Pepsin Inhibitors Prevent Inflammation and Loss of Laryngeal Barrier Function in Mice with Gastroesophageal Reflux.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the role of pepsin inhibitors in the inflammatory response and their effects on laryngeal mucosal integrity during gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) under in vivo conditions. METHODS: A surgical model of GERD was used, in which mice were treated with pepstatin (0.3 mg/kg) or darunavir (8.6 mg/kg) for 3 days. On the third day after the experimental protocol, the laryngeal samples were collected to assess the severity of inflammation (wet weight and myeloperoxidase activity) and mucosal integrity (transepithelial electrical resistance and paracellular epithelial permeability to fluorescein). RESULTS: The surgical GERD model was reproduced. It showed features of inflammation and loss of barrier function in the laryngeal mucosa. Pepstatin and darunavir administration suppressed laryngeal inflammation and preserved laryngeal mucosal integrity. CONCLUSION: Pepsin inhibition by the administration of pepstatin and darunavir improved inflammation and protected the laryngeal mucosa in a mouse experimental model of GERD. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: NA Laryngoscope, 134:3080-3085, 2024.

Efficacy of Health Promotion Interventions Aimed to Improve Health Gains in Middle-Aged Adults-A Systematic Review.

Population aging will be one of the major social transformations in the coming decades, with a very significant impact in all countries. The consequences of this will cause an overload of social and health services. It will be necessary to prepare for an aging population. The promotion of healthy lifestyles is necessary to increase quality of life and well-being as people age. The aim of this study was to identify and synthesize interventions in middle-aged adults that promote healthy lifestyles and translate this knowledge into health gains. We performed a systematic review of the literature with research on the EBSCO Host-Research Databases platform. The methodology followed the PRISMA guidelines, and the protocol was registered with PROSPERO. A total of 10 articles out of 44 retrieved were included in this review, which identified interventions to promote healthy lifestyles with an impact on well-being, quality of life, and adherence to healthy behaviors. The synthesized evidence supports the efficacy of interventions that contributed to positive changes at the biopsychosocial level. Health promotion interventions were educational or motivational and related to physical exercise, healthy eating, and changes in habits and lifestyles related to harmful behaviors (tobacco use, excess carbohydrates in the diet, physical inactivity, and stress). The health gains found were increased mental health knowledge (self-actualization), adherence to physical exercise, improvement in physical condition, adherence to the consumption of fruits and vegetables, increased quality of life, and well-being. Health promotion interventions in middle-aged adults can significantly improve healthy lifestyles, protecting them from the negative effect of aging. For aging to be a successful experience, continuity of healthy lifestyles practiced in middle age is necessary.

Recombinant human MMP-2 associated with monoolein improves bone repair.

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of the present study was to investigate the possible osteostimulatory action of recombinant human matrix metalloproteinase-2 (rhMMP-2) implanted in a bone defect made in calvaria of rats, bounded to the monoolein as carrier. METHODS: Forty-four adult male Wistar rats (about 600 g body weight) underwent surgery in order to create a spherical defect in parietal bone on the right side of the median sagittal suture by using 4 mm diameter of a trephine drill. Animals were divided into three groups: no treatment (control, C), treatment with rhMMP-2 diluted in monoolein liquid crystal (rhMMP-2) and negative control with monoolein (M). The groups were divided into two experimental times, 2- and 4-weeks of experimental time. RESULTS: The rate of new-formed bone, estimated by the number of points on new-formed cancellous bone, was in enhanced rhMMP-2 group in both periods in comparison to C or M groups. CONCLUSION: There was no difference in bone neoformation between second to fourth week within groups. In the present study, monoolein alone had a negative role in the post-operative surgery, but monoolein associated with +rhMMP-2 had a positive role on releasing rhMMP-2 and enhance the rate of new-formed bone (Tab. 1, Fig. 5, Ref. 71).

Tibolone induces serotonin, estrogen, and progesterone receptor expression but not contractile response to serotonin in the rat uterus.

