Diet and nutrition against inflammatory bowel disease: Trick or treat(ment)?

Even if the relationships between nutrition and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remain underexplored, the current literature is providing, day by day, much more evidence on the effects of various diets in both prevention and treatment of such illnesses. Wrong dietary habits, together with other environmental factors such as pollution, breastfeeding, smoke, and/or antibiotics, are among the theoretical pathogenetic causes of IBD, whose multifactorial aetiology has been already confirmed. While some of these risk factors are potentially reversible, some others cannot be avoided, and efficient treatments become necessary to prevent IBD spread or recurrence. Furthermore, the drugs currently available for treatment of such disease provide low-to-no effect against the symptoms, making the illnesses still strongly disabling. Whether nutrition and specific diets will prove to effectively interrupt the course of IBD has still to be clarified and, in this sense, further research concerning the applications of such dietary interventions is still needed.     

Flerobuterol: a potential antidepressant drug related to β-adrenergic agonists. Experimental profile in mice

The potential antidepressant effect of flerobuterol (dl-(fluoro-2 phenyl)-1 t-butylamino-2 ethanol), a new drug related to beta-adrenoceptor agonists, was evaluated and compared with imipramine and salbutamol using classical psychopharmacological tests in mice. Like imipramine and salbutamol, flerobuterol (0.5-32 mg kg-1, ip) fully prevented apomorphine (16 mg kg-1, sc)- and partly reversed reserpine- and oxotremorine-induced hypothermia. At higher doses (16-32 mg kg-1), flerobuterol enhanced the toxic effects of yohimbine. Unlike imipramine, flerobuterol and salbutamol did not reduce immobility duration in the behavioural despair test. Salbutamol and flerobuterol decreased locomotor activity. Flerobuterol did not induce mydriasis, did not prevent oxotremorine-induced tremors or salivary and lacrimal gland secretion and did not reduce reserpine-induced palpebral ptosis. Propranolol (8 mg kg-1, ip) but not alpha-methyl-paratyrosine (75 mg kg-1, ip) prevented the flerobuterol-induced antagonism of apomorphine-induced hypothermia. Our results suggest that flerobuterol demonstrates potential antidepressant activity, which could be related to beta-adrenoceptor activation in mice.     

Membrane-seeded autologous chondrocytes: cell viability and characterization at surgery

The implantation of chondrocytes, seeded on matrices such as hyaluronic acid or collagen membranes, is a method that is being widely used for the treatment of chondral defects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the distribution, viability and phenotype expression of the cells seeded on a collagen membrane just at the time of the implantation. Twelve patients who were suffering from articular cartilage lesions were treated by the MACI^® procedure. The residual part of each membrane was tested by colorimetric assay (MTT) and histochemical and ultrastructural analyses were carried out. In all of the samples a large number of viable cells, quite homogenously distributed, was detected. The cells expressed the markers of the differentiated hyaline chondrocytes. These data reassure in that the MACI procedure provides a suitable engineered tissue for cartilage repair, in line with the clinical evidences emerging in the literature.     

Suppurative corneal ulceration in Bangladesh

Suppurative keratitis is an important preventable cause of blindness, particularly in the developing world. This study analyses 142 cases of suppurative keratitis referred to Chittagong Eye Infirmary, Bangladesh. Some 53.5% of cases were bacterial and 35.9% were fungal. The five most common pathogens were: Pseudomonas sp. 24%, Streptococcus pneumoniae 17%, Aspergillus sp. 13%, Fusarium sp. 7% and Curvularia sp. 6%. Gram stain and culture results were consistent in 62.6% of cases. Previous antibiotic treatment was a significant factor for failure of culture isolation and less so for Gram stain failure. On Gram stain, 55.9% of pseudomonal cases were missed, but only 2% of fungal cases were missed. Over all, Gram stain had a sensitivity of 62% and positive predictive value of 84% for bacterial cases, and 98% and 94% for fungal cases, respectively. Fungal ulcers were typically filamentous, but an antecedent history of trauma was not common. The most frequent injury was due to rice grains, but the inoculum appeared to be introduced during eye washing with contaminated water. Pseudomonal ulcers occurred most frequently in the monsoon season, and Fusarium cases were seen only in the hot, dry season.     

The effects of preservation on microvascular vein grafts in rats

Segments 15 mm in length were excised from the femoral veins of rats and preserved by refrigeration at 4 C in lactated Ringer's solution for periods up to 21 days. The findings show that veins can be preserved for up to seven days and successfully grafted to recipients. Although there was some success in preserving vein segments for more than seven days, a high rate of thrombosis occurred after implantation in the recipients. It is generally accepted that damaged endothelium causes thrombosis. The light and electron microscopic observations in this study, however, suggest that the condition of the endothelium may not be the only important factor in the patency of small vessels. A thickened and prominent elastic lamina may also play a role in keeping the lumen open.