Cytochrome P450s (CYPs) are a superfamily of enzymes involved in the phase I metabolism of endogenous and exogenous substances. They are present in almost all forms of life and have been studied extensively, particularly in relation to human medicine, where knowledge of their activities is essential for predicting drug-drug interactions. In the horse, little is currently known about CYP-specific drug metabolism, which holds importance for animal welfare and for doping control within the horseracing industry where drug-specific metabolites are tested for on race days. Recently the first recombinant equine CYPs have been produced, allowing specific data on equine P450 activity to be gathered for the first time. During the current study,46 full-length P450 sequences were identified from the equine genome. RT-PCR analysis was then carried out on equine liver in order to detect hepatic expression of P450s across various families. After this, cold-induction (pCold) E. coli were used for production of recombinant P450 proteins for subsquent functional testing. Four recombinant equine P450s were successfully expressed (CYP1A1, CYP2A13, CYP2C92 and CYP2D50). Due to being the isoforms most likely to be involved in drug metabolism, rCYP2D50 and rCYP2C92 were selected to be screened against ten of the most commonly used horse drugs to identify potential substrates. rCYP2C92 appeared to metabolise all four NSAIDs tested (flunixin, ketoprofen, phenylbutazone and diclofenac), however presence of the known hydroxylated metabolites of diclofenac and phenylbutazone (4-hydroxydiclofenac and oxyphenbutazone, respectively) could not be confirmed despite being present within equine liver microsome and human recombinant CYP2C9 samples. In spite of the apparant acivity displayed by rCYP2C92 towards all four NSAIDs, no conclussions can be made about this enzyme’s role in NSAID metabolism due to a lack of known hydroxylated metabolite production.

Salmonellosis causes significant economic losses to the pig and poultry industries. Pigs and chickens are also a significant source of Salmonella for humans, usually transmitted through the consumption of Salmonella contaminated chicken and pork products. Predominantly, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Enteritidis remain a global health problem. Probiotics and prebiotics have been previously used as alternatives to antibiotic treatments in the protection against enteropathogens including S. Typhimurium. Here, we determined the effects of probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic diets on humoral immune responses to oral S. Typhimurium challenge of pigs. The inclusion of probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum in the diet of piglets enhanced serum IgG, and IgM (p <0.001), and IgA (p <0.01) responses to S. Typhimurium infection. Similarly, inclusion of prebiotic lactulose in the diet increased serum levels of IgG and IgM (p <0.01) responses to pathogen, but not IgA levels. Inclusion of both feed additives as a synbiotic diet also significantly increased the level of IgG responses (p <0.05) to S. Typhimurium, but no differences were seen in the levels of IgM and IgA responses. However a significant interaction of the pre and probiotics was observed when considering the immune responses to S. Typhimurium (IgM P=0.004; IgG and IgA, P<0.001 for interaction). These data support the use of L. plantarum or lactulose as strategies to contribute to the protection of weaned piglets from zoonotic bacterial pathogens, but caution must be taken when combining dietary supplements as combinations can interact. The mapping of antibody-based immune responses to Salmonella enterica infections for identifying epitopes/mimotopes has an important role in the development of both novel serological diagnostic assays and vaccines. Serological assays often underpin disease surveillance programs and are also required for the differentation of infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA) to allow the full implementation of vaccines alongside such surveillance. Here, panning of phage display peptide libraries coupled with Next Generation Sequencing was applied to the mapping of B-cell responses to Salmonella infections in both pigs and chickens. IgG from 12 pigs infected with S. Typhimurium were probed in parallel and compared to the equivalent IgG from the same pigs prior to infection. Seventy-seven peptide were enriched against IgG from multiple infected pigs, thirty-one peptides were synthesised and tested in ELISA and twelve peptides were highly discriminatory for pure IgG from infected pigs (P<0.05). Similarly, IgY from chickens infected with different Salmonella serovars were probed in order to identify mimotopes specific for S. Enteritidis infection. Twenty-nine peptides were enriched against IgY from multiple infected chickens, and then synthesised and tested in ELISA assays, tweleve of them were highly discriminatory for IgY following S. Enteritidis infections (p<0.05). The technology was also used to identify multiple peptides that were specifically bound by IgY from Salmonella infected chickens compared to a live attenuated vaccine and a killed vaccine. Twenty-five and thirty-six peptides for attenuated and inactivated vaccines, respectively, were identified as being specifically enriched in multiple infected chickens. Twenty and twenty-six of the most discriminatory peptides for live and killed vaccines, respectively, were applied in multi-peptide diagnostic assays that diagnosed infection with 100% sensitivity and specificity. The results demostrate that the identified peptides can be used to design serological DIVA tests with established inactivated and attenuated vaccines. Overall, the described next generation phage display (NGPD) technology repeatedly identified panels of epitopes/mimotopes recognised by multiple animals with a particular infection, providing an extremely efficient method to map host polyclonal antibody responses to S.Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis infections.

