Mutation distributions among patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia from five regions of Brazil: a systematic review

ABSTRACT Congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by CYP21A2 gene mutations, and its molecular diagnosis is widely used in clinical practice to confirm the hormonal diagnosis. Hence, considering the miscegenation of the Brazilian population, it is important to determine a mutations panel to optimise the molecular diagnosis. The objective was to review the CYP21A2 mutations' distribution among Brazilian regions.Two reviewers screened Brazilian papers up to February 2020 in five databases. The pair-wise comparison test and Holm method were used in the statistical analysis. Nine studies were selected, comprising 769 patients from all regions. Low proportion of males and salt-wasters was identified in the North and Northeast regions, although without significant difference. Large gene rearrangements also had a low frequency, except in the Center-West and South regions (p < 0.05). The most frequent mutations were p.I172N, IVS2-13A/C>G, p.V281L and p.Q318X, and significant differences in their distributions were found: p.V281L was more frequent in the Southeast and p.Q318X in the Center-West and Northeast regions (p < 0.05). Thirteen new mutations were identified in 3.8%-15.2% of alleles, being more prevalent in the North region, and six mutations presented a founder effect gene. Genotype-phenotype correlation varied from 75.9%-97.3% among regions. The low prevalence of the salt-wasting form, affected males and severe mutations in some regions indicated pitfalls in the clinical diagnosis. The good genotype-phenotype correlation confirms the usefulness of molecular diagnosis; however, the Brazilian population also presents significant prevalence of novel mutations, which should be considered for a molecular panel.

Análise dos lipídios biliares no cálculo e na bile em portadores brasileiros de litíase biliar / Analysis of gallstones and biliar lipids in gallbladder disease of Brazilians patients

INTRODUÇÃO: A litíase biliar é uma doença do trato digestivo que apresenta prevalência variada em diferentes grupos étnicos e que gera altos gastos aos sistemas de saúde. A possibilidade de aplicação de tratamento não invasivo medicamentoso está direcionada a presença de cálculo de colesterol o que leva a necessidade de identificar corretamente os pacientes que podem beneficiar-se com o tratamento. No Brasil estima-se uma prevalência da doença em 9,3% da população em geral. Porém, ainda não há estudos que demonstrem a composição de cálculo de colesterol e pigmentos nos pacientes, bem como não há estudos de análise dos lipídios biliares e sua relação com os mecanismos fisiopatológicos da doença. Nossos objetivos foram analisar a composição do cálculo e da bile e compará-la com fatores pré-dispositivos da doença como tempo de nucleação e hiper saturação de colesterol em pacientes brasileiros. MÉTODOS: Foram analisadas 72 amostras de bile vesicular e cálculo biliar de pacientes com litíase biliar submetidos a procedimento cirúrgico laparoscópico em diferentes hospitais da grande São Paulo. Quatorze amostras de bile vesicular de pacientes que foram submetidos à laparoscopia por problemas gastrointestinais, mas que não apresentavam litíase biliar foram usadas como controle. Foram realizadas análises bioquímicas para avaliar a composição dos cálculos e da bile. Os cálculos foram analisados de acordo com a porcentagem de colesterol e bilirrubina em relação ao peso total do cálculo. A concentração dos ácidos biliares foi determinada pela técnica HPLC. O índice de saturação do colesterol foi calculado de acordo com a metodologia descrita por Carey. O tempo de nucleação foi avaliado através de microscopia de luz polarizada durante 21 dias. RESULTADOS: No grupo de pacientes com litíase biliar, 48 eram do sexo feminino (66,7%) e a média de idade foi 54,1 anos ± 13,1 (mínima de 18 anos e máxima de 75 anos). Do total de cálculos analisados (n=72) 75% foram classificados...

