Marlene Santos

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Polytechnic Institute of Porto

Craft beer has gained popularity due to its unique sensory characteristics and complex matrix with nutritional and potential health benefits. Studies linking beer consumption to skin conditions are limited, however, the high content of bioactive compounds is related to biological activities such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative,...

Non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) are most commonly characterized by age-related loss of homeostasis and/or by cumulative exposures to environmental factors, which lead to low-grade sustained generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), chronic inflammation and metabolic imbalance. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-like 2 (NRF2) is a basic leucine-...

Aims This study evaluated the 10‐year consumption and economic patterns of classical analgesics, adjuvants and opioids in Portugal (2012‐2022), and conducted a comparative analysis between Portugal, Spain and Denmark to explore the consumption patterns among these countries for 2022. Methods Data on sales and national health service (NHS) costs we...

Background/Objectives: The CYP2C9 enzyme is involved in the metabolism of warfarin. The CYP2C9 gene harbors several single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including CYP2C9*2 (rs1799853), which is known to affect warfarin’s therapeutic response. So, it is important to develop analytical tools capable of genotyping these SNPs to adjust warfarin’s th...

Framework: With advances in pharmacology, the traditional nomenclature of psychiatric medications has failed to keep pace with current knowledge and does not accurately inform stakeholders. For instance, if a patient takes quetiapine, classified as an antipsychotic, does that imply they have schizophrenia or a depressive disorder? [1] This ambiguit...

P-glycoprotein (P-GP) is a transporter molecule expressed on the apical surface of capillary endothelial cells of the Blood–Brain Barrier (BBB), whose activity heavily influences drug distribution, including antidepressants. This transporter is encoded by ABCB1 gene, and genetic variations within ABCB1 gene have been proposed to affect drug efflux...

The development of autoimmune diseases often takes years before clinical symptoms become detectable. We propose a mathematical model for the immune response during the initial stage of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus which models the process of aberrant apoptosis and activation of macrophages and neutrophils. NETosis is a type of cell death characteri...

The cytoprotective transcription factor NRF2 regulates the expression of several hundred genes in mammalian cells and is a promising therapeutic target in a number of diseases associated with oxidative stress and inflammation. Hence, an ability to monitor basal and inducible NRF2 signalling is vital for mechanistic understanding in translational st...

Introdução: A manipulação de medicamentos citotóxicos constitui uma série de procedimentos que exigem o cumprimento rigoroso das diretrizes estabelecidas, por forma a limitar a exposição ocupacional por parte dos profissionais de saúde. Uma das principais barreiras comummente identificadas para a manipulação segura de medicamentos citotóxicos é o f...

Caregiver burden is a common impairment resulting from coping with the physical dependence and mental incapacity of the care subject. This study aimed to assess the self-perception of formal and informal caregivers of elderly patients regarding burden, quality of life, anxiety and depression, stress, and the impact of psychotropic drugs. The questi...

Conference poster abstract

As one of the most popular beverages in the world, coffee is a rich source of non-enzymatic bioactive compounds with antioxidant capacity. In this study, twelve commercial coffee beverages found in local Portuguese markets were assessed to determine their total phenolic and flavonoid contents, as well as their antioxidant capacity, by conventional...

The brain’s sensitivity to oxidative stress and neuronal cell death requires effective pharmacotherapy approaches. Current pharmacological therapies are frequently ineffective and display negative side effects. Bioactive chemicals found in plants may provide a potential alternative due to their antioxidant and neuroprotective properties and can be...

Influenza is a respiratory disease caused by the influenza virus, which is highly transmissible in humans. This paper presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and test-negative designs (TNDs) to assess the vaccine effectiveness (VE) of seasonal influenza vaccines (SIVs) in humans aged 15 to 64 years. An...

Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks as the third most prevalent cancer worldwide. Early detection of this neoplasia has proven to improve prognosis, resulting in a 90% increase in survival. However, available CRC screening methods have limitations, requiring the development of new tools. MicroRNA biomarkers have emerged as a powerful screening tool, as t...

