Search

In the microbiome, probiotics modulate oral diseases. In this study, Streptococcus strain C17T was isolated from the oropharynx of a 5-year-old healthy child, and its potential probiotic properties were analysed using human bronchial epithelial cells (16-HBE) used as an in vitro oropharyngeal mucosal model. The results demonstrated that the C17T strain showed tolerance to moderate pH ranges of 4–5 and 0·5–1% bile. However, it was more tolerant to 0·5% bile than 1% bile. It also demonstrated an ability to accommodate maladaptive oropharyngeal conditions (i.e. tolerating lysozyme at 200 μg ml−1). It was also resistant to hydrogen peroxide at 0·8 mM. In addition, we found out that the strain possesses inhibitory activities against various common pathogenic bacteria. Furthermore, C17T was not cytotoxic to 16-HBE cells at different multiplicities of infection. Scanning electron microscopy disclosed that C17T adhesion to 16-HBE cells. Competition, exclusion and displacement assays showed that it had good anti-adhesive effect against S. aureus. The present study revealed that Streptococcus strain C17T is a potentially efficacious oropharyngeal probiotic.

Objective: To assess the effects of perioperative comprehensive supportive care interventions on outcome of Chinese esophageal cancer patients in a prospective study. Methods: 60 patients with primary esophageal carcinoma were randomized into an intervention group (IG, n=31) and a control group (CG, n=29). The Chinese version of symptom checklist-90 (SCL-90) was adopted to assess their psychological status. The interventions, including health education, psychological support, stress management, coping strategies and behavior training, were carried out in 3 phases (preoperative, postoperative Ⅰ and postoperative Ⅱ), and psychological effects were thereafter evaluated accordingly before surgery, and 1 week, 4 weeks and 24 weeks post-surgery. Medical costs were estimated at discharge. Survival of patients was estimated each year post-surgery. General health status and satisfaction-with-hospital were surveyed by a follow-up questionnaire 4 years post-surgery. Results: All the subjects demonstrated higher scores in the preoperative phase than the normal range of Chinese population concerning 7 psychological domains including somatization, obsessive-compulsive, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety and paranoid ideation. Although no significant difference was observed between the two groups at admission, the scores of IG, which tended to decrease at a faster rate, were generally lower than those of CG at weeks 1, 4 and 24 post-surgery. The length of hospital stay and medical costs of IG were significantly less than those of CG and satisfaction-with-hospital was better. However, there was no significant difference in 4-year survival or health status between two groups. Conclusions: Appropriate perioperative comprehensive supportive care interventions help to improve the psychological state of Chinese patients with esophageal carcinoma, to reduce health care costs and to promote satisfaction of patients and their families with hospital.

Summary Background Although unsupported upper extremity exercise (UUEE) is recommended in the guidelines for pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), it is controversial whether UUEE improves dyspnea in patients with COPD. The present study conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to clarify whether UUEE could improve dyspnea in COPD patients. Methods A computerized search through PubMed and Embase (up to Mar 2012) was performed to obtain sample studies. Methodological quality was assessed using the PEDro scale. Weighted mean differences (WMDs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated and heterogeneity was assessed with the I 2 test. The overall effect sizes were compared with the minimum clinically important difference (MCID). Results 240 patients from 7 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The mean PEDro score was 7.0 (SD = 1.7). The results indicated UUEE relieved dyspnea and arm fatigue during activities of daily living (ADL) (WMD = −0.58, −0.55 scores; 95% CI = −1.13 to −0.02, −1.08 to −0.01), however, the overall treatment effects were lower than the MCID of 1 unit for the Borg scale. There was no statistical significance for dyspnea and arm fatigue during intervention (WMD = −0.34, 0.24 scores; 95% CI = −0.78 to 0.09, −0.33 to 0.81). Conclusions UUEE can relieve dyspnea and arm fatigue in patients with COPD during ADL and should be included in the PR program, however, there is currently a lack of clinical evidence to support UUEE relieving dyspnea and arm fatigue. Further study is urgent to investigate these effects of UUEE.

Non-adherence with medication remains a major correctable cause for poor outcome in schizophrenia. We describe a surgically implantable preparation of haloperidol with the aim that patients will have superior outcomes with improved medication adherence from implants. In contrast to depot formulations, implantable pellets could last many months, providing symptomatic improvement for periods of time never before possible. Additionally, in the event of unacceptable side effects, implants could be removed, offering a degree of reversibility not available with depot formulations. A surgically-implantable formulation of haloperidol has been created using biodegradable polymers. Implants have been characterized for in-vitro kinetics, as well as in-vivo bioactivity in rodents. Haloperidol implants demonstrate steady release of drug for 5 months. Animals treated with haloperidol implants display increased striatal D2 receptor expression as well as increased apomorphine stimulated locomotion. Surgically-implantable formulations are a viable approach to provide long-term delivery of antipsychotic medications to patients with psychotic disorders.

We report here our preliminary investigations on the mechanism of alpha-TTP-mediated ligand transfer as assessed using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assays. These assays monitor the movement of the model alpha-tocopherol fluorescent derivative ((R)-2,5,7,8-tetramethyl-chroman-2-[9-(7-nitro-benzo[1,2,5]oxadiazol-4-yl amino)-nonyl]-chroman-6-ol; NBD-Toc) from protein to acceptor vesicles containing the fluorescence quencher TRITC-PE. We have found that alpha-TTP utilizes a collisional mechanism of ligand transfer requiring direct protein-membrane contact, that rates of ligand transfer are greater to more highly curved lipid vesicles, and that such rates are insensitive to the presence of anionic phospholipids in the acceptor membrane. These results point to hydrophobic features of alpha-TTP dominating the binding energy between protein and membrane.