Prevalencia de factores de riesgo cardiovascular en Enfermedad de Alzheimer en Hospital Clínico Herminda Martin de Chillán, Chile / Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in Alzheimer's disease in Herminda Martin Clinical Hospital of Chillán, Chile

La Enfermedad de Alzheimer (EA) es un trastorno neurodegenerativo de causa incierta que afecta progresivamente las capacidades intelectuales, memoria, juicio y la conciencia. Factores de riesgo cardiovascular (FRCV) tales como Hipertensión arterial o diabetes mellitus se asocian consistentemente con mayor riesgo de desarrollar demencia vascular, mixta y EA. Objetivo: Determinar la prevalencia de FRCV en pacientes adultos mayores con EA, pertenecientes al policlínico del Hospital Clínico Herminda Martín (HCHM) entre los años 2012 al 2016. Materiales y métodos: Se recopilaron fichas clínicas de 42 pacientes con EA, 39 cumplían con los criterios de inclusión. Se calculó la prevalencia de siete FRCV considerados en el estudio. Resultados: Del total de pacientes, 56.4% fueron mujeres y 43,6% hombres. La prevalencia de presión arterial alta en la población fue 77%, hiperglicemia fue de un 38%, pacientes con índice de masa corporal (IMC) ≥ 30 Kg/m2 fueron un 15%, dislipidemia fue de un 26%. La prevalencia de Evento Cardiovascular Mayor fue de un 33,3%. Tabaquismo y consumo de alcohol, sus prevalencias fueron de 10,2% y 15,3% respectivamente. Conclusión: De los FRCV medidos, el más prevalente en EA es la presión arterial alta, por lo tanto, la implicancia que puede tener una intervención temprana sobre la esta y los otros FRCV estudiados, en la incidencia y la prevalencia de la EA sería de gran importancia para la prevención primaria de la enfermedad y/o determinar mejores tratamientos.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder of uncertain cause that progressively affects intellectual abilities, memory, impoverishment of judgment and self-awareness, one's own situation and ability. Vascular risk factors such as hypertension or diabetes mellitus are consistently associated with an increased risk of developing not only vascular dementia or mixed dementia, but also AD. Objective: To determine the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in elderly patients with AD, belonging to the polyclinic of the Clinical Hospital Herminda Martín (HCHM) between 2012 and 2016. Materials and methods: Clinical records of 42 patients with disease were collected of Alzheimer's, 39 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The prevalence of seven cardiovascular risk factor considered in the study were calculated. Results: Of the total patients, 56.4% were women and 43.6% men. The prevalence of high blood pressure in the population was 77%, of hyperglycemia was 38%, patients with BMI> 30 Kg / m2 were 15%, dyslipidemia was 26%, the prevalence of major cardiovascular event was 33%. Smoking and alcohol consumption, their prevalences were 10.2% and 15.3% respectively. Conclusion: Of the cardiovascular risk factors measured, the most prevalent in AD is high blood pressure, therefore, the implication that an early intervention on high blood pressure and the other measured CV risk factors may have on the incidence and the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease would be of great importance for primary prevention or determine better treatments.

Synthesis, structural characterization and cytotoxic activity of ternary copper(II)-dipeptide-phenanthroline complexes. A step towards the development of new copper compounds for the treatment of cancer.

In the search for new compounds with antitumor activity, coordination complexes with different metals are being studied by our group. This work presents the synthesis and characterization of six copper complexes with general stoichiometry [Cu(L-dipeptide)(phen)]·nH2O (were phen=1,10-phenanthroline) and their cytotoxic activities against tumor cell lines. To characterize these systems, analytical and spectroscopic studies were performed in solid state (by UV-visible, IR, X-ray diffraction) including the crystal structure of four new complexes (of the six complexes studied): [Cu(Ala-Phe)(phen)]·4H2O, [Cu(Phe-Ala)(phen)]·4H2O, [Cu(Phe-Val)(phen)]·4.5H2O and [Cu(Phe-Phe)(phen)]·3H2O. In all of them, the copper ion is situated in a distorted squared pyramidal environment. The phen ligand is perpendicular to the dipeptide, therefore exposed and potentially available for interaction with biological molecules. In addition, for all the studied complexes, structural information in solution using EPR and UV-visible spectroscopies were obtained, showing that the coordination observed in solid state is maintained. The lipophilicity, DNA binding and albumin interaction were also studied. Biological experiments showed that all the complexes induce cell death in the cell lines: HeLa (human cervical adenocarcinoma), MCF-7 (human metastatic breast adenocarcinoma) and A549 (human lung epithelial carcinoma). Among the six complexes, [Cu(Ala-Phe)(phen)] presents the lowest IC50 values. Taken together all these data we hypothesize that [Cu(Ala-Phe)(phen)] may be a good candidate for further studies in vivo.

Seasonal effects on intestinal enzyme activity in the Australian agamid lizard, Lophognathus temporalis.

The tropical agamid lizard, Lophognathus temporalis, has higher metabolic and feeding rates during the wet season compared to the dry season. Also, lizards from urban sites tend to be larger than those from natural sites, partly due to site differences in food availability. Therefore, we hypothesized that activity of membrane-bound intestinal enzymes and masses of organs related to digestion would differ both seasonally and between urban and natural sites. To test this, we measured activities of aminopeptidase-N (APN), maltase, and sucrase, as well as organ masses. APN activity (micromol min(-1) g(-1)) was highest in the middle portion of the intestine (section 2), followed by the proximal portion (section 1) and then the distal portion (section 3). Maltase activity was highest in section 1 and decreased distally. We detected some sucrase activity in section 1 but none in sections 2 or 3. We found similar enzyme activities within each section irrespective of site or season. However, total enzyme activities were higher during the wet season compared to the dry season for both urban and bush L. temporalis. Total wet season enzyme activity in urban and bush L. temporalis was greatest for APN (25.4; 15.8 micromol min(-1); respectively), then maltase (3.9; 3.6 micromol min(-1); respectively) and then sucrase (0.3; 0.2 micromol min(-1); respectively). The higher total enzyme activities was the result of an increase in intestinal mass during the wet season.

Energetic cost of a meal in a frequent feeding lizard.

Specific dynamic action (SDA) describes the rise in metabolism following feeding in animals and represents the energetic cost of digesting and assimilating a meal. The overall energetic cost of feeding may depend on whether or not an animal is post-absorptive at the time of feeding. The aim of this study was to compare the energetic cost of SDA due to feeding frequently compared with infrequently in the eastern water skink, Eulamprus quoyii. For similar quantities of food, repeated feeding incurred an energetic cost equal to 8.8% of the metabolizable energy of the meal (25,220 J), while single feeding incurred an energetic cost of 9.4% of the metabolizable energy of the meal (26,072 J). Experimental lizards maintained a rise in (VO2) that was on average 1.8 times greater than the (VO2) of the unfed controls over a 50-h interval as a result of feeding frequently. This prolonged rise in metabolism resulting from frequent feeding does not result in a higher energetic cost of SDA compared with that resulting from infrequent single feeding.