Ingestão de fibra alimentar e tempo de trânsito colônico em pacientes com constipação funcional

RACIONAL: Pacientes com constipação funcional que não melhoram com suplementação de fibras dietéticas, representam importante problema clínico. OBJETIVOS: Avaliar as relações entre as quantidades de fibras ingeridas, intensidade da constipação e o tempo de trânsito colônico em pacientes com constipação funcional. MÉTODOS: Foram avaliados 30 pacientes constipados funcionais, sem melhoras após suplementação dietética com fibras e 18 pessoas controle, sadias, sem queixas digestivas, utilizando inquéritos individuais quanto à ingestão de fibras e a intensidade da constipação e, por meio da técnica dos marcadores radiopaco, o tempo de trânsito colônico, total e segmentar. RESULTADOS: Apesar da maior ingestão diária de fibras (26,3 ± 12,9 g, constipados x 9,3 ± 5,2 g, controles), os sintomas da constipação mostraram-se intensos nos constipados (escore médio = 21,3 ± 4,07). O tempo normal para o trânsito colônico foi de 58,8h. O trânsito colônico total, em média, foi mais lento nos constipados (41,0 ± 22,8h, constipados x 21,8 ± 18,5h, controles). Constipados com trânsito lento (>58,8h) apresentaram inércia colônica (oito), obstrução de saída (um) e lentificação no cólon esquerdo (um). Constipados com trânsito normal (<58,8h), apresentaram lentificações isoladas no cólon direito (nove), no cólon esquerdo (três) e no segmento retossigmoideano (oito). Não houve correlação entre a quantidade ingerida de fibra, intensidade da constipação e tempo de trânsito colônico nos constipados funcionais. CONCLUSÕES: em constipados funcionais a gravidade da constipação não depende apenas da ingestão de fibras, que, também não é a única contributiva para as variações no tempo de trânsito colônico. Este diferencia os pacientes normais dos constipados e nestes, aqueles com trânsito alterado que exigem abordagens diferentes da suplementação de fibras.

AC Biosusceptometry Technique to Evaluate the Gastrointestinal Transit of Pellets under Influence of Prandial State

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Avaliação da contratilidade da vesícula biliar com leite materno e leite de vaca em lactentes

As múltiplas características distintas do leite materno e do leite de vaca fazem com que o esvaziamento gástrico seja mais rápido após ingestão do primeiro. Esta rapidez do esvaziamento gástrico pode estar associada ao esvaziamento da vesícula biliar, também mais rápido. O objetivo do trabalho foi determinar se há diferença na velocidade de esvaziamento da vesícula biliar, por método ultra-sonográfico, após ingestão de leite materno e leite de vaca. Estudamos 47 crianças menores de dois anos, 22 após uma refeição com leite materno e 25 após uma refeição com leite de vaca. A vesícula biliar foi medida após um período de quatro a seis horas de jejum e uma hora após uma refeição (leite materno ou leite de vaca), e a contração da vesícula biliar foi avaliada, em porcentagem, pela diferença de volume da vesícula biliar entre as duas medidas e expressa em porcentagem do volume inicial. As medianas das porcentagens do volume inicial para as crianças alimentadas com leite materno e leite de vaca foram, respectivamente, 92,25% e 53,8%, diferença estatisticamente significativa. Portanto, a contração da vesícula biliar após uma refeição com leite de vaca é muito mais lenta do que aquela após uma refeição com leite materno.

Administration of beta(2)-adrenergic agonists during the peri-implantation period does not improve implantation or pregnancy rates in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles

Purpose: the objective of the present investigation was to determine implantation and pregnancy rates in patients undergoing ICSI and treated with beta(2)-adrenergic agonists, considering the uterine-relaxing action of these agents.Methods: A total of 225 women undergoing ICSI at the Center for Human Reproduction, Sinha Junqueira Maternity Foundation, entered the study. Patient participation in each group was random, by drawing lots, using a randomization table previously elaborated for the study (2:2:1). The group I (90 women) received 10 mg of terbutaline daily for 15 days starting on the day of oocyte retrieval; group II (90 women) received 20 mg of ritodrine daily during the same period of time as group I; group III (45 patients) received no treatment and was used as control. The evaluation was interrupted in 3 patients of group I and in 30 patients of group II because of a high incidence of side effects.Results: Pregnancy, implantation, and miscarriage rates were not significantly different (p>0.05) between the three groups: 29.88%, 13.25%, and 26.9% for group I; 33.33%, 17.5%, and 10.0% for group II; 28.88%, 15.07%, and 15.38% for group III, respectively.Conclusions: the results of this study do not support the routine use of beta(2)-adrenergic agonists during the peri-implantation period in assisted reproductive technology cycles.

