The poor digestibility of rapeseed protein is balanced by its very high metabolic utilization in humans

Rapeseed protein (RP, Brassica napus) is used in only animal feed despite its high nutritional potential for human nutrition. We sought to assess the nutritional quality of rapeseed by measuring its real ileal digestibility (RID) and net postprandial protein utilization (NPPU) in humans fed (15)N-RP. Volunteers equipped with an intestinal tube at the jejunal (n = 5) or ileal level (n = 7) ingested a mixed meal containing 27.3 g (15)N-RP and a total energy content of 700 kcal (2.93 MJ). Dietary N kinetics was quantified in intestinal fluid, urine, and blood sampled at regular intervals during the postprandial period. The RID of RP was 84.0 +/- 8.8%. Dietary N at the ileal level was mostly in the form of undigested protein from both 12S and 2S rapeseed fractions. Aminoacidemia was not significantly increased by meal ingestion. The postprandial distribution of dietary N was 5.4 +/- 1.8% in urinary urea and ammonia, 8.2 +/- 3.4% in body urea, and 7.7 +/- 2.0% in plasma protein 8 h after the meal. The NPPU of RP amounted to 70.5 +/- 9.6% and the postprandial biological value (PBV) was high at 83.8 +/- 4.6%. RP has a low RID in humans compared with other plant proteins but also exhibits a very low deamination rate. Thus, the PBV of RP is excellent in humans, being as high as that of milk protein. We conclude that RP has a high nutritional potential for human nutrition.     

Biopsychosocial Model and Perceived Constipation Severity According to the Constipation Phenotype

Digestive Diseases and Sciences - Constipation is a frequent complaint of patients with functional bowel disorders. The present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the perceived...     

Review Article: Gastrointestinal Bleeding Risk with Direct Oral Anticoagulants

Cardiovascular Drugs and Therapy - Although direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are associated with an overall favourable safety profile, the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding with DOACs compared...     

Endoscopic findings in Cowden syndrome

Cowden syndrome is characterized by diffuse hamartomas involving the whole digestive tract. The gastrointestinal expression of the disease is inconstant, but hamartomatous polyposes are frequent. In a multicenter study we studied the endoscopic appearance of Cowden syndrome--as defined by fulfillment of international consortium criteria--in 10 patients. In 6 of the 10 patients the connection with Cowden syndrome was made retrospectively on the basis of the gastrointestinal endoscopic findings. All patients had upper and lower gastrointestinal tract involvement. Mean follow-up duration was 9.5 years (range: 2-26 years). Mean age was 37 years (range: 18-56 years). Polyps of the upper gastrointestinal tract were hamartomas, ganglioneuromas, lipomas, and adenomas. Diffuse glycogenic acanthosis was reported in nine patients. Besides the classical hamartomatous polyposis, diffuse macroscopic esophageal acanthosis and microscopic ganglioneuromatosis are other key findings associated with a diagnosis of Cowden syndrome. Physicians should be aware of these characteristics in order to diagnose Cowden syndrome early.     

Prevention by Aspirin of Colorectal Adenoma Recurrence: Some Advances and Latest Results of the APACC Trial

In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), 272 patients were assigned to lysine acetylsalicylate 160 mg/day (n = 73) or 300 mg/day (n = 67) or placebo (n = 132). The primary end points were adenoma recurrence and adenomatous polyp burden (APB) at year 1 or 4 (last colonoscopy) and at year 4. At last colonoscopy, APB tended to be lower under aspirin 160 mg or at either dose compared with placebo (P = 0.06 and 0.07, respectively). At year 4, 55 patients had received aspirin 160 mg/d, 47,300 mg/d, and 83 placebo. APB and proportions of patients with at least one recurrent adenoma were similar in both groups. A personal history of adenomas and an initial APB higher than 10 mm predicted recurrence. Among 219 adenomas from 136 patients, 128 adenomas (58%) from 59 patients strongly expressed COX-2 assessed by immunohistochemistry, mainly adenomas larger than 10 mm (84/129 vs 44/90; P = 0.02) and adenomas showing high-grade dysplasia (22/29 vs 104/188; P = 0.04). Deep stromal initial expression of COX-2 predicted recurrence (P = 0.04). Protection by aspirin was mainly observed in patients in whom COX-2 initial expression was low (RR: 0.59; 95% CI = 0.39–0.90; P = 0.02). Aspirin decreased adenoma recurrence significantly at 1 year, marginally at year 1 or 4, and not at year 4, possibly due to attrition but also to a differential effect according to polyp natural history. In a recent patient-level meta-analysis including the four published RCTs, aspirin significantly decreased adenoma risk by 17% and risk of advanced lesions by 28%.     

Effect of alcohol and cirrhosis on the presence of Helicobacter pylori in the gastric mucosa

The aim of this study was to determine whether there was any relationship between alcohol consumption, cirrhosis and Helicobacter pylori associated antral gastritis. One hundred and forty-four patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were prospectively included and classified in four groups. The first group of 23 patients had cirrhosis and an alcohol consumption below 80 g per day. The second group of 31 patients had cirrhosis and an alcohol consumption over 80 g per day. The third group of 34 patients had an alcohol consumption over 80 g per day without cirrhosis. The fourth group of 56 patients had an alcohol consumption below 80 g per day without any preexisting liver disease and underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for non specific digestive symptoms. The diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori was made at histological examination using the hematoxylin and eosin stain and the Whartin-Starry stain in each case. Histopathological results were confirmed by a bacteriological study in 15 cases. One hundred and twelve of 144 patients (78 percent) had gastritis. Gastritis was more frequent (p less than 0.01) when Helicobacter pylori was present than when it was not (90 percent vs 68 percent). Gastritis was more frequent when alcohol consumption was high (86 percent vs 72 percent). Helicobacter pylori was found in 26 percent of the first group, 48 percent of the second group, 65 percent of the third group and 45 percent of the fourth group. These differences were significantly different (p less than 0.05). A statistically significant relationship between high alcohol consumption and the presence of Helicobacter pylori was noted, even in the presence of cirrhosis (p less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)