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FAPESP and the Sustainable Development Goals

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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

News

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Study will monitor the impact of the pandemic and social isolation on the mental health of 4,000 people
SDG 3
Study will monitor the impact of the pandemic and social isolation on the mental health of 4,000 people

Participants are members of the São Paulo arm of a study conducted in six Brazilian states beginning in 2008. The goal is to compare mental health before the pandemic to that during the pandemic in both healthy individuals and subjects suffering from anxiety and depression.


Researchers record real-time live images of blood clotting in COVID-19 patients
SDG 3
Researchers record real-time live images of blood clotting in COVID-19 patients

A study involving 13 patients requiring intubation for mechanical ventilation reinforces the theory that coagulation disorders resulting from an exacerbated inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2 may explain some of the most severe symptoms of the disease.


COVID-19: A need to go out to work explains why some areas have more cases than others
SDG 3, SDG 10
COVID-19: A need to go out to work explains why some areas have more cases than others

A study of São Paulo city shows that neighborhoods with more hospitalizations and deaths from coronavirus coincide with areas whose inhabitants have been unable to shelter at home.


Wearable sensors printed on natural materials analyze substances present in sweat
SDG 3, SDG 9
Wearable sensors printed on natural materials analyze substances present in sweat

Applied to skin as a piece of sticking plaster, the device developed by Brazilian researchers can be used to monitor human metabolism and administer drugs.


Startup helps cut the cost of molecular testing to diagnose COVID-19
SDG 3, SDG 9
Startup helps cut the cost of molecular testing to diagnose COVID-19

Through a project supported by FAPESP, the São Paulo-based firm is developing an RT-qPCR diagnostic kit in which all reactions take place in a single tube.


Oxytocin can help prevent osteoporosis
SDG 3
Oxytocin can help prevent osteoporosis

In a laboratory experiment with rats, Brazilian researchers succeeded in reversing natural processes associated with aging that lead to loss of bone density and strength.


University of São Paulo-bred mechanical ventilator already in use at the institution’s general hospital
SDG 3, SDG 9
University of São Paulo-bred mechanical ventilator already in use at the institution’s general hospital

Ten units of the device developed at the university’s Engineering School (POLI-USP) began operating at Hospital das Clínicas in July.


Herd immunity to novel coronavirus can be reached when up 20% are infected, study suggests
SDG 3
Herd immunity to novel coronavirus can be reached when up 20% are infected, study suggests

Researchers from Portugal, the UK and Brazil produced the estimate using a mathematical model that takes into account variations in the risk of catching the disease within different population groups. Despite being good news, the finding does not diminish the importance of non-pharmaceutical interventions to contain transmission, the authors stress.


Lab-created molecule achieves positive results in the treatment of arthritis
SDG 3
Lab-created molecule achieves positive results in the treatment of arthritis

Tested in mice with genetically induced arthritis, the substance decreased the area affected, reduced local swelling, and assuaged the pain associated with the inflammatory process.


Novel coronavirus also causes death from heart failure
SDG 3
Novel coronavirus also causes death from heart failure

Autopsies performed on COVID-19 patients treated at the largest hospital complex in Latin America show that some died mainly as a result of cardiovascular alterations.


Photodynamic therapy can combat secondary infections in COVID-19 patients
SDG 3
Photodynamic therapy can combat secondary infections in COVID-19 patients

Researchers at the Optics and Photonics Research Center, supported by FAPESP, advocate the technique as an additional treatment for patients with the disease.


Specialists discuss contact tracing as a tool to plan action against COVID-19
SDG 3, SDG 17
Specialists discuss contact tracing as a tool to plan action against COVID-19

Researchers from Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria and the US took part in a webinar organized by FAPESP to discuss privacy and data security and how people’s behavior shapes the pandemic


COVID-19 had already spread in Brazil when measures to contain it were implemented
SDG 3
COVID-19 had already spread in Brazil when measures to contain it were implemented

Study determined how the disease was transmitted using genomic data for SARS-CoV-2 obtained by sequencing almost 500 viral isolates from Brazilian patients and cross-referencing this with air travel data and deaths from the disease in the period.