Introduction: Gallstone disease represents a prevalent and costly health problem. The changing epidemiology and the emerging non-surgical interventions for gallstone disease necessitate the definition of target populations for future therapies. The prevalence of biliary lithiasis in Brazil is around 9,3% of the general population with more than 20 years old, however it is necessary investigative studies to determine the composition of the gallstones and the correlation between bile lipids and disease physiopathology factors. Objectives: This study aimed to define patterns of gallstone composition and evaluate the biliary predictors factors of gallstone disease as nucleation time and cholesterol saturation index in Brazilian patients. Methods: Seventy two post- cholecystectomy gallstone specimens and gallbladder bile were obtained from different hospitals of the city of Sao Paulo. Fourteen gallbladder bile samples were obtained as control samples, from patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery due to gastrointestinal symptoms without gallbladder disease. Biochemistry analyses were performed to determine the composition of the gallstones and bile. Gallstones were classified according to their cholesterol and bilirrubin content linked with their dry weight. The concentration of bile salts was evaluated by HPLC technique. The cholesterol saturation index (CSI) was calculated in accordance with Carey methods. The nucleation time was evaluated by polarized light microscopy during 21 days. Results: There were 48 women and 22 men in the Gallbladder disease patients group. The mean age of the patients were 54,1 ± 13,1 years old (range 18 75 years old). Cholesterol stones were found in 75% of the stones. The bile of the cholesterol gallstone patients presented lower concentration of phospholipids (p<0,05), higher CSI (p<0,001), lower nucleation time (p<0,05) and higher concentration of deoxicholic acid (p<0,05) when compared with control group...

Antiphospholipid antibodies in Brazilian hepatitis C virus carriers

Hepatitis C, a worldwide viral infection, is an important health problem in Brazil. The virus causes chronic infection, provoking B lymphocyte dysfunction, as represented by cryoglobulinemia, non-organ-specific autoantibody production, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The aim of this research was to screen for the presence of antiphospholipid autoantibodies in 109 Brazilian hepatitis C virus carriers without clinical history of antiphospholipid syndrome. Forty healthy individuals were used as the control group. IgA, IgG, and IgM antibodies against cardiolipin and ß2-glycoprotein I were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, using a cut-off point of either 20 UPL or 20 SBU. While 24 (22.0 percent) hepatitis C carriers had moderate titers of IgM anticardiolipin antibodies (median, 22.5 MPL; 95 percentCI: 21.5-25.4 MPL), only three carriers (<3 percent) had IgG anticardiolipin antibodies (median, 23 GPL; 95 percentCI: 20.5-25.5 GPL). Furthermore, IgA anticardiolipin antibodies were not detected in these individuals. Male gender and IgM anticardiolipin seropositivity were associated in the hepatitis C group (P = 0.0004). IgA anti-ß2-glycoprotein-I antibodies were detected in 29 of 109 (27.0 percent) hepatitis C carriers (median, 41 SAU; 95 percentCI: 52.7-103.9 SAU). Twenty patients (18.0 percent) had IgM anti-ß2-glycoprotein I antibodies (median, 27.6 SMU; 95 percentCI: 23.3-70.3 SMU), while two patients had IgG antibodies against this protein (titers, 33 and 78 SGU). Antiphospholipid antibodies were detected in only one healthy individual, who was seropositive for IgM anticardiolipin. We concluded that Brazilian individuals chronically infected with hepatitis C virus present a significant production of antiphospholipid antibodies, mainly IgA anti-ß2-glycoprotein I antibodies, which are not associated with clinical manifestations of antiphospholipid syndrome.

Schistosomiasis haematobia in Brazilian patients: clinical and renal functional evaluation with 99mTc-DTPA

The present study was carried out at the Army Central Hospital, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from September 2000 to December 2001, employing diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid labeled with technetium-99m (99mTc-DTPA) to evaluate the renal function of nineteen symptomatic patients infected with S. haematobium during a peace mission in Mozambique. Results evidenced that the most frequent clinical manifestations were hematuria (68.4 percent) and low back pain (68.4 percent) and 73.7 percent patients had altered dynamic renal scintigraphy expressed by an increase in the excretory phase independently of the symptoms duration; furthermore, none of them had mechanical obstructive pattern. Schistosoma haematobium glomerulopathy could be considered a pathological finding without correlation with the disease clinical manifestations.(AU)