Caio Cesar Sestile

Mood disorders are among the most prevalent health problems affecting the young adult population, especially academics of higher education. This scenario may be even more evident with the social isolation related to COVID-19. The aim of this study was to investigate symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety in academics from private institutions of higher education, under social isolation. The study was performed using questionnaires to obtain socioeconomic data and the Anxiety, Depression and Stress Scale (DASS-21), using an online platform. The results demonstrated that most participants had symptoms of stress, anxiety or depression. People with mood disorders had severe scores on the DASS-21. In addition, there was a higher prevalence of severe and extremely severe symptoms in females when compared to males. Finally, there was a negative correlation with age, demonstrating that, as younger, higher the score. The participants had significant scores of mood disorders probably because the majority work and study. In addition, they probably increase the susceptibility to these conditions with COVID-19 pandemic. The predominant age corresponds to the so-called emerging adult phase and the majority of women is probably related to the fact that most health sciences courses participated in the research and had predominantly women.

O avanço da tecnologia farmacêutica proporcionou um aumento na fabricação de medicamentos, o que tem contribuído para o aumento da automedicação e descarte inadequado. Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a automedicação, armazenamento e descarte de medicamentos em pacientes de farmácias privadas de Jaraguá do Sul, SC. Para isto, aplicou-se um questionário com clientes que frequentam farmácias privadas do município. O questionário possuía 32 perguntas, divididas em 4 etapas: dados sociodemográficos, prevalência de automedicação e o perfil de consumo de medicamentos, conhecimento sobre armazenamento, validade e integridade dos medicamentos e o conhecimento sobre o descarte correto e o impacto causado ao meio ambiente. Com os resultados obtidos de 120 pacientes, foi possível observar que 91,7% deles se automedicam. Além disso, observou-se que 65% nunca receberam orientações sobre como descartar os medicamentos vencidos ou em desuso. Por isso, 58% dos entrevistados descartam de forma inadequada, e estudos evidenciam que quando em contato com o solo e a água, esses medicamentos podem causar contaminação, que mesmo em uma rede de tratamento de esgoto não é eliminada completamente. É um problema pouco divulgado, porém com consequências catastróficas. Com os resultados do presente estudo, conclui-se que a população tem sua parcela de responsabilidade também devendo estar esclarecida e envolvida no processo de conscientização do uso, armazenamento e da geração de resíduos derivados dos medicamentos, reforçando a necessidade de estratégias de educação sobre o tema.

“Nanicão Corupá” (Musa acuminata) comes from Southern Brazil. The tropical climate in the region provides unique characteristics, including a sweeter flavor. This difference resulted in a Geographical Indication Recognition and Designation of Origin, recognized by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) in Brazil. Considering that “Nanicão Corupá” has some peculiarities related to the climate and there are no studies evaluating this banana cultivars, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the qualitative and quantitative phenolic composition of the aerial parts of “Nanicão Corupá” by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS in comparison to 46 commercial standards of phenolic compounds. Aerial parts (flower, leaves, fruit and stem) of “Nanicão Corupá” were collected and macerated in methanolic extracts, which were partitioned with solvents of different polarities (dichloromethane and ethyl acetate). The HPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis was performed using the sample pre-treatment, chromatographic and mass spectrometer parameters. Results demonstrated that a total of 11 phenolic compounds were identified in the analyzed samples. The majority of compounds was identified in the ethyl acetate fraction (BFEF) of banana flowers: rutin (36.06 ± 0.23) and isoquercetin (28.83 ± 5). The compounds isoquercetin, naringerin and myricitrin were identified for the first time in the Musa genus.

This study evaluated the antidepressant-like effect of insulin compared to sertraline and a combination of insulin and sertraline in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats submitted to the forced swim test (FST). Male Wistar rats were daily treated for 21 days with insulin (1 or 2 IU/kg, i.p.), with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), sertraline (10 mg/kg, i.p.), or with a combination of insulin (1 or 2 IU/kg, i.p.) and sertraline (10 mg/kg, i.p.) and submitted to the FST. We also evaluated the water and food intake, urine volume and weight gain of the rats. Rats treated with STZ showed impaired glucose tolerance. Chronic treatment with sertraline showed an antidepressant-like effect in non-diabetic and diabetic rats. Furthermore, sertraline promoted lower weight gain in diabetic rats. Insulin reduced the immobility behaviour in T2DM rats with impaired glucose tolerance. In conclusion, our results showed that insulin has an antidepressant-like effect comparable to that of sertraline. Sertraline is effective as an antidepressant and reduces weight gain, which reinforces its superiority over other SSRIs in the treatment of major depression disorder in patients with T2DM.