Short stature, abdominal obesity, insulin resistance and alterations in lipid profile in very low-income women living in Maceió, north-eastern Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that short stature is associated with abdominal obesity, insulin resistance and lipid profile changes. METHODS: Anthropometric data were collected from 237 women (18-60 years old), residents of a shantytown in Maceió. Biochemical profiles of 60 individuals drawn from this population were determined. RESULTS: Total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels and insulin resistance rose with increasing waist : hip circumference ratio, particularly in women. Short, overweight individuals exhibited larger biochemical alterations than overweight individuals of average stature. CONCLUSION: Short stature, when associated with overweight, is a risk factor for increased insulin resistance and alterations in lipid profile.     

Traumatic aneurysms of the descending thoracic aorta

From July 1979 to December 1985 we observed 51 patients with traumatic lesions of the descending thoracic aorta. Twenty-nine had acute ruptures, mostly accompanied by multiple injuries, and 27 had to be operated upon immediately. Twenty-two patients (19 males, 3 females) had chronic traumatic aneurysms of the descending thoracic aorta (more than six weeks after trauma). Mean age at the time of trauma was 24 years. Mean age at time of surgery was 36.5 years. Twelve patients were symptomatic. All were treated surgically. At surgery, complete aortic disruption was found in 15 patients and partial rupture in seven. We did not use aortic shunting of any kind, only aortic cross-clamping. Hypertension was controlled by intravenous drug infusion. The ruptured aortic segment was replaced in all cases by prosthetic Dacron graft. There were no operative deaths. One patient (age 77) died 11 weeks after surgery from multiple organ failure. One case of postoperative paraplegia was observed. This patient recovered almost completely from his neurological deficit.     

Associations of Mediterranean diet with psychological ill-being and well-being throughout the pregnancy course: The GESTAFIT project

Quality of Life Research - The relation between diet and maternal mental health during pregnancy might be relevant to prevent adverse materno-foetal outcomes. This study examined the association of...     

Methadone versus morphine as a first-line strong opioid for cancer pain: a randomized, double-blind study.

PURPOSE: To compare the effectiveness and side effects of methadone and morphine as first-line treatment with opioids for cancer pain. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients in international palliative care clinics with pain requiring initiation of strong opioids were randomly assigned to receive methadone (7.5 mg orally every 12 hours and 5 mg every 4 hours as needed) or morphine (15 mg sustained release every 12 hours and 5 mg every 4 hours as needed). The study duration was 4 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 103 patients were randomly assigned to treatment (49 in the methadone group and 54 in the morphine group). The groups had similar baseline scores for pain, sedation, nausea, confusion, and constipation. Patients receiving methadone had more opioid-related drop-outs (11 of 49; 22%) than those receiving morphine (three of 54; 6%; P =.019). The opioid escalation index at days 14 and 28 was similar between the two groups. More than three fourths of patients in each group reported a 20% or more reduction in pain intensity by day 8. The proportion of patients with a 20% or more improvement in pain at 4 weeks in the methadone group was 0.49 (95% CI, 0.34 to 0.64) and was similar in the morphine group (0.56; 95% CI, 0.41 to 0.70). The rates of patient-reported global benefit were nearly identical to the pain response rates and did not differ between the treatment groups. CONCLUSION: Methadone did not produce superior analgesic efficiency or overall tolerability at 4 weeks compared with morphine as a first-line strong opioid for the treatment of cancer pain.     

Evaluation of antiulcer activity of the main phenolic acids found in Brazilian Green Propolis

Aim of the study

In a previous study, our group described the gastric protective effect of the hydroalcoholic extract of Brazilian green propolis. The main compounds found in Brazilian green propolis include phenolic acids, such as: caffeic, ferulic, p-coumaric and cinnamic acids. This study was therefore carried out to evaluate the antiulcerogenic property of the main phenolic acids found in Brazilian Green Propolis.

Material and methods

The anti-ulcer assays were performed using the following protocols: nonsteroidal-antiinflammatory drug (NSAID)-induced ulcer, ethanol-induced ulcer, and stress-induced ulcer. The effects of the phenolic acids on gastric content volume, pH and total acidity, using the pylorus ligated model, were also evaluated.

