Neonatal Overfeeding Induced by Reducing the Litter Size Leads to an Obese Phenotype and Increases Preference for Sweet Food in Adult Male Rats.

Aim: the aim of this study was to induce obesity in rats using the neonatal overfeeding protocol and evaluate in adult male animals standard chow intake, sweet food intake, the preference between sweet food and standard chow, locomotor activity and anxiety-like behavior. Methodology: The neonatal overfeeding protocol consisted of reducing the litter size to 4 animals (small litters = SL) compared to 8 animals in normal litters (NL). In these experiments we used 55 offspring from 18 litters. Results: obesity was successfully induced as observed by increased body weight and depots of abdominal fat in SL animals compared to NL; [F(1, 53)=15.018; P<.001] for body weight and [t(48.06)=2.186 P=.03] for abdominal fat.No difference between groups was found in standard chow [t (16)=1.843 P=.08] and sweet food intake [t(53)=0.453 P=.65], however in the test that evaluated the preference between both foods SL animals consumed more sweet food than NL [t(48) =2.481 P=.02]. Additionally, there was no difference between groups regarding locomotor activity [t(52)=0.073 P=.94] but SL animals showed reduced anxiety-like behavior compared to NL [t(39.36)=2.205 P=.03]. Conclusion: this study supports the use of neonatal overfeeding protocol as a model of early obesity and showed for the first time the increased preference for sweet food in adult neonatal overfed animals.

Monitoramento e avaliação de eventos adversos: a experiência do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre / Monitoring and evaluation of adverse events: the experience at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre

A proteção dos participantes nas pesquisas que envolvem seres humanos é uma das atribuições fundamentais dos Comitês de Ética em Pesquisa (CEPs), estando regulamentada em âmbito nacional e internacional. Segundo esses documentos, cabe aos CEPs não só revisar todos os protocolos de pesquisa submetidos a ele, mas também monitorar a ocorrência dos eventos adversos (EA) encaminhados pelo pesquisador no transcorrer da pesquisa. Esse monitoramento deve ser ágil e crítico, orientando sua ação em observância à relação dano/benefício de cada estudo, com o objetivo de proteger os participantes de pesquisa. O Grupo de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) implantou, em 2001, o Programa de Monitoramento de Riscos e Eventos Adversos, que atualmente é desenvolvido pelo Laboratório de Pesquisa em Bioética e Ética na Ciência

Based on national and international regulations, one of the the Research Ethics Committees (REC) have the attribution to protect human beings involved in research. According to these documents, REC should not only review all the research protocols, but also monitor adverse events (AE) reported by the investigator. This monitoring activities must be agile and critical, guiding its actions by evaluation of risk/benefit associated to each study. The Grupo de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) introduced, in 2001, the Program of Monitoring of Risks and Adverse Events, developed by the Laboratório de Pesquisa em Bioética e Ética na Ciência