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Contributions of Latin American researchers in the understanding of the novel coronavirus outbreak: a literature review.

ABSTRACT: This article aimed to give the visibility of Latin American researchers' contributions to the comprehension of COVID-19; our method was a literature review. Currently, the world is facing a health and socioeconomic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and its disease COVID-19. Therefore, in less than 4 months, researchers have published a significant number of articles related to this novel virus. For instance, a search focused on the Scopus database on 10 April 2020, showed 1,224 documents published by authors with 1,797 affiliations from 80 countries. A total of 25.4%, 24.0% and 12.6% of these national affiliations were from China, Europe and the USA, respectively, making these regions leaders in COVID-19 research. In the case of Latin America, on 10 April 2020, we searched different databases, such as Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science, finding that the contribution of this region was 2.7 ± 0.6% of the total publications found. In other words, we found 153 publications related to COVID-19 with at least one Latin American researcher. We summarized and processed the information from these 153 publications, finding active participation in topics like medical, social and environmental considerations, bioinformatics and epidemiology.

SUBMITTER: Fiesco-Sepulveda KY

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7276147 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Contributions of Latin American researchers in the understanding of the novel coronavirus outbreak: a literature review.

Fiesco-Sepúlveda Karen Y KY Serrano-Bermúdez Luis Miguel LM

PeerJ 20200604

This article aimed to give the visibility of Latin American researchers' contributions to the comprehension of COVID-19; our method was a literature review. Currently, the world is facing a health and socioeconomic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and its disease COVID-19. Therefore, in less than 4 months, researchers have published a significant number of articles related to this novel virus. For instance, a search focused on the Scopus database on 10 April 2020, showed 1,224 ...[more]

PMID: 32547890

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Project description:Drug addiction is a chronic neuropsychiatric disorder that escalates from an initial exposure to drugs of abuse, such as cocaine, cannabis, or heroin, to compulsive drug-seeking and intake, reduced ability to inhibit craving-induced behaviors, and repeated cycles of abstinence and relapse. It is well-known that chronic changes in the brain's reward system play an important role in the neurobiology of addiction. Notably, environmental factors such as acute or chronic stress affect this system, and increase the risk for drug consumption and relapse. Indeed, the HPA axis, the autonomic nervous system, and the extended amygdala, among other brain stress systems, interact with the brain's reward circuit involved in addictive behaviors. There has been a growing interest in studying the molecular, cellular, and behavioral mechanisms of stress and addiction in Latin-America over the last decade. Nonetheless, these contributions may not be as strongly acknowledged by the broad scientific audience as studies coming from developed countries. In this review, we compile for the first time a series of studies conducted by Latin American-based neuroscientists, who have devoted their careers to studying the interaction between stress and addiction, from a neurobiological and clinical perspective. Specific contributions about this interaction include the study of CRF receptors in the lateral septum, investigations on the neural mechanisms of cross-sensitization for psychostimulants and ethanol, the identification of the Wnt/?-catenin pathway as a critical neural substrate for stress and addiction, and the emergence of the cannabinoid system as a promising therapeutic target. We highlight animal and human studies, including for instance, reports coming from Latin American laboratories on single nucleotide polymorphisms in stress-related genes and potential biomarkers of vulnerability to addiction, that aim to bridge the knowledge from basic science to clinical research.

Project description:BackgroundThe recent Zika virus (ZIKAV) epidemics disclosed a major public health threat and a scientific and technological (S&T) challenge. The lessons learned from the S&T response of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries are critical to inform further research and guide scientific investments. The present study aimed to assess how new S&T knowledge produced and disseminated regionally can contribute to address global health challenges.MethodsScientometric and social network analysis methods were used to assess the LAC scientific contribution and potential technological development on ZIKAV up to December 2017. ZIKAV-related publications were retrieved from the Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases. Regionally published articles were obtained from SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online) and LILACS (Literature in the Health Sciences in Latin America and the Caribbean) databases. Patent registries were retrieved using Orbit Intelligence and Derwent Innovation. Records from each database were individually downloaded, integrated, standardized and analyzed.ResultsWe retrieved 5421 ZIKAV-related publications, revealing a sharp increase from 2015 onwards. LAC countries accounted for 20% of all publications and Brazil was among the top three most central countries in the global network for ZIKAV research. A total of 274 patent families backed up by experimental evidence were retrieved. Only 5% were filed by LAC assignees, all of them based in Brazil. The largest contribution of LAC research was on the clinical manifestations of the ZIKAV infection, along with vector control, which was also the main focus of patents.ConclusionsOur analysis offered a comprehensive overview of ZIKAV's research and development and showed that (i) LAC countries had a key role in generating and disseminating scientific knowledge on ZIKAV; (ii) LAC countries have expressively contributed to research on ZIKAV clinical manifestations; (iii) the Brazilian scientific community was potentially very effective in knowledge sharing and diffusion in the ZIKAV research network; (iv) Brazil was the single LAC country filing patents, mostly represented by independent inventors and low-tech patents. The paper advocates the need for a continued interdisciplinary approach to improve LAC countries ability to prevent, prepare for and control future outbreaks.

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Contributions of Latin American researchers in the understanding of the novel coronavirus outbreak: a literature review.

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Contributions of Latin American researchers in the understanding of the novel coronavirus outbreak: a literature review.

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