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Background: Colombia has a mestizo population and the prevalence of haemoglobin variants varies according to each region, but heterozygous carriers can be found in all of them., Aim: To characterise sickle cell disease (SCD) haematologically, biochemically, and molecularly, and detect classic haplotypes by DNA sequencing in a group of samples from Bolívar, Colombia., Subjects and Methods: Blood samples were collected after informed consent from volunteers from eight communities in the Bolívar department, plus samples from the Pacific region, Providencia Island, and Bogotá were included. Data were obtained from: (1) haematological analyses; (2) biochemical tests: dHPLC was used to determine haemoglobin (Hb); and (3) DNA sequencing data through five SNPs., Results: 101 samples were identified by rs334 through Sanger's Sequencing, structural haemoglobinopathies HbAS (34.65%), HbSS (2.97%) and HbAC (1.98%) were found. When contrasting the Hb identification results between SNP rs334 Vs. dHPLC/Isoelectric Focusing (IEF), a coincidence was found in 39/43 samples analysed, therefore, when comparing these techniques, a significant correlation was found (Pearson's correlation coefficient r  = 0.998). 26 samples previously analysed by rs334 were classified into classical haplotypes CAR (50.0%), BEN (30.76%), CAM (7.69%), SEN (3.84%), and ATP-I (7.69%)., Conclusions: SCD characterisation and SNPs-based classification through Sanger's DNA sequencing have not been performed before in Colombia. The results of this work will make it possible to expand the data or records of carriers and those affected, which will benefit patients and their families.

Introduction: The presence of stones in the urinary tract is a condition that has accompanied humans since ancient times. In colonial times, this condition was known as "stone pain" and its non-surgical management was based on the use of medicines derived from plants, animals and minerals., Objective: To contextualize a medical prescription used to modulate stone pain in the 18th century in the New Kingdom of Granada. Additionally, to analyze its components and evaluate the basis of its possible phytotherapeutic effects on the disease and pain., Material and Method: Document search in the Cipriano Rodríguez Santamaría Historical Archive of the Octavio Arizmendi Posada Library at Universidad de La Sabana. The document entitled "Prescription for bladder or kidney stone pain" was analyzed, and a complementary review of current scientific literature and original texts was performed with no time limits, in order to compare this prescription to related findings in the history of medicine., Results: The transcription of the source document revealed several phytotherapeutic agents such as chamomile (Matricaria recutita), lilies (Lilium lancifolium), clover (Trifolium pratense), and mallow roots (Malva sylvestris), accompanied by a large amounts of water., Conclusions: There is scientific evidence that could explain the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of all plant-derived medicines used in this prescription. Abundant water intake to increase urine volume was an essential part of treatment. However, the lack of more precise data related to the prescription and the evolution of the patients makes it difficult to analyze its therapeutic efficacy., (Copyright © 2020 AEU. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Sickle cell anemia is a type of hemoglobinopathy characterized by a specific mutation in the beta globin gene with the consequent generation of an unstable hemoglobin that crystallizes in a state of hypoxia. This causes a change in the structure of the red blood cell, which ends up producing vaso-occlusion with the corresponding clinical complications for the patient. Worldwide, various diagnostic tests have been developed that allow the appropriate approach to the affected patient. These include techniques for the determination of hemoglobin and the use of molecular markers, among others. There are new therapeutic alternatives to the use of hydroxyurea and L-glutamine, such as the use of gene therapy tools. The most recent experimental trials are exploring gene editing techniques.

The human being, throughout history, has used plants to prevent and cure diseases. It is important to know that for a long time, the mechanism through which those plants worked was unknown, making herbal medicine a purely empirical science. Medical prescriptions in the 19 th century in the Kingdom of Nueva Granada were considered a significant medical advance as a result of knowledge and medical practices in the old continent. Medical literature of the time achieved, despite the lack of studies, the development of new schemes with exact dosages and new therapeutic possibilities. The medical prescription presented in this article was used in the management of heart palpitations, a frequent symptom nowadays, described as thoracic and/or neck beating, underlying various cardiac and non-cardiac diseases. The recipe for the palpitations of the historical archive "Cipriano Rodríguez Santa María" is a mixture of herbal agents that, as reviewed in the medical literature, showed to have anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic, and antioxidant effects, among others, allowing a beneficial effect on cardiac palpitations. Due to the lack of information on the posology, safety in its use, contraindications, and possible adverse effects, its potential use should have been underestimated at that time for the control of palpitations or as phytochemical agents directed to treat diseases causing this symptom., (Copyright: © 2020 Permanyer.)

The human being, throughout history, has used plants to prevent and cure diseases. It is important to know that for a long time, the mechanism through which those plants worked was unknown, making herbal medicine a purely empirical science. Medical prescriptions in the 19th century in the Kingdom of Nueva Granada were considered a significant medical advance, as a result of knowledge and medical practices in the old continent. Medical literature of the time achieved, despite the lack of studies, the development of new schemes with exact dosages and new therapeutic possibilities. The medical prescription presented in this article was used in the management of heart palpitations, a frequent symptom nowadays, described as thoracic and/or neck beating, underlying various cardiac and non-cardiac diseases. The recipe for the palpitations of the historical archive "Cipriano Rodríguez Santa María" is a mixture of herbal agents that, as reviewed in the medical literature, showed to have anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic, and antioxidant effects, among others, allowing a beneficial effect on cardiac palpitations. Due to the lack of information on the posology, safety in its use, contraindications and possible adverse effects, its potential use should have been underestimated at that time for the control of palpitations or as phytochemical agents directed to treat diseases causing this symptom., (Copyright: © 2020 Permanyer.)