Analysis of cell cycle phases and proliferative capacity in mice bearing melanoma maintained on different dietary proteins

Background Diet seems to represent, directly or indirectly, 35% of all cancer reports. In this study, the influence of dietary protein on the growth of melanoma B16F10 was evaluated through analyses of cell cycle phases and proliferative capacity. Methods Flow cytometry and argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) technique were applied in mice bearing B16F10 melanoma cells fed on different dietary proteins. All data were submitted to statistical analyses. Results The G0/G1 phase increased for the animal groups fed bovine collagen hydrolysate (BCH) or BCH-P1 + whey protein isolate (WPI), compared with mice receiving only WPI, for all dietary groups treated and nontreated with paclitaxel. Mice that received BCH + WPI treated with paclitaxel showed the highest percentage of apoptosis compared with WPI group. AgNORs, total nucleolar organizer regions (NORs)/cells and dot number/cell for all dietary protein groups nontreated with paclitaxel were higher than for the WPI. The only two dietary protein groups treated with paclitaxel that presented higher total NORs and dot number/cell than the WPI group were BCH + WPI and BCH-P1 + WPI. Conclusions A significantly lower proliferative capacity and larger number of cells in the G0/G1 phase were observed for the dietary protein groups combining the two collagen hydrolysates, BCH or BCH-P1 with WPI, treated with paclitaxel. Castro GA, Maria DA, Rodrigues CJ, Sgarbieri VC. Analysis of cell cycle phases and proliferative capacity in mice bearing melanoma maintained on different dietary proteins.

Dietary habits, ethanol and tobacco consumption as predictive factors in the development of esophageal carcinoma in patients with head and neck neoplasms

Patients with primary head and neck cancers have a higher risk of developing esophageal cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate esophageal cancer prevalence, its risk factors (ethanol and tobacco consumption) and dietary habits in patients with head and neck cancer. Three hundred and twenty-six adults with primary head and neck cancer were followed by a retrospective observational study in a general university hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Flexible videoendoscopy with lugol chromoscopy was the method used to investigate esophageal cancer prevalence. All subjects were interviewed face-to-face, revealing detailed information about their tobacco and alcohol use, as well as their dietary habits. Thirty-six patients with esophageal cancer were diagnosed and the overall prevalence rate was 11.04%. Patients who developed second esophageal tumors had the following characteristics: earlier age of initial ethanol consumption (P < 0.05), longer duration period of ethanol consumption (P < 0.05) and higher weekly consumption rate (P < 0.05). There was an increased risk of esophageal carcinoma in those patients who both smoked and drank (P < 0.05). There was no association between carcinoma of the esophagus and dietary habits in patients who developed esophageal neoplasms, compared with those who did not. Prevalence rate of esophageal neoplasms was 11.04% in patients with head and neck carcinoma, whose ethanol consumption was associated with esophageal cancer. There was an increased risk between ethanol and tobacco consumption and esophageal carcinoma development. On the other hand, there was no association regarding dietary habits between patients who developed esophageal cancer and those who did not.

Management of acromegaly in Latin America: expert panel recommendations

Although there are international guidelines orienting physicians on how to manage patients with acromegaly, such guidelines should be adapted for use in distinct regions of the world. A panel of neuroendocrinologists convened in Mexico City in August of 2007 to discuss specific considerations in Latin America. Of major discussion was the laboratory evaluation of acromegaly, which requires the use of appropriate tests and the adoption of local institutional standards. As a general rule to ensure diagnosis, the patient`s GH level during an oral glucose tolerance test and IGF-1 level should be evaluated. Furthermore, to guide treatment decisions, both GH and IGF-1 assessments are required. The treatment of patients with acromegaly in Latin America is influenced by local issues of cost, availability and expertise of pituitary neurosurgeons, which should dictate therapeutic choices. Such treatment has undergone profound changes because of the introduction of effective medical interventions that may be used after surgical debulking or as first-line medical therapy in selected cases. Surgical resection remains the mainstay of therapy for small pituitary adenomas (microadenomas), potentially resectable macroadenomas and invasive adenomas causing visual defects. Radiotherapy may be indicated in selected cases when no disease control is achieved despite optimal surgical debulking and medical therapy, when there is no access to somatostatin analogues, or when local issues of cost preclude other therapies. Since not all the diagnostic tools and treatment options are available in all Latin American countries, physicians need to adapt their clinical management decisions to the available local resources and therapeutic options.