Overview This book has been developed to support the curricular units of the Bachelor and Master study cycles of the School of Health of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, which address the analgesic pharmacotherapy of chronic non-cancer pain. The aim of this book is to provide an overview of the pharmacological agents used in the treatment of chr...

Cardiovascular diseases are among the major causes of mortality and morbidity. Warfarin is often prescribed for these disorders, an anticoagulant with inter and intra-dosage variability dose required to achieve the target international normalized ratio. Warfarin presents a narrow therapeutic index, and due to its variability, it can often be associ...

Major depressive disorder is a widespread condition with antidepressants as the main pharmacological treatment. However, some patients experience concerning adverse reactions or have an inadequate response to treatment. Analytical chromatographic techniques, among other techniques, are valuable tools for investigating medication complications, incl...

This study aimed to investigate the influence of genetic variants in neuroplasticity-related genes on antidepressant treatment phenotypes. The BDNF-TrkB signaling pathway, as well as the downstream kinases Akt and ERK and the mTOR pathway, have been implicated in depression and neuroplasticity. However, clinicians still struggle with the unpredicta...

Background: Harmful algal blooms (HABs) pose a significant threat to the environment and public health. These blooms are defined by an accumulation of microscopic algae in water, and they can occur in lakes, rivers, estuaries, or coastal areas. Factors like the unregulated runoff of agricultural and industrial wastes into the aquatic environment [1...

The ability to evict noxious stimulus increases the likelihood of surviving. It is the result of interactions between specialized cells, the spinal cord, and the brain. Nociceptive pain is related to direct injury of the body. Other forms of pain may not be linked to visible injury. Being multidimensional in nature, classification attempts are unab...

Ketamine has been used to provide a rapid and persistent antidepressant effect in patients with treatment-resistant depression. This drug reverses depressive symptoms by blocking N-methyl-D-Aspartate receptors, which causes a downstream effect on glutamatergic system. The main goal of this work consisted in a systematic review of the antidepressant...

Azadirachta indica, commonly known as Neem tree or Margosa, is an evergreen tree of the Meliaceae family and is associated to mahogany. Several authors have reported Neem application in ayurveda, unani, homeopathy and modern medicine by playing an important role as antioxidants, antibiotics, having predominantly antibacterial and antifungal activit...

This work addresses the development of a disposable electrochemical genosensor for the detection of the toxic dinoflagellate, Alexandrium minutum. Analyzing public databases, a specific 70 bp DNA probe, targeting A. minutum, was selected and designed. The genosensor methodology implied the immobilization of a A. minutum-specific DNA-capture probe o...

Background: Major depressive disorder is a condition associated with dysregulated cytokine levels; among these, IL6. Furthermore, genetic variations within cytokine genes have been proposed to predict antidepressant treatment outcome. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the role of IL6-174G > C and IL6R D358A A > C functional polymorphisms i...

Recent studies suggest that immune activation and cytokines, such as IL-18, are involved in depression. IL-18 is expressed in brain and is increased in patients with moderate to severe depression. In this study we aim to evaluate the role of IL18-607C>A and IL18-137G>C promoter polymorphisms in antidepressant treatment phenotypes, specifically rela...

Background: Hippocampal neurogenesis has been suggested as a downstream event of antidepressants (AD) mechanism of action and might explain the lag time between AD administration and the therapeutic effect. Despite the widespread use of AD in the context of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) there are no reliable biomarkers of treatment response phen...

Introduction Recent studies suggested that immune activation and cytokines might be involved in depression. The proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-18 (IL-18) is less reported in depression but is still relevant since it is expressed in the brain and serum levels of IL-18 have been found to be increased in patients with moderate to severe depressi...

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent disorder, which has been associated with an abnormal response of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Reports have argued that an abnormal HPA axis response can be due to an altered P-Glycoprotein (P-GP) function. This argument suggests that genetic polymorphisms in ABCB1 may have an e...

The incidence of Candida albicans infections and the relapse episodes after antifungal treatment have increased in recent decades. Recurrences are mainly due to the persistence of the original infecting strain that may present genetic and genomic rearrangements during interaction with the host, reflecting strain adaptation. In this study, four isol...