Calidad de vida y características asociadas del síndrome de piernas inquietas en la población adulta de Burgos, España / Quality of life and associated characteristics of restless legs syndrome in the adult population of Burgos, Spain

Introducción. El síndrome de piernas inquietas (SPI) es un trastorno neurológico con una prevalencia de hasta un 15%, cuyo impacto sobre la calidad de vida resulta poco conocido. Objetivo. Analizar el impacto del síndrome de piernas inquietas (SPI) en la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud. Sujetos y métodos. Estudio descriptivo transversal. Se incluyó una muestra aleatoria, estratificada por edad, de 1.275 sujetos mayores de 18 años en el área urbana de Burgos, con las estimaciones de prevalencia, 10%; alfa, 5%; precisión, 3%; y pérdidas, 70%, usando un estudio en dos fases (cribado y confirmación diagnóstica de casos de SPI y no casos por un médico). Los datos clínicos y sociodemográficos se recogieron usando cuestionarios semiestructurados: European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions, Restless Legs Syndrome Quality of Life Questionnaire, escala de Epworth, escala de Goldberg, escala del sueño y cuestionario internacional del síndrome de piernas inquietas. Resultados. La prevalencia del SPI fue del 5,6% (IC 95%: 2,5-8,7%). El 79,4% de los casos eran mujeres; sólo el 7% tenía un diagnóstico previo de SPI. El dolor intenso, el insomnio y la depresión-ansiedad fueron más frecuentes en los pacientes con SPI que en los controles (p < 0,001 en los tres casos). La calidad de vida entre los pacientes con SPI, especialmente en las mujeres, fue peor que en los controles (p < 0,001). En el 11,7% de los casos, el SPI produjo dificultades para trabajar. Conclusiones. El SPI está asociado con ansiedad-depresión, con un significativo impacto en el sueño, en las relaciones sociales y laborales, y en la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (AU)

Introduction. Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder with a prevalence of up to 15%, although little is known about its impact upon quality of life. Aim. To analyse the impact of RLS on health-related quality of life. Subjects and methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study. A random sample of 1,275 subjects over 18 years old, stratified by age, was taken from the urban area of Burgos, with an estimated prevalence, 10%; alpha, 5%; accuracy, 3%; and losses, 70%, using a two-phase study (screening and diagnosis of cases of RLS and non-cases confirmed by a doctor). The clinical and sociodemographic data were collected by means of semi-structured questionnaires, the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions, the Restless Legs Syndrome Quality of Life Questionnaire, the Epworth Scale, the Goldberg Scale, the Sleep Scale and the International Restless Legs Syndrome Rating Scale. Results. The prevalence of RLS was 5.6% (CI 95%: 2.5-8.7%). Of the total number of cases, 79.4% were women and only 7% had been previously diagnosed with RLS. Intense pain, insomnia and depression-anxiety were more frequent among the cases of RLS than in the controls (p < 0.001 in the three cases). The quality of life among the cases of RLS, especially in women, was poorer than among the controls (p < 0.001). For 11.7% of the cases, RLS made it difficult for the patients to work. Conclusions. RLS is associated with depression-anxiety, with a significant impact on sleep, on social and work relationships, and on the health-related quality of life (AU)

Transcriptome analysis shows activation of the arginine deiminase pathway in Lactococcus lactis as a response to ethanol stress.

This paper describes the molecular response of Lactococcus lactis NZ9700 to ethanol. This strain is a well-known nisin producer and a lactic acid bacteria (LAB) model strain. Global transcriptome profiling using DNA microarrays demonstrated a bacterial adaptive response to the presence of 2% ethanol in the culture broth and differential expression of 67 genes. The highest up-regulation was detected for those genes involved in arginine degradation through the arginine deiminase (ADI) pathway (20-40 fold up-regulation). The metabolic responses to ethanol of wild type L. lactis strains were studied and compared to those of regulator-deletion mutants MG∆argR and MG∆ahrC. The results showed that in the presence of 2% ethanol those strains with an active ADI pathway reached higher growth rates when arginine was available in the culture broth than in absence of arginine. In a chemically defined medium strains with an active ADI pathway consumed arginine and produced ornithine in the presence of 2% ethanol, hence corroborating that arginine catabolism is involved in the bacterial response to ethanol. This is the first study of the L. lactis response to ethanol stress to demonstrate the relevance of arginine catabolism for bacterial adaptation and survival in an ethanol containing medium.

Evaluation of a multiplex ELISA for autoantibody profiling in patients with autoimmune connective tissue diseases.

