The Essence of Effective Medical-Scientific Communication

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought into greater focus the significance of clinical research, as well as the importance of biomedical companies in terms of the research and development of new drugs. The pandemic has also highlighted the value of proper medical-scientific communication.

In an era of social networks and multiple channels of information, together with the Covid-19 situation, we have experienced how the communication model has been altered by the use of digitalization as a tool for disseminating scientific information.

Faced with this new paradigm, a challenge lies ahead for medical-scientific communication: science must be communicated in a clear, accurate and rigorous way, but at the same time in an innovative manner, adapting to the new digital channels. Effective medical-scientific communication is a combination of innovation, technology, creativity, and scientific rigor.

Healthcare professionals demand information and a constant update of knowledge. Given this new changing and versatile scenario, the medical department needs to adapt its strategies by exploring new formats and channels to solve their problems and needs, without losing the essence of what is being communicated.

Would you like to know how we work at Global's scientific department?

by Global

How long after vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 do we become immune?

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses named as such because when seen under an electron microscope, their appearance is rounded, and they are surrounded by a crown formed by spikes or small spicules at the end of which there is a glycoprotein called S. These are used for the virus to attach itself and enter the cells of the infected person, just like a key that fits into a lock, the lock being a protein present in the body's own cells, ACE2, to which the infecting virus attaches itself to make its way through.

The vaccines currently used to immunize against SARS-CoV-2 target the virus by exposing the immune system to the S protein of the virus.

Since the immune system possesses memory, it can then use the vaccine to analyze and store information about the S protein and draw upon this information to protect you if exposed to the actual virus in the future.

However, immunity doesn't occur immediately after vaccination. In fact, it usually takes approximately 2 weeks for your body to develop immunity. So, you can still get sick during this time.

It takes approximately 10 days after the first dose of the vaccine for antibodies to start producing a response that can recognize the SARS-CoV-2 protein S.

Similarly, it takes a week or longer for the T-cells to start responding to the vaccine.

The 2nd vaccine dose activates the immune system much more rapidly. Therefore, two weeks after the second dose, your antibody levels increase more than ten-fold, providing a much stronger and longer-lasting protection against infection.

The importance of the 2^nd vaccine dose

Most vaccines for immunization against SARS-CoV-2 are designed to be administered in two doses, the first dose jump-starts the immune system response, but the second dose is essential to ensure that immunity is strong, consistent person-to-person and longer lasting.

When are you fully vaccinated?

• 2 weeks after the second shot in 2-dose format vaccines.
• 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.

You are not fully vaccinated if:

• It has been less than 2 weeks since your single-dose vaccine.
• It has been less than 2 weeks since your second shot of a 2-dose format vaccine.
• You still need to get your second dose of a 2-dose vaccine.

by Global

NEUROSCIENCE: TAKING A STEP BEYOND THE BRAIN

World Brain Week is celebrated during the month of March to raise awareness among the world's population about the importance of brain health and to highlight neuroscience as a fundamental pillar for understanding how to prevent and treat disorders and diseases of the nervous system, which is essential for maintaining the overall health of all people.

The brain is a complex organ that centralizes the activity of the nervous system, which is made up of millions of neurons that allow the regulation of all brain, body, and mind functions:

• It controls vital functions such as breathing, blood pressure, and body temperature.
• Controls higher cognitive functions such as memory, perception, and learning.
• Executes the ability to think, feel, and reason.
• Receives and processes information from the senses.
• Controls body movements.
• Controls our behavior and emotions.

The nervous system works not only to produce thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, but also to control important bodily functions, such as breathing. There are more than 1,000 disorders of the brain and nervous system:

• Intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome.
• Behavioral disorders, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
• Learning and reading disabilities.
• Mental health problems, such as schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and addiction.
• Degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Niemann-Pick disease.
• Musculoskeletal disorders, such as muscular dystrophy and stroke.
• Structural defects, such as neural tube defects, including spina bifida, hydrocephalus, and myelomeningocele.
• Injuries, including traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury, and the body's processing of pain.
• Cancer, including brain tumors such as paragangliomas.
• Immune system disorders, including HIV/AIDS.
• Epilepsy, seizures, and stroke.

Studying the nervous system leads to advances in understanding our basic biology and how the body works. Neuroscience can help researchers find ways to prevent or treat problems that affect the brain, nervous system, and body. In addition to studying the normal development and activity of the nervous system, neuroscience studies diseases, disorders, and injuries that affect parts of the nervous system, how it develops, and how it functions.

Experts envision several scenarios for the future development of neuroscience:

• Developments in neuroimaging techniques will provide more information about the different types of cells in the brain and their connections. This will allow a deeper understanding of various diseases and the functioning of mental processes such as memory and sleep.
• We will soon see the development of technological tools to predict diseases, which will make it easier to better manage them and individualize treatments for each patient.
• Cure incurable diseases: Experts predict that by 2026, the major causes of Alzheimer's disease will be identified, and treatments will be available to the general public, and that a cure for Alzheimer's will be found just a few years later.
• The field of mental health will be one of the most advanced in the medium and long term. Specifically, they predict that less invasive treatments for central nervous system disorders will be developed. Experts predict a better understanding of the neural basis of mental illness.

by Global