [...]

Researchers at the University of São Paulo’s Medical School (FM-USP) in Brazil used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to complete the first study conducted in Latin America to investigate brain volumes in transgender individuals. They performed a structural analysis in search of differences in gray and white matter volume based on MRI scans of the brains of 80 individuals between 18 and 49 years of age, divided into four groups of 20 each: cisgender women, cisgender men, transgender women [...]

The rising prevalence of dental erosion and dentin hypersensitivity has led to the emergence of more and more toothpastes on the market that claim to treat these problems. While no such toothpaste existed 20 years ago, today, many brands with different attributes are being offered. However, a study conducted at the University of Bern in Switzerland with the participation of a researcher supported by a scholarship from the São Paulo Research Foundation – FAPESP showed that none of the nine [...]

Microcephaly, brain calcification, skeletal alterations, auditory and visual deficits – these are examples of the damage that can be caused by Zika virus in babies born to mothers infected during pregnancy. However, these problems are observed in only 6%-12% of cases, and scientists suspect other factors besides viral infection are associated with the development of congenital Zika syndrome. A new study published on February 2 in the journal Nature Communications offers strong evidence [...]

The search for vaccines, treatments and preventive methods against infection by emerging viruses is one of the major challenges of global epidemiology. New pathological agents continue to emerge, such as the arbovirus transmitted by insects (in this case mosquitoes) that causes West Nile fever, named after being identified in Egypt, during the 1950s. The disease affects thousands of people each year and is asymptomatic in 80% of cases. Roughly one in five infected people develops fever and [...]

Brazil has an extremely high rate of mortality from sepsis in intensive care units (ICUs), surpassing even mortality due to stroke and heart attack in ICUs. According to a survey conducted by researchers at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and the Latin American Sepsis Institute (LASI), more than 230,000 adults die from sepsis in ICUs every year. Even more alarmingly, 55.7% of sepsis cases in ICUs end in death. These numbers are from the first nationwide study of patients with [...]

A study carried out at the Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP), supported by FAPESP , indicates that the length of hospital stay in the neonatal ICU is the factor that best explains some of the behavioral problems related to the regulation axis emotional status of infants – regardless of the level of prematurity and the presence of pulmonary dysplasia and retinopathy of prematurity. According to the research, whose results were published in the [...]

It has been amply proven that smoking can cause serious diseases such as emphysema and cancer. A new study, however, shows that pharmacological stimulation of a specific type of nicotinic receptor in cells of the immune system could be a strategy to treat inflammatory lung disease. “In tests with animals, specific stimulation of alpha-7 nicotinic receptors with an experimental drug called PNU-282987 reduced inflammation in a chronic allergic condition similar to asthma and in a lung [...]