Hypertension, diabetes and obesity are associated with lower cognitive performance in community-dwelling elderly: Data from the FIBRA study.

Background: Systemic hypertension (SH), diabetes mellitus (DM) and abdominal obesity may negatively impact cognitive performance.

Objective: To evaluate the association between SH, DM and abdominal obesity and cognitive performance among cognitively unimpaired elderly.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of individuals aged 65+ from seven Brazilian cities was conducted.

Association between race, obesity and diabetes in elderly community dwellers: data from the FIBRA study.

This study sought to investigate the effect of race on measures of body fat (body mass index - BMI, waist circumference - WC and waist-hip ratio - WHR), as well as its relationship with diabetes, among elderly individuals living in urban areas in seven places in Brazil, according to gender. This is a cross-sectional study carried out with a probabilistic sample comprising 2,566 individuals with 65 years of age or more who participated in the FIBRA Study (Frailty in Elderly Brazilians). We used several self-reported sociodemographic variables (gender, age, race, schooling and family income), anthropometric measures of general (BMI) and abdominal obesity (WC and WHR) and self-reported diabetes.

The detection of Trypanosoma cruzi by nested-PCR in elderly patients: relationship to the clinical and epidemiological profile.

Chagas disease, which is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is transmitted primarily by triatomine bugs, although the incidence of new cases has decreased as a result of vector control. In Brazil, most of those affected have the chronic form of the disease and are generally elderly individuals who require appropriate clinical follow-up. In this work, we undertook a descriptive study in which 85 patients were interviewed and blood samples were collected for molecular analyses based on the amplification of parasite satellite DNA.

ST-elevation myocardial infarction risk in the very elderly.

Background: Despite the high incidence and mortality of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) among the very elderly, risk markers for this condition remain poorly defined. This study was designed to identify independent markers of STEMI among individuals carefully selected for being healthy or manifesting STEMI in < 24 h.

Methods: We enrolled participants aged 80 years or older of whom 50 were STEMI patients and 207 had never manifested cardiovascular diseases.

Understanding red blood cell parameters in the context of the frailty phenotype: interpretations of the FIBRA (Frailty in Brazilian Seniors) study.

Frailty and anemia in the elderly appear to share a common pathophysiology associated with chronic inflammatory processes. This study uses an analytical, cross-sectional, population-based methodology to investigate the probable relationships between frailty, red blood cell parameters and inflammatory markers in 255 community-dwelling elders aged 65 years or older. The frailty phenotype was assessed by non-intentional weight loss, fatigue, low grip strength, low energy expenditure and reduced gait speed.

Cluster analysis to identify elderly people's profiles: a healthcare strategy based on frailty characteristics.

Context And Objectives: The new social panorama resulting from aging of the Brazilian population is leading to significant transformations within healthcare. Through the cluster analysis strategy, it was sought to describe the specific care demands of the elderly population, using frailty components.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional study based on reviewing medical records, conducted in the geriatric outpatient clinic, Hospital de Clínicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp).

Relationship between lower-limb muscle strength and functional independence among elderly people according to frailty criteria: a cross-sectional study.

Context And Objective: Muscle strength and functional independence are considered to be determinants of frailty levels among elderly people. The aim here was to compare lower-limb muscle strength (LLMS) with functional independence in relation to sex, age and number of frailty criteria, and to ascertain the influence of these variables on elderly outpatients' independence.

Design And Setting: Quantitative cross-sectional study, in a tertiary hospital.

[Satisfaction with life and functionality among elderly patients in a geriatric outpatient clinic].

Aging is often accompanied by functional limitations that affect self esteem, lowering the level of satisfaction with life. Studies highlight satisfaction with life as a predictor of quality of life and has a marked correlation with a decrease in functionality. Therefore, this study sought to examine the relationship between satisfaction with life and functional independence and performance of the lower limbs (muscle strength, gait speed and balance) among the elderly in outpatient care with respect to age groups and genders.

