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To evaluate the effect of tDCS on tinnitus distress, loudness and psychiatric symptoms. A systematic literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, VHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, OVID, and CINAHL databases was carried out on articles published until July 2021. Inclusion criteria were published controlled trials using tDCS intervention with tinnitus patients, using a sham/control group, and measuring tinnitus loudness, distress and/or psychiatric symptoms. A meta-analysis was performed for the overall effect as well as to compare subgroups according to tDCS target (left temporoparietal area (LTA) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)). Fourteen articles with 1031 participants were included. Six studies applied tDCS over the DLPFC, six over the LTA and two over both areas. Although the overall meta-analysis showed that tDCS significantly decreased tinnitus loudness (SMD=-0.35; 95%CI=-0.62 to -0.08, p = 0.01) and distress (SMD=-0.50, 95%CI=-0.91 to -0.10, p = 0.02).The subgroup analysis showed a significant effect only for tDCS over LTA for loudness (SMD=-0.46, 95%CI=-0.80 to -0.12, p = 0.009), and no other area resulted in significant change. There was no significant effect of treatment on psychiatric symptoms. tDCS may improve tinnitus loudness and distress with a small to moderate effect size. Despite the overall positive effect, only LTA tDCS yielded a significant effect. Further well-controlled studies with larger sample sizes and broader exploration of tDCS montages and doses are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to determine whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS): a) is effective in the treatment of tinnitus by decreasing its annoyance and severity; b) modulates the cortical electrical activity of such individuals. A double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted with 24 patients with tinnitus, randomized into two groups: Group 1 (n = 12) received anodal tDCS over the left temporoparietal area (LTA) and cathodal tDCS over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and Group 2 (n = 12) received placebo intervention. Tinnitus perception using a visual analog scale (VAS) and the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) questionnaire, in addition to electroencephalogram (EEG) was measured with eyes opened and closed at baseline and after the intervention. For the treatment, patients were subjected to five consecutive sessions of tDCS with the anodal electrode over the LTA and cathodal electrode over the right DLPFC (7 × 5 cm, 2 mA for 20 min). tDCS was turned off after 30 s in the sham group. Active tDCS significantly improved tinnitus annoyance and severity. It was associated with decreased beta and theta EEG frequency bands with eyes opened and decreased alpha frequency with eyes closed. sLORETA identified changes in frequency bands in the frontal, temporoparietal, and limbic regions. Finally, there were negative correlations between baseline EEG frequency bands and tDCS-induced change in tinnitus annoyance and severity. These results demonstrate that tDCS modulates the EEG activity and alleviates tinnitus perception. This effect may be related to baseline EEG activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient known to play an important role in the antioxidant system that can potentially influence tumor growth. We aimed to investigate the effects of dietary Se supplementation after detection of 4T1 mammary tumor growth in BALB/c mice. Thirty female mice received subcutaneous inoculation of 4T1 cells. After five days, all animals presenting palpable tumors were randomly assigned to three groups: a control group (Se-control) receiving a diet with adequate Se (0.15 mg/kg) and two other groups that received Se-supplemented diets (1.4 mg/kg of total Se) with either Brazilian nuts (Se-Nuts) or selenomethionine (SeMet). Data were assessed by either One or Two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's HSD or Bonferroni's post hoc tests, respectively. Both Se-supplemented diets reduced tumor volume from the thirteenth day of feeding compared with the Se-adequate (control) diet (p < 0.05). The SeMet group presented a higher Se blood concentration (p < 0.05) than the Se-control group, with the Se-Nuts group presenting intermediate values. Selenoprotein P gene expression in the liver was higher in the Se-Nuts group than in the Se-control group (p < 0.05), while the SeMet group presented intermediate expression. Dietary Se supplementation, starting after detection of 4T1 palpable lesions, reduced tumor volume in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering that health professionals at Brazil had doubts about the entomoepidemiological issues of Chagas disease (CD), and that many of them highlighted not feeling totally safe for clinical care, the knowledge of 281 Brazilian medical students was evaluated through a cross-sectional, descriptive, prospective, and quantitative research. Most students demonstrated that they knew about the etiological agent of CD (Trypanosoma cruzi), since 279 students answered the questionnaire correctly. Furthermore, the medical students demonstrated knowledge of the main form of transmission of the parasite, as 278 students associated CD transmission with triatomines. On the other hand, approximately 25 students did not associate CD transmission with triatomine feces. Besides that, these future health professionals had difficulties in relation to the treatment of CD, as more than half of the students (176) wrongly answered that CD "is not curable" or "is curable in the chronic phase". Based on the results obtained that point out the difficulties medical students have with CD, there is a need for undergraduate medical courses to address the neglected diseases holistically because the National Curriculum Guidelines for the medical course require the training of competent health professionals capable of integrating the biological, psychological, social, and environmental dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  A male sample of 135 African descendents from the Rio de Janeiro population were typed for the 12 Y-chromosome short tandem repeat (STR) loci included in the PowerPlex Y System. A high haplotype diversity was observed (0.9971), with 91% of haplotypes being unique, demonstrating the usefulness and informative power of this Y-STR set in male lineage identification. Samples with shared haplotypes were additionally typed with the Yfiler kit, which includes five extra markers. The haplotype diversity when using the 17-Yfiler loci increased to (0.9998) with 97% unique haplotypes. The same set of Y-STRs was also typed in 135 father/son pairs and three single-step mutations were observed: one at DYS19 and two at DYS385. Genetic distance analysis showed highly significant differences in all pairwise comparisons between this sample of African descendents and the general population from Rio de Janeiro, as well as with Iberian and African samples from Portugal, Mozambique, Angola and Equatorial Guinea. Comparisons with samples from other regions in Brazil showed that heterogeneity does exist, indicating that a Y-haplotype database for the whole country should take into account the population sub-structure. Moreover, a strong European influence was detected, and thus, a Y-chromosome STR profile proves a rather poor indicator for the ethnic origin of an individual in Rio de Janeiro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]