A literature review was carried out focusing on the main factors associated with suicidal ideation, attempts and completed suicide in elders. The following databases were searched: MEDLINE, PsychINFO, SciELO and Biblioteca Virtual em Violência e Saúde da BIREME (BIREME's Violence and Health Virtual Library), referring to the period from 1980 to 2008. Fifty-two references were selected and analyzed. They showed a strong relationship among suicide ideation, attempt and completion in elderly individuals, which results from the interaction of complex physical, mental, neurobiological and social factors. Suicide associated with depression in the elderly can be prevented, provided the person is properly treated. In Brazil, it is necessary to invest in research, given the persistent increase in suicide rates among aged people, especially among males.

Psychological and psychosocial autopsies of elderly people who died as a result of suicide in BrazilAutópsias psicológicas e psicossociais de idosos que morreram por suicídio no BrasilResumo Analisam-

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Change in epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was observed because of the emergence of infections by non-multiresistant MRSA (nMRSA) in our hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Clinical characterization and molecular analysis of 20 nMRSA isolates recovered from 17 patients, between February 2005 and March 2006, were performed. The analysis included SCCmec (staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec), pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus restriction fragment, and multilocus sequence typing. MICs for oxacillin and vancomycin and presence of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes were also investigated. All but 1 of the 20 isolates presented SCCmec type IV. PFGE clustered all isolates into 9 genotypes. MIC < or = 16 microg/mL to oxacillin was found for 65% of the isolates, whereas 80% exhibited MIC of 2 microg/mL for vancomycin. PVL-encoding genes were observed in 3 isolates. Polyclonal presence of nMRSA SCCmec IV was observed in our institution, including community and health care-associated isolates, which belonged to the sequence types (STs) 1 (clonal complex [CC1]), ST5 (CC5), ST8 and ST72 (CC8), ST97 (CC97), and 2 ST singletons (SLV5 and SLV30).

Findings demonstrated that bacterial and viral DNA occurred concomitantly in two-thirds of the samples from endodontic abscesses. Although this may suggest a role for viruses in the etiology of apical abscesses, the possibility also exists that the presence of viruses in abscess samples is merely a consequence of the bacterially induced disease process. Further studies are necessary to clarify the role of these viral-bacterial interactions, if any, in the pathogenesis of acute apical abscesses.