Rogéria Keller

In humans, passive smoking has been shown to alter the microbiota and increase the risk of infections by pathogens and/or opportunistic bacteria. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of MOS supplementation on the concentration of E. coli in the feces of passive smoking rats. Sixty young rats (23 days) were randomly allocated into four groups (n=15): supplemented or not with MOS in the diet; and chronically exposed or not to cigarette smoke. Exposure to cigarette smoke was performed twice a day for 180 days and fecal samples were collected four times (days 0, 60, 120, and 180). After fecal collection, bacterial populations were amplified by real-time PCR. Data means were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Student-Newman-Keuls post-hoc analysis, considering 5% as the level of significance. The results revealed that MOS supplementation significantly (P0.05) from the groups not exposed to cigarette smoke and supplemented or not with MOS. The results allow us to conclude that MOS supplementation mitigates the chronic effect of cigarette smoke on the concentration of E. coli bacteria in young rats, as a preclinical model.

Postmenopausal osteoporosis results in low bone mineral density, interference in bone microarchitecture, decreased bone strength, and an increased risk of fragility fractures. This systematic review aimed to increase the level of evidence on supplementation with bacteria of the genus Bifidobacterium in induced osteoporosis in murines, rats, and ovariectomized female mice (OVX). The search was initially conducted using the PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, and Scielo databases in 2024, using the keywords “osteoporosis”, “murine”, “ovariectomized”, “OVX”, and “Bifidobacterium”. In total, 89 full articles, abstracts, or book chapters were found and after detailed screening, 5 studies met the inclusion criteria, using 66 animals, randomly divided between control and treatment groups. The results demonstrated that oral supplementation with bacteria of the genus Bifidobacterium significantly improves parameters indicative of bone health BMD, BMC, BV/TV%, and Tb.Sp. In conclusion, this meta-analysis provides evidence that bacteria of the genus Bifidobacterium are involved in anti-osteoporotic mechanisms in female OVX rats and mice, as a preclinical model, and suggests the need for further studies in postmenopausal women as a therapeutic alternative or complementary therapy to conventional osteoporosis treatments.

O objetivo foi avaliar o efeito da suplementação oral de probiótico, prebiótico e simbiótico no tecido muscular esquelético, gastrocnêmio, de ratos expostos ao tabagismo, através da dimensão fractal (DF). Sessenta e quatro ratos foram aleatoriamente alocados em 8 grupos (n=8): com ração controle (C) ou suplementadas com probiótico (Pro), prebiótico (Pre) ou simbiótico (Simb) e os quatro grupos foram alimentados com as rações C, Pro, Pre e Simb e expostos ao tabagismo. Após 180 dias de experimento, os animais foram anestesiados, sacrificados e os músculos gastrocnêmios foram submetidos a procedimento histológico de rotina e corados pela técnica de HE. As imagens dos cortes histológicos foram capturadas e submetidas à análise da DF. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância, seguida do teste de Tukey. Os resultados revelaram que a suplementação de probiótico, prebiótico e simbióticos atenuaram os efeitos deletérios da exposição crônica a fumaça do cigarro (p<0,05). Os resultados permitem concluir que a suplementação de probiótico, prebiótico e simbiótico atenuam os efeitos deletérios da exposição crônica e passiva a fumaça do cigarro em ratos machos jovens, como modelo pré-clínico.

Objective: Systematically review the effects of using Nile tilapia skin (NTFS) for management/treatment in patients with second-degree skin burns, when compared with two treatments containing silver, hydrofiber dressing or sulfadiazine cream (AgSD). Methodology: Systematic review with meta-analysis performed in january 2023, using PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Scopus, Cochrane and Gale databases, to identify relevant randomized clinical trials. Results: In total, five randomized trials were identified comparing the use of NTFS with two types of silver-based treatment of second-degree skin burns. Occlusive dressings with NTFS significantly reduced pain levels, measured using the Visual Analogue Scale - VAS (p=0.0008), time (measured in days) for complete wound healing, corresponding to re-epithelialization of 95% or more of the initial burn (p=0.002), and the number of dressings needed until complete healing of the burn (p=0.0004). Conclusion: The results confirm the positive effects of using the NTFS dressing on patients with second-degree burns and can benefit public health systems, especially in developing and resource-poor countries.