Elderly outpatient profile and predictors of falls.

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES Falls are a serious public health problem and are one of the biggest reasons for hospitalization, morbidity and mortality among elderly people. Moreover, few studies on predictors of falls have been conducted in low and middle income countries. The aim here was to identify elderly outpatient profiles according to sociodemographic, clinical, physical and functional variables and correlate them with occurrences of falls among these subjects.

Relationship between lower-limb muscle strength and frailty among elderly people.

Context And Objective: Sarcopenia is the main factor involved in the development of frailty syndrome. The aims here were to investigate relationships between lower-limb muscle strength and the variables of sex, age and frailty criteria; compare lower-limb muscle strength with each frailty criterion; and assess the power of each criterion for estimating the risk of frailty among elderly outpatients.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional study at the Geriatrics Outpatient Clinic of a university hospital in Campinas.

Serological profiles and evaluation of parasitaemia by PCR and blood culture in individuals chronically infected by Trypanosoma cruzi treated with benzonidazole.

Objective: To evaluate the serological and parasitological status of patients with chronic Chagas disease (CD) after chemotherapy with benzonidazole.

Methods: Retrospective study of patients treated with benzonidazole (5 mg/kg/day for 60 days) between 1980 and 2010. Twenty-nine patients who had CD confirmed by two reagent immunological tests and/or one positive xenodiagnosis before treatment were included.

Relationships between gender, age, family conditions, physical and mental health, and social isolation of elderly caregivers.

Background: In an aging population an increasing number of elderly caregivers will be called upon to provide care over a long period, during which time they will be burdened both by caregiving and by the physiological effects of their own aging. Among them there will be more aged male caregivers, who will probably be less prepared than women to become caregivers. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between caregivers' gender, age, family income, living arrangements and social support as independent variables, and depressive symptoms, comorbidities, level of frailty, grip strength, walking speed and social isolation, as dependent variables.

Trypanosoma cruzi: parasite persistence in tissues in chronic chagasic Brazilian patients.

Chagas disease in the chronic phase may develop into cardiac and/or digestive forms. The pathogenesis of the disease is not yet clear and studies have been carried out to elucidate the role of parasite persistence in affected organs. The aim of this study was to detect and quantify Trypanosoma cruzi in paraffin-embedded tissue samples from chronic patients using NPCR (nested polymerase chain reaction) and QPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) methods.

[Medicine adhesion in eldery people in an ambulatorial attendance].

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the elderly drug adhesion in an outpatient geriatric service linked to the State University Hospital of Campinas (São Paulo, Brazil) as well as to identify the related events to this adhesion. One hundred sixty five elders were submitted to an interview. It was used an instrument to collect information about the patients' identification, besides the self-reported state of health and drug utilization.

Quality of life and depressive symptoms in Chagas disease patients.

Background: Besides the typical organic aspects of Chagas disease, the patients need to face physical, psychological, social and economic difficulties, which can compromise their quality of life. Consequently they may develop feelings of sadness, grief and loss, and depressive symptoms.

Methods: This study assessed the quality of life and depressive symptoms in 110 Chagas disease patients using WHOQOL-BREF for measuring the quality of life; also it was used Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) for depressive symptom evaluation.

[Biology of aging: theories, mechanisms, and perspectives].

Abstract The article reviews the major biological theories of aging, and discusses the most relevant mechanisms to explain the aging process. It begins with the evolutionary theories, explores the molecular-cellular mechanisms, and presents the perspective of the systemic theories. The complex etiology of aging is a challenge to the researchers.

Evidence of Chagas disease in seronegative Brazilian patients with megaesophagus.

Background: After 100 years of research, Chagas disease (CD) remains an important public health problem in Latin America. The symptomatic chronic phase is usually characterized by cardiac or digestive involvement and diagnosis currently relies on the measurement of Trypanosoma cruzi-specific antibodies produced in response to the infection. However, the detection of parasite DNA in seronegative persons has been reported.

