Chagas disease is a pleomorphic clinical entity that has several unique features. The aim of this study is to summarise some of the recent contributions from our research group to knowledge of the morbidity and prognostic factors in Chagas heart disease. A retrospective study suggested that ischaemic stroke associated with left ventricular (LV) apical thrombi is the first clinical manifestation...

Fifty cases of chronic non-specific abdominal pain were studied prospectively. All patients were subjected to a detailed clinical examination and investigations related to gastrointestinal system. A full psychiatric assessment was done with application of Goldberg's 60 item's General Health Questionnaire. Thirty four (68%) patients had psychiatric symptoms, of whom twenty six (52%) had a defini...

The pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in CKD differs subtly from that of non-CKD patients. As renal function declines, the role and impact of treating classical risk factors may change and diminish. However, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and smoking cessation management should be optimized and may require multiple agents and approaches, particularly as CKD advances. Hypertension trea...

Objectives: The objectives of the study were: (i) To assess the frequency of different chronic daily headaches in patients using ICHD-2 criteria (ii) To find out the frequency and type of medication overuse and psychiatric morbidity in chronic daily headache subjects. Design: Cross sectional observational study. Place and duration of study: The study was conducted in the psychiatry outpatient d...

background chronic rhinosinusitis is an inflammatory-infectious disease involved paranasal sinuses as a common site of microbial pathogens and infections in patients suffering from the disease. the disease is labeled chronic when it lasts for more than 12 weeks. objectives as these infections constitute an important cause of morbidity it can be a strong life-threatening factor, in this investig...

Our analysis examines whether childhood health has long-term and enduring consequences for chronic morbidity. As a part of this analysis, we address two methodological issues of concern in the literature. Is adult height a surrogate for childhood health experiences in modeling chronic disease in later life? And, are the effects of adult socioeconomic status on chronic disease overestimated when...

To make an evidence-based evaluation of the relationship between kidney failure and cardiovascular risk, we reviewed the literature obtained from a PubMed search using pre-defined keywords related to both conditions and covering 18 years (1986 until end 2003). Eighty-five publications, covering 552 258 subjects, are summarized. All but three studies support a link between kidney dysfunction and...

OBJECTIVE To determine nationwide general practitioner (GP)-diagnosed prevalence and pediatrician-diagnosed incidence rates of adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and to assess CFS morbidity. DESIGN AND SETTING We collected data from a cross-sectional national sample among GPs and prospective registration of new patients with CFS in all pediatric hospital departments in the Netherlands...

Urinary VMA levels were measured in relation to the reporting of morbidity in an attempt to determine whether altered catecholamine activity is related to specific disease syndromes, or is a general characteristic of morbidity. The cross-sectional data show elevated VMA levels to be associated with the reporting of chronic disease conditions; non-chronic conditions and affective disorders were ...