Nutritional knowledge, eating attitudes and chronic dietary restraint among men with eating disorders

We compared nutritional knowledge, eating attitudes and chronic dietary restraint scores among 17 men (10 with bulimia nervosa and 7 with anorexia nervosa) and 50 women (20 with bulimia nervosa and 30 with anorexia nervosa), who were consecutive patients at a major treatment center in Brazil. There were no differences in nutritional knowledge and concern with food between men and women. For both genders, chronic dietary restraint scores were higher among bulimics. Men with eating disorders had better eating attitudes scores than women. Anorexic men tended to have worse eating attitudes scores than bulimic men, while the opposite was observed for women, suggesting an interaction between gender and diagnosis. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Nutritional recommendation alone does not change the obesity profile of health professionals

Objective: To evaluate the frequency of overweight and obesity in health professionals, before and after a single specialized dietary recommendation. Methods: Anthropometric measures of 579 workers of a general hospital in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil were taken. The weight (f), height (h) and waist circumference (wc) were interpreted according to the WHO and NCEP ATP III guidelines. Nutrition specialist provided dietary and behavioral recommendations. The entire sample underwent a new evaluation one year later. Results: At the first evaluation, 79 employees presente WC >= 102 cm (male) or WC >= 88 cm (female). The association between WC >= 102 cm (men) or WC >= 88 cm (women) and BMI >= 30 kg/m(2) was found in 12.8 % (69 subjects). The BMI distribution per age group indicated that the increase in overweight and obesity was directly proportional to the age increase. Physical activities were not practiced by 75% of the subjects studied. A year later, the evaluation indicated lack of statistical differences regarding the BMI and waist circumference of the sample and only 2.8% started to practice a physical activity. Conclusion: Dietary recommendation alone failed to promote changes in the eating habits of health professionals who work at a general hospital or to encourage them to practice exercise.

Are the recommendations from three-dimensional gait analysis associated with better postoperative outcomes in patients with cerebral palsy?

This study was performed to check if recommendations based on three-dimensional gait analysis (3DGA) are associated with better postoperative outcomes in patients with cerebral palsy (CP). Thirty-eight patients who underwent orthopedic surgery and assessment at the Gait Analysis Laboratory were evaluated retrospectively. The patients were divided in four groups according to the agreement between the recommendations from gait analysis and the procedures actually carried out. Fifteen patients with diplegic spastic cerebral palsy and indication for orthopedic surgery to improve walking - and whose surgical intervention was postponed - were also included in the study as a control group. Fourteen gait parameters recorded before and after treatment, were included in the statistical analysis. No gait improvement was noted in the control group or inh patients on whom no procedures recommended by the gait exam were performed (agreement of 0%). In the other groups, agreements averaged 46.71%, 72.2%, and 100%, respectively. Improvement of gait parameters after treatment was observed in these groups, with more significant values directly related to increased agreement percentage. Therefore, in this study the patients whose treatment matched the recommendations from three-dimensional gait analysis showed a more significant improvement in walking. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recommendations for the Use of Extended Criteria Donors in Lung Transplantation

Selection criteria for lung donation were based on initial experiences with lung transplantation without further studies to improve them, thereby guaranting the best use of donated organs. A definition of an extended criteria donor is therefore required to obtain more lungs to meet the demands of patients awaiting transplantation. Studies have been reviewed for the impact on survival and morbidity of age ranges, oxygen fraction, cause of death, smoking habits, x-ray findings, infection, hepatitis serology and non-heart-beating status, seeking to support physicians to make decisions regarding the use of marginal organs.

Validation of a food frequency questionnaire for assessing dietary nutrients in Brazilian children 5 to 10 years of age

Objective: This study aimed to assess the relative validity of a food frequency questionnaire.(FFQ), previously validated to measure usual intakes in adults, for measuring dietary intakes in children 5 to 10 y of age. Methods: Dietary intakes were measured using an FFQ and a 3-d dietary record. Healthy children, 5 to 10 y old (n = 151), were recruited from public schools and asked to answer the questions in the FFQ and to provide non-consecutive 3-d dietary records based on reported estimated portion sizes. Paired sample t tests and Pearson`s correlation coefficients were conducted to determine whether the two instruments reported similar values for energy and nutrients. The agreement of quartile categorization between the two instruments was also examined. Results: Estimated energy and nutrient intakes derived from the FFQ were significantly higher than those derived from 3-d dietary records. As expected, Pearson`s correlations increased after adjusting for residual measurement error, presumably due to exclusion of the high within-person variability in intake of these nutrients. Moderate to high (r > 0.50) correlation coefficients were verified for some nutrients such as calcium, folate, vitamin 132, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Conclusion: This FFQ, originally developed for use in adults, appears to overestimate usual energy and nutrient intakes in children 5 to 10 y of age. Further work is necessary to conduct a calibration study to establish adequate portion sizes before instrument adoption in this population. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Microsatellite diversity and effective population size in a germplasm bank of Hymenaea courbaril var. stilbocarpa (Leguminosae), an endangered tropical tree: recommendations for conservation

