Research Keyword: vulnerable populations

Building resilience through healing communities

This editorial reviews innovative approaches to mental health care in low- and middle-income countries that blend local healing practices with modern psychiatric treatments. Instead of imposing Western medical models, these programs work with communities to develop culturally appropriate solutions that reduce stigma and improve access to care. Examples include combining spiritual healing traditions with psychiatric care in Ethiopia, using psychedelic-assisted therapy informed by historical trauma in Jamaica, and employing creative arts and mindfulness methods as accessible treatments.

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Assessment of Heavy Metals in Mexican Dietary Supplements Using Total X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry and Health Risk Evaluation

Mexican dietary supplements commonly contain toxic heavy metals like lead, arsenic, and chromium. While individual metal levels in most supplements appeared safe when consumed alone, the cumulative exposure from multiple metals could increase cancer risk over a lifetime. The study found that some popular supplements, particularly those marketed for weight loss and blood detoxification, contained concerning metal levels, especially seaweed-based products and animal-origin supplements. Better regulation and labeling of dietary supplements in Mexico is urgently needed to protect consumers from long-term health risks.

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Ethical Considerations Regarding Psychedelics for Clinical Pain Research

This paper examines the ethical considerations necessary when conducting research on psychedelics like psilocybin for treating chronic pain. With chronic pain affecting millions of Americans and traditional treatments like opioids causing significant problems, researchers are exploring psychedelics as alternatives. The authors provide guidance on obtaining proper informed consent, protecting vulnerable patients, managing regulatory requirements, and ensuring research benefits participants while following four key ethical principles: autonomy, beneficence, justice, and avoiding harm.

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Environmental pollution and its impact on hypertension: a review

This review explains how environmental pollution from cars, factories, and industrial processes contributes to high blood pressure. Various pollutants like fine dust particles, heavy metals, and chemical vapors damage blood vessels and trigger inflammation in the body, leading to hypertension. Women after menopause and older adults are particularly vulnerable to these effects. The review emphasizes the importance of government policies, public education, and personal awareness in reducing pollution exposure and protecting heart health.

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Invasive Candidiasis in Contexts of Armed Conflict, High Violence, and Forced Displacement in Latin America and the Caribbean (2005–2025)

Invasive candidiasis, a serious fungal blood infection caused by Candida species, is a major health crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean with death rates reaching 60% in vulnerable populations. The disease is worsening in areas affected by armed conflict, violence, and displacement where poor living conditions, overcrowding, malnutrition, and lack of healthcare create ideal conditions for the infection to develop and spread. Antifungal drugs are often unavailable or too expensive, and drug-resistant strains of Candida are becoming increasingly common, making treatment extremely challenging in these regions.

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Invasive Candidiasis in Contexts of Armed Conflict, High Violence, and Forced Displacement in Latin America and the Caribbean (2005–2025)

This comprehensive review examines candida fungal infections in conflict-affected areas of Latin America and the Caribbean, where wars, violence, and displacement create dangerous conditions that make infections more likely and harder to treat. In these regions, mortality from candida bloodstream infections reaches 65% or higher among displaced populations, compared to about 45-60% in regular hospitals. The main problems are lack of proper diagnostic equipment, limited access to effective antifungal medications, malnutrition, overcrowding in shelters, and the emergence of drug-resistant fungal strains.

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