New drugs in early-stage clinical trials for allergic rhinitis

Introduction: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is the most common allergic disease, and it has a relevant impact on the quality of life of the patient. Treatment of AR includes a combination of strategies of proven efficacy and effectiveness; however, a relevant proportion of patients remain uncontrolled.

Areas covered: This review article summarizes emerging therapeutic approaches to AR; these approaches include nasal sprays, oral drugs, alternative allergen immunotherapy administration routes, and biologic agents.

Expert opinion: The agents discussed require further clinical trials to prove their efficacy in the treatment of AR. Some of these agents, in particular, allergen immunotherapies and biologics, have the potential to form crucial precision medicine approaches to AR. Those that prove their efficacy in clinical trials must also be evaluated from a pharmacoeconomic perspective, possibly in real-life studies; this will define which therapeutic strategies achieve the most convenient and cost-effective ratio, thus yielding a novel opportunity for the most severe and previously treatment-resistant allergic patients.     

Integrative ecotoxicological assessment of sediment in Portmán Bay (southeast Spain)

Portmán Bay, southeast Spain, contains the most seriously metal-contaminated sediments of the Mediterranean Sea. From 1958 to 1991, approximately 50 million tons of mine tailings were dumped into the bay, completely filling up the bay and dispersing over an extensive area of the continental platform and continental slope. The objective of our study was to characterize the nature and extent of metal contamination and the responses of natural communities to it and to assess the toxicity of the sediment deposits 10 years after mining had ceased. We studied the physical and chemical characteristics of the sediments and toxicity (of the porewater and sediment–water interface) using two sea urchin species (Arbacia lixula and Paracentrotus lividus). Metal bioavailability and patterns of macroinvertebrate community composition along the contamination gradient were also studied. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed positive correlation between the sediment metal concentrations associated to the all biological effects (sea urchins toxicity tests and benthic indices). The effects of sediment contamination on the benthic community structure are visible among sampling stations.     

Corrado Tommasi-Crudeli, hygienist

To celebrate the centennary of the death of Prof. Corrado Tommasi-Crudeli, the founder and first director of the "Istituto di Igiene Sperimentale" in Rome (1885), the authors remember this eminent scientist who spent his life not only working in scientific experimental research but also was a member of the Parliament and promotor of important laws regarding social and health problems. It should be remembered that, prior to 1870, Hygiene was not a discipline in itself, but was part of Medicine and taught in theoretical courses such as Public Health Inspection and Legal Medicine. On the basis of the discoveries by Pettenkofer in Munich (1883) and Koch in Berlin (1885), the Prof. Tommasi-Crudeli created the foundations of Hygiene in Rome as an independent subject, strictly linked to experiments thus realizing a theoretic/practical discipline. From that time on words, Hygiene has evolved and grown, to become a specialised subject whose objectives are epidemiological studies, prevention of diseases and promotion of health, and whose important contributions to other branches such as Microbiology, Parasitology and Medical Statistics have helped them to become independent disciplines.     

Forest Fire Smoke Exposures and Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests in Melbourne,Australia: A Case-Crossover Study

Background

Millions of people can potentially be exposed to smoke from forest fires, making this an important public health problem in many countries.

Objective

In this study we aimed to measure the association between out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and forest fire smoke exposures in a large city during a severe forest fire season, and estimate the number of excess OHCAs due to the fire smoke.

Methods

We investigated the association between particulate matter (PM) and other air pollutants and OHCA using a case-crossover study of adults (≥ 35 years of age) in Melbourne, Australia. Conditional logistic regression models were used to derive estimates of the percent change in the rate of OHCA associated with an interquartile range (IQR) increase in exposure. From July 2006 through June 2007, OHCA data were collected from the Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry. Hourly air pollution concentrations and meteorological data were obtained from a central monitoring site.

Results

There were 2,046 OHCAs with presumed cardiac etiology during our study period. Among men during the fire season, greater increases in OHCA were observed with IQR increases in the 48-hr lagged PM with diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) (8.05%; 95% CI: 2.30, 14.13%; IQR = 6.1 μg/m³) or ≤ 10 μm (PM₁₀) (11.1%; 95% CI: 1.55, 21.48%; IQR = 13.7 μg/m³) and carbon monoxide (35.7%; 95% CI: 8.98, 68.92%; IQR = 0.3 ppm). There was no significant association between the rate of OHCA and air pollutants among women. One hundred seventy-four “fire-hours” (i.e., hours in which Melbourne’s air quality was affected by forest fire smoke) were identified during 12 days of the 2006/2007 fire season, and 23.9 (95% CI: 3.1, 40.2) excess OHCAs were estimated to occur due to elevations in PM_2.5 during these fire-hours.

Conclusions

This study found an association between exposure to forest fire smoke and an increase in the rate of OHCA. These findings have implications for public health messages to raise community awareness and for planning of emergency services during forest fire seasons.

Citation

Dennekamp M, Straney LD, Erbas B, Abramson MJ, Keywood M, Smith K, Sim MR, Glass DC, Del Monaco A, Haikerwal A, Tonkin AM. 2015. Forest fire smoke exposures and out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Melbourne, Australia: a case-crossover study. Environ Health Perspect 123:959–964; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408436     

In vitro antiviral activity of Phyllanthus orbicularis extracts against herpes simplex virus type 1

The antiviral activity of butanol- and acetic acid-soluble fractions, prepared from the leaves and stems of Phyllanthus orbicularis H.B.K., has been investigated against acyclovir-sensitive or -resistant herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) strains, using human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) and green ape kidney (Vero) cell lines. Both fractions showed antiviral selectivity indexes (SI) from 10.3 to 22.8, while their extracellular virucidal activities reached SI values ranging from 371 to 1,040. Time-addition experiments suggested that the active compounds present in the studied fractions acted on early steps of the virus replication cycle.     

