AIM To compare the frequency of the metabolic syndrome and its components in a sample of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and controls. METHODS This case control study was performed on 188 women over 18 years old: 92 RA patients and 96 healthy controls, from 2006 to 2008. Blood pressure, height, weight and waist circumference were measured. Blood was collected for the measurement of fa...

The practical application of the ensemble transform Kalman filter (ET KF), used in recent Winter Storm Reconnaissance (WSR) programs by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), is described. The ET KF assesses the value of targeted observations taken at future times in improving forecasts for preselected critical events. It is based on a serial assimilation framework that makes...

Background. We sought to determine and compare the prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome (MS) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) utilizing the new International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definition with the older National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) definition. We also examined the clinical utility of MS in this context. Methods. A total of 107 consecutive patients with ...

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a rising disease entity characterized by a clustering of metabolic conditions. Although prevalence of obesity as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) is relatively low in Asia compared to western countries, metabolic syndrome is growing into a significant public health problem. Comparative studies indicate that metabolic responses to obesity may be greater i...

According to current guidelines from the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III), the target low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level for patients with established coronary heart disease (CHD) or CHD risk equivalents is less than 100 mg/dL, with an optional target of less than 70 mg/dL. More recent data suggest, however, that the physiologically ...

Triglycerides (TG), the so-called forgotten lipid, are so very important to both human life and unfortunately to atherogenesis. Of course the correct term is triacylglycerol. Three acyl groups (fatty acids) are attached to a glycerol molecule. Triglycerides are an archaic term, which we all keep using. Serum TG refers to all of the TG trafficked within all of the lipoproteins that exist in a de...

OBJECTIVE to evaluate retinol and β-carotene serum levels and their relationship with risk factors for cardiovascular disease in individuals with morbid obesity, resident in Rio de Janeiro. METHODOLOGY blood serum concentrations of retinol and β-carotene of 189 morbidly obese individuals were assessed. The metabolic syndrome was identified according to the criteria of the National Cholesterol...

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is associated with increased risk of morbi-mortality, thus the characterization of the population magnitude of this syndrome is critical for allocating health care. However, prevalence estimates of MetS in the same population could differ depending on the definition used. Therefore, we compared the prevalence of the MetS using definitions proposed by: National Choleste...