Associação entre estabilidade de membrana de eritrócitos e variáveis hematológicas e bioquímicas em mulheres submetidas a cirurgia bariátrica e em mulheres sobreviventes de câncer de mama

Abstract

Obesity is a chronic non-communicable disease characterized by excessive fat accumulation, which can be developed due to genetic and environmental reasons. Environmental factors related to energy imbalance are the most important in taking this disease to an epidemic level in the world, overcoming malnutrition and hunger in the 21st century, and is one of the main reasons for premature deaths. For this reason, it is one of the biggest challenges in public health today. It is estimated that one third of the world's population is overweight and/or obese, representing 39% of men and 40% of women. In Brazil, the epidemic condition is no different, as it ranks fifth among the countries with the highest obesity rate. Over the last 11 years, overweight and obesity have increased, regardless of the Brazilian geographic region, even in states that until the 1990s had a high rate of malnutrition. Another chronic non-communicable disease as common as obesity is cancer, which is characterized by an uncontrolled proliferation of abnormal cells in one or more body tissues, leading to organ failure or the death of the patient. Among all types of the disease that affect men and women, the most prevalent cancer in the world is breast cancer in women. In females, breast cancer represents around 25% of cancer cases worldwide. In Brazil, it was estimated for 2016-2017 that 28.1% of cancer cases in women would be breast cancer. The Brazilian regions with the highest occurrence of this type of cancer are the South, Southeast and Central-West regions. Both in obesity and cancer, pathophysiological changes occur that can alter the functionality of biological membranes. The stability of the cell membrane is mainly related to the proteins that make up its structure. However, the plasma membrane is also composed of a large percentage of lipids. Thus, the stability of membranes can be altered both by damage caused to proteins and lipids in their membrane. In the study of the stability of biological membranes, the erythrocyte is a practical model, as it is obtained in a little invasive way and because it releases hemoglobin, which facilitates analysis after its lysis. Analyzing the stability of the erythrocyte membrane in these diseases is important, as it can provide information that is still unknown about the pathophysiology of obesity and breast cancer and contribute to providing better management, treatment and quality of life for patients.