Parathyroid hormone and phosphorus overload in uremia: impact on cardiovascular system.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac remodeling in uremia is characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy, interstitial fibrosis and microvascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in uremic patients, but coronary events alone are not the prevalent cause, sudden death and heart failure are. We studied the cardiac remodeling in experimental uremia, evaluating the isolated effect of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and phosphorus. METHODS: Wistar rats were submitted to parathyroidectomy (PTx) and 5/6 nephrectomy (Nx); they also received vehicle (V) and PTH at normal (nPTH) or high (hPTH) doses. They were fed with a poor-phosphorus (pP) or rich-phosphorus (rP) diet and were divided into the following groups: 'Sham': G1 (V+normal-phosphorus diet (np)) and 'Nx+PTx': G2 (nPTH+pP), G3 (nPTH+rP), G4 (hPTH+pP) and G5 (hPTH+rP). After 8 weeks, biochemical analysis, myocardium morphometry and arteriolar morphological analysis were performed. In addition, using immunohistochemical analysis, we evaluated angiotensin II, α-actin, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-ß) and nitrotyrosine, as well as fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23), fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 (FGFR-1) and runt-related transcription factor-2 (Runx-2) expression. RESULTS: Nx animals presented higher serum creatinine levels as well as arterial hypertension. Higher PTH levels were associated with myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis as well as a higher coronary lesion score. High PTH animals also presented a higher myocardial expression of TGF-ß, angiotensin II, FGF-23 and nitrotyrosine and a lower expression of α-actin. Phosphorus overload was associated with higher serum FGF-23 levels and Runx-2, as well as myocardial hypertrophy. FGFR-1 was positive in the cardiomyocytes of all groups as well as in calcified coronaries of G4 and G5 whereas Runx-2 was positive in G3, G4 and G5. CONCLUSION: In uremia, PTH and phosphorus overload are both independently associated with major changes related to the cardiac remodeling process, emphasizing the need for a better control of these factors in chronic kidney disease.

Jogo educacional sobre avaliação em fisioterapia: uma nova abordagem acadêmica / Educational game on physiotherapy's evaluation: a new academic approach

Este artigo relata a criação de um jogo educacional sobre avaliação em fisioterapia. Uma nova abordagem acadêmica foi proposta para complementar a metodologia atual, basicamente expositiva, especialmente em cursos com conteúdo prático, como a fisioterapia. Uma estratégia pedagógica com casos clínicos e recursos tecnológicos inovadores pode atrair a atenção do estudante, permitindo um aprendizado mais intenso e ativo. O aplicativo foi criado no Adobe Flash CS3 com a linguagem Extensible Markup Language (XML) para a organização das perguntas múltipla escolha. O jogo é composto por quatro salas de atendimento sobre avaliação neurológica, respiratória, musculoesquelética e em terapia intensiva. Há, em cada sala, um caso clínico, seguido de questões múltipla escolha e, por fim, uma questão especial, contendo vídeos ou imagens. Ao responder as questões de forma equivocada, o participante é direcionado a uma sala de estudos com a literatura relacionada ao tema e alguns artigos sugeridos. Para avaliar o impacto desse jogo no processo de aprendizado, serão necessários mais estudos, porém o desenvolvimento de novas estratégias para aprimorar o método de ensino atual é de extrema importância.

This article reports the creation of an education game about physiotherapy's evaluation. It proposes the use of new academic approach to improve the existing teaching method of expositive classes and especially for practical courses like physiotherapy. A pedagogical approach with clinical cases and technological resources is capable of attracting the student attention and may stimulate active learning processes. The game was created with Adobe Flash CS3 combined with an Extensible Markup Language (XML) for the questions. Four treatment rooms were created in four different areas: Neurology, Respiratory, Orthopedic and Intensive Care Unit (ICU). In every room there is a case, followed by multiple choice questions and special questions with pictures and videos. There is also a classroom for each case, where some literature and articles for further studies are suggested. To measure the influence of this educational game in the learning process, more studies are needed, however the development of new strategies to improve the existing teaching method is very important.