Developing biomaterials for tissue regeneration is a promising alternative for the recovery of various tissues, including bone. Atorvastatin (ATV) has a series of beneficial effects which includes bone anabolism, vasodilating, and anti-inflammatory actions. The main objective of this work was to produce and characterize polycaprolactone (PCL) matrices incorporated with ATV. Samples were prepared by the solvent casting technique. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and in vitro release studies were performed. FTIR analysis showed that no chemical bonds were formed between PCL and ATV. SEM analysis showed that the amount of ATV affects sample morphology. According to XRD and thermal analysis, the main ATV characteristics were maintained. The studies showed that PCL/ATV samples release the drug in a prolonged way since its release reaches around 50% after 15000 minutes of analysis and the model that showed the best fit for the studied matrices was the Higuchi model, with a correlation coefficient above 0.95.

Polymers such as the biocompatible polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and the polysaccharide chitosan (Chi), a pH-sensitive polymer, have been studied for drug delivery applications and scaffolds production. In this work, matrices of PHB and Chi were produced by compression molding (SPHB-Chi) and loaded with a broad-spectrum biocide chlorhexidine (CHX) (SPHB-Chi-CHX). The matrices were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SPHB-Chi capacity to absorb and deliver CHX was evaluated by UV-Vis. The antibacterial activity of the samples against S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and E. coli (most common pathogens that cause infection in several body sites) was evaluated using the disk-agar diffusion method. The CHX release results were fitted by the Power Law model. The results suggested that the morphology and the CHX delivery profile were directly related to the Chi amount in the samples and also showed that the SPHB-Chi-CHX is able to inhibit the microorganism proliferation, constituting it as a potential candidate for oral applications.

Objective: Rapid cycling (RC) is a feature of bipolar disorder (BD) that has been associated with worse outcome and more severe disability. Our goal was to investigate the association of demographic and clinical factors with RC. Methods: We compared RC and non-rapid cycling (NRC) BD patients from the Brazilian Research Network in Bipolar Disorder (BRN-BD) regarding age at onset of BD; total number of episodes; previous number of manic, depressive, mixed, and hypomanic episodes; polarity of the first episode; gender; number of suicide attempts; number of lifetime hospitalizations and lifetime history of at least one hospitalization; family history of mood disorder; clinical comorbidities such as hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, seizures; and current use of medications such as lithium, anticonvulsants, antipsychotics, and antidepressants. Results: We studied 577 patients and found that 100 (17.3%) met the criteria for RC in the year before the investigation. RC patients had earlier age at onset, longer duration of disease, more lifetime depressive and manic episodes, higher number of suicide attempts, and higher rate antidepressant use. Conclusion: The presence of RC in the previous year was associated with specific clinical characteristics closely related to worse outcome in the course of BD.

Introdução: O Carcinoma de Células Renais (CCR) representa 3% das neoplasias em adultos. É uma das neoplasias urológicas mais letais, com uma mortalidade específica de 40%. A invasão parietal ou a presença de trombo tumoral na veia cava inferior acontece em 4% a 10% dos doentes (= T3b) com sobrevida estimada aos cinco anos entre 40% e 60%. A única estratégia curativa é a exérese em bloco do trombo tumoral e do rim. Material e Métodos: Avaliámos retrospectivamente os processos clínicos, incluindo dados imagiológicos e histopatológicos, de todos os doentes com CCR submetidos a nefrectomia radical entre 2008 e 2009 na nossa instituição. Resultados: Foi identificado o envolvimento venoso em 10,1% dos doentes (sete em 69), com idade média de 58 anos (32-72). Seis (85,7%) apresentavam invasão da veia renal, quatro (57,1%) trombo tumoral na veia renal e 3 (42,9%) trombo tumoral na veia cava (dois no nível II e um no nível I). A três destes doentes foi realizada cavotomia com excisão do trombo, sem complicações. Um doente abandonou o seguimento médico; dois doentes faleceram no pós-operatório imediato ou precoce (três a sete dias); um doente faleceu por progressão da doença sistémica; os restantes três apresentam progressão da doença. Conclusões: O CCR acompanhado por trombo tumoral na veia cava apresenta uma história natural pouco favorável, mas que pode ser drasticamente alterada se a atitude cirúrgica for agressiva e completa. A constituição de equipas multidisciplinares é fundamental.

Introduction: Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) accounts for 3% of adult carcinomas. It is one of the most deadly urological cancers with disease specific mortality of 40%. Venous wall invasion or tumor thrombus is seen in 4% to 10% of patients (= T3b), with 5 years survival from 40% to 60%. The only curative treatment is tumor thrombus and kidney en bloc removal. Materials and Methods: All the clinical, radiological and pathological data of the patients submitted to radical nephrectomy at our institution through 2008 and 2009 was reviewed. Results: We found venous involvement in seven of the 69 patients (10,1%). Average age was 58 years (32-72); Six patients (85,7%) had renal vein invasion; four (57,1%) had renal vein thrombus and three (42,9%) had cava vein thrombus (two at level II and one at level III). Three were submitted to cavotomy with no complications. One was lost to follow-up; two died on early post-op (three to seven days); one died due to systemic disease progression; the other three have disease progression. Conclusions: RCC with vena cava involvement has a poor natural history, but this can be dramatically changed with an aggressive and complete surgical attitude. For that means, multidisciplinary teams are mandatory.