Resumo Fundamento Doenças cardiovasculares (DCV) são uma das principais causas de mortalidade e morbidade em todo o mundo. O envelhecimento biológico tem sido associado à ocorrência de resultados cardiovasculares. Entretanto, o mecanismo subjacente desse processo ainda é desconhecido. Objetivos Buscamos avaliar se a senescência das células sanguíneas mononucleares periféricas (CSMP) e biomarcadores endoteliais poderiam influenciar o risco cardiovascular (CV) e ser marcadores adequados para a detecção precoce de doenças cardiovasculares em adultos. Métodos Neste estudo transversal, pacientes livres de DCV foram classificados como baixo (n=32) e alto (n=28) escore de risco intracardaco (IHR) A senescência das CSMP foi avaliada estimando-se a atividade de telomerase (AT) e detectando-se a presença de células senescentes e disfunção endotelial, estimando-se a concentração de nitrito e nitrato e a capacidade antioxidante total (CAT). A análise estatística foi realizada com o software SPSS, versão 16.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). Todos os p-valores <0,05 foram considerados estatisticamente significativos. Resultados A senescência de CSMP de 0,95 [p-valor = 0,0001; 95% IC (0,874-1,026)] foi um indicador significativo de pacientes com escore de IHR mais alto, com um valor de corte de 21,65, com sensibilidade e especificidade de 92% e 88% respectivamente. Identificou-se que a senescência de CSMP, nitrito e nitrato, e AT eram independentemente associadas a um escore de IHR alto. Conclusão Os status de nitrito e nitrato e AT, e a senescência de CSMP são medidas adequadas para prever o alto risco cardiovascular em adultos com risco CV. Entretanto devem ser realizados estudos de acompanhamento de longo prazo para confirmar esses achados. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2021; 116(1):37-47)

Abstract Background Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Biological aging has been associated with the occurrence of adverse cardiovascular outcomes; however, the underlying mechanism of this process remains unknown. Objectives This study sought to evaluate if peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) senescence and endothelial biomarkers could influence cardiovascular (CV) risk and be suitable markers for the early detection of cardiovascular diseases in adults. Methods In this cross-sectional study patients free of CVD were classified as lower (n=32) and higher Interheart Risk (IHR) scores (n=28). PBMC senescence was assessed by estimating the telomerase activity (TA) and detecting the presence of senescent cells and endothelial dysfunction by estimating the concentration of nitrite and nitrate and of total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS version 16.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). All p-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results PBMC senescence 0.95 [p-value = 0.0001; 95% CI (0.874-1.026)] was a significant predictor of patients with higher IHR scores with a cut-off value of 21.65 with a sensitivity and specificity of 92% and 88% respectively. PBMC senescence, nitrite and nitrate and TA were found to be independently associated with high IHR scores. Conclusion PBMC senescence, TA and nitrite, and nitrate status are suitable measures to predict high cardiovascular risk in adults with CV risk. Nevertheless, long-term follow-up studies are needed to confirm these findings. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2021; 116(1):37-47)

Nowadays, the experimental use of animal models in medicine and biomechanics has allowed the development of new drugs, novel surgical procedures, more efficient and resistant prosthetic devices, etc. However, the reported results found in literature prove to be insufficient and inconclusive to establish which animal model is more adequate to be used as reference for specific research purposes. Therefore, this work focuses in the morphologic analysis of porcine vertebrae of the lumbar section (L3-L4) obtained from young male specimens. The aim of this study is to validate these as an alternate model for experimental research on the biomechanics of the human spine. To this end, ten L3 and ten L4 soft tissue clean porcine vertebral specimens were analyzed. The obtained results showed that in comparison, morphologically, the human vertebrae are shorter and wider than the porcine sample. In general, the porcine vertebrae dimensions increase in the direction from the skull to the lumbar section. However, despite the morphological differences, the anatomical similitude of the spine between both species makes the porcine specimen a viable candidate to be used in biomechanical research of the human lumbar vertebrae as long as such morphological differences are taken into account.

En la actualidad el uso experimental de modelos animales en las áreas de la medicina y la biomecánica, ha permitido el desarrollo de nuevos fármacos, novedosos procedimientos quirúrgicos, hasta prótesis más eficientes y duraderas. Sin embargo, la información disponible en la literatura no es suficiente para establecer qué modelo animal es el más adecuado a utilizar según el tipo de la investigación que se quiera realizar. Por tal motivo, este trabajo consiste en el análisis morfométrico de vértebras porcinas de la zona lumbar (L3-L4) obtenidas de cerdos machos jóvenes, con el objetivo de establecer su correlación con el caso humano. Para tal fin, se analizaron diez vértebras L3 y diez L4 totalmente limpias de tejidos blandos. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron que los cuerpos vertebrales humanos son más anchos y cortos, comparados con los porcinos que son más esbeltos y altos. En general, las dimensiones de las vértebras analizadas aumentan de tamaño en dirección craneocaudal. Sin embargo, la columna lumbar porcina puede ser utilizada como un modelo animal alternativo para la investigación de la biomecánica de columna lumbar humana siempre que estas diferencias sean tomadas en cuenta.