Nas últimas décadas, as doenças crônicas têm desempenhado um importante papel na morbimortalidade da população mundial atingindo não só a população idosa, mas também jovens em idade produtiva. Entre as doenças cardiovasculares, a hipertensão arterial (HA) é considerada uma das principais causas de doença do adulto em todo o mundo industrializado e na maioria dos países em fase de desenvolvimento, principalmente, nos grandes centros urbanos. A alta prevalência da doença tem se tornado um grande problema de saúde pública afetando milhares de pessoas e, conseqüentemente, a Qualidade de Vida dessa população. O presente estudo é do tipo transversal com objetivo geral de descrever a qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde dos pacientes hipertensos de uma Unidade de Saúde de um município do estado de Minas Gerais, no ano de 2005, segundo o Instrumento genérico de avaliação de QVRS, SF-36. O estudo foi realizado em uma Unidade de Saúde de um município de Minas Gerais - Brasil. A coleta de dados foi realizada junto a pacientes hipertensos assistidos na Unidade no período entre março e maio de 2005. Considerando os critérios de exclusão, 256 pacientes hipertensos foram selecionados para participarem deste estudo. Os resultados relacionados às variáveis sócio-demográficas e aos escores padronizados do instrumento SF-36, segundo seus domínios foram apresentados e discutidos segundo os quartis, valores máximos e mínimos e graficamente representados por meio de Boxplots. Adicionalmente, valores médios e respectivos desvios-padrão foram apresentados. A consistência interna do instrumento foi verificada por meio dos valores de alfa de Cronbach e correlações produto-momento de Pearson entre os domínios da escala. O programa estatístico SPSS, versão 10.1 para Windows foi utilizado. Entre os pacientes estudados, idade média igual a 61 anos, com desvio-padrão de 13 anos, sendo 72,3% do sexo feminino. A raça predominante foi a negra, 37,9% (incluindo as raças mulata e mestiça). A maioria (65,3%) possuía 1º grau incompleto e, em relação às profissões/ocupações, 50% era do lar, seguida de aposentados 30,5%. Em relação ao estado civil, a maioria, 58,2 possuía um companheiro(a). Em relação às propriedades de medida do SF-36, foi obtido um valor para alfa de Cronbach igual a 0,92, mostrando que houve consistência nas respostas dos indivíduos às questões. Tal resultado pôde ser verificado, também, para cada um dos domínios do SF-36, com valor mínimo para o alfa de Cronbach igual a 0,68 e máximo igual a 0,95. Todos os domínios mostraram correlações positivas significativas entre eles, sendo o valor mais baixo igual a 0,154, entre Estado Geral de Saúde e Aspectos Emocionais e, o mais alto igual a 0,659 entre Vitalidade e Saúde Mental. O grupo estudado apresentou um elevado perfil de saúde, sendo os menores valores medianos igual a 65 para Vitalidade e 70 para Capacidade Funcional e o maior igual a 100 para Aspectos Físicos, Aspectos Emocionais e Aspectos Sociais. No presente estudo, foi possível aplicar o instrumento SF-36 em um número significativo de hipertensos, sendo que este se mostrou válido para avaliar, de forma multidimensional, o Perfil de Saúde do grupo considerado, e, apesar da hipertensão arterial ser considerada uma doença crônica com caráter progressivo-degenerativo, não foram encontrados, neste estudo, resultados que mostrassem comprometimento dos sujeitos em relação a seu Perfil de Saúde. Ao contrário, os 256 pacientes entrevistados mostraram, em sua maioria, satisfação, tranqüilidade e segurança com a assistência encontrada na Unidade de Saúde considerada. / In recent decades, chronic diseases have played an important role in global morbidity and mortality rates, affecting not only the aged population, but also young people in the productive age group. Among cardiovascular diseases, arterial hypertension (AH) is considered to be one of the main causes of disease in adults from the entire industrialized world and most developing countries, mainly in large urban centers. The high prevalence of this disease has turned into a great public health problem, attacking thousands of people and, consequently, their Quality of Life. This cross-sectional study aims to verify the measurement properties of the generic health-related Quality of Life assessment questionnaire SF-36 for hypertensive patients and to describe their health profile. The study was carried out at a Health Unit in Minas Gerais-Brazil. Data were collected from hypertensive patients attended at this unit between March and May 2005. In view of exclusion criteria, we selected 256 hypertensive patients to participate in this study. The results related to the social-demographic variables and to the standardized scores of the instrument SF-36, their second domains were presented and discussed according to quartiles, maximum and minimum values and graphically represented through Boxplots. In addition, we presented mean values and the respective standard deviations. The consistence interns of the instrument was verified by means of Cronbachs alpha and Pearson correlations between the dominions of the scale, using the statistical program SPSS, version 10.1 for Windows. 