En el presente estudio se determinó la capacidad de no producir irritación alérgica de la crema reductora de estrías (BEL-030509) a través de pruebas repetitivas de contacto epidérmico, la que fue sometida previamente a un estudio preclínico en el cual se obtuvo como resultado sensibilidad negativa en cobayos. Participaron 63 personas (n=63), que fueron seleccionadas después de haber completado una encuesta que cuenta con los criterios de inclusión y de exclusión aprobada por el Comité Institucional de Ética en Investigación (CEI) del Instituto Nacional de Salud (INS) de Perú. Se utilizó tres cremas, la crema reductora de estrías (BEL-030509) como crema experimental, petrolato como control negativo frente al ingrediente activo de la crema experimental y la crema comercial Nivea como control negativo con la que se comparó el grado de sensibilidad dérmica frente a la crem...

Clozapine currently remains the gold standard for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, but only under an adequate hematological monitoring, because it is associated with agranulocytosis. Clozapine is metabolized to produce pharmacologically active N-desmethylclozapine, inactive clozapine N-oxide and reactive oxygen species (nitrenium ion). A neutrophil count < 1000 cells/mm3 corresponds to a state of neutropenia. Agranulocytosis is a severe state of neutropenia with an absolute neutrophil count < 500 cells/mm3. Clozapine is associated with agranulocytosis in approximately 0.8 % of the patients, with an increased risk in older people and women. There are two mechanisms that explain the clozapine-induced agranulocytosis: immunological (response mediated by the immune system against haptenized neutrophils) and toxic (by the action of the metabolites N-desmethylclozapine and nitrenium io...

Since its appearance in December 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 infection spread rapidly to the whole world. About 80 % of COVID-19 patients have mild to moderate symptoms, 20 % develop severe respiratory symptoms, and about 6 % may require mechanical ventilation. In the absence of clinically proven treatment guidelines, several well-known drugs began to be evaluated in clinical trials for their likely benefits in the treatment of COVID-19. Among them is the antiparasitic drug ivermectin, one of the avermactins produced by the bacterium Streptomyces avermitilis, discovered in the seventies by Professor Omura's group in collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry. Ivermectin has been shown to inhibit the interaction between viral protein and importin α/β1 heterodimer, leading to inhibition of viral replication. This mechanism of action of ivermectin against SARS-CoV-2 was recently demonstrated...

Objetivo: Determinar los factores funcionales y mentales asociados a la presencia de vitamina D baja en adultos mayores atendidos ambulatoriamente en una clínica privada en los años 2012-2016. Metodología: Estudio observacional, analítico, retrospectivo, transversal. El muestreo fue por conveniencia y se consideró un total de 214 registros. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo para determinar los niveles plasmáticos de 25(OH)D. El análisis de la asociación entre los niveles de 25(OH)D y los factores funcionales y mentales se realizó mediante chi-cuadrado de Pearson o mediante la prueba exacta de Fischer, con un valor de significación estadística de α=0.05. Resultados: La edad media fue 82.23 años (IC 65.81 - 98.65); el valor medio de 25(OH)D, 27.56 ng/mL (4 ng/mL - 98 ng/mL). La frecuencia de vitamina D baja fue 75.7%, el 39.3% presentó niveles deficientes y el 36.4%, nivel...

In December 2019, China became the center of a pneumonia outbreak of unknown cause that caught the world’s attention. It was the new coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCoV or SARS-CoV-2), which has rapidly spread to the rest of the world. As of March 31, 2020, around 800,000 cases and 38,714 deaths have been reported worldwide. In Peru, 950 cases and 24 deaths have been reported. The virus has been found to affect most frequently elderly people, immunocompromised individuals or those with comorbidities. In this review article, we offer a comprehensive overview of current knowledge related to therapeutic alternatives for COVID-19, from drugs with proven antiviral activity that have been regularly used in other pathologies (arbidol, remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir, favipiravir) to drugs that have been usually used as antiparasitic (chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine) or antibacterial agents (teicop...

Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV). This virus can enter the host through different routes, such as the oropharynx, nasopharynx and intradermal routes, among others. In 2022, an outbreak was reported in which the virus seemed to have mutations that would make it spread more efficiently. We present three cases of monkeypox in a family of eight members. Patient 1, a 32-year-old man, presented with a papule under the left eye, which was hatched manually by his wife. He then developed endophthalmitis associated with fever and headache, in addition to nonpainful vesicular pruritic lesions on the extremities and genitalia. He was eventually clinically diagnosed with monkeypox infection. Patient 2, a 27-year-old woman (wife of patient 1), presented with vesicular and pustular lesions on the chest, extremities and anal area six days after exposure through close cont...

El 9 de febrero de 2024 se cumplieron tres años desde que la vacuna de la empresa Sinopharm fue aplicada por primera vez en el Perú; los profesionales de la salud fueron el primer grupo poblacional en recibirla (1). Este hito ocurrió mientras los peruanos vivían en un contexto de imparable confusión y creciente temor ante el virus SARS-CoV-2, pero con la esperanza de que la ciencia, haciendo gala de sus herramientas, pudiera mostrar a la población la tan ansiada luz al final del túnel pandémico. En el Centro de Investigación de Virología de la Universidad de San Martín de Porres (CIV-USMP) se ha revisado información relevante, tanto a nivel nacional como internacional, y se ha reflexionado sobre los tres años transcurridos desde aquella primera dosis de la vacuna BBIBP-CorV de Sinopharm en nuestro país.

Objective: To describe the presence and the concentration of neutralizing antibodies at serum of healthcare professionals inoculated with the Sinopharm anti-SARS-CoV2 vaccine. Materials and methods: Descriptive and transversal research. A total of 117 healthcare professionals inoculated with two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine having quantitative data of neutralizing antibodies at serum (detected by eCLIA) were included. Age, sex, neutralizing antibodies concentration and previous diagnostic of COVID-19 diseases were the variables. Results: A significant increase on neutralizing antibodies concentration were detected on pre- COVID-19 vaccinated persons regarding those vaccinated without previous diagnostic of the viral infection (p < 0,001). Conclusions: the study evidence that Sinopharm vaccine boost immunity against the new coronavirus on previously infected persons and suggest that ...

Objective: To describe the concentration of neutralizing antibodies in serum from healthcare professionals who received any of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines developed by Sinopharm, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson, or CureVac’s vaccine candidate. Materials and methods: An observational, descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional research which included 217 healthcare professionals fully vaccinated with Sinopharm, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines, or CureVac’s vaccine candidate. The presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies in serum was determined in these individuals using the electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA). Variables such as age, sex, history of infection with SARS-CoV-2, concentration of neutralizing antibodies and brand of vaccine administered were considered. Results: Sixteen point six zero percent (16.60 %) of the healthcare professionals stated tha...

Dengue is a viral infection which is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and has four serotypes (DENV-1 to DENV-4). The disease triggers a variety of clinical manifestations, ranging from mild forms without warning signs to severe lifethreatening forms. We present the case of a 5-year-old boy, from the province of Callao, whose first symptoms were fever, headache and general malaise. On the third day, the child had mild abdominal pain and little vomiting; subsequently, abdominal distension, jaundice and choluria. He was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit being alert and with moderate dehydration, jaundice, edema, distended and tender abdomen, shifting dullness and liver 2 cm below the right costal margin. Complementary tests revealed liver failure, hepatosplenomegaly and pleural effusion in the bases. Using a reactive IgM ELISA, severe dengue was diagnosed, as well as a ...