Association between obesity and calcium:phosphorus ratio in the habitual diets of adults in a city of Northeastern Brazil: an epidemiological study.

BACKGROUND: Low calcium:phosphorus ratios (Ca:P ratio) in habitual diet have been observed worldwide, and it has been shown to be harmful to the bone health of the population. However, no study associating this ratio with obesity was found. Thus, considering that the intake of calcium and phosphorus will generate a ratio between them, which may be associated with obesity, this research seeks at evaluating the relation between obesity and the Ca:P ratio in the habitual diet of adults. METHODS: Cross-sectional population-based epidemiological study with stratified and systematic sampling. The sample was composed of 506 adults, aged between 18 and 60 years, of both genders. Information on socioeconomic and demographic conditions was obtained through questionnaires completed during home visits, where anthropometric and dietary evaluations were also conducted. RESULTS: In the habitual diet consumed by the study subjects, a Ca:P ratio above the median of 0.57 reduced the risk of central obesity based on waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) (OR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.41 - 0.92). Habitual dietary intake of calcium (OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.43 - 0.97) and dairy products (OR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.37 - 0.84) above the median value (485.4 mg and 0.9 servings, respectively) was found to be a protective factor related to central obesity based on WHtR. CONCLUSIONS: Values above the median for the Ca:P ratio found in the habitual diet were negatively associated with central obesity based on WHtR. In addition, calcium and dairy consumption were negatively associated with central obesity based on WHtR. Therefore, higher Ca:P ratios contributed to a lower prevalence of central obesity.

Anxiolytic-like effects of inhaled linalool oxide in experimental mouse anxiety models.

Linalool oxide is a monoterpene that is found in some species of aromatic plants. The effects of the inhalation of linalool oxide (0.65%, 1.25%, 2.5% and 5.0% w/w) in the elevated plus-maze and light/dark box tests as animal models of anxiety were investigated in adult male mice and compared with the effects of the reference anxiolytic diazepam (0.5 and 2.0 mg/kg), administered intraperitoneally. Additionally, the effects of inhaled linalool oxide were investigated in the rotarod test. Linalool oxide significantly increased the number of visits to the open arms of the elevated plus-maze and the amount of time spent there as well as the total number of entries. In the light/dark box test, inhalation of linalool oxide led to an increase in the time spent by the mice in the brightly-lit chamber and in the number of times the animal crossed from one compartment to another. Performance on the rotarod was unaffected. Thus, inhaled linalool oxide was found to have anxiolytic properties in both animal models, without causing any motor deficit. These results suggest that inhalation of linalool oxide may be a useful means of counteracting anxiety.

Antinociceptive activity of the chloroform fraction of Dioclea virgata (Rich.) Amshoff (Fabaceae) in mice.

Acute treatment with the chloroform fraction of Dioclea virgata (Rich.) Amshoff (CFDv) in mice produced decreased ambulation and sedation in the behavioral pharmacological screening. Doses of 125 and 250 mg/kg CFDv decreased latency of sleep onset in the test of sleeping time potentiation. In the open field, animals treated with CFDv reduced ambulation and rearing (250 mg/kg), as well as defecation (125; 250 mg/kg). Regarding the antinociceptive activity, CFDv (125, 250, 500 mg/kg) increased latency to first writhing and decreased the number of writhings induced by acetic acid. In the formalin test, CFDv (250 mg/kg) decreased paw licking time in the first and second phases indicating antinociceptive activity that can be mediated both peripherally and at the central level. CFDv did not affect motor coordination until 120 minutes after treatment. CFDv shows psychopharmacological effects suggestive of CNS-depressant drugs with promising antinociceptive activity.

Conjunctival impression cytology changes induced by oral isotretinoin.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the bulbar conjunctiva using impression cytology in patients submitted to oral isotretinoin treatment. METHODS: A prospective, cohort study was carried out in a referral ophthalmology practice at the Federal University of Paraíba and in the External Eye Disease Laboratory of the Federal University of São Paulo. Twenty-eight patients with acne vulgaris were selected. Impression cytology specimens collected from the temporal bulbar conjunctiva and the superior bulbar conjunctiva of both eyes before and after 3 months of oral isotretinoin treatment were assessed. The doses of isotretinoin varied from 0.35 to 0.88 mg . kg . d. RESULTS: The percentage of patients in whom impression cytology results were normal was significantly lower during oral isotretinoin treatment compared to the pretreatment phase, decreasing from 75% to 43% in the temporal bulbar conjunctiva and from 100% to 82% in the superior bulbar conjunctiva. In both regions, the parameters most affected were cell-to-cell contact, nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio, and goblet cell density. CONCLUSION: Oral isotretinoin for the treatment of acne induces alterations in the conjunctival epithelium of a significant percentage of patients treated with the drug. These alterations are seen both in the exposed conjunctiva (temporal bulbar region) and in the unexposed conjunctiva (superior bulbar region).