72.3% of the study participants were women, with an average age of 61 years and standarddeviation of 13 years. The predominant race it was the black 37.9% (including the races mulatto and mestizo). Most participants (65.3%) had not finished basic education. With respect to profession/occupation, most participants (50%) worked at home, while 30,5% were retired. In terms of civil status, 58,2% were married. We obtained a Cronbachs alpha of 0.92 for the measurement properties of SF-36, which revealed consistency between the individuals answers to the questions. The same was true for each of the SF-36 domains, with a minimum Cronbachs alpha score of 0.68 and a maximum of 0.95. We found significant positive correlations between all domains, with 0.154, as the lowest between General Health Condition and Emotional Aspects, and 0.659 as the highest score, between Vitality and Mental Health. The group under study presented an elevated health profile, with 70 as the lowest median score equal for 65 for Vitality and 70 for Functional Capacity and 100 as the highest for Physical, Emotional and Social Aspects. This study allowed us to apply the SF-36 instrument to a significant group of hypertensive patients. The instrument revealed its validity with a view to the multidimensional evaluation of the study participants health profile. Although arterial hypertension is considered to be a progressive and degenerative chronic disease, we did not find any results to show that the subjects health profile was at risk. On the opposite, most of the 256 patients we interviewed displayed satisfaction, tranquility and security about the care they received at the Health Unit we studied.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T15:25:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Maria V de Carvalho - final.pdf: 916642 bytes, checksum: 9ac7936e83f2f478cbbf53bb6d4b4459 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-04-11 / INTRODUCTION: Systemic Arterial Hypertension (SAH) is one of the main cardiovascular risk factors, with high prevalence in almost every country. Studies have shown the negative effect of SAH on health-related quality of life (HRQL). OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the quality of life of hypertensive patients compared to the general population. METHODS: The study included patients of both sexes over 18 years of age. The EG, consisting of medicated patients enrolled in a multi-disciplinary SAH treatment service, responded to two HRQL evaluation instruments: one, the SF-36, was generic, and the other, MINICHAI-Brasil, was specificSAH treatment service, responded to two HRQL evaluation instruments: one, the SF-36, was generic, and the other, MINICHAI-Brasil, was specific. In the CG, consisting of normotensive individuals from the community, only the SF-36 was administered. For statistical analysis, the chi-square, Komogorov-Smirnov, Mann Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests and multivariate analysis were used. SPSS was used to analyze the data and p values <0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: The groups were homogeneous with regard to age, sex, ethnic group, education level and marital status. Normotensive individuals had higher HRQL scores than hypertensives on the SF-36 in all domains. There was no significant difference between the study and control groups in regard to the emotional aspect EA (p=0.36). On the MICHAL-Brasil, SAH significantly affected HRQL in the mental state (MS) domain and least affected younger individuals with more schooling and higher income living with a partner. CONCLUSION: Although SAH is considered to be a silent and asymptomatic disease, it affects HRQL and is apparently associated with psycho-social factors and conditions. / INTRODUÇÃO: A Hipertensão Arterial Sistêmica (HAS) é um dos principais fatores de risco cardiovascular e tem alta prevalência em quase todos os países. Estudos têm evidenciado o efeito negativo da HAS na qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde (QVRS). OBJETIVO: Avaliar a qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde de pacientes hipertensos comparando com a população geral. MÉTODOS: O estudo avaliou pacientes de ambos os sexos e maiores de dezoito anos. O Grupo Estudo (GE) constituído de pacientes medicados e matriculados em serviço multiprofissional para o tratamento da HAS, aplicou-se neste um instrumento genérico, SF-36, e outro específico, MINICHAl-Brasil. No Grupo Controle (GC), constituído de indivíduos normotensos da comunidade, aplicou-se somente o SF-36. Para a análise estatística, utilizaram-se os testes qui-quadrado, de Kolmogorov-Smirnov, de Mann Whitney, de Kruskal-Wallis e a análise multivariada. Analisaram-se os dados por meio do programa SPSS e consideraram-se os valores de p<0,05 significantes. RESULTADOS: Os grupos eram homogêneos em relação à idade, ao sexo, à etnia, à escolaridade e ao estado civil. Observou-se que os indivíduos normotensos apresentaram melhores escores de QVRS quando foram comparados com os hipertensos em todos os domínios do SF-36. No Aspecto Emocional (AE) (p=0,36) do SF-36 não houve diferença significativa entre os GE e GC. Em relação ao MINICHAL-Brasil, observou-se que a HAS interferiu na QVRS de forma significativa no domínio Estado Mental (EM) e foi favorável aos indivíduos mais jovens com maior escolaridade, maior renda e que viviam com companheiro. CONCLUSÃO: Apesar de a HAS ser considerada doença silenciosa e assintomática, interfere na QVRS e pode estar associada aos fatores e às condições psicossociais.

In this thesis I argue that science fiction is not a genre exclusively made up of written texts but a community or series of communities. I examine the science fiction community's engagement with questions of femeninity, masculinity, sex and sexuality over the past seventy years, that is from 1926 until 1996. My examination of this engagement is centred on the battle of the sexes, the lives of James Tiptree, Jr. and the Award named in Tiptree's honour. I make connections between contemporary feminist science fiction and the earliest pulp science fiction engagements with sex and sexuality.

Bakgrund: Primärt Sjögrens syndrom (pSS) är en reumatisk sjukdom karaktäriserad av ögon- och muntorrhet samt påverkan på olika organ. En överväldigande trötthet är vanligt. En orsak till tröttheten kan vara ett behandlingsbart tillstånd såsom nedstämdhet. Tröttheten kan leda till nedsatt livskvalitet, arbetsförmåga och påverka relationer med familj och vänner.Syfte: Att kartlägga hur vanligt det är med trötthet i en grupp av patienter med pSS samt om tröttheten har något samband med nedstämdhet eller nedsatt livskvalitet.Metod: Sextiotvå patienter deltog i studien. Patienterna fick fylla i fyra instrument/enkäter angående trötthet, nedstämdhet och livskvalitet (VAS trötthet, ESSPRI, HADS, SF-36). Deskriptiv och jämförande statistik användes i analyserna.Resultat: Totalt 72,6 % av patienterna skattade en hög grad av trötthet och utmattning mätt med VAS. Vi fann en signifikant korrelation mellan tröttheten och nedstämdheten (r = 0,51, p =0,00002). Det fanns även en god korrelation mellan tröttheten och nedsatt livskvalitet.Slutsats: I denna studie visas att trötthet är vanligt förekommande bland patienter med pSS och att tröttheten är korrelerad med nedstämdhet och försämrad livskvalitet. / Background: Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome (pSS) is a rheumatic disease characterized by dry eyes and dry mouth and different organs affected. An overwhelming tiredness, fatigue, is common. One cause of fatigue might be a treatable condition such as depression. Fatigue can lead to decreased quality of life, impaired work ability and affect relationships with family and friends.Objective: To identify the prevalence of fatigue in a group of patients with pSS and if there is any relation between fatigue and depression or impaired quality of life.Method: Sixty-two patients participated in the study. Patients completed four instruments/questionnaires regarding fatigue, depression and quality of life (VAS fatigue, ESSPRI, HADS, SF-36). Descriptive and comparative statistics were used in the analyses.Results: Overall 72.6 % of patients scored a high degree of fatigue as measured by VAS. We found a significant correlation between fatigue and depression (r = 0, 51, p=0.00002). There was a good correlation between fatigue and reduced quality of life.Conclusion: This study shows that fatigue is common among patients with pSS and that fatigue is correlated with depression and a lower quality of life.

