Radiation diarrhoea and cholestyramine

Radiation diarrhoea was treated successfully with cholestyramine, and this is confirmed by faecal biochemistry. The reasons for this response are discussed and it is suggested that the resin may affect gut bacterial activity.     

Randomized clinical trial assessing the safety and immunogenicity of oral microencapsulated enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli surface antigen 6 with or without heat-labile enterotoxin with mutation R192G

An oral, microencapsulated anti-colonization factor 6 antigen (meCS6) vaccine, with or without heat-labile enterotoxin with mutation R192G (LT(R192G)) (mucosal adjuvant), against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) was evaluated for regimen and adjuvant effects on safety and immunogenicity. Sixty subjects were enrolled into a three-dose, 2-week interval or four-dose, 2-day interval regimen. Each regimen was randomized into two equal groups of meCS6 alone (1 mg) or meCS6 with adjuvant (2 microg of LT(R192G)). The vaccine was well tolerated and no serious adverse events were reported. Serologic response to CS6 was low in all regimens (0 to 27%). CS6-immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibody-secreting cell (ASC) responses ranged from 36 to 86%, with the highest level in the three-dose adjuvanted regimen; however, the magnitude was low. As expected, serologic and ASC LT responses were limited to adjuvanted regimens, with the exception of fecal IgA, which appeared to be nonspecific to LT administration. Further modifications to the delivery strategy and CS6 and adjuvant dose optimization will be needed before conducting further clinical trials with this epidemiologically important class of ETEC.     

Beneficial effects of high dietary fiber intake in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND: The effect of increasing the intake of dietary fiber on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus is controversial. METHODS: In a randomized, crossover study, we assigned 13 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus to follow two diets, each for six weeks: a diet containing moderate amounts of fiber (total, 24 g; 8 g of soluble fiber and 16 g of insoluble fiber), as recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), and a high-fiber diet (total, 50 g; 25 g of soluble fiber and 25 g of insoluble fiber), containing foods not fortified with fiber (unfortified foods). Both diets, prepared in a research kitchen, had the same macronutrient and energy content. We compared the effects of the two diets on glycemic control and plasma lipid concentrations. RESULTS: Compliance with the diets was excellent. During the sixth week, the high-fiber diet, as compared with the the sixth week of the ADA diet, mean daily preprandial plasma glucose concentrations were 13 mg per deciliter [0.7 mmol per liter] lower (95 percent confidence interval, 1 to 24 mg per deciliter [0.1 to 1.3 mmol per liter]; P=0.04) and mean median difference, daily urinary glucose excretion 1.3 g (0.23; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.03 to 1.83 g; P= 0.008). The high-fiber diet also lowered the area under the curve for 24-hour plasma glucose and insulin concentrations, which were measured every two hours, by 10 percent (P=0.02) and 12 percent (P=0.05), respectively. The high-fiber diet reduced plasma total cholesterol concentrations by 6.7 percent (P=0.02), triglyceride concentrations by 10.2 percent (P=0.02), and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations by 12.5 percent (P=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: A high intake of dietary fiber, particularly of the soluble type, above the level recommended by the ADA, improves glycemic control, decreases hyperinsulinemia, and lowers plasma lipid concentrations in patients with type 2 diabetes.     

Changes in mesenchymal cell and hyaluronate distribution correlate with in vivo elevation of the mouse mesencephalic neural folds

The mesenchyme of the elevating mesencephalic neural folds of the mouse is composed primarily of mesenchymal cells embedded in an hyaluronate-rich extracellular matrix. In this study we provide evidence that hyaluronate and mesenchymal expansion may play a role in neural fold elevation and closure. Spatial and temporal patterns of mesenchymal cell and hyaluronate distribution were analyzed during neural fold elevation and closure using the computer-assisted method of smoothed spatial averaging and established methods of image processing. Degree of fold elevation and fold shape changes were analyzed using standard morphometric measures. The results of these analyses defined five distinct stages in mesencephalic neural fold elevation and closure. Mesenchymal cells and hyaluronate were found in a non-random distribution within the neural fold and showed distinct patterns of distribution which could be correlated with specific stages in neural fold elevation. The results of these analyses suggested that the elevation of the mesencephalic neural folds is produced by the expansion of an hyaluronate-rich extracellular matrix in the central mesenchyme which under the direction of surrounding tissues pushes the folds mediad towards the dorsal midline.