In this study, eight common polymorphisms associated with venous thrombosis (VT) and thrombophilia factors were analyzed in a Costa Rican case-control study. With the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods the polymorphisms were detected in 120 patients and 133 controls (mean age <40 years old). It was concluded that a high level of fibrinogen, antiphospholipid antibodies, family history, and the genotype 34LeuLeu of FXIII OR 0.42 (0.20-0.89) showed a significant effect on the risk of VT. Associations between the risk of VT and genetic polymorphisms have been established. Some of these polymorphisms are highly prevalent in Caucasians, but there is a significant geographic variation in their prevalence among different populations. The results of this study support the protective effect of FXIII Val34Leu polymorphism in VT. These findings are consistent with previous reports that included other populations.

Eight common polymorphisms of known myocardial infarction (MI) risk factors (factor V Leiden (FVL), factor V HR2 (FVHR2), factor II 20210G>A (FII), factor VII IVS7 (FVII IVS7), factor VII Arg353Gln (FVII), factor XIII Val34Leu (FXIII), Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T (MTHFR), Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE)) and environmental risk factors were analyzed in a MI patients of Costa Rica. This case-control study included 186 MI subjects, 95 of them < 45 years and 201 age and sex matched controls. With the use of PCR method the polymorphisms were detected and through interviews additional information was collected. Hypercholesterolemia and smoking were associated with a significant risk in younger patients. High fibrinogen level was an important risk factor and interaction with smoking was detected. Mainly, the genotype 34LeuLeu of FXIII showed significant protective effect, (OR 0.32, 95%CI 0.13-0.80) while the other polymorphisms showed no significant difference between the cases and the controls. Carriers of FVII (OR 2.75, 95%CI 1.07-7.02) and FXIII (OR 4.20, 95%CI 2.03-8.67) polymorphisms showed interaction with fibrinogen in the statistical analysis. It was concluded that there was an important interaction between the common risk factors and the polymorphisms (FVII; FXIII) in the development of MI. This is one of the first reports in a Latin-American population dealing with these molecular markers and MI.

Thrombotic disease is a multifactorial condition that involves both classical and genetic risk factors. We studied the association between the classical risk factors of hypertension and smoking, and polymorphisms on the genes of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), the beta-chain of fibrinogen (FG), and the plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in patients with venous and arterial thrombosis. The present investigation is a retrospective case-control study. A total of 340 participants were analyzed, including 162 patients and 178 healthy controls. Hypertension and smoking showed a significant association with thrombotic disease (p < 0.05) but FG level was found significant risk factor only for the venous thrombosis (VT) group (p < 0.04). Significant differences between thrombotic groups were found for the studied polymorphisms of PAI-1 (p < 0.0014), but for both FG beta-chain gene polymorphisms, none of the molecular analyses showed a positive sample for any mutating allele (p > 0.05). For the ACE polymorphism, the I allele present a protective effect in the general thrombotic group. This is one of the first reports in a Latin-American population dealing with these molecular markers and thrombotic diseases.

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Este artículo pretende analizar los procesos de industrialización, la producción agroindustrial y la globalización del mercado mundial y su repercusión en Costa Rica.  A finales del siglo XX, es destacable que el desarrollo de la industria alimenticia y la agroindustria dieron un aporte sustantivo a la seguridad alimentaria; hasta hace algunas décadas, la noción de "seguridad alimentaria" recubría el conjunto de dispositivos y actividades para luchar contra el riesgo de hambre que afectaba ciertas regiones. Un hecho relevante sucede a mediados del siglo XX, debido a que se creó, en el país, el Consejo Nacional de Producción, para ayudar a los pequeños y medianos productores nacionales. Sin embargo, el paso de los estancos a los supermercados es parte del recorrido político, social y económico que ha atravesado nuestro país desde la década de 1950 hasta la actualidad.