In this thesis I argue that science fiction is not a genre exclusively made up of written texts but a community or series of communities. I examine the science fiction community's engagement with questions of femeninity, masculinity, sex and sexuality over the past seventy years, that is from 1926 until 1996. My examination of this engagement is centred on the battle of the sexes, the lives of James Tiptree, Jr. and the Award named in Tiptree's honour. I make connections between contemporary feminist science fiction and the earliest pulp science fiction engagements with sex and sexuality.

Comparison between flow in the left internal mammary artery harvested via sternotomy and via a left anterior small thoracotomy with clinical impact for the patient Introduction: In the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD), in addition to conservative therapy and percutaneous interventions, is irreplacebly belong coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The gold standard in the surgical treatment of CAD is CABG from a median sternotomy access using cardiopulmonary bypass (on-pump CABG). A less invasive and economically advantageous is CABG from a median sternotomy access without cardiopulmonary bypass (off-pump CABG) and last but not least CABG through a left anterior small thoracotomy (LAST) approach (MIDCAB - "minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass"). Although the final technical implementation anastomoses is essentially identical in off-pump CABG and MIDCAB, the difference is very important during left internal mammary artery (LIMA) harvesting, especially through a LAST approach, which can be difficult for the surgeon. Aim of the study: The aim of these two studies is to assess the effect of surgical approach on the mean flow in LIMA, including short and long term clinical impact for the patient. Methods: Study 1 (nonrandomized, prospective): In our study we included 60 patients,...

Orientador: Yvens Barbosa Fernandes / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T16:15:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Servelhere_KatianeRaisa_M.pdf: 843654 bytes, checksum: 95e8b6ec385ef7e99384966f0c1a4680 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: A base do crânio é uma região que pode ser afetada por vários tipos localizados de neoplasias. Os tumores nesta região podem ser benignos ou malignos e se localizar nas fossas anterior, média ou posterior do crânio. Embora sejam relativamente raros, são lesões potencialmente graves, em virtude das características anatômicas complexas da região e do risco inerente de um procedimento cirúrgico. A qualidade de vida nesses pacientes pode ser prejudicada não só pelo comprometimento neurológico, mas também por problemas psicossociais, como diminuição da autoconfiança e auto-estima, modificação nas atividades cotidianas, dependência, estigma e discriminação, dificuldade de interação social e desemprego. A escala SF-36 é um dos instrumentos mais utilizados para mensurar a qualidade de vida e foi aplicada em 38 indivíduos submetidos a tratamento cirúrgico de lesões expansivas benignas da base do crânio, entre seis meses e um ano após o procedimento operatório. Deste modo, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a qualidade de vida em pacientes operados de tumor da base do crânio através da escala de qualidade de vida SF-36. Os 38 pacientes foram operados no Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Os resultados revelaram que a idade média dos pacientes era de 49,7 anos, variando de 20 a 74 anos, prevalecendo o sexo feminino com 65,8% da amostra (25 mulheres). Para a amostra total, todos os domínios apresentaram pontuação acima de 50. Em seis dos oito domínios, bem como componentes físico e mental, as mulheres pontuaram melhor do que os homens, porém o único domínio que tendeu a significância foi LAF. Quando comparada idade, observamos que no grupo total pacientes com idade superior a 50 anos pontuaram melhor. Quando comparado sexo com idade, as mulheres até 50 anos tiveram melhor pontuação; em contrapartida, homens com idade superior a 50 anos pontuaram melhor do que as mulheres. Embora haja diferenças, estas não foram estatisticamente significantes. Desta forma, concluímos que não foi possível comprovar melhora significativa social, física, psicológica e funcional quando os grupos foram comparados. / Abstract: The skull base is a region that