Hexavalent chromium (Cr VI) is a toxic and carcinogenic agent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of probiotic supplementation on the prostate, seminal vesicle, testis and testosterone hormone level in rats, as a preclinical model, intoxicated with increasing doses of Cr VI, in the form of potassium dichromate. The experimental period lasted 90 days and used 80 young male rats randomly allocated into eight groups (n=10): two doses of probiotic and four doses of potassium dichromate incorporated into the diet. After the experimental period, the animals were weighed, euthanized and samples of blood, prostate, seminal vesicle and testis were collected and histological evaluations and hormonal measurements were performed. The probiotic supplemented in the diet reduced (p<0.05) the toxic effects of CrVI on the prostate, seminal vesicle, testis and testosterone hormone levels. The results also revealed that the incorporation of increasing doses of potassium dichromate caused toxic effects in a dose-dependent manner.

O presente estudo teve por objetivo determinar a eficácia, efetividade e segurança do Remdesivir no tratamento para a Covid-19 através de uma revisão integrativa. A busca dos artigos foi realizada em março de 2021 nas bases de dados Pubmed, Scielo, Embase e Cochrane. Para guiar essa pesquisa, levantou-se a questão norteadora: “Qual o papel do Remdesivir no tratamento da Covid-19 em humanos?”. Foram utilizados os descritores “Covid ou Sars-Cov-2 ou Coronavirus” e “treatment” e “Remdesivir”. Os critérios de inclusão foram estudos primários originais que abordassem o tema proposto, disponíveis na integra, entre 2019-2021, nos idiomas português ou inglês. Dos 3012 artigos encontrados, foram utilizados 17 que atenderam os critérios de inclusão. A maioria dos estudos encontrados relatou uma melhora no quadro dos pacientes tratados com Remdesivir, porém é importante ressaltar que a terapia com o medicamento também apresentou diversos efeitos colaterais e não alterou o índice de mortalidade. Com base nos dados analisados, o Remdesivir demonstrou resultados promissores, sugerindo um perfil de risco-benefício favorável, porém até onde se foi observado, a tava de óbitos não foi alterada e seu uso prolongado pode desencadear efeitos colaterais indesejáveis.

Passive and chronic exposure to tobacco smoke is a major cause of preventable diseases in humans and animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological and biochemical effects of functional foods: probiotics, prebiotics, and symbiotics in young rats exposed chronically to cigarette smoke. Ninety-six young male rats were randomly assigned to eight groups (n = 12): control (C); probiotic (Pro); prebiotic (Pre); symbiotic (Sym); smoking control (CS); smoking probiotic (ProbS); smoking prebiotic (PrebS); and smoking symbiotic (SymbS). After the experimental period of 189 days, the animals were anesthetized, blood samples were collected, and the animals were euthanized by exsanguination. The data were submitted to the Shapiro Wilk test, followed by the one-way ANOVA test, with contrasts by the Tukey method (P<0.05). The results demonstrated that chronic passive exposure to cigarette smoke had deleterious effects on the animals, and that these effects were attenuated in groups of animals supplemented with functional foods. In the supplemented groups there were significant improvements in weight gain, and mean values of liver enzymes (ALT, AST, GGT, and ALP), serum proteins (albumin and globulins), blood glucose, uremia, and creatininemia. We conclude that functional foods, probiotics, prebiotics, and symbiotics, attenuate the deleterious effects on the physiological and biochemical parameters of rats chronically exposed to cigarette smoke.

