Medical schools that received the PROMED (program for the encouragement of curricular changes in medical courses)—Preconditions and change process

Since the Curriculum Guidelines (CG) which were created in 2001 and PROMED (Program for the Encouragement of Curricular Changes in Medical Courses), several schools have applied for this incentive. Medical Schools (MS) have faced important changes in their curriculum throughout the years. The purpose is to verify if medical schools that received PROMED already had a historical of curricular changes. Several interviews, which were carried out with PROMED coordinators, were recorded, transcribed and analyzed according to the Bardin’s content analysis technique. Later, these interviews were later categorized into nine themes. This paper analyses the Medical School History category which encompasses three subcategories: existence of a former changing history;need to overcome the model and changing period. It is highlighted that medical schools that received PROMED had a previous changing historical which was sometimes located in anti-hegemonic niches. It is noticeable, however, that such changes were not enough to affect the comprehension of healthillness process and its consequent results. PROMED was, effectively, the reference for medical schools implementing the C.G. which represents, now, a benchmarking for all new and old schools in the country.

The Brazilian public healthcare system and its participation in medical training

Introduction: In Brazil, in a joint initiative of the Ministries of Health and of Education and Culture, the Program for the Promotion of Changes in Medical School Curricula (PROMED) was created, in order to give financial support to medical schools for the development and implementation of curricular changes to the medicine courses. Objective: To ascertain the influence of PROMED on the interaction between the Brazilian public healthcare system (SUS) and the universities. Method: Using the qualitative method by way of content analysis of the Bardin, interviews with 19 coordinators of the medicine courses which received financial support from PROMED were carried out and analyzed. Results: Subcategories which express the current relation between SUS and the universities were found: the need to train SUS professionals and the teaching staff involved, the lines of research directed toward SUS and partnership relations as part of the student learning process, the strengthening of SUS and the internal problems. Conclusions: Observing the needs of the relationship between SUS and the curricular changes it was noted that the public health services are of extreme importance as part of the training process of the medical student. Besides favoring practice, it establishes student activities within the health services, the evaluation of the policies, planning and management of the health services in activities of training and social communication in healthcare, linked to community organizations or diverse social entities. Thus, problems associated with the healthcare service can be identified, as well as the health conditions and life style of the population.

Taxifolin stability: In silico prediction and in vitro degradation with HPLC-UV/UPLCe ESI-MS monitoring

Taxifolin has a plethora of therapeutic activities and is currently isolated from the stem bark of the tree Larix gmelinni(Dahurian larch). It is a flavonoid of high commercial interest for its use in supplements or in antioxidant-rich functional foods. However, its poor stability and low bioavailability hinder the use of flavonoid in nutritional or pharmaceutical formulations. In this work, taxifolin isolated from the seeds of Mimusops balata, was evaluated by in silico stability prediction studies and in vitro forced degradation studies(acid and alkaline hydrolysis, oxidation, visible/UV radiation, dry/humid heating) monitored by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection(HPLC-UV) and ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry(UPLC-ESI-MS). The in silico stability prediction studies indicated the most susceptible regions in the molecule to nucleophilic and electrophilic attacks, as well as the sites susceptible to oxidation. The in vitro forced degradation tests were in agreement with the in silico stability prediction, indicating that taxifolin is extremely unstable(class 1) under alkaline hydrolysis. In addition, taxifolin thermal degradation was increased by humidity.On the other hand, with respect to photosensitivity, taxifolin can be classified as class 4(stable).Moreover, the alkaline degradation products were characterized by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS as dimers of taxifolin. These results enabled an understanding of the intrinsic lability of taxifolin, contributing to the development of stability-indicating methods, and of appropriate drug release systems, with the aims of preserving its stability and improving its bioavailability.

Psychopharmacological Profile of Hydroalcoholic Extract and P-Hydroxybenzoic Acid Obtained from <i>Bourreria huanita</i>(Boraginaceae) in Mice

Bourreria huanita (Lex.) Hemsl. (Boraginaceae) is a very rare and highly appreciated tree in Mesoamerica for its medicinal properties and beauty. It grows in a region extending from central Mexico to Costa Rica. Ethnobotanical surveys have shown that the infusion of dried flowers is popularly used as a tranquilizer to cure several diseases. In the present study we report the isolation of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (pHBZ) obtained from the hydroalcoholic extract (HE) of B. huanita, and the effect of both, the extract and the compound on the central nervous system in mice. HE of B. huanita (100, 150, 300 mg/kg) and pHBZ (10 mg/kg) were orally administered to mice and 1 h later, behavioral tests were performed. The effects of HE and pHBZ were tested by pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) and strychnine (STR) induced seizures, pentobarbital-induced hypnosis, the forced swimming test and the tail suspension test, the elevated plus maze, apomorphine-induced stereotypy and the climbing test, the inhibitory avoidance test and the open-field test. B. huanita extract produced hypnotic, anxiolytic and antidepressant effects in animals, with no change in motor performance. On the other hand, the extract did not reduce PTZ and STR-induced convulsions, apomorphine-induced stereotypy or climbing. Moreover, no changes were observed in the animals’ memory. The compound pHBZ was effective only in the depression tests. The results obtained in the present study suggest that B. huanita exhibited sedative, antidepressant and hypnotic activities in mice, and that the antidepressant activity may be mediated by an isolated compound identified as pHBZ.