Vascular stiffness and healthy arterial aging in older patients with optimal blood pressure.

Introduction: Pulse wave velocity is used to diagnose central arterial stiffness (CAS) and quantify healthy vascular aging (HVA).

Objective: To evaluate the CAS and HVA in elderly patients with systemic blood pressure levels classified as optimal/normal.

Methods: A total of 102 patients without comorbidities and with systolic pressure (SP) < 120 mmHg and diastolic pressure (DP) < 80 mmHg were selected from the EVOPIU database (Pulse Wave Velocity of Elderly Individuals in an Urban area of Brazil).

Association between diabetes mellitus and central arterial stiffness in elderly patients with systemic arterial hypertension.

Background: Aging increases the risk of chronic diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases, leading to changes in cardiovascular anatomy and physiology even in the absence of other comorbidities. Numerous cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs), such as diabetes mellitus (DM) and systemic arterial hypertension (SAH), can modify the functional and structural properties of large vessels, increasing arterial stiffness.

Objective: To determine whether elderly patients with hypertension with DM have greater central arterial stiffness than elderly patients with SAH without DM.

Mast cell population in the development of diabetic nephropathy: Effects of renin angiotensin system inhibition.

Considering the importance of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in diabetic nephropathy (DN) and the link between mast cells (MC) and the RAS, this study evaluated the effects of RAS blockade on the MC cell population in the kidneys from rats with experimental diabetes. Wistar rats were divided into six groups: control non-diabetic (C); sham (S); diabetic (D); and D treated with enalapril (EN), losartan (LO), or aliskiren (AL). Ninety days after diabetes induction, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and urinary albumin excretion (UAE) were determined.

Arterial stiffness in elderly patients with normotension and hypertension in Brazil.

Data on arterial stiffness in older populations, according to blood pressure (BP) levels, are scarce in Brazil. The objective of this study was to establish reference values for core measures of arterial stiffness, including carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) and aortic augmentation index (AIx), in a cohort of older individuals with normotension (NT) and hypertension. Cross-sectional analysis was performed with applanation tonometry data from 1192 patients aged 60 years or older.

Blood pressure variability in the elderly. Association between postprandial and sleeping periods.

Introduction: The variability of arterial blood pressure (BP) is considered an important cardiovascular risk factor.

Objective: To verify the possible associations between the postprandial and the sleeping blood pressure variability.

Methods: This study evaluated systolic, diastolic, mean, pulse pressures and heart variability in 69 elderly patients in preprandial, postprandial and sleeping periods.

Icodextrin reduces insulin resistance in non-diabetic patients undergoing automated peritoneal dialysis: results of a randomized controlled trial (STARCH).

Background: Insulin resistance is a common risk factor in chronic kidney disease patients contributing to the high cardiovascular burden, even in the absence of diabetes. Glucose-based peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions are thought to intensify insulin resistance due to the continuous glucose absorption from the peritoneal cavity. The aim of our study was to analyse the effect of the substitution of glucose for icodextrin on insulin resistance in non-diabetic PD patients in a multicentric randomized clinical trial.

Systolic Heart Function, Kidney Filtration and the Number of Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaques in Lean and Overweight Patients.

The objective of this study was to quantify the number of vessels with stenotic points in the coronary circulation of lean and overweight individuals submitted to coronary angiography and ventriculography to verify the possible associations with glomerular filtration and the systolic ventricular function. Eighty-six patients with a previous history of myocardial ischemia were studied. Two groups were formed: non-elderly (G1), n = 38, 52.

Systemic hemodynamic changes in young and elderly normotensive individuals after ingestion of meals with high lipid, protein, and carbohydrate contents.

Objectives: The changes in blood pressure and in the cardiac function were studied in two groups of patients: an elderly group (EG) with 10 healthy normotensive elderly patients, and a young group (YG), with eight normal volunteers.

Methods: Both groups were provided meals with high contents of lipids (LM), carbohydrates (CM), and proteins (PM). The systemic hemodynamic changes in each group were compared.

Cardiac morphology and function in patients with and without residual diuresis on hemodialysis.

In patients with chronic renal failure on hemodialysis, left ventricular hypertrophy is related to the increase in total peripheral vascular resistance and volume overload. The presence of residual diuresis enables greater control of the volemia of these. We evaluated the morpho-functional changes of the left ventricle in patients with chronic kidney disease on hemodyalisis treatment with and without residual diuresis.

Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar infection in chronic hemodialysis patients.

To determine the prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar (Eh/Ed) in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients, we collected 330 samples of feces from 110 patients, and nine individuals were found to be positive for Eh/Ed. We compared the infected patients with a group of 14 uninfected HD patients.