The performance of immunoassays for the detection of autoantibodies is of critical importance in the diagnosis and assessment of patients with autoimmune connective tissue diseases (ACTD). Our objective was to compare the features of two multiplexed assays-INNO-LIA ANA and Gennova-PictArray ENA ELISA-for measurement of multiple autoantibodies and their utility as a clinical tool in ACTD diagnosis. The antigens included SS-A/Ro (60 and 52), SSB/La, Sm, Sm/RNP, CENP-B, Jo-1, and Scl-70. Stored sera from 85 ACTD patients and 80 controls consisting of patients with vasculitis, rheumatoid arthritis and infectious diseases, as well as healthy subjects were analyzed jointly with clinical and laboratory data. Agreement between the two methods varied between 58 and 99% (Cohen's kappa: 0.21-0.71) mostly for SSA and SSB. The frequency of specific autoantibodies measured using the two methods was more variable for SSA, SSB, and RNP/Sm. There were a higher number of ambiguous results when using INNO-LIA. The optimized cut-off values of the Gennova-PictArray resulted in over 99% specificities in samples obtained from the control group. Sensitivity patterns were more accurate in Gennova-PictArray than in INNO-LIA, as suggested in previously reported studies. A third method could be applied to determine which of the two methods is more accurate.

Antimicrobial activity of pediocin PA-1 against Oenococcus oeni and other wine bacteria.

Pediocin PA-1 is an antimicrobial peptide produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that has been sufficiently well characterised to be used in food industry as a biopreservative. Sulphur dioxide is the traditional antimicrobial agent used during the winemaking process to control bacterial growth and wine spoilage. In this study, we describe the effect of pediocin PA-1 alone and in combination with sulphur dioxide and ethanol on the growth of a collection of 53 oenological LAB, 18 acetic acid bacteria and 16 yeast strains; in addition, production of pediocin PA-1 by Pediococcus acidilactici J347-29 in presence of ethanol and grape must is also reported. Inhibitory concentrations (IC) and minimal bactericide concentrations of pediocin PA-1 were determined against LAB, and revealed a bacteriostatic effect. Oenococcus oeni resulted more sensitive to pediocin PA-1 (IC(50) = 19 ng/ml) than the other LAB species (IC(50) = 312 ng/ml). Cooperative inhibitory effects of pediocin PA-1 and either sulphur dioxide or ethanol were observed on LAB growth. Moreover, the pediocin PA-1 producing P. acidilactici strain J347-29 was able to grow and produce the bacteriocin in presence of ethanol (up to 4% ethanol in the fermentation broth) and grape must (up to 80%), which indicated that pediocin PA-1 can be considered as a potential biopreservative in winemaking.

Effect of yeast mannoproteins and grape polysaccharides on the growth of wine lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria.

Polysaccharides constitute one of the main groups of wine macromolecules, and the difficulty in separating and purifying them has resulted in them being less studied than other wine macromolecules. In this study, the biological activity of a number of polysaccharide fractions obtained from yeast lees, must, and wine has been analyzed against a large collection of both lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and acetic acid bacteria (AAB) of enological origin. Results showed that a high proportion of AAB strains (60-88%) was inhibited by concentrations lower than 50 mg/L polysaccharide fractions containing intermediate- (6-22 kD) and small-molecular-weight (<6 kD) mannoproteins and oligosaccharide fragments derived from cellulose and hemicelluloses. Results also showed that, in contrast, yeast mannoproteins in concentrations up to 200 mg/L activated the growth of 23-48% of the studied LAB strains when ethanol was present in the culture broth. Specially, yeast commercial mannoproteins of intermediate molecular weight (6-22 kD) were active in increasing Oenococcus oeni growth (81.5% of the studied O. oeni strains) in the presence of ethanol in the culture broth. These effects of wine polysaccharides on bacterial growth provide novel and useful information for microbiological control of wines and winemaking biotechnology.

Genetic diversity of the pln locus among oenological Lactobacillus plantarum strains.

A total of 33 Lactobacillus plantarum strains obtained from grape musts and wines during alcoholic and malolactic fermentations were submitted to PCR analysis with specific primers directed to 27 genes of the plantaricin (pln) locus previously described for L. plantarum strains. The number of genes that were detected varied depending on the strain, and cluster analysis of results rendered seven groups, named plantaritypes (similarity within each group >89%) that included all the 33 oenological strains, four L. plantarum type strains (C11, NC8, J23 and J51) that had been previously described, and strain WCFS1 whose genome had been fully sequenced. The common features for most strains (74%) were the presence of the plnABCD regulatory system (which includes genes of the inducing peptide, its coupled membrane-located histidine protein kinase and two response regulators), the two-peptide bacteriocin plnEF genes and the genes of a membrane-bound ABC transport system. The pln locus is shown to be widespread among oenological strains (94% of appearance), as well as to possess a remarkable plasticity and variable regions related to its regulation and bacteriocin production.

Comparative study of the pln locus of the quorum-sensing regulated bacteriocin-producing L. plantarum J51 strain.

Lactobacillus plantarum J51 strain was isolated from a Rioja red wine and it showed bacteriocin activity against a wide range of lactic acid bacteria of oenological importance. These characteristics conferred L. plantarum J51 a high interest both in wine microbiology and in the study of bacteriocin production. In this work the bacteriocin production regulated under the "quorum-sensing" mechanism is observed and the pln locus of the bacteriocin-producing L. plantarum J51 is fully characterized. A 20,667 bp fragment was completely sequenced (GenBank accession number DQ340868), and showed five operons (plNC8betaalphac, plnLR-like, plnABCD, plnEFI, plnGHSTUVW) and a new region containing a putative operon with three new orfs that could encode a putative two-peptide bacteriocin.