Deforestation in southeast Brazil has led to the extinction of Hymenaea courbaril var. stilbocarpa and ex situ conservation has been established. In this study, the levels of genetic diversity and the effective population size of H. courbaril in a germplasm bank were investigated using six nuclear microsatellite loci. A total of 79 and 91 alleles were found in 65 seed-trees and their 176 offspring, respectively. Offspring have a higher average number of alleles per locus (A = 15.2) than seed-trees (A = 13.2), but lower observed heterozygosity (offspring: H (o) = 0.566; seed-trees: H (o) = 0.607). The estimate of outcrossing rate shows that the study population is perfectly outcrossed (t (m) = 0.978, P > 0.05). Significant deviations from random mating were detected through mating among relatives and correlated matings. The average variance in effective population size for each family was 2.63, with a total effective population size retained in the bank of 170.1. These results confirm that the preserved population of H. courbaril retains substantial genetic variability.

CHRONIC LITHIUM TREATMENT PREVENT ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIOR RELATED TO DIETARY RESTRICTION

Caloric intake reduction has been considered as the major experimental manipulation able to increase longevity in experimental models. Therefore, its effects upon cognition and mood like behavior are poorly explored. On the other hand, Li(+) is a re-emergent therapeutic drug used to treat mood disorders, mainly bipolar disorder, with antipanic and antidepressant actions. On the hypothesis that lithium treatment could attenuate the negatives effects of stress on Central Nervous Systems (CNS), we evaluated the role of chronic lithium treatment on anxiety-like behaviors in animals submitted to stress by chronic moderated feed restriction (FR). Male wistar rats were divided into four groups (n = 7-8/group) according to dietary and drug manipulation: ad libitum (AL) with unlimited access to standard rat diet, lithium treatment ( AL + Li) which received approximately 50 mg/Kg animal/day of LiCl solved in water and ad libitum diet, FR that were fed with equivalent to 70% of total rat diet consumed by AL group, and FR + Li which received diet corresponding to FR and Li administration. After 12 weeks of drug and FR manipulation, anxiety like behavior was evaluated in elevated plus mazes (EPM). Chronic lithium treatment prevent the anxiogenic like effect of FR ( open time, F(3,30) = 3.588; P = 0.0265; percentage of open entries, F(3,30) = 6.004; P= 0.00029; and open time at the first min, 2.35; F(3,30) = 4.937; P = 0.0073, Duncan test P < 0.05) compared to AL diet. Ours results adding to evidences that moderate feed restriction my increase anxiety-like behavior; also suggest that chronic lithium treatment may be attenuated this effects.

Dietary Fluoride Intake by Children Receiving Different Sources of Systemic Fluoride

There has been no comparison of fluoride (F) intake by pre-school children receiving more traditional sources of systemic F. The aim of this study was to estimate the dietary F intake by children receiving F from artificially fluoridated water (AFW-Brazil, 0.6-0.8 mg F/L), naturally fluoridated water (NFW-Brazil, 0.6-0.9 mg F/L), fluoridated salt (FS-Peru, 180-200 mg F/Kg), and fluoridated milk (FM-Peru, 0.25 mg F). Children (n = 21-26) aged 4-6 yrs old participated in each community. A non-fluoridated community (NoF) was evaluated as the control population. Dietary F intake was monitored by the ""duplicate plate"" method, with different constituents (water, other beverages, and solids). F was analyzed with an ion-selective electrode. Data were tested by Kruskall-Wallis and Dunn`s tests (p < 0.05). Mean (+/- SD) F intake (mg/Kg b.w./day) was 0.04 +/- 0.01(b), 0.06 +/- 0.02(a,b), 0.05 +/- 0.02(a,b), 0.06 +/- 0.01(a), and 0.01 +/- 0.00(c) for AFW/NFW/FS/FM/NoF, respectively. The main dietary contributors for AFW/NFW and FS/FM/NoF were water and solids, respectively. The results indicate that the dietary F intake must be considered before a systemic method of fluoridation is implemented.