Genetically Determined MBL Deficiency Is Associated with Protection against Chronic Cardiomyopathy in Chagas Disease.

Chagas disease (CD) is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, whose sugar moieties are recognized by mannan binding lectin (MBL), a soluble pattern-recognition molecule that activates the lectin pathway of complement. MBL levels and protein activity are affected by polymorphisms in the MBL2 gene. We sequenced the MBL2 promoter and exon 1 in 196 chronic CD patients and 202 controls.

Myocardial infarction associated with the use of a dietary supplement rich in ephedrine in a young athlete.

Dietary supplements containing ephedrine and other alkaloids related to ephedrine are largely consumed in various countries, with the purpose of energetic stimulation and weight loss. Despite the fact that it is not approved for marketing in Brazil, these products may be freely purchased over the Internet or at gyms/fitness centers. We report the case of a young athlete with no risk factors for cardiovascular disease who experienced a myocardial infarction during the period in which he used an ephedrine-rich supplement.

Evolutive echocardiographic study of the structural and functional heart alterations in obese individuals after bariatric surgery.

Objective: To evaluate with Doppler echocardiography the reversibility of structural and hemodynamic changes in obeses after bariatric surgery.

Methods: Twenty-three patients (19 women = 82.6%) were studied.