The idiopathic inflammatory demyelinating disease (IIDD) spectrum has been investigated among different populations, and the results have indicated a low relative frequency of neuromyelitis optica (NMO) among multiple sclerosis (MS) cases in whites (1.2%-1.5%), increasing in Mestizos (8%) and Africans (15.4%-27.5%) living in areas of low MS prevalence. South America (SA) was colonized by Europeans from the Iberian Peninsula, and their miscegenation with natives and Africans slaves resulted in significant racial mixing. The current study analyzed the IIDD spectrum in SA after accounting for the ethnic heterogeneity of its population. A cross-sectional multicenter study was performed. Only individuals followed in 2011 with a confirmed diagnosis of IIDD using new diagnostic criteria were considered eligible. Patients’ demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected. In all, 1,917 individuals from 22 MS centers were included (73.7% female, 63.0% white, 28.0% African, 7.0% Mestizo, and 0.2% Asian). The main disease categories and their associated frequencies were MS (76.9%), NMO (11.8%), other NMO syndromes (6.5%), CIS (3.5%), ADEM (1.0%), and acute encephalopathy (0.4%). Females predominated in all main categories. The white ethnicity also predominated, except in NMO. Except in ADEM, the disease onset occurred between 20 and 39 years old, early onset in 8.2% of all cases, and late onset occurred in 8.9%. The long-term morbidity after a mean disease time of 9.28±7.7 years was characterized by mild disability in all categories except in NMO, which was scored as moderate. Disease time among those with MS was positively correlated with the expanded disability status scale (EDSS) score (r=0.374; p=<0.001). This correlation was not observed in people with NMO or those with other NMO spectrum disorders (NMOSDs). Among patients with NMO, 83.2% showed a relapsing-remitting course, and 16.8% showed a monophasic course. The NMO-IgG antibody tested using indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) with a composite substrate of mouse tissues in 200 NMOSD cases was positive in people with NMO (95/162; 58.6%), longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (10/30; 33.3%) and bilateral or recurrent optic neuritis (8/8; 100%). No association of NMO-IgG antibody positivity was found with gender, age at onset, ethnicity, early or late onset forms, disease course, or long-term severe disability. The relative frequency of NMO among relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) + NMO cases in SA was 14.0%. Despite the high degree of miscegenation found in SA, MS affects three quarters of all patients with IIDD, mainly white young women who share similar clinical characteristics to those in Western populations in the northern hemisphere, with the exception of ethnicity; approximately one-third of all cases occur among non-white individuals. At the last assessment, the majority of RRMS patients showed mild disability, and the risk for secondary progression was significantly superior among those of African ethnicity. NMO comprises 11.8% of all IIDD cases in SA...

In our study, PGB-related improvements in sleep quality and HRQoL were marginally related to reductions in pain intensity in patients with neuropathic pain. Improvement in sleep quality was a significant predictor of better HRQoL, whereas pain intensity reduction was not.

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is an immunomodulated inflammatory disease that usually affects the pancreas and parotid glands. Although lung involvement is rare, it has been recently reported and could mimic various other diagnoses. We present a case of IgG4-RD whose symptoms and images raised the suspicion of a malignant lymphoproliferative lung neoplasm. It is imperative to differentiate both diseases, since their treatment and prognosis vary.

El objetivo del presente estudio es indagar la posible relación entre los estilos de personalidad y la satisfacción por áreas vitales en estudiantes de la carrera de Psicología de una universidad pública de Lima. Se tomó una muestra de 417 alumnos, 235 mujeres y 182 varones, se aplicó la escala de satisfacción por áreas vitales (SAV) y el cuestionario exploratorio de la personalidad (CEPER III). Se detectaron asociaciones negativas entre la escala SAV y los estilos de personalidad del CEPER III. Pero sí se detectaron múltiples correlaciones positivas, en el estilo histriónico, narcisista y obsesivo compulsivo con la satisfacción en áreas vitales.

In October 2015, the Colombian Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) declared that the El Niño phenomenon had reached severe conditions, and later, on July 13, 2016, reported that conditions had returned to normalcy. One of the affected areas was San Andres, a touristic drought-prone Colombian Caribbean island. On April 2, 2016, there were 11 road protests spread throughout the south-center of the island where the Raizales, an ethnic-minority group, and people from poor neighborhoods burned tires, blocked streets, and held up signs saying, “We need water.” That was the official beginning of the water crisis, which had by then affected 14,000 people. On April 15, the local government, for the first time in its history, declared a State of Public Calamity, attributing the causes of the lack of water to the El Niño phenomenon. The government established the El Niño phenomenon as the only trigger of the crisis, but the ways in which the community framed and understood the water crisis were overlooked. Acknowledging the importance of the community voice, this research analyzes the way people were affected and public officials made sense of the water crisis. Thirty-four semi-structured interviews were conducted in August, 2016 with a variety of stakeholders. The results show that officials were more inclined to frame the water crisis as a problem triggered mainly by technical and natural issues. On the community side, people framed the water crisis as a problem where social issues like justice predominated. This study helps to expose and understand the complexity of the San Andres water crisis and ultimately contributes to the prevention of repeated or more severe crises.