Most studies on the effect of tibolone on the uterus have focused on the endometrium dismissing the importance of the myometrium. The aim of the present study was to investigate some estrogen-like actions of tibolone in the uterus assessed by: 1) the expression of estrogen, progesterone, and serotonin receptors, and 2) the myometrial contraction induced by serotonin. Estradiol (250 µg), progesterone (50 mg), or testosterone (25 mg) pellets were implanted to ovariectomized rats. Tibolone (0.5 mg/day) was orally administered. An implanted pellet containing vehicle or an equivalent volume of water p.o., were used as controls. Sixty days after beginning the treatments, rats were killed and uterus removed. One horn was processed to evaluate estrogen-alpha, progesterone A and B, and serotonin-2A receptors expression, and the other one was used for studying contraction to serotonin and 60 mM potassium solution. The present data showed that tibolone-induced expression of estrogen, progesterone, and serotonin receptors, but did not induce uterine contractile response to either serotonin or potassium solution. These findings suggest that, in the uterus, tibolone may exert molecular estrogenic actions such as the induction of receptor expression, but not a physiological response as the estrogen-dependent contraction to serotonin.

Hemodynamic and oxidative stress profile after exercise in type 2 diabetes.

This study investigated the effect of an acute bout of exercise (>85% VO2Max) on biochemical, hemodynamic and oxidative stress variables in sedentary and physically active subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Blood measurements were taken before and after a treadmill test on 12 sedentary non-diabetes subjects (ND), 12 sedentary type 2 diabetes (T2S) and 9 physically active T2D subjects (T2DA). T2DS subjects before and after the treadmill test showed a higher plasma glucose (123.2 +/- 19.0 mg/dL versus 108.9 +/- 16.8 mg/dL, p < 0.001), HbA1C (8.7 +/- 2.4% versus 7.3 +/- 1.2%, p < 0.001) and body fat% (21.3 +/- 5.7% versus 34.6 +/- 4.5%, p < 0.001) than T2DA subjects. T2DA had higher VO2Max (37.7 +/- 3.5 versus 29.5 +/- 3.2, p < 0.05), time on treadmill (22.3 +/- 2.1 min versus 16.1 +/- 2.1 min, p < 0.05), hemoglobin (17.9 +/- 0.9 g/dL, p < 0.05) and lower blood pressure levels in comparison to ND and T2DS subjects. Thiobarbituric acid substances (TBARS) in T2DS were higher than in T2DA subjects (0.27 +/- 0.1 nmol/mL versus 0.21 +/- 0.1 nmol/mL, p < 0.05). Glutathione (GSH) levels were similar among the groups. Physically active type 2 diabetes subjects had a more favorable biochemical, hemodynamic and oxidative stress profile than sedentary subjects. The coexistence of a poor cardiopulmonary performance and high oxidative stress environment can determine a profile of high risk for serious cardiovascular events in patients with diabetes.

Parenting and physical punishment: primary care interventions in Latin America.

Physical punishment is a form of intrafamilial violence associated with short- and long-term adverse mental health outcomes. Despite these possible consequences, it is among the most common forms of violent interpersonal behavior. For many children it begins within the first year of life. The goal of this study was to determine the feasibility of involving public sector primary health care providers to inform parents about alternatives to physical punishment. The study used a qualitative design utilizing focus groups and survey questionnaires with parents and providers at six clinic sites chosen to be representative of public sector practice settings in Costa Rica and in metropolitan Santiago, Chile. The data were collected during 1998 and 1999. In the focus groups and surveys the parents voiced a range of opinions about physical punishment. Most acknowledged its common use but listed it among their least preferred means of discipline. Frequency of its use correlated positively with the parents' belief in its effectiveness and inversely with their satisfaction with their children's behavior. Some parents wanted to learn more about discipline; others wanted help with life stresses they felt led them to use physical punishment. Parents reported they chose other family members more frequently as a source of parenting information than they did health care providers. Some parents saw providers as too rushed and not knowledgeable enough to give good advice. Providers, in turn, felt ill equipped to handle parents' questions, but many of the health professionals expressed interest in more training. Parents and providers agreed that problems of time, space, and resources were barriers to talking about child discipline in the clinics. Many parents and providers would welcome a primary-care-based program on physical punishment. Such a program would need to be customized to accommodate local differences in parent and provider attitudes and in clinic organization. Health care professionals need more training in child discipline and in the skills required to interact with parents on issues relating to child behavior.

New approaches to the treatment of phenylketonuria.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is the most common of all aminoacidopathies and is caused by autosomal recessive deficiency of the hepatic phenylalanine hydroxylase system. The diagnosis of PKU should be multifactorial and based on a protein overload test that reveals increased plasma phenylalanine levels during the ingestion of a normal diet, a phenylalanine tolerance test, and in vitro and in vivo activity of the liver enzyme. An individualized diagnosis that characterizes the severity of the disease in each patient provides objective and effective criteria for the dietary treatment of each particular case.