Edentulism, use of dentures and consumption of fruit and vegetables in south Brazilian community-dwelling elderly.

There is evidence suggesting that edentulous older persons modify their diet, avoiding foods that are difficult to chew, such as fruit and vegetables; meanwhile, the consumption of these foods is associated with prevention of chronic diseases. However, few studies evaluated whether a poor oral status without prosthetic rehabilitation is associated with a reduction in the consumption of fruit and vegetables in community-dwelling older persons. We evaluated the association of oral status with emphasis on complete dentures use with the daily consumption of at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables, following the recommendations of the WHO. A random sample of 282 south Brazilians ≥60 years of age was evaluated. Measurements included a questionnaire to assess sociodemographic, behaviour, and health data; consume of fruit and vegetables by means of a 24-h diet recall, and oral status assessment, by means of oral examinations assessing the number of teeth and use of dental prosthesis. Multivariate Poisson regression showed that the only variable significantly associated with inadequate consumption of fruit and vegetables was edentulism with the use of only one denture [PR=1·75 (1·11-2·74)]. Edentulous participants wearing only one denture were less likely to consume at least 400 g day(-1) of fruit and vegetables. These results indicate that, in edentulous community-dwelling elderly, oral health rehabilitation might play an important role in the maintenance of consumption of adequate amounts of fruit and vegetables, which is an important component of a healthy diet and also in the prevention of chronic diseases.

Increased elastic microfibrils and thickening of fibroblastic nuclear lamina in canine cutaneous asthenia.

Cutaneous asthenia is a hereditary connective tissue disease, primarily of dogs and cats, resembling Ehlers-Danlos syndrome in man. Collagen dysplasia results in skin hyperextensibility, skin and vessel fragility, and poor wound healing. The purpose of this study was to describe the histological findings in a dog with a collagenopathy consistent with cutaneous asthenia. An 8-month-old crossbreed female dog presented with lacerations and numerous atrophic and irregular scars. The skin was hyperextensible and easily torn by the slightest trauma. Ultrastructurally, the dermis was comprised of elaunin and oxytalan microfibrils. These are immature fibres in which the fibrillar component is increased but elastin is reduced. Collagen fibres were profoundly disorganized. The fibrils had a highly irregular outline and a corroded appearance when viewed in cross-section, and were spiralled and fragmented in a longitudinal view. Dermal fibroblasts displayed a conspicuous thickening of the nuclear lamina. Nuclear lamins form a fibrous nucleoskeletal network of intermediate-sized filaments underlying the inner nuclear membrane. Mutations in lamins or lamin-associated proteins cause a myriad of genetic diseases collectively called laminopathies. Disruption of the nuclear lamina seems to affect chromatin organization and transcriptional regulation of gene expression. A common link among all laminopathies may be a failure of stem cells to regenerate mesenchymal tissue. This could contribute to the connective tissue dysplasia seen in cutaneous asthenia.

[A simple strategy increases mother's knowledge of breastfeeding and improves the breastfeeding rates] / Uma estratégia simples que aumenta os conhecimentos das mães em aleitamento materno e melhora as taxas de amamentação.

OBJECTIVE: To assess mother's knowledge of breastfeeding before and after guidance supplied during the postpartum period and its relationship to the prevalence of breastfeeding.METHODS: A clinical trial was performed with 405 mothers of normal children born at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre from July to December 1994. The intervention consisted of guidance given by means of a video film discussing basic topics on breastfeeding, an explanatory leaflet and open discussion after the video. The first 208 mothers constituted the Control Group and the remaining 197 the Experimental Group. All mothers answered a question form for identification purposes and a test on previous knowledge regarding breastfeeding in the maternity ward. The mothers in both groups were followed by means of home visits at the end of the first, second, fourth and sixth months, or until they stopped breastfeeding. At the end of the first month the mothers were submitted to the same test given right after delivery. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between the mothers knowledge of breastfeeding and the prevalence of breastfeeding.RESULTS: The mothers who received the intervention (Experimental Group) had a significantly higher score in the tests on knowledge of breastfeeding at the end of the first month as compared with the mothers in the Control Group (17.0 versus 14.7). The intervention increased by 1.7 mothers chances of achieving a score above the average. The mothers whose scores were above the average had a 8.2 higher chance of being breastfeeding exclusively at the end of the third month and twice as high of still being breastfeeding at the end of the sixth month.CONCLUSION: Simple strategies to increase mother's knowledge regarding breastfeeding can have a positive impact on breastfeeding rates.