The influence of phytoestrogens on different physiological and pathological processes: An overview

Functional foods have nutritional properties and organic functions, which are beneficial to health. Certain types of functional food components are so‐called phytoestrogens, non‐steroidal compounds derived from the metabolism of precursors contained in plants, which originate secondary metabotypes known to induce biological responses and by mimicry or modulating the action of endogenous estrogen. These molecules are involved in several physiological and pathological processes related to reproduction, bone remodeling, skin, cardiovascular, nervous, immune systems, and metabolism. This review aimed to present an overview of phytoestrogens regarding their chemical structure, actions, and effects in the organism given several pathologies. Several studies have demonstrated beneficial phytoestrogen actions, such as lipid profile improvement, cognitive function, menopause, oxidative stress, among others. Phytoestrogens effects are not completely elucidated, being necessary future research to understand the exact action mechanisms, whether they are via estrogen receptor or whether other hidden mechanisms produce these effects. Thus, this review makes a general approach to the phytoestrogen actions, beneficial effects, risk and limitations. However, the complexities of biological effects after ingestion of phytoestrogens and the differences in their metabolism and bioavailability indicate that interpretation of either risk or benefits needs to be made with caution.     

Local and systemic immune responses in pigs intramuscularly injected with an inactivated Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae vaccine

The immune response induced by intramuscular administration of a commercial inactivated Mycoplasma hyopneumonie whole-cell vaccine (Suvaxyn^®MH One) was investigated in conventional M. hyopneumoniae-free pigs. The animals were assigned randomly to two groups: non-vaccinated and vaccinated. Pigs in the vaccinated group were injected intramuscularly with the vaccine at 7 days of age, whereas non-vaccinated pigs received physiological saline solution (PBS). Pigs were euthanized and necropsied at 30, 36 and 58 days of age. Blood, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, spleen, lung and bronchial lymph nodes (BLN) were collected. Serum and BAL fluid were tested for the presence of antibodies by ELISA. Monomorphonuclear cells from the peripheral blood and tissues were isolated to quantify the T cell subsets by flow cytometry, and cytokine production by ELIspot and ELISA. Antibodies against M. hyopneumoniae were detected in serum of most vaccinated pigs at 30 days of age. M. hyopneumoniae specific IgG, IgM and IgA were detected in BAL fluid from vaccinated animals, but not from control animals. Significantly higher numbers of IL-12 secreting cells were observed in the lung at day 58 in the vaccinated than in the non-vaccinated group (p < 0.05). The number of IL-10 secreting cells from BLN was also higher in the vaccinated group at day 58 (p < 0.05). After restimulation in vitro, lymphocytes from BLN and lungs secreted significantly higher levels of IL-12 in the vaccinated group at day 58. These results show that the vaccine induced both systemic and mucosal cellular and humoral immune responses.     

Antibacterial and antioxidant activities of ethanol extract from Paullinia cupana Mart

The antibacterial and antioxidant activity of the ethanol extract from Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis Mart. (Sapindaceae) seeds, commonly called guarana, was assessed towards selected bacteria as well as in different antioxidant models. The extract, at a concentration between 16 and 128 microg/ml, showed a significant antibacterial effect expressed as minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. In particular, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC=16 microg/ml), Proteus mirabilis (MIC=32 microg/ml), Proteus vulgaris (MIC=32 microg/ml) and Escherichia coli (MIC=32 microg/ml) were the most inhibited. The antioxidant activity was determined by the malonyldialdehyde (MDA) test, measuring the MDA concentration in 3T3-L1 cells after induced cellular damage using ferric ammonium citrate (FAC). The reduction of lipid peroxidation was 62.5% using a guarana extract with a concentration of 2 microg/ml. This effect was dose/dependent. The ethanol extract from Paullinia cupana seeds was analysed by spectrophotometry to determine the concentration of catechol substances after treatment of the extract with p-aminophenol. The total phenolics content in the ethanol extract was also determined spectrophotometrically according to the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure and calculated as gallic acid equivalents (GAE). The concentration of catechol equivalent was 6.06+/-0.13 mg/g (mean+/-S.D.), while the total phenolic content was 8.43+/-0.21 mg/g (mean+/-S.D.). The correlation index between antioxidant activity and catechol content was 0.96.     

Updated bioavailability and 48 h excretion profile of flavan-3-ols from green tea in humans

Green tea is a popular beverage, prepared with infusion of unfermented dried leaves of Camellia sinensis, and is one of the most relevant sources of polyphenolic compounds in the human diet. This study reports green tea flavan-3-ol absorption, metabolism and complete urinary excretion up to 48?h in 20 healthy volunteers. Urinary and tea samples were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Green tea contained monomeric flavan-3-ols and proanthocyanidins with a total polyphenol content of 728?μmol. A total of 41 metabolites were identified in urines, all present in conjugated forms. Among these, six colonic metabolites of green tea flavan-3-ols were identified for the first time after green tea consumption in humans. The average 48?h bioavailability was close to 62%, major contributors being microbial metabolites. Some volunteer showed a 100% absorption/excretion, whereas some others were unable to efficiently absorb/excrete this class of flavonoids. This suggests that colonic ring fission metabolism could be relevant in the putative bioactivity of green tea polyphenols.