Lung microbiome and origins of the respiratory diseases.

The studies on the composition of the human microbiomes in healthy individuals, its variability in the course of inflammation, infection, antibiotic therapy, diets and different pathological conditions have revealed their intra and inter-kingdom relationships. The lung microbiome comprises of major species members of the phylum Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Fusobacteria and Proteobacteria, which are distributed in ecological niches along nasal cavity, nasopharynx, oropharynx, trachea and in the lungs. Commensal and pathogenic species are maintained in equilibrium as they have strong relationships.

Microbiome systems biology advancements for natural well-being.

Throughout the years all data from epidemiological, physiological and omics have suggested that the microbial communities play a considerable role in modulating human health. The population of microorganisms residing in the human intestine collectively known as microbiota presents a genetic repertoire that is higher in magnitude than the human genome. They play an essential role in host immunity and neuronal signaling.

Breath Biopsy and Discovery of Exclusive Volatile Organic Compounds for Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases.

Exhaled breath contains thousand metabolites and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that originated from both respiratory tract and internal organ systems and their microbiomes. Commensal and pathogenic bacteria and virus of microbiomes are capable of producing VOCs of different chemical classes, and some of them may serve as biomarkers for installation and progression of various common human diseases. Here we describe qualitative and quantitative methods for measuring VOC fingerprints generated by cellular and microbial metabolic and pathologic pathways.

Treating short bowel syndrome with pharmacotherapy.

Introduction: Short bowel syndrome (SBS) has traditionally been regarded as a rapidly fatal medical catastrophe. The advent of pharmacological options directly targeting disease pathophysiology justified this review.

Areas Covered: Since the 1970s, home parenteral nutrition has reduced mortality, converting SBS into a chronic and disabling compensated and occasionally curable illness.

Potential premalignant status of gastric portion excluded after Roux en-Y gastric bypass in obese women: A pilot study.

We evaluated whether the excluded stomach (ES) after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) can represent a premalignant environment. Twenty obese women were prospectively submitted to double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) with gastric juice and biopsy collection, before and 3 months after RYGB. We then evaluated morphological and molecular changes by combining endoscopic and histopathological analyses with an integrated untargeted metabolomics and transcriptomics multiplatform.

Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis and Immunometabolism: New Frontiers for Treatment of Metabolic Diseases.

Maintenance of healthy human metabolism depends on a symbiotic consortium among bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, and host eukaryotic cells throughout the human gastrointestinal tract. Microbial communities provide the enzymatic machinery and the metabolic pathways that contribute to food digestion, xenobiotic metabolism, and production of a variety of bioactive molecules. These include vitamins, amino acids, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and metabolites, which are essential for the interconnected pathways of glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid/Krebs cycle, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), and amino acid and fatty acid metabolism.

Microbiome and Gut Dysbiosis.

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the residence of trillions of microorganisms that include bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses. The collective genomes of whole microbial communities (microbiota) integrate the gut microbiome. Up to 100 genera and 1000 distinct bacterial species were identified in digestive tube niches.

Correction to: Biography: Joel Faintuch, MD, PhD.

In the original article the photo of Dr. Faintuch was inadvertently omitted. We apologize for this oversight.

Unsaturated Fatty Acids Improve Atherosclerosis Markers in Obese and Overweight Non-diabetic Elderly Patients.

Background: Several studies have demonstrated the benefits of replacing trans and saturated fats with unsaturated fatty acids on cardiovascular diseases. We aimed to demonstrate the effect of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat supplementation on the biochemical and endothelial markers of atherosclerotic disease in obese or overweight non-diabetic elderly patients.

Method: Seventy-nine patients were randomly divided into three groups: flaxseed oil, olive oil, and sunflower oil; patients in each group received 30 mL of oil for 90 days.

Androgen and Estrogen Shifts in Men Before and After Bariatric Surgery and Links to Vitamins and Trace Elements.

Androgens and estrogens play a key role regarding sexual life and reproduction. Along with hypotestosteronemia, obese men exhibit a 2-fold increase in estradiol concentration, adversely infl uencing these parameters. Estrogens and adipokines also infl uence bone metabolism, exerting a direct effect on vitamin D, calcium homeostasis and bone health.

Pancreas and liver uptake of new radiolabeled incretins (GLP-1 and Exendin-4) in models of diet-induced and diet-restricted obesity.

Introduction: Radiolabeled GLP-1 and its analog Exendin-4, have been employed in diabetes and insulinoma. No protocol in conventional Diet-Induced Obesity (DIO), and Diet-Restricted Obesity (DRO), has been identified. Aiming to assess pancreatic beta cell uptake in DIO and DRO, a protocol was designed.

Functional investigation of bone implant viability using radiotracers in a new model of osteonecrosis.

Objectives:: Conventional imaging methods are excellent for the morphological characterization of the consequences of osteonecrosis; however, only specialized techniques have been considered useful for obtaining functional information. To explore the affinity of radiotracers for severely devascularized bone, a new mouse model of isolated femur implanted in a subcutaneous abdominal pocket was devised. To maintain animal mobility and longevity, the femur was harvested from syngeneic donors.

Nutritional, metabolic and cardiovascular correlations of morning cortisol in health care workers in a gastroenterology service.

Background: Workplace stress has been associated with obesity. Diminished body weight has also been anticipated in some contexts.

Objective: In a cohort of healthcare personnel, morning cortisol was compared to nutritional and metabolic variables, aiming to identify the correlates of such marker.

Abnormalities of Reproductive Function in Male Obesity Before and After Bariatric Surgery-A Comprehensive Review.

Young males represent one of the populations with the steepest increases in the incidence of obesity. They are also prone to significant derangements in sexual health and fertility. Despite a growing number of reports about female reproductive health, in the setting of bariatric surgery, males have received much less attention.

Is the skeleton still in the hospital closet? A review of hospital malnutrition emphasizing health economic aspects.

Background: Hospital malnutrition used to be a skeleton, a well hidden secret. Compelling studies in the last four decades revealed the width and depth of the problem. It encompasses not only critically ill hospitalized individuals, but many other vulnerable groups.

Asymptomatic gastric bacterial overgrowth after bariatric surgery: are long-term metabolic consequences possible?

Background: Patients with postbariatric bacterial overgrowth were reinvestigated after a follow-up of 15 years. It was hypothesized that systemic associations analogous to those reported for whole gut microbiome would be revealed.

Methods: Patients (n = 37, 70.

Evolving endoscopic surgery.

Since the days of Albukasim in medieval Spain, natural orifices have been regarded not only as a rather repugnant source of bodily odors, fluids and excreta, but also as a convenient invitation to explore and treat the inner passages of the organism. However, surgical ingenuity needed to be matched by appropriate tools and devices. Lack of technologically advanced instrumentation was a strong deterrent during almost a millennium until recent decades when a quantum jump materialized.

Hypocaloric high-protein diet improves clinical and biochemical markers in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Objective: To investigate the role of hypocaloric highprotein diet, a prospective clinical study was conducted in NAFLD patients.

Research Methods And Procedures: Pre-versus post-interventional data were analyzed in 48 stable NAFLD patients (submitted to a hypocaloric high-protein diet during 75 days. Variables included anthropometrics (body mass index/ BMI and waist circumference/WC), whole-body and segmental bioimpedance analysis and biochemical tests.

High frequency of serum chromium deficiency and association of chromium with triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations in patients awaiting bariatric surgery.

Background: To our knowledge, the frequency of serum chromium deficiency in patients awaiting bariatric surgery has not been determined. This study was designed to assess chromium concentration and its association with glycemic levels and lipid profile in patients prior to bariatric surgery.

Methods: This study recruited 73 candidates for bariatric surgery between March and September 2012.

Do colorectal cancer resections improve diabetes in long-term survivors? A case-control study.

Background: A clinical study was designed that aimed to analyze whether resection of the large bowel in cancer patients might benefit diabetes mellitus.

Methods: This prospective case-control study included retrospective information. Patients (n = 247) included diabetic and euglycemic groups with colorectal cancer operations (n = 60), cancer gastrectomy (n = 72), exclusive chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer (n = 46), and noncancer clinical controls (n = 69).

Epithelial cell turnover is increased in the excluded stomach mucosa after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for morbid obesity.

Background: Mucosal alterations after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for morbid obesity have not been clearly evaluated. This study aims to analyze the mucosal alterations (proliferative status (Ki-67); apoptosis (caspase-3 and BCL-2); hormonal function (gastrin)) in the excluded stomach.

Methods: Double-balloon enteroscopy was performed in 35 patients who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass longer than 36 months.

Endoscopic gastrostomy replacement tubes: long-term randomized trial with five silicone commercial models.

Trial Design: No analysis of the long-term performance of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) replacement tubes was identified. A randomized partially blinded trial was designed hypothesizing that clinically relevant limitations of the tubes would be identified.

Methods: Patients (N = 100, age 58.

Does Roux-en-Y gastrectomy for gastric cancer influence glucose homeostasis in lean patients?

Background: Cancer gastrectomy seems to benefit type 2 diabetes; however, results are conflicting. In a prospective protocol, including retrospective information, the aim was assessment of changes in glucose profile in patients with both normal and deranged preoperative glucose homeostasis.

Methods: Patients (N = 164) with curative subtotal or total Roux-en-Y gastrectomy for gastric cancer (n = 92), or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for morbid obesity (RYGB, n = 72) were preoperatively classified into diabetes (including prediabetes) and control group.