São Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicina
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Instant messaging services (IMS) are widely used in medical practice. ⋯ Our results provide reliable proof that medical doctors and students use IMS, as a tool for clinical case discussions, interactions between healthcare providers and patients, or dissemination of knowledge and information. Nonetheless, because of limitations to the ethical and legal regulations, evidence-based discussions between authorities, academics and medical institutions are needed in order to fully achieve positive outcomes from such platforms.
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People have been using psychoactive substances for a long time. Over the last few years, this practice has spread among university students, who use these substances to improve their academic performance, relieve stress and increase concentration and memory. ⋯ There was high prevalence of psychoactive drug use among the students at the higher education institution investigated. Some variables (female sex, medical students and low academic performance) were associated with the outcome.
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Several continuous measurements of cardiometabolic risk (CMR) have emerged as indexes or scores. To our knowledge, there are no published data on its application and validation in Latin America. ⋯ The findings support the use of the scores assessed here. Follow-up studies should evaluate the predictive capacity of scores for cardiovascular events and diabetes in the Venezuelan population.
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Studies have shown that physical activity levels can be inversely associated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels. However, the amount of physical activity required to maintain normal hs-CRP levels is still a matter for speculation. ⋯ Physical activity in the leisure-time and commuting domains together, of duration 200 minutes/week, was associated with normal hs-CRP values.
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Statins are used as cholesterol-lowering drugs and may also have direct antimicrobial effects. ⋯ These results demonstrate that simvastatin should be considered to be a therapeutic alternative, capable of potentiating the action of amphotericin B. However, further studies are necessary to clarify the real effect of simvastatin as an antifungal agent.