Results

It was observed that treatment using doses of 50 and 250 mg/kg of caffeic, ferulic, p-coumaric and cinnamic acids and positive controls (omeprazol or cimetidine) significantly diminished the lesion index, the total area of the lesion and the percentage of lesion in comparison with the negative control groups. In addition, the percentage of ulcer inhibition was significantly higher in the groups treated with the different phenolic acids, cimetidine or omeprazol, in all the protocols used, compared with the negative control groups. In the model to determine gastric secretion, using ligated pylorus, treatment with phenolic acids and cimetidine reduced the volume of gastric juice and total acidity and significantly increased the gastric pH (p < 0.05), compared with the control group, with the exception of the group treated with 50 mg/kg of p-coumaric acid, in which no significant difference was observed, compared with the control. In relation to the acute toxicity, none sign of toxicity was observed when phenolic acids, used in this study, were administered for rats in dose of 2000 mg/kg.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the results of this study show that caffeic, ferulic, p-coumaric and cinnamic acids display antiulcer activity.     

Sex-Dependent Mediation of Leptin in the Association of Perilipin Polymorphisms with BMI and Plasma Lipid Levels in Children

Variations in the perilipin (PLIN) gene have been suggested to be associated with obesity and its related alterations, but a different nutritional status seems to contribute to differences in these associations. In our study, we examined the association of several polymorphisms at the PLIN locus with obesity and lipid profile in children, and then analyzed the mediation of plasma leptin levels on these associations. The single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs894160, rs1052700, and rs2304795 in PLIN1, and rs35568725 in PLIN2, were analyzed by RT-PCR in 1264 children aged 6–8 years. Our results showed a contrasting association of PLIN1 rs1052700 with apolipoprotein (Apo) A-I levels in boys and girls, with genotype TT carriers showing significantly higher Apo A-I levels in boys and significantly lower Apo A-I levels in girls. Significant associations of the SNP PLIN2 rs35568725 with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol), Apo A-I, and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) were observed in boys but not in girls. The associations of the SNPs studied with body mass index (BMI), NEFA, and Apo A-I in boys and girls were different depending on leptin concentration. In conclusion, we describe the mediation of plasma leptin levels in the association of SNPs in PLIN1 and PLIN2 with BMI, Apo A-I, and NEFA. Different leptin levels by sex may contribute to explain the sex-dependent association of the PLIN SNPs with these variables.     

Incidence and characteristics of transient St-segment elevation during transseptal puncture

Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology - Delineate retrospectively and prospectively the incidence and characteristics of transient ST-segment elevation during transseptal puncture....     

Simple dipstick assay for the detection of Salmonella typhi-specific IgM antibodies and the evolution of the immune response in patients with typhoid fever

Application of a dipstick assay for the detection of Salmonella typhi-specific IgM antibodies on samples collected from S. typhi or S. paratyphi culture-positive patients at the day of admission to the hospital revealed the presence of specific IgM antibodies in 43.5%, 92.9%, and 100% for samples collected 4-6 days, 6-9 days, and > 9 days after the onset of fever, respectively. The mean sensitivity for samples collected an average of 6.6 days after the onset of fever was 65.3%. Culture was positive in 65.9% of the cases with a final clinical diagnosis of typhoid fever. Testing of paired serum samples from culture negative patients with a final clinical diagnosis of typhoid fever resulted in staining of the dipstick in 4.3% of the samples collected at the day of admission to the hospital and in 76.6% of the samples collected one week later, thereby provided strong supporting evidence of typhoid fever by demonstrating seroconversion in a large proportion of the patients. The dipstick assay may thus also be useful for the serodiagnosis of culture-negative patients with clinical signs and symptoms consistent with typhoid fever. The advantages of the dipstick assay are that the result can be obtained on the same day allowing a prompt treatment, that only a small volume of serum is needed, and that no special laboratory equipment is needed to perform the assay. The stability of the reagents of the dipstick and the simplicity of the assay allows its use in places that lack laboratory facilities.