Intake of wine, beer and spirits and risk of gastric cancer.

The objective was to study prospectively the relation between quantity and type of alcohol and risk of gastric cancer. In a pooled database from three population studies conducted in 1964-1992, a total of 15,236 men and 13,227 women were followed for a total of 389,051 person-years. During follow-up 122 incident cases of gastric cancer were identified. Total alcohol intake itself was not associated with gastric cancer, but type of alcohol seemed to influence risk. Compared with non-wine drinkers, participants who drank 1-6 glasses of wine had a relative risk ratio of 0.76 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.50-1.16), whereas those who drank >13 glasses of wine per week had a relative risk ratio of 0.16 (95% CI 0.02-1.18). Linear trend test showed a significant association with a relative risk ratio of 0.60 (95% CI 0.39-0.93) per glass of wine drunk per day. These relations persisted after adjustment for age, gender, educational level, body mass index, smoking habits, inhalation and physical activity. There was no association between beer or spirits drinking and gastric cancer. In conclusion, the present study suggests that a daily intake of wine may prevent development of gastric cancer.     

Influence of food on the oral bioavailability of deramciclane from film-coated tablet in healthy male volunteers.

The effect of a high-fat meal on the oral bioavailability of deramciclane 30 mg tablet was evaluated in 18 healthy male volunteers in a randomised, single dose, two-way crossover study. The drug was administered following an overnight fast or a standardised high-fat breakfast. The plasma concentrations of deramciclane and N-desmethylderamciclane were determined by using a validated HPLC-MS -MS/MS method. An effect of food on the bioavailability was indicated if the 90% confidence interval (CI) for the ratio of geometric means of fed and fasted treatments was not contained in the equivalence limit of 0.8-1.25 for AUC and C(max). The ratios of the mean C(max) and AUC(0-infinity) values of deramciclane were 1.24 (90% CI 1.12-1.38) and 1.31 (90% CI 1.21-1.41) in fed versus fasted subjects, which overlapped but exceeded the equivalence limit. In contrast to the parent compound, the 90% CI of the mean ratios for AUC(0-infinity) and C(max) of N-desmethylderamciclane were within the predefined range. The 24 and 31% increase in C(max) and AUC(0-infinity) of deramciclane, respectively, under fed condition is modest and probably has no clinical significance since it is relatively small compared to the inter-individual variability of these parameters.     

Handling of the MED-EL TEMPO+ ear-level speech processor by paediatric cochlear implant users and their parents

MED-EL launched the first ear-level speech processor offering a high-rate CIS+ strategy, the TEMPO+, in 1999. Studies have already demonstrated improved speech perception, sound quality and ability to enjoy music with the TEMPO+ due to the new CIS+ speech-coding strategy, when compared to the body-worn processor. In this study we evaluated responses from parents of young children about ease of handling and usage of the TEMPO+, and satisfaction with the TEMPO+ and its performance. Overall, 65 custom-designed questionnaires were analysed. The results showed that MED-EL cochlear implant users felt comfortable manipulating the dials and switches, changing the battery pack, using external sources of input and using the accessories provided. These results confirm the suitability of the TEMPO+ for infants and toddlers.     

Mycoplasma genitalium,an agent of reemerging sexually transmitted infections

M. genitalium is a reemerging microorganism, responsible for sexually transmissible infections (STIs), with prevalence which varies depending on the country and population group studied. We report here M. genitalium prevalence among the specimens received for STI diagnosis in our routine microbiological laboratory in the university hospital in Marseille, France. We tested 4 624 samples from 3 793 patients using qPCR for M. genitalium, C. trachomatis, N. gonorrheae, T. pallidum. Of these samples, 528 (13.6%) patients were tested positive for at least one pathogen and 126 (3.3%) were positive for M. genitalium. M. genitalium is the second most prevalent micro‐organism detected in women after C. trachomatis (10.4%) and the third most prevalent in men after C. trachomatis (5.1%) and N. gonorrhoeae (4.4%). We observed no significant differences between the prevalence of M. genitalium in vaginal, urethral and urine specimens (p = 0.9). Prevalence of M. genitalium is significantly higher in patients aged between 10–30 years (4.1%) compared to those aged between 30 and 50 years (2.7%) (p = 0.02, RR = 1.54 [1.06–2.24]) and patients over 50 years of age (1.1%) (p = 0.003, RR= 3.98 [1.47–10.8]). M. genitalium is a common agent of STI, therefore we suggest that this micro‐organism should be systematically tested during chronic, recurrent, or antibiotic resistant genital infections and in populations at high‐risk of STIs.     

Temporal structure/function variation in cultured differentiated human nasal epithelium associated with acute single exposure to tobacco smoke or E-cigarette vapor

Objective: Mucociliary clearance sustains a baseline functionality and an “on demand” capability to upregulate clearance upon irritant exposure involving mucus hypersecretion and accelerated ciliary beat frequency (CBF) modulated by nitric oxide (NO). This study characterized these elements as well as cellular and exogenous NO concentrations subsequent to a single exposure to tobacco smoke (TS) or e-cigarette vapor (EV) on cultured human airway epithelium.

Materials and methods: Air–liquid interface (ALI) airway epithelial cultures per nonsmoking human subjects were subjected to single TS or EV exposures. Measures of ciliary function and secretion were performed and cellular and exogenous NO concentrations under control and experimental conditions were assessed.

Results: Both TS and EV exposures resulted similar patterns of decline in CBF within 1?min of the completion of exposure followed by a gradual return often exceeding baseline within 1?h. Post-exposure examination of exposed cultures suggested morphologic differences in secretory function relative to controls. The relative NO concentrations of TS and EV chamber air were sharply different with EV NO being only slightly elevated relative to cellular NO production.

Discussion and conclusions: Epithelial remodeling and mucociliary dysfunction have been clearly associated with TS exposure. However, information contrasting epithelial structure/function following a single acute TS or EV exposure is limited. This study demonstrates a similar pattern of epithelial response to acute TS or EV exposure. Inasmuch as NO may contribute to an inflammatory milieu and generation of toxic metabolites, it is plausible that recurrent exposures over time may be contributory to chronic pathologies.