may be affected by different types of localized tumors. Tumors in this region can be benign or malignant and are located in the anterior fossa, middle or posterior fossa. Although relatively rare, they are potentially harmful, because of the complex anatomic features of these regions and the inherent risk of a surgical procedure. The quality of life of patients can be hampered not only by neurological impairment, but also by psychosocial problems such as decreased self-confidence and self-esteem, change in daily activities, dependency, stigma and discrimination, difficulty in social interaction and unemployment. The SF-36 scale is one of the most widely used scale to measure quality of life and it was applied in 38 individuals who underwent surgery to treat benign skull base tumors, between six months and one year after the surgical procedure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of life in patients undergoing tumor of the skull base resection by applying SF-36. The 38 patients were operated on the Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Estadual de Campinas. The results revealed that the average age of patients was 49.7 years, ranging from 20 to 74 year-old. Female prevalence was 65.8% of the sample (25 women). All patients showed a total score above 50. In six of the eight domains as well as physical and mental components, women scored better than men, but the only area that tended to significance was LAF. When compared to age, we observed that overall patients aged over 50 years scored better. When compared with age and sex, women until 50 years had a better score. On the other hand, men aged over 50 years scored better than women. Although there are slight differences, these were not statistically significant. We concluded that no significant improvement occurred in social, physical, psychological and functional outcome when age and sex were compared. / Mestrado / Ciencias Biomedicas / Mestre em Ciências Médicas

Nas últimas décadas, as doenças crônicas têm desempenhado um importante papel na morbimortalidade da população mundial atingindo não só a população idosa, mas também jovens em idade produtiva. Entre as doenças cardiovasculares, a hipertensão arterial (HA) é considerada uma das principais causas de doença do adulto em todo o mundo industrializado e na maioria dos países em fase de desenvolvimento, principalmente, nos grandes centros urbanos. A alta prevalência da doença tem se tornado um grande problema de saúde pública afetando milhares de pessoas e, conseqüentemente, a Qualidade de Vida dessa população. O presente estudo é do tipo transversal com objetivo geral de descrever a qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde dos pacientes hipertensos de uma Unidade de Saúde de um município do estado de Minas Gerais, no ano de 2005, segundo o Instrumento genérico de avaliação de QVRS, SF-36. O estudo foi realizado em uma Unidade de Saúde de um município de Minas Gerais - Brasil. A coleta de dados foi realizada junto a pacientes hipertensos assistidos na Unidade no período entre março e maio de 2005. Considerando os critérios de exclusão, 256 pacientes hipertensos foram selecionados para participarem deste estudo. Os resultados relacionados às variáveis sócio-demográficas e aos escores padronizados do instrumento SF-36, segundo seus domínios foram apresentados e discutidos segundo os quartis, valores máximos e mínimos e graficamente representados por meio de Boxplots. Adicionalmente, valores médios e respectivos desvios-padrão foram apresentados. A consistência interna do instrumento foi verificada por meio dos valores de alfa de Cronbach e correlações produto-momento de Pearson entre os domínios da escala. O programa estatístico SPSS, versão 10.1 para Windows foi utilizado. Entre os pacientes estudados, idade média igual a 61 anos, com desvio-padrão de 13 anos, sendo 72,3% do sexo feminino. A raça predominante foi a negra, 37,9% (incluindo as raças mulata e mestiça). A maioria (65,3%) possuía 1º grau incompleto e, em relação às profissões/ocupações, 50% era do lar, seguida de aposentados 30,5%. Em relação ao estado civil, a maioria, 58,2 possuía um companheiro(a). Em relação às propriedades de medida do SF-36, foi obtido um valor para alfa de Cronbach igual a 0,92, mostrando que houve consistência nas respostas dos indivíduos às questões. Tal resultado pôde ser verificado, também, para cada um dos domínios do