Assessment of copper and lipid profile in obese children and adolescents.

The aim of this study was to assess erythrocyte and plasma copper concentrations and correlate them with the lipid profile of overweight and obese children and adolescents. The study was performed with 15 overweight and 30 obese children and adolescents, and the results were compared to the control group (21), aged 6-16 yr. Anthropometric assessment was carried out using body mass index (BMI). Total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglyceride serum levels were investigated. Erythrocyte and plasma copper levels were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Greater alterations in the lipid profile were observed in HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, with distinctions according to gender. The plasma copper concentrations in the overweight and obese male groups were significantly higher than those in the control group (p = 0.0006). Negative correlations between plasma copper and total cholesterol (r = -0.54) and LDL cholesterol (r = -0.59) were observed in the obese male group. There was no statistical difference in copper erythrocyte concentrations. The obesity associated to disorders in lipid metabolism predisposes to changes in copper plasma concentrations, but there was no alteration in intracellular reserves, which suggests an important homeostatic control to compensate for plasma oscillations and metabolic alterations of the disease.

Use of DNA-based diagnostic methods for human leishmaniasis in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

DNA hybridisation was used to type 26 samples from lesions of human patients from the Rio Doce Valley (Minas Gerais, Brazil) clinically diagnosed as having cutaneous leishmaniasis, using kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) cloned mini-circle probes specific for the Leishmania mexicana and Leishmania braziliensis complexes. All samples were found to belong to the L. braziliensis complex. When biopsies were pressed directly onto touch blot membranes 38.5% of the samples were positive. The positivity and specificity obtained were both 100% when cultured blotted parasites were used. The results were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis using primers specific for the L. mexicana and L. braziliensis complexes.

Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis: purification and enzymatic characterization of a soluble serine oligopeptidase from promastigotes.

A soluble proteinase was purified 90-fold from extracts of promastigotes of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis using a combination of ion-exchange chromatography in Q-Sepharose Fast Flow, gel filtration chromatography in Sephacryl HR S-200, and chromatofocusing. The enzyme appeared as a single band with an apparent molecular weight of 101 kDa by silver staining following SDS-PAGE, under both reducing and nonreducing conditions. The proteinase has a pH optimum between 8.0 and 8.5 and an isoelectric point between 5.12 and 5.23, belongs to the serine proteinase class, and is inhibited by Mg2+, Ca2+, and K+. The primary specificity determined using synthetic substrates is for basic amino acids. The kinetic parameters for the Bz-L-Arg-Nam substrate are Km = 26 microM, kcat = 32 min(-1), and Ksi = 1270 microM (the proteinase showed inhibition by excess substrate). The enzyme does not hydrolyze casein, albumin, and gelatin or large peptides like the oxidized insulin B chain, but hydrolyzes small peptides like bradykinin and fragment 4-10 of the adrenocorticotropic hormone, at the carboxyl side of basic residues and aromatic residues preceding basic residues. The enzyme appears, thus, to be restricted in its action, cleaving only small peptide substrates, which characterizes the proteinase as an oligopeptidase. This is the first report of purification of a serine peptidase from Leishmania species and it increases the short list of known oligopeptidases.

[Obstetric factors associated with low birth weight]. / Fatores obstétricos associados ao baixo peso ao nascer.

An analysis was made of 18,804 of 19,446 consecutive births of the number analysed 15.93% presented low birth-rate. Significant statistical association was found in relation to maternal age, pre-natal care, previous pregnancies, smoking and gestational age at birth. Measures with a view to the attenuation of the problem are proposed, among them being: educational programs for teenagers on human reproduction, programs designed to create awareness of the harm done by smoking, amplification of antenatal assistance, medical programs for the limitation of premature labor, all of these and others, in association with programs of socio-economic support.