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Background and Aims: Resistin is involved in the development of obesity and insulin resistance (IR) in mice and may play a similar role in humans through mechanisms that remain unresolved. The objective of this study was to characterize the relationship between resistin levels in obese subjects with and without IR among Hispanic subjects. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 117 nondiabetic Hispanic subjects of both genders that were allocated into three study groups: A control group (n = 47) of otherwise healthy individuals in metabolic balance, a group with obesity (OB) (n = 36), and a group with obesity and IR (OB-IR) (n = 34). Anthropometric and clinical characterization was carried out, and resistin levels were determined by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: We found that resistin levels were higher in OB and OB-IR groups when compared to the control group (1331.79 -142.15 pg/mL, 1266.28 -165.97 pg/mL vs. 959.21 -171.43 pg/mL; P < 0.05), an effect that was not confounded by age (control, 34.04 -10.00 years; OB, 37.30 -10.78 years; and OB-IR, 35.67 -10.15 years). In addition, we observed a significant correlation (P < 0.001) between resistin levels and higher adiposity and insulin sensitivity (IS) in our cohort. Conclusions: Our results suggest that higher resistin levels are associated with higher adiposity and lower IS among obese Hispanic subjects.

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Blood transfusion is the second most common transmission route of Chagas disease in many Latin

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Abstract. To correlate a particular state of immunity with Entamoeba spp., we used colorimetric PCR to differentiate E. histolytica from E. dispar in individuals with amoebiasis and to associate its presence with the clinical profile, including humoral and cellular immune responses to E. histolytica. Our results showed high levels of antibody in acute amoebiasis and elevation of IL-4 production, a cytokine related to Th2 profile, associated with E. histolytica. In chronic amoebiasis, even with anti-E. histolytica seropositivity, intestinal symptoms were associated with E. dispar in all the cases, without differences in level of antibodies, BTI, CD4+/CD8+ ratio, INF-␥, and IL-4. Among asymptomatic carriers, E. dispar was more frequently found; however, identification of E. histolytica in two asymptomatic carriers associated with high levels of INF-␥, a cytokine related to Th1 profile, demonstrate the importance of making specific diagnosis of Entamoeba spp., to establish the clinical and epidemiological behavior in both intestinal and extra-intestinal amoebiasis.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and nitric oxide (NO) are believed to play an important role in the severity of chronic disease. When evaluated in 71 patients who were seropositive for Trypanosoma cruzi and 50 apparently healthy controls, the mean (S.D.) serum concentrations of both TNF [7.65 (1.32) nu. 4.24 (1.53) ng/ml; P<0.001] and NO [114 (40) nu. 74 (21) microM; P<0.0001] were found to be significantly higher in the patients than in the controls. In addition, patients with chronic, symptomatic disease affecting their hearts--eight with dilated cardiomyopathy [8.82 (1.47) ng TNF/ml; 142 (45) microM NO] and 17 others with electrocardiographic alterations [8.37 (1.26) ng TNF/ml; 134 (53) microM NO]--had significantly higher serum concentrations of these cytokines than 34 patients who were in the asymptomatic, indeterminate phase of the disease [6.38 (1.35) ng TNF/ml; 99 (28) microM NO]. In those infected with T. cruzi, it therefore appears that serum concentrations of TNF and NO correlate with disease severity, indicating that these cytokines play some role in the pathogenesis of chronic Chagas disease.

We report here the evaluation of chagasic patients for the presence and/or severity of the disease, antibody to Trypanosoma cruzi, and nitric oxide (NO) serum levels. Serum samples tested by ELISA with autochthonous and commercial antigen revealed that 10% and 7.5% of the individuals were anti-T. cruzi antibody-positive, respectively. Ten of 21 seropositive individuals had no clinical signs, the other 11 cases presented cardiomyopathy and/or mega-gastrointestinal syndromes, and three patients presented a combined form. A statistical difference (P Ͻ 0.001)in antibody titer between asymptomatic and symptomatic patients with autochthonous antigen was detected, and serum NO levels was found to be three times higher in cases than in controls. These results suggest that it is recommended to use a sole source of antigen (autochthonous) for the serodiagnosis of Chagas' disease, and that the pathogenic role of NO in this disease should be evaluated.