HPV vaccine. Alzheimer’s disease. Pig heart transplant

MONEY REPORT newsletter about medicine, innovation, business and public policy

Blood test that detects Alzheimer’s disease arrives in Brazil

The US test PreivityAD2 has arrived in the country, which can identify Alzheimer’s disease through a blood test. The procedure costs R$ 3,600 and will be performed in the Flori Group laboratories, without insurance coverage.

The test must be applied to patients who already show signs of the disease, and this must be done only by the doctor’s order. The result is obtained in about 20 days.

The availability of the test makes it even more accessible, as it is three times cheaper than the only test available on the market, the amyloid PET (imaging test), which costs R$9,000.

Foot and leg amputations due to diabetes break records

More than 282,000 lower limb amputation surgeries (legs or feet) were performed in the Unified Health System (SUS) from January 2012 to May 2023. Last year alone, record numbers reached 31,190 operations being performed, meaning that, every Today, at least 85 Brazilians had their feet or legs amputated in the public network.

These data are part of a survey conducted by the Brazilian Society of Vascular Medicine and Vascular Surgery (SBACV), which warns of the increase of this type of procedure throughout the country. According to the entity, there are countries where the volume of amputations has increased by more than 200% from 2012 to 2013.

Tarcísio de Freitas objects to the draft law on HPV vaccination in schools

The Governor of São Paulo, Tarcisio de Freitas (Republicans), vetoed a bill from the Legislative Assembly (ALISP) aimed at vaccinating children and adolescents against the disease in schools. Experts criticized the decision, because the veto conflicts with increasing vaccination coverage for this age group, which is one of the lowest age groups.

Data from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) show that in 2021, only 37% of male adolescents received this vaccine in the country, while the National Immunization Program (PNI) aims to immunize 80% of this target population.

The importance of immunization against this virus in adolescence is due to the fact that some of its serotypes are considered highly carcinogenic, and the vaccine’s protection is greater if it is administered before the start of sexual life, as this virus causes diseases transmitted through sexual contact. ). The vaccine is also considered the most effective form of prevention, as HPV can be transmitted during sexual intercourse even with the use of a condom.

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The World Health Organization warns against fake news about vaccines

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization has warned that the world has entered another public health emergency: an infodemic. With the abundance of information published by sources of all kinds on the Internet, this crisis makes it difficult to find appropriate sources and reliable guidance when needed. The World Health Organization stressed at the time that this phenomenon is amplified through social media and spreads more quickly, like the virus, which profoundly affects all aspects of life.

The director of the Brazilian Society of Immunizations (SBIm), Isabella Palalay, warns that much of what is being circulated is said without support by scientific evidence and has commercial and political interests.

Too much screen time and too little screen time contribute to myopia

In 2020, about 30% of the world’s population was diagnosed with myopia, and only 4% of them were classified as high myopia – that is, patients with a height above 5 degrees. However, projections indicate that in 2050, about 50% of the world’s population will be considered nearsighted, and 10% will be considered highly nearsighted. Eye doctors’ interest goes beyond just the simple difficulty patients have in seeing farther, as nearsightedness is strongly linked to serious eye diseases, such as glaucoma and retinal detachment, which can lead to blindness.

Director of the Brazilian Society of Ophthalmology, Ian Currie, detailed the increase in myopia diagnoses in children and its direct relationship to screen time – whether smart phones, Tablets Or TVs. Currie warns of cases of so-called early myopia, when signs of the disorder appear even in children under 5 years old, but they should only be noticed in early adolescence.

Dalcolmo says vaccination campaigns should have a more regional focus

Margaret Dalcomo, pulmonologist and researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), defended in an interview with the Valor Economico newspaper that the government must develop a new strategy in line with the current world so that the National Immunization Program (PNI) can be re-established. Vaccination rates 7 years ago, where the coverage rate reached 95%. The rate has declined in recent years and reached 68% in 2022, the lowest rate ever identified by DataSUS from the Ministry of Health.

Dalcomo said the program needs to be smarter about analyzing data to work in a more regional way. “There must be an intervention tailored to each region. The concept today is to regionalize the process. I have seen firsthand how the PNI embraces this thinking in the actions it has taken in Espirito Santo, Amapa and Rio de Janeiro.

The second patient in the world to receive a pig heart transplant

Last Wednesday (20), a man performed a genetically modified pig heart transplant to a human at the University of Maryland in the United States of America. The operation was successful, as the heart was working well and the patient was breathing on his own.

He is the second to receive this type of organ. David Bennett, the first to perform a pig heart transplant, died two months after the procedure from heart failure. Doctors believe that his poor health before the transplant may have been the deciding factor in his death.