Lack of chemopreventive effects of ginger on colon carcinogenesis induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine in rats

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) has been proposed as a promising candidate for cancer prevention. Its modifying potential on the process of colon carcinogenesis induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) was investigated in male Wistar rats using the aberrant crypt foci (ACF) assay. Five groups were studied: Groups 1-3 were given four s.c. injections of DMH (40 mg/kg b.w.) twice a week, during two weeks, whereas Groups 4 and 5 received similar injections of EDTA solution (DMH vehicle). After DMH-initiation, the animals were fed a ginger extract mixed in the basal diet at 0.5% (Group 2) and 1.0% (Groups 3 and 4) for 10 weeks. All rats were killed after 12 weeks and the colons were analyzed for ACF formation and crypt multiplicity. The rates of cell proliferation and apoptosis were also evaluated in epithelial colonic crypt cells. Dietary consumption of ginger at both dose levels did not induce any toxicity in the rats, but ginger meal at 1% decreased significantly serum cholesterol levels (p < 0.038). Treatment with ginger did not suppress ACF formation or the number of crypts per ACF in the DMH-treated group. Dietary ginger did not significantly change the proliferative or apoptosis indexes of the colonic crypt cells induced by DMH. Thus, the present results did not confirm a chemopreventive activity of ginger on colon carcinogenesis as analyzed by the ACF bioassay and by the growth kinetics of the colonic mucosa. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CDX2, a highly sensitive and specific marker of adenocarcinomas of intestinal origin - An immunohistochemical survey of 476 primary and metastatic carcinomas

CDX2 is a recently cloned homeobox gene that encodes an intestine-specific transcription factor, expressed in the nuclei of epithelial cells throughout the intestine, from duodenum to rectum. While expression of CDX2 protein in primary and metastatic colorectal carcinomas has been previously documented, neither the sensitivity nor the specificity of CDX2 expression, as determined by immunohistochemistry, for colorectal adenocarcinoma has been determined. We performed an immunohistochemical survey of 476 tumors with a monoclonal antibody, CDX2-88, including 89 tumors from the colon and duodenum and 95 tumors from other gastrointestinal sites, including the esophagus, stomach, pancreatobiliary system, gastrointestinal carcinoids, and liver. CDX2 was expressed uniformly (that is, in 76-100% of tumor cells) in all but one of the evaluated colorectal and duodenal tumors. High-level expression of CDX2 was also found, however, in mucinous ovarian carcinomas and adenocarcinomas primary to the urinary bladder of which 64% and 100% were positive, respectively. Gastric, gastroesophageal, and pancreatic adenocarcinomas and cholangiocarcinomas all showed similar, heterogeneous patterns of CDX2 expression. Most tumors in each group showed CDX2 expression by a minority of cells, whereas a substantial minority of cases in each group was completely negative and a smaller minority was uniformly positive. Gastrointestinal carcinoids gave similarly varied results, but the majority (58%) was negative. Hepatocellular carcinomas showed no expression of CDX2. Only very rare examples of carcinomas of the genitourinary and gynecologic tracts, breast, lung, and head and neck showed significant levels of CDX2 expression. In this study of primary and metastatic epithelial tumors, uniform CDX2 expression is demonstrated to be an exquisitely sensitive and highly, but incompletely, specific marker of intestinal adenocarcinomas. Compared with villin, a previously described marker of GI adenocarcinomas, CDX2 demonstrated superior sensitivity and comparable specificity. CDX2 expression can be seen, however, in selected non-GI adenocarcinomas such as mucinous ovarian carcinomas and adenocarcinomas of the urinary bladder.

Probióticos e prebióticos na atenção primária ao câncer de cólon

CONTEXTO: As neoplasias de cólon são a terceira forma mais comum de câncer atualmente. Seus tratamentos ainda estão associados a elevado risco de complicações, ressaltando, assim, a necessidade de elaborar novas estratégias de tratamento. A ingestão de probióticos, prebióticos ou a combinação de ambos (simbióticos), representa nova opção terapêutica. Diante da importância do equilíbrio quantitativo e qualitativo da microbiota intestinal para saúde humana e com objetivo de melhor elucidar o papel dos probióticos e prebióticos, o tema citado procura abordar a importância destes como coadjuvantes na prevenção e tratamento de câncer de cólon. METODOLOGIA: Foi realizada pesquisa em bancos de dados científicos (Medline, Lilacs, PubMed, Ovid, Scielo) através de levantamento de artigos científicos, além da busca direta aos periódicos, priorizando-se os mesmos do período de 2003 a 2008. Foram, também, coletadas informações através de sites da internet, como forma de melhor compreender a epidemiologia, conceitos e tratamentos dessa patologia. RESULTADOS: Estudos apontam relação inversa entre o consumo de probióticos e prebióticos e o diagnóstico de câncer de cólon, sendo que alguns dos possíveis mecanismos englobam: aumento da resposta imune, redução da resposta inflamatória, inibição de formação de células tumorais e da conversão de substâncias pré-carcinogênicas em carcinogênicas. CONCLUSÃO: Através da realização desta revisão literária foi possível obter respostas positivas quanto ao uso de probióticos e prebióticos na carcinogênese, colocando seu uso como recomendado de forma adequada.

