Lipid accumulation product index in HIV-infected patients: a marker of cardiovascular risk.

The lipid accumulation product (LAP) index is an emerging cardiovascular risk marker. We aimed to assess the accuracy of this index as a marker of cardiovascular risk in HIV-infected patients. A cross-sectional study of 133 HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral drugs and 20 non-infected controls was conducted at the outpatient clinic of a referral center of infectious and parasitic diseases.

Parathyroid ultrasonography and bone metabolic profile of patients on dialysis with hyperparathyroidism.

Aim: To evaluate the parathyroid ultrasonography and define parameters that can predict poor response to treatment in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism due to renal failure.

Methods: This cohort study evaluated 85 patients with chronic kidney disease stage V with parathyroid hormone levels above 800 pg/mL. All patients underwent ultrasonography of the parathyroids and the following parameters were analyzed: Demographic characteristics (etiology of chronic kidney disease, gender, age, dialysis vintage, vascular access, use of vitamin D), laboratory (calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, alkaline phosphatase, bone alkaline phosphatase), and the occurrence of bone changes, cardiovascular events and death.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels in HIV-infected patients treated or not with antiretroviral drugs and their correlation with factors related to cardiovascular risk and HIV infection.

Aims: To compare high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in HIV-infected patients treated or not with antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and to correlate hsCRP levels with traditional cardiovascular risk factors and parameters of HIV infection.

Methods: One hundred and seventy-one HIV-infected patients were included (129 ARV-treated and 42 ARV-naïve). Evaluations included anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, laboratory tests, ultrasonographic measurement of fat thickness and impedance analysis.

Ultrasonographic measurement of intra-abdominal fat thickness in HIV-infected patients treated or not with antiretroviral drugs and its correlation to lipid and glycemic profiles.

Aims: To compare the intra-abdominal fat thickness measured by ultrasound between HIV-infected patients treated or not with antiretroviral drugs and to correlate these visceral adiposity measurements to other parameters of cardiovascular risks.

Methods: In a transversal observational study, 160 HIV-infected patients were recruited and divided in two groups, i.e.

The pregnancy-induced increase of plasma angiotensin-(1-7) is blunted in gestational diabetes.

Background And Objective: It has been shown that the circulating Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS) is activated during normal pregnancy, but little is known about RAS in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes (GDM). GDM is considered not merely a temporary condition, but a harbinger of hypertension and type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the circulating RAS profile in normotensive women with GDM at the third trimester of pregnancy and to compare the results with healthy pregnant and non-pregnant age-matched women.