Background and objectives The calcimimetic cinacalcet reduced the risk of death or cardiovascular (CV) events in older, but not younger, patients with moderate to severe secondary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) who were receiving hemodialysis. To determine whether the lower risk in younger patients might be due to lower baseline CV risk and more frequent use of cointerventions that reduce parathyroid hormone (kidney transplantation, parathyroidectomy, and commercial cinacalcet use), this study examined the effects of cinacalcet in older ($65 years, n=1005) and younger (,65 years, n=2878) patients.Design, setting, participants, & measurements Evaluation of Cinacalcet HCl Therapy to Lower Cardiovascular Events (EVOLVE) was a global, multicenter, randomized placebo-controlled trial in 3883 prevalent patients on hemodialysis, whose outcomes included death, major CV events, and development of severe unremitting HPT. The age subgroup analysis was prespecified.Results Older patients had higher baseline prevalence of diabetes mellitus and CV comorbidity. Annualized rates of kidney transplantation and parathyroidectomy were .3-fold higher in younger relative to older patients and were more frequent in patients randomized to placebo. In older patients, the adjusted relative hazard (95% confidence interval) for the primary composite (CV) end point (cinacalcet versus placebo) was 0.70 (0.60 to 0.81); in younger patients, the relative hazard was 0.97 (0.86 to 1.09). Corresponding adjusted relative hazards for mortality were 0.68 (0.51 to 0.81) and 0.99 (0.86 to 1.13). Reduction in the risk of severe unremitting HPT was similar in both groups. ConclusionsIn the EVOLVE trial, cinacalcet decreased the risk of death and of major CV events in older, but not younger, patients with moderate to severe HPT who were receiving hemodialysis. Effect modification by age may be partly explained by differences in underlying CV risk and differential application of cointerventions that reduce parathyroid hormone.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are known to reduce blood pressure and proteinuria in a variety of different glomerular diseases. Nonetheless, a marked interindividual difference in the efficacy of these agents exists. The activity of the ACE and therefore of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) has been shown to be under genetic influence. Patients with a deletion genotype at the intron 16 of the ACE gene have been shown to exhibit higher activity of plasmatic ACE when compared to patients with the insertion genotype. We therefore studied prospectively the hemodynamic and antiproteinuric effect of a 6-month therapy with enalapril in patients with biopsy-proven proteinuric glomerular diseases and the DD (n = 10) and ID/II (n = 26) genotype. Although patients with the DD genotype received a slightly higher dose of enalapril, blood pressure and proteinuria did not change significantly. However, both were significantly reduced in the II/ID group after 10 weeks and 6 months of therapy. Creatinine clearance decreased steadily in DD patients. In II/ID patients, creatinine clearance was reduced significantly after 10 weeks of therapy but increased again thereafter and the value at 6 months was again comparable to the one obtained in the DD patients. We conclude from our study that the ACE genotype influences the blood pressure-lowering and antiproteinuric effect of enalapril in patients with proteinuric glomerular disease.

Introducción. La variabilidad genética del polimorfismo del gen APOE se considera un importante factor asociado a la predisposición a las enfermedades que afectan el metabolismo lipídico, a las enfermedades coronarias y a la enfermedad de Alzheimer, entre otras. En este sentido, es útil conocer este factor de riesgo en diferentes poblaciones y grupos étnicos. Objetivos. Analizar el polimorfismo del gen APOE y determinar las frecuencias alélicas y genotípicas de una muestra representativa de la población de Barranquilla, Colombia. Materiales y métodos. Se hizo en Barranquilla un estudio descriptivo y comparativo de 227 individuos no relacionados. Resultados. El alelo ε3 se presentó con mayor frecuencia (85 %), seguido del alelo ε4 (13 %) y, con menor frecuencia, el alelo ε2 (1,8 %). Los genotipos observados fueron los siguientes: ε3/ε3 en 71,8 %, ε3/ε4 en 24,2 %, ε2/ε3 en 2,2 %, ε2/ε4 en 1,3 % y ε4/ε4 en 0,4 %. El genotipo ε2/ε2 no se encontró en este estudio. La muestra representativa de la población estaba en equilibrio de Hardy-Weinberg. Conclusiones. Las frecuencias alélicas ε3 y el genotipo ε3/ε3 encontrados en la población estudiada, fueron similares a lo informado por la literatura científica en países como Brasil, México y Colombia, y en algunos grupos étnicos amerindios colombianos. No se encontró el genotipo ε2/ε2, resultado que coincide con otras poblaciones estudiadas a nivel mundial. La frecuencia del alelo ε4 y sus genotipos asociados en esta población, podría estar relacionada con la presencia de enfermedades como la hipercolesterolemia, el infarto de miocardio y la enfermedad de Alzheimer.Palabras clave: apolipoproteínas E, polimorfismo genético, población, alelos, Colombia. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7705/biomedica.v36i1.2612 APOE gene polymorphism analysis in Barranquilla, ColombiaIntroduction: The genetic variability present in the APOE gene polymorphism is considered an important factor associated with predisposition to diseases affecting lipid metabolism, as well as heart diseases and Alzheimer's disease, among others. Understanding it as a risk factor in different populations and ethnic groups is a useful tool. Objective: To analyze the APOE gene polymorphism and determine allelic and genotypic frequencies of a representative sample of population from Barranquilla, Colombia. Materials and methods:We performed a descriptive and comparative study. The sample size was 227 unrelated individuals from Barranquilla, Colombia Results: The most frequent allele was the ε3, with 85%, followed by the ε4 allele (13%) and ε2 (1.8%). The genotypes found were: ε3/ε3: 71.8%, ε3/ε4: 24.2%, ε2/ε3: 2.2%, ε2/ε4: 1.3% and ε4/ε4: 0.4%. The ε2/ε2 genotype was not found in this study. The sample exhibited the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Conclusion: The frequency of the ε3 allele and the ε3/ε3 genotype was similar to that reported in the literature in countries like Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and in some Colombian Amerindian ethnic groups. The ε2/ε2 genotype was absent. This result is consistent with those found in oth...

