Browsing by Autor "Rony Colanzi"

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Building Public Health Capacity through a Sustainable South–South–North Training Program
(American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2020) Taryn Clark; Manuela Verástegui; Freddy Tinajeros; Maritza Calderón; Rony Colanzi; Robert H. Gilman
Capacity building in public health is an urgent global priority. Recently, there has been an increasing emphasis on South-South and triangular cooperation. We describe our experience with a public health training collaboration between Peru and Bolivia, with Peru providing capacity building and expertise to Bolivia, while receiving supportive funding and training from the United States. This collaboration has led to a groundswell of research on clinically significant diseases, outreach to more than 800 scientists, several dozen publications, and the start of four institutional review boards. South-South and South-South-North collaborations should publish their experiences, and Northern funding organizations should consider funding such collaborations.
Improved DNA extraction technique from clot for the diagnosis of Chagas disease
(Public Library of Science, 2019) Holger Mayta; Yomara K. Romero; Alejandra Pando-Caciano; Manuela Verástegui; Freddy Tinajeros; Ricardo Bozo; Josephine Henderson-Frost; Rony Colanzi; Jorge Flores; Richard M. Lerner
The new methodology for DNA extraction from clot samples improves the molecular diagnosis of Chagas disease.
Pupillary Light Reflexes are Associated with Autonomic Dysfunction in Bolivian Diabetics But Not Chagas Disease Patients
(American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2016) Anthony Halperin; Mónica J. Pajuelo; Jeffrey A. Tornheim; Nancy Vu; Andrés M. Carnero; Gerson Galdos‐Cardenas; Lisbeth Ferrufino; Marilyn Camacho; J Herrera Justiniano; Rony Colanzi
Autonomic dysfunction is common in Chagas disease and diabetes. Patients with either condition complicated by cardiac autonomic dysfunction face increased mortality, but no clinical predictors of autonomic dysfunction exist. Pupillary light reflexes (PLRs) may identify such patients early, allowing for intensified treatment. To evaluate the significance of PLRs, adults were recruited from the outpatient endocrine, cardiology, and surgical clinics at a Bolivian teaching hospital. After testing for Chagas disease and diabetes, participants completed conventional autonomic testing (CAT) evaluating their cardiovascular responses to Valsalva, deep breathing, and orthostatic changes. PLRs were measured using specially designed goggles, then CAT and PLRs were compared as measures of autonomic dysfunction. This study analyzed 163 adults, including 96 with Chagas disease, 35 patients with diabetes, and 32 controls. PLRs were not significantly different between Chagas disease patients and controls. Patients with diabetes had longer latency to onset of pupil constriction, slower maximum constriction velocities, and smaller orthostatic ratios than nonpatients with diabetes. PLRs correlated poorly with CAT results. A PLR-based clinical risk score demonstrated a 2.27-fold increased likelihood of diabetes complicated by autonomic dysfunction compared with the combination of blood tests, CAT, and PLRs (sensitivity 87.9%, specificity 61.3%). PLRs represent a promising tool for evaluating subclinical neuropathy in patients with diabetes without symptomatic autonomic dysfunction. Pupillometry does not have a role in the evaluation of Chagas disease patients.