Genetic group x ambient temperature interaction effects on physiological responses and growth performance of rabbits

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Food restriction impairs myocardial inotropic response to calcium and beta-adrenergic stimulation in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Intestinal anti-inflammatory activity of paepalantine, an isocoumarin isolated from the capitula of Paepalanthus bromelioides, in the trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid model of rat colitis

The preventative intestinal anti-inflammatory activity of paepalantine, an isocoumarin isolated from the capitula of Paepalarithus bromelioides, was tested in the trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid (TNBS) model of rat colitis. This was performed in two different experimental settings, i. e. when the colonic mucosa is intact or when the mucosa is in process of recovery after an initial insult. The results obtained revealed that the paepalantine pretreatment, at doses of 5 and 10 mg/kg, significantly attenuated the colonic damage induced by TNBS in both situations, as it was evidenced both histologically and biochemically. This beneficial effect was associated with an improvement in the colonic oxidative status, since paepalantine prevented the glutathione depletion that occurred as a consequence of the colonic inflammation. In addition, the intestinal anti-inflammatory effect exerted by this isocoumarin was associated with an inhibition of colonic nitric oxide activity, which is upregulated as a consequence of the inflammatory process. In conclusion, the preventative effect exerted by paepalantine in the TNBS model of rat colitis is probably related with its antioxidant properties.

Dietary intervention with narrow-leaved cattail rhizome flour (Typha angustifolia L.) prevents intestinal inflammation in the trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid model of rat colitis

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Suppression of TNBS-induced colitis in rats by 4-methylesculetin, a natural coumarin: Comparison with prednisolone and sulphasalazine

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Acceleration of Sperm Transit Time and Reduction of Sperm Reserves in the Epididymis of Rats Exposed to Sibutramine

Sibutramine is a drug globally used for the treatment of obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate male reproductive disorders caused by sibutramine in adult rats. Wistar rats were treated for 28 consecutive days (gavage) with 10 mg/kg of sibutramine. Control animals received only vehicle (dimethylsulfoxide and saline). The rats were sacrificed for evaluation of body and reproductive organ weights, sperm parameters, hormone levels (luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and testosterone), testicular and epididymal histopathology, sexual behavior, fertility and in vitro contractility of the epididymal duct. Sibutramine decreased (P < .05) weights of the epididymis and ventral prostate, but not of other reproductive organs. The sperm number and transit time in the epididymal cauda were decreased (P < .001), but the daily sperm production was not altered. Moreover, morphology and sperm motility, histopathology of the testes and epididymis, sexual behavior, fertility, and serum hormone levels were not altered by the treatment. Sibutramine increased the potency of norepinephrine and, per se, increased the mechanical activity of the epididymal duct in vitro. Thus, although sibutramine in these experimental conditions did not interfere with the reproductive process of rats, it provoked acceleration of the sperm transit time and a decrease in the sperm reserves in the epididymal cauda. This alteration is probably related to the sympathomimetic effect of this drug, as shown by the in vitro assays. In humans, use of this drug might present a threat for male fertility because sperm reserves in men are naturally lower than those in rats.

Intestinal anti-inflammatory activity of esculetin and 4-methylesculetin in the trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid model of rat colitis

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Dietary Polydextrose Prevents Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Trinitrobenzenesulfonic Acid Model of Rat Colitis

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a multifactorial intestinal disorder that involves interactions among the immune system, genetic susceptibility, and environmental factors, especially the bacterial flora. Polydextrose, a polysaccharide constituted by 90% nondigestible and nonabsorbable soluble fibers, has several physiological effects consistent with those of dietary fibers, including proliferation of colon microflora. Because sulfasalazine presents serious side effects through long-term use at high doses, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the preventative effect of polydextrose on trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid-induced intestinal inflammation and its effects on the intestinal anti-inflammatory activity of sulfasalazine. Results indicated that polydextrose and its association with sulfasalazine present an anti-inflammatory effect that reduces myeloperoxidase activity, counteracts glutathione content, and promotes reductions in lesion extension and colonic weight/length ratio.