SF-36, com valor mínimo para o alfa de Cronbach igual a 0,68 e máximo igual a 0,95. Todos os domínios mostraram correlações positivas significativas entre eles, sendo o valor mais baixo igual a 0,154, entre Estado Geral de Saúde e Aspectos Emocionais e, o mais alto igual a 0,659 entre Vitalidade e Saúde Mental. O grupo estudado apresentou um elevado perfil de saúde, sendo os menores valores medianos igual a 65 para Vitalidade e 70 para Capacidade Funcional e o maior igual a 100 para Aspectos Físicos, Aspectos Emocionais e Aspectos Sociais. No presente estudo, foi possível aplicar o instrumento SF-36 em um número significativo de hipertensos, sendo que este se mostrou válido para avaliar, de forma multidimensional, o Perfil de Saúde do grupo considerado, e, apesar da hipertensão arterial ser considerada uma doença crônica com caráter progressivo-degenerativo, não foram encontrados, neste estudo, resultados que mostrassem comprometimento dos sujeitos em relação a seu Perfil de Saúde. Ao contrário, os 256 pacientes entrevistados mostraram, em sua maioria, satisfação, tranqüilidade e segurança com a assistência encontrada na Unidade de Saúde considerada. / In recent decades, chronic diseases have played an important role in global morbidity and mortality rates, affecting not only the aged population, but also young people in the productive age group. Among cardiovascular diseases, arterial hypertension (AH) is considered to be one of the main causes of disease in adults from the entire industrialized world and most developing countries, mainly in large urban centers. The high prevalence of this disease has turned into a great public health problem, attacking thousands of people and, consequently, their Quality of Life. This cross-sectional study aims to verify the measurement properties of the generic health-related Quality of Life assessment questionnaire SF-36 for hypertensive patients and to describe their health profile. The study was carried out at a Health Unit in Minas Gerais-Brazil. Data were collected from hypertensive patients attended at this unit between March and May 2005. In view of exclusion criteria, we selected 256 hypertensive patients to participate in this study. The results related to the social-demographic variables and to the standardized scores of the instrument SF-36, their second domains were presented and discussed according to quartiles, maximum and minimum values and graphically represented through Boxplots. In addition, we presented mean values and the respective standard deviations. The consistence interns of the instrument was verified by means of Cronbachs alpha and Pearson correlations between the dominions of the scale, using the statistical program SPSS, version 10.1 for Windows. 72.3% of the study participants were women, with an average age of 61 years and standarddeviation of 13 years. The predominant race it was the black 37.9% (including the races mulatto and mestizo). Most participants (65.3%) had not finished basic education. With respect to profession/occupation, most participants (50%) worked at home, while 30,5% were retired. In terms of civil status, 58,2% were married. We obtained a Cronbachs alpha of 0.92 for the measurement properties of SF-36, which revealed consistency between the individuals answers to the questions. The same was true for each of the SF-36 domains, with a minimum Cronbachs alpha score of 0.68 and a maximum of 0.95. We found significant positive correlations between all domains, with 0.154, as the lowest between General Health Condition and Emotional Aspects, and 0.659 as the highest score, between Vitality and Mental Health. The group under study presented an elevated health profile, with 70 as the lowest median score equal for 65 for Vitality and 70 for Functional Capacity and 100 as the highest for Physical, Emotional and Social Aspects. This study allowed us to apply the SF-36 instrument to a significant group of hypertensive patients. The instrument revealed its validity with a view to the multidimensional evaluation of the study participants health profile. Although arterial hypertension is considered to be a progressive and degenerative chronic disease, we did not find any results to show that the subjects health profile was at risk. On the opposite, most of the 256 patients we interviewed displayed satisfaction, tranquility and security about the care they received at the Health Unit we studied.