Dietary whey protein lessens several risk factors for metabolic diseases: a review

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

A new short and simple health-related quality of life measurement for paediatric rheumatic diseases: initial validation in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Objective. To develop and validate a new short and simple measure of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).Methods. The Paediatric Rheumatology Quality of Life Scale (PRQL) is a 10-item questionnaire that explores HRQL in two domains: physical health (PhH) and psychosocial health (PsH). Validation of the parent proxy report and child self-report versions of the instrument was accomplished by evaluating 472 JIA patients and similar to 800 healthy children. Validation analyses included assessment of feasibility, face and content validity; construct and discriminative ability; internal structure and consistency; test-retest reliability; responsiveness to clinical change; and minimal clinically important difference.Results. The PRQL was found to be feasible and to possess both face and content validity. The PRQL score correlated in the predicted range with most of the other JIA outcome measures, thereby demonstrating good construct validity, and discriminated well between different levels of disease severity. Assessment of internal structure (factor analysis) revealed that the PhH and PsH subscales identify two unambiguously separated domains. The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was 0.86. The intraclass correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability was 0.91. The PRQL revealed fair responsiveness, with a standardized response mean of 0.67 in improved patients. Overall, the PRQL appeared to be more able to capture physical HRQL than psychosocial HRQL.Conclusion. The PRQL was found to possess good measurement properties and is, therefore, a valid instrument for the assessment of HRQL in children with JIA. This tool is primarily proposed for use in standard clinical care.

Autoinflammatory diseases: Mimics of Autoimmunity or part of its spectrum? Case presentation

Introduction: Autoinflammatory diseases are very rare diseases presenting within a wide clinical spectrum. Recognition of the main clinical features are challenging due to overlapping or mimicking with autoimmune diseases. Discussion: A case series is reviewed to illustrate typical and atypical features and the difficulties of these diagnoses in the low prevalence areas-a typical unrecognized case of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) in a youngster, an atypical adult case with overlapping of IMF with Behcet disease, and an early presentation of FMF in infant presenting with inflammatory colitis, as well as the overlapping features within the cryopirin diseases spectrum in an 8-year-old boy who presented with systemic onset arthritis. Conclusion: These cases may represent examples of a very puzzling relationship among disorders of innate and adaptive immune systems and inflammation.

Guttural Pouch Diseases Causing Neurologic Dysfunction in the Horse

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Exame citológico em medicina veterinária: estudo retrospectivo de 11.468 casos (1994-2008)

Foi realizado um estudo retrospectivo dos resultados dos exames citológicos provenientes dos arquivos do Serviço de Citopatologia do Laboratório de Patologia Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, entre janeiro de 1994 e dezembro de 2008. do total de 139.986 animais atendidos no Hospital Veterinário da instituição, 11.468 (8,2%) foram encaminhados para exame citológico. Desses diagnósticos, 57,28% corresponderam a lesões neoplásicas, 19,28% a lesões inflamatórias e 14,79% a processos não neoplásicos (imunológicos, degenerativos, hiperplásicos ou displásicos). Não foi possível concluir o diagnóstico por meio do exame citológico em 7,28% dos casos e não haviam informações diagnósticas registradas em 1,37% dos casos. Dentre os animais que mais receberam indicação para exame citológico destacaram-se os caninos (92,06%), seguidos pelos felinos (4,08%), bovinos (1,77%) e equinos (1,30%). Lesoes neoplásicas foram as mais comumente observadas e foram mais prevalentes nos cães (59,18%), afetando principalmente animais com idade média de 119,60 meses e principalmente fêmeas (61,61%). O incremento anual observado ao longo dos 15 anos de aplicação da citologia demonstra que o exame citológico é um método de suma importância para confirmar, sugerir ou afastar o diagnóstico de diversas afecções, inclusive neoplasia, em todas as espécies animais.

Synergism between plant extract and antimicrobial drugs used on Staphylococcus aureus diseases

Searches for substances with antimicrobial activity are frequent, and medicinal plants have been considered interesting by some researchers since they are frequently used in popular medicine as remedies for many infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to verify the synergism between 13 antimicrobial drugs and 8 plant extracts - guaco (Mikania glomerata), guava (Psidium guajava), clove (Syzygium aromaticum), garlic (Allium sativum), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), ginger (Zingiber officinale), carqueja (Baccharis trimera), and mint (Mentha piperita) - against Staphylococcus aureus strains, and for this purpose, the disk method was the antimicrobial susceptibility test performed. Petri dishes were prepared with or without dilution of plant extracts at sub-inhibitory concentrations in Mueller-Hinton Agar (MHA), and the inhibitory zones were recorded in millimeters. In vitro anti-Staphylococcus aureus activities of the extracts were confirmed, and synergism was verified for all the extracts; clove, guava, and lemongrass presented the highest synergism rate with antimicrobial drugs, while ginger and garlic showed limited synergistic capacity.

Recent advances in DNA vaccines for autoimmune diseases

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

Morphological modifications induced by an artificial diet on the hypopharyngeal glands of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera, apidae) during their degenerative process

The morphological aspects of the hypopharyngeal glands were analyzed in worker bees of Apis mellifera of 15 and 30 days of age. The individuals were kept in a room with controlled temperature at 32degreesC where they received water and either a protein or a high energy food. Nurse and foraging workers were used as a control for the experiment. The morphological results showed that the different diets modified the cell death characteristics and intensified its occurrence. Both diets caused precocious glandular degeneration. However, this anticipation of cell death was more pronounced in the glandular tissue of the workers who received the high energy diet when compared to the glands of the bees fed with the protein meal.The degenerative signs observed were an intense cytoplasmic vacuolization, with a loss of cytoplasm and of the cell boundaries, dilation or condensation of the cells and nuclei, and nuclear fragmentation. At the end of the degenerative process, we observed the extrusion of nuclei and, finally, the dissolution of the glands. The hypopharyngeal glands' remains were found in the haemolymph.

Morphological features and occurrence of degenerative characteristics in the hypopharyngeal glands of the paper wasp Polistes versicolor (Olivier) (Hymenoptera : Vespidae)

Different histochemical techniques were applied to examine the morphological features of the secretory cells of hypopharyngeal glands in the wasp Polistes versicolor. The results showed that most analyzed individuals present active glands with secretion stored in the cytoplasm. In some glands, morphological analyses revealed the presence of degenerative characteristics. Analyses of cellular integrity, however, did not detect dead cells. The results showed that, in P. versicolor, the development and regression of the hypopharyngeal glands were not age related, unlike glands of social bees. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early physical activity promotes lower prevalence of chronic diseases in adulthood

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

Emerging infectious diseases in cetaceans worldwide and the possible role of environmental stressors

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

Skin diseases in Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) from the Paranagua estuary, Brazil: A possible indicator of a compromised marine environment

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

Relative antioxidant activity of Brazilian medicinal plants for gastrointestinal diseases

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