Determining the C-reactive protein level in patients with different clinical forms of chagas disease.

Chagas disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and remains a health problem in the developing countries of South America. The condition leads to cardiac conduction disturbances and chronic heart failure. In this study, 136 individuals were evaluated by the Chagas Disease Study Group of the Hospital de la Universidad Estatal de Campinas in Brazil to determine the relationship between chronic heart failure and the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level.

[Relationship between subjective well-being and the functionality of elderly outpatients].

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between subjective well-being, functional independence and lower-limb performance (muscle strength, gait velocity and balance) among elderly people undergoing outpatient follow-up, stratified by sex and age groups.

Methods: We evaluated 125 elderly people, aged 60 years and over, who received care at a geriatric outpatient clinic. The instruments used were: 1) Functional Independence Measure (FIM) to evaluate functional dependence; 2) Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) to measure physical performance; and 3) Subjective Well-Being (SWB) with questions about health and satisfaction with life.

Chagas' disease and HIV co-infection in patients without effective antiretroviral therapy: prevalence, clinical presentation and natural history.

The objectives of this study were to establish the prevalence of Chagas' disease among HIV seropositive patients and to define the clinical profile of co-infected cases. Cross-sectional study: the prevalence of co-infected subjects was 1.3% and there was no significant difference between co-infected and non co-infected patients relative to race, birthplace, home address and CD4 T cells.

Chagas' disease and ageing: the coexistence of other chronic diseases with Chagas' disease in elderly patients.

This study aimed to identify the main comorbidities in elderly chagasic patients treated in a reference service and identify possible associations between the clinical form of Chagas' disease and chronic diseases. Ninety patients aged 60 years-old or over were interviewed and their clinical diagnoses recorded. The study population profile was: women (55.

Haptoglobin genotypes in Chagas' disease.

Objectives: To investigate the existence of an association between haptoglobin (Hp) genotypes and the severity of heart complications in Chagas' disease.

Design And Methods: Hp genotyping was performed by PCR in 107 Brazilian patients sub-classified in asymptomatic, with mild heart disease and with severe heart disease.

Results: Multiple logistic regression (R(2)=24%) indicated that patients with the Hp1-1 genotype have lower probability of developing the severe heart complications.

[Fatal evolution of Chagas'disease/Aids co-infection: diagnostic difficulties between myocarditis reactivation and chronic chagasic myocardiopathy].

Chagas disease is a type of parasitosis caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, and it is transmitted by triatomine insects. This disease is found between the southern United States to Argentina and approximately 14 million people in Latin America are believed to be infected, predominantly with the chronic form of the disease. Reactivation of Chagas disease can occur among immunosuppressed patients, as has been observed among AIDS patients.

Neuropathy of gastrointestinal Chagas' disease: immune response to myelin antigens.

Most reports of autoimmune response during infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi have dealt with the cardiomyopathic form of Chagas' disease, but little is known about the mechanisms of tissue damage involved in the gastrointestinal form, which was studied here. Chronically infected patients with a severe gastrointestinal form of Chagas' disease present increased antibody production and proliferative responses to peripheral myelin components, such as myelin basic protein (MBP), which is homologous to the P1 protein fraction of peripheral myelin. T lymphocytes preferentially recognize a region on the MBP molecule (1-30), which suggests that the MBP is a potential target on the peripheral nerve for autoimmune reactions in patients with gastrointestinal lesions resulting from Chagas' disease.

[Clinical and laboratory characterization of hypertensive Chagas disease patients without evident heart failure].

This study evaluated the characteristics of 125 Chagas disease patients aged > 25 years or over who were attended at the Clinical Hospital of the State University of Campinas, State of São Paulo. Arterial pressure, age, gender, skin color, heart disease, body mass index, lipid profile, blood glucose level, alcohol and tobacco dependence, dyslipidemia, diabetes, anxiety disorders and obesity were investigated. It was found that the hypertensive Chagas disease patients were older than the non-hypertensive ones (p = 0.