Objective: To study the NAT2 gene polymorphisms 481T, 590A and 857A in the Chimila, Wiwa and Wayuu indigenous groups of the Colombian Caribbean to determine the frequencies of the allelesNAT2*4, NAT2*5, NAT2*6, and NAT2*7 and to determine the types of acetylators present in these populations. Methods: A total of 202 subjects were studied: 47 Chimila, 55 Wiwa, and 100 Wayuu. The polymorphisms were idenjpgied using a real-time PCR method for allelic discrimination designed using Taqman of Applied Biosystems. Results: The following alleles were found at the highest frequency in the following groups: the NAT2*4 allele (wild type) in the Wayuu group (55.3%), the NAT2*5 allele in the Wiwa group (34.5%), and the NAT2*7 allele in the Chimila group (24.2%). A higher frequency of the rapid acetylator status was found in the Wayuu group (31.3%) and Chimila group (29.5%) compared with the Wiwa group (12.7%). The intermediate acetylator status distribution was very similar in all three groups, and the frequency of the slow acetylator status was higher in the Wiwa group (32.7%) compared with the Chimila and Wayuu groups (20.5% and 21.2%, respectively). Conclusion: The results demonstrated the allelic distribution and pharmacogenetic differences of the three groups studied and revealed the most frequent acetylator status and phenotype. Because of the high prevalence of slow acetylators, a greater incidence of tuberculosis (TB) drug-induced hepatotoxicity is predicted in these populations, with a higher frequency in the Wiwa group.

Introducción. La obesidad se considera un grave problema de salud pública y por ello se hacen esfuerzos en la búsqueda de genes como el LEP, el LEPR y el MC4R del sistema leptina-melanocortina, el cual opera en la regulación neuroendocrina de la ingestión y el equilibrio energético e influye en la patogenia de la enfermedad. Los resultados contradictorios en torno a la asociación de estos genes con la obesidad plantean la necesidad de nuevas investigaciones.Objetivo. Analizar los polimorfismos rs2167270 del gen LEP, rs1137101 del gen LEPR y rs17782313 del gen MC4R asociados con la obesidad y sus variables clínicas y bioquímicas en una muestra de pacientes adultos de Barranquilla.Materiales y métodos. Se estudiaron 111 personas obesas y 155 no obesas como controles. Los polimorfismos se determinaron mediante reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR) en tiempo real. Se tomaron las medidas antropométricas, se evaluó la presión arterial y se hicieron pruebas bioquímicas.Resultados. No se encontraron diferencias estadísticas en la frecuencia alélica y genotípica de los polimorfismos en los grupos estudiados. En cuanto a las variables clínicas y bioquímicas, el genotipo CC del polimorfismo rs17782313 del gen MC4R, se asoció con un aumento de la presión arterial sistólica y, el alelo T y su genotipo homocigoto, con una disminución del colesterol HDL en los obesos. No se evidenció ningún efecto de los otros polimorfismos en estas variables.Conclusiones. Los polimorfismos rs2167270 del gen LEP, rs1137101 del gen LEPR y rs17782313 del gen MC4R, no se asociaron con obesidad en la población analizada. Se encontró que el polimorfismo rs17782313 del gen MC4R influyó en el aumento de la presión arterial sistólica y la disminución del colesterol HDL en las personas obesas.