São Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicina
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Blood donation results in a substantial loss of iron (200 to 250 mg) at each bleeding procedure (425 to 475 ml) and subsequent mobilization of iron from body stores. Recent reports have shown that body iron reserves generally are small and iron depletion is more frequent in blood donors than in non-donors. ⋯ We conclude that blood donation is a very important factor for iron deficiency in blood donors, particularly in multi-time donors and especially in female donors. The high frequency of blood donors with iron deficiency found in this study suggests a need for a more accurate laboratory trial, as hemoglobin or hematocrit measurement alone is not sufficient for detecting and excluding blood donors with iron deficiency without anemia.
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Alternative hemodialysis schedules have been proposed to improve the quality of the dialysis. Nonetheless, their influence upon mineral and bone disorders is unknown. ⋯ Patients treated using daily hemodialysis had better control of serum phosphorus and perhaps a lower risk of metastatic calcifications. Daily hemodialysis also seemed to be beneficial to low turnover bone disease and bone aluminum deposition.
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The metabolic syndrome is characterized by a clustering, in free-living populations, of cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors generally linked to insulin resistance, obesity and central obesity. Consonant with the well-established inflammatory pathogenesis of atherosclerotic disease, the metabolic syndrome is now being investigated in relation to its inflammatory nature. ⋯ Better understanding of the role of the innate immune system in these diseases may lead to important advances in the prediction and management of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
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Asthma has been reported as a disease of increasing prevalence. ⋯ Medical schools might consider reevaluating their programs regarding asthma in order to improve medical assistance, especially when considering the general results for residents, as they were supposed to have achieved performance after completing this in-service training.