Positive Association between Autoantibodies Against Oxidized LDL and HDL-C: A Novel Mechanism for HDL Cardioprotection?

Background: In the atherosclerotic plaque microenvironment, oxidized phospholipids expressed in the oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) surface bind to scavenger receptors of macrophages eliciting foam cell formation and plaque progression. Auto-antibodies against oxLDL (oxLDL-Ab) interact with oxidative epitopes leading to the formation of immune complexes that are unable to interact with macrophage receptors, thus abrogating atherogenesis. Release of oxLDL-Ab by B cells involves interleukin 5 and Th2 response, which in turn are potentiated by HDL.

Serological and molecular inquiry of Chagas disease in an Afro-descendant settlement in Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil.

Furnas do Dionísio is a Brazilian Afro-descendant settlement in the city of Jaraguari, 21.4 miles from Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Approximately 96 families live in this quilombola (Maroon) settlement, also known in Brazil as a remnant community of descendants of African slaves.

Serum Retinol Levels in Pregnant Adolescents and Their Relationship with Habitual Food Intake, Infection and Obstetric, Nutritional and Socioeconomic Variables.

Globally, vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects about 19.1 million pregnant women. Its occurrence is classically associated with inadequate food intake and may also be associated with socioeconomic factors and the presence of infection.

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.

Serum amyloid a is associated with obesity and estrogen receptor-negative tumors in postmenopausal women with breast cancer.

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is an acute-phase protein and also an adipokine, which has been associated with the development and prognosis of breast cancer. In the present study, we investigated the association between obesity and SAA in postmenopausal women with breast cancer and its relationship with clinicopathologic characteristics of tumors. Patients were grouped as nonobese or overweight/obese based on body mass index (BMI) plus waist circumference measurement.

Association analysis of anti-Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen-1 antibodies, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies, the shared epitope and smoking status in Brazilian patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Introduction: Epstein-Barr virus exposure appears to be an environmental trigger for rheumatoid arthritis that interacts with other risk factors. Relationships among anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies, the shared epitope, and smoking status have been observed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis from different populations.

Objective: To perform an association analysis of anti-Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen-1 antibodies, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies, the shared epitope, and smoking status in Brazilian patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Serological monitoring of a Toxoplasma infection after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

We report a primary response to Toxoplasma gondii following a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in a patient with multiple myeloma. The primary response to T. gondii was supported by IgM, IgG and IgA seroconversion.

Predictability of quantification of beta-trace protein for diagnosis of cerebrospinal fluid leak: cutoff determination in nasal fluids with two control groups.

Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak of the anterior skull base is an abnormal communication between the subarachnoid space and the nasal cavity or the paranasal sinus. Its presence increases the incidence of complications, as meningitis, with risk of sequelae. The early and correct diagnosis of the CSF leaks is important to perform surgical treatment as soon as possible.

GLP-1 and adiponectin: effect of weight loss after dietary restriction and gastric bypass in morbidly obese patients with normal and abnormal glucose metabolism.

Background: It has been proposed that there is improvement in glucose and insulin metabolism after weight loss in patients who underwent diet restriction and bariatric surgery.

Methods: Eleven normal glucose tolerant (NGT) morbidly obese patients [body mass index (BMI), 46.1+/-2.

High-density lipoprotein subfractions in normolipidemic individuals without clinical atherosclerosis lipoprotein subfractions in an adult population.

This study evaluated the serum concentrations of lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) subfractions in Brazilian adults. We analyzed the distribution of lipids in HDL2 and HDL3 in a normolipidemic population without evidence of established cardiovascular disease (CVD). A total of 93 males and 92 females, healthy and normolipidemic, volunteered to be submitted to a clinical examination, a blood collection, and to answer a questionnaire aimed at determining signs and symptoms of atherosclerotic disease.

Differential regulation of lymphoproliferative responses to Trypanosoma cruzi antigen in patients with the cardiac or indeterminate form of Chagas disease.

In the search to identify differences in the immunological response between patients with the indeterminate or cardiac form of Chagas disease, trypomastigote-specific peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proliferative responses were studied. Suppression of lymphoproliferation occurred in both groups of patients, being more intense in those with the cardiac form. By adding to the cultures neutralizing mAbs anti-IFN-gamma, anti-IL-4, anti-IL-13, or anti-IL-10, indomethacin to block prostaglandin synthesis, NMMA as inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, or glutathione-peroxidase as H(2)O(2) scavenger, it was found that indomethacin augmented lymphoproliferation in both groups of patients.