Background and Aim: The prebiotics, mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS), demonstrate the ability to increase probiotic microorganisms and fixation and removal of pathogens associated with chronic systemic inflammation in the digestive system. Inflammatory processes play an important role in modulating the brain-intestinal axis, including maintaining male reproductive function and spermatogenesis and regulating stress. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the action of MOS on testosterone and corticosterone concentrations and the reproductive system development of rats in the growth phase as an animal model. Materials and Methods: In total, 128 male rats were used, randomly divided into four experimental groups (n=32): Control; MOS 1; MOS 2; and MOS 3. From each group, eight animals were sacrificed in four experimental moments (14, 28, 42, and 56 days, respectively, moments 1, 2, 3, and 4) and hormonal measurements and histological evaluations were performed. Results: The results revealed the effect of diet, MOS, and timing on testicle weight (p<0.05). At moments 3 and 4, the groups supplemented with MOS showed higher concentrations of testosterone and decreased corticosterone levels throughout the experimental period. Groups supplemented with MOS showed an increase in the frequency of relative sperm and sperm scores. The radii of the seminiferous tubules presented a significant statistical effect of the diet, moments, and diet + moment interaction. Conclusion: It was concluded that the three different MOS prebiotics brought forward sexual maturity.

Many chronic conditions, including smoking, have been shown to be associated with modifications in the gut microbiota and to remedy the effects of these changes, functional foods such as prebiotics have shown beneficial effects. The aim of this work was to evaluate changes in the bacterial population of Escherichia coli in the intestinal microbiota of rats submitted to passive smoke and to the supplementation of prebiotics incorporated into the basal diet. The animals were divided into: Control Group (CG) = basal diet; Smoking Control Group (GCT) = basal diet with exposure to smoking; Prebiotic Group (GP) = basal diet incorporated with 1g of Immunowall® per kg of diet; Prebiotic Tobacco Group (GPT) = basal diet incorporated with 1g of ImmunowallTM per kg of diet with exposure to smoking. The animals were exposed to the smoke twice a day for 180 days. The obtained data were analyzed through the nonparametric Kruklla-Wallis test. Bacterial populations were amplified by real-time PCR. The results of this study revealed a significant decrease (p = 0.04 and p = 0.01) in Escherichia coli population in the group of animals supplemented with prebiotics in the intestinal microbiota of rats exposed and not exposed to cigarette smoke reinforcing the modulating effect of potential pathogens on the intestinal microbiota by functional foods.

Cigarette smoke in large centers is one of the most important causes of chronic inflammatory diseases in public health and is associated with a decrease in bone mass, consolidation process, and bone remodeling. Due to their ability to improve intestinal absorption and compete with pathogenic microorganisms, dietary supplementation with functional foods may contribute to improvement in bone quality. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of functional, probiotic, prebiotic, or symbiotic food supplementation on mineral composition, histomorphometry, and bone biomechanical properties of rats in the growth phase, chronically exposed to cigarette smoke (T).Sixty-four young male rats were randomly assigned to eight groups (n=8): control (C) [standard diet (SD)]; probiotic (Pro) [SD + probiotic (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium thermophilum and Bifidobacterium longum) (2-5 109 UFC each)]; prebiotic (Pre) [SD+ prebiotic (mannan oligosaccharide)]; symbiotic (Sym) (SD + probiotic + prebiotic); control smoking (SC) [(SD + exposure protocol to passive smoking (PS)]; probiotic smoking (ProS) (SD + probiotic + PS); prebiotic smoking (PreS) (SD + prebiotic + PS), and symbiotic smoking (SymS)(SD + prebiotic + probiotic + PS). The animals were euthanized after 189 days of the experimental protocol. Results showed that supplementation with probiotics, prebiotics, and symbiotics significantly improved (P<0.05) the parameters: P, Ca, Mg, BMD, BMC, strength, resilience, and size of area of the femoral diaphysis of the animals chronically exposed or not cigarette smoke. We concluded that functional food supplementation improved the bone health of rats chronically exposed or not to cigarette smoke.