Machine learning makes drug repurposing for psychiatric disorders more effective
SDG 3
Machine learning makes drug repurposing for psychiatric disorders more effective

Researchers have correlated information on drugs, genes and diseases to identify potential candidates for psychiatric and neurological treatment. The methodology they developed will be used to search for drugs against COVID-19.


Genetically similar fungi cause severe infections in different hospitals
SDG 3
Genetically similar fungi cause severe infections in different hospitals

Present in the human digestive tract, species of Candida can cause bloodstream infections in patients treated in intensive care units. An international study involving 16 hospitals found isolates with high levels of virulence.


Experts indicate avenues to combat pandemic in second-half 2020
SDG 3
Experts indicate avenues to combat pandemic in second-half 2020

The contagion curve in Brazil appears to have plateaued and is set to remain at the current level until at least the end of 2020. Investing in the identification and isolation of infected people and their close contacts, keeping schools closed and improving the quality of the information offered to the public are measures governments should take to make sure the situation does not become even worse.


Adipose tissue may be a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2, Brazilian researchers suggest
SDG 3
Adipose tissue may be a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2, Brazilian researchers suggest

A study showed that the novel coronavirus can infect human adipocytes and that the viral load is three times higher in aged adipose cells. The results may help us understand why people with obesity and those who are older are more at risk of developing the severe form of COVID-19.


Over 50% of adults in the state of São Paulo have experienced anxiety frequently since the pandemic began
SDG 3
Over 50% of adults in the state of São Paulo have experienced anxiety frequently since the pandemic began

Online survey with 11,863 respondents also shows that feeling sad or depressed became routine for 39%, while overall health worsened for 26%.


Study identifies the factors that contributed to the initial spread of COVID-19
SDG 3
Study identifies the factors that contributed to the initial spread of COVID-19

Researchers used statistical techniques to analyze data of 126 countries. The variables that intensified contagion at the start of the outbreak included low temperature, a large proportion of older people, foreign tourist arrivals, and greeting habits involving physical contact.


Social isolation and face covering reduced SARS-CoV-2 spread by 15% in Brazil’s 1st epicenter of COVID-19
SDG 3
Social isolation and face covering reduced SARS-CoV-2 spread by 15% in Brazil’s 1st epicenter of COVID-19

The reduction resulting from implementation of these measures in São Paulo has been calculated for the period between mid-March and early May using a mathematical model developed by a FAPESP-funded research center. The scientists also estimated that these two public health measures reduced the peak of transmission by 25% in Brasília.


Game application monitors health of older people in social isolation owing to COVID-19 pandemic
SDG 3, SDG 9
Game application monitors health of older people in social isolation owing to COVID-19 pandemic

Program developed by startup with FAPESP’s support was initially designed to train cognitive skills and help improve physical fitness but will now have extended functionality.


Leukemia drug shows the potential to treat aggressive pediatric brain cancer
SDG 3
Leukemia drug shows the potential to treat aggressive pediatric brain cancer

When tested in vitro, arsenic trioxide killed tumor cells and prevented the formation of new colonies. This leukemia drug also boosted the effect of radiation therapy on medulloblastoma, a type of central nervous system tumor most common in children


Experimental drug reduces replication of zika and prevents microcephaly in mice
SDG 3
Experimental drug reduces replication of zika and prevents microcephaly in mice

The compound inhibited the action of a protein activated by the virus to suppress the host’s immune response. The therapy also proved effective against dengue virus and will be tested at the University of São Paulo against coronavirus.


Combining different vaccines could extend protection against COVID-19, scientists believe
SDG 3
Combining different vaccines could extend protection against COVID-19, scientists believe

Testing has begun in Brazilian volunteers of two candidate vaccines at an advanced stage of development. In an online seminar co-organized by Agência FAPESP, researchers involved in Phase 3 clinical trials said the more vaccines are approved, the better mankind’s chances of controlling COVID-19.


Brazilian COVID-19 patient data repository becomes fully operational
SDG 3, SDG 9, SDG 17
Brazilian COVID-19 patient data repository becomes fully operational

Platform created by FAPESP in partnership with University of São Paulo, Albert Einstein Jewish Hospital, Hospital Sírio-Libanês and Fleury Group begins providing access to data for more than 177,000 patients, 5 million clinical examinations and 9,600 outcomes.


News about research projects funded by FAPESP and articulated with the SDGs: