Undiagnosed Primary Sjögren's Syndrome With Pleural Involvement.

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by the lymphocytic infiltration of the exocrine glands, primarily the salivary and lacrimal glands, resulting in the dryness of the eyes and mouth. However, Sjögren's syndrome is not limited to glandular involvement, as it can also affect various other organ systems, leading to a wide range of extraglandular manifestations and delaying the diagnosis. In this scenario, a high level of suspicion is required.

Eosinophilic Variant of Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis.

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a multisystemic necrotizing vasculitis with a special tropism to the respiratory tract and the kidneys. Although uncommon, GPA may be associated with hypereosinophilia and limited organ involvement. In these cases, American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) classification criteria may be insufficient to establish the diagnosis.

Autoimmune Haemolytic Anaemia (AIHA) Secondary to Y Septicemia: The Second Case Reported in the Literature.

Unlabelled: infection is an uncommon but potentially fatal zoonosis, especially when it culminates with septicaemia. Post-infectious complications like reactive arthritis and erythema nodosum are well described in the literature. On the other hand, the association between yersinosis and autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA) has only been established in one clinical case.

[Cartagena Declaration. The International Declaration on the Right to Nutritional Care and the Fight against Malnutrition].

The need to promote the right to nutritional care, to fight against malnutrition and to advance in education and research in clinical nutrition has led all the FELANPE's societies to sign on May 3rd, during the 33rd Congress of the Colombian Clinical Nutrition Association (ACNC) in the city of Cartagena, the International Declaration on the Right to Nutritional Care and the Fight against Malnutrition, "Declaration of Cartagena". The Declaration provides a coherent framework of 13 principles which can serve as a guide for societies, schools and associations affiliated to FELANPE in the development of action plans. In addition, it will serve as an instrument to promote, through governments, the formulation of policies and legislation in the field of clinical nutrition.

Nutritional Status Parameters as Risk Factors for Mortality in Cancer Patients.

The aim of this study was to verify the relationship between weight loss, handgrip strength (HGS) and phase angle (PA) before the beginning of chemotherapy with overall survival in cancer patients. Patients diagnosed with gastrointestinal and breast cancer who were over 18 years old and were scheduled to undergo adjuvant treatment at Hospital Borges da Costa/Brazil were evaluated. The exclusion criteria were neoadjuvant treatment, patients with kidney and liver disease and using diuretics.

Nutrition and Immune-Modulatory Intervention in Surgical Patients With Gastric Cancer.

This study evaluated the effect of an immune-modulatory diet on patients with gastric cancer and identified the parameters associated with postoperative outcomes. This was a single-arm prospective intervention study. At baseline, patients were assessed for nutrition (Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment), inflammatory markers (albumin, C-reactive protein, and interleukin 6 [IL-6]), and immune markers (percentage NK, CD4, CD8, and CD4:CD8 ratio); they also received nutrition counseling and high-calorie/protein supplement.

Adipokines, inflammatory mediators, and insulin-resistance parameters may not be good markers of metabolic syndrome after liver transplant.

Objective: The role of adipokines in liver transplantation (LTx) recipients who have metabolic syndrome (MetS) has seldom been assessed. The aim of this study was to investigate the concentrations of adipokines, inflammatory mediators, and insulin-resistance markers in liver recipients with MetS and its components.

Methods: Serum samples from 34 patients (55.

Nutritional status of urban adolescents: individual, household and neighborhood factors based on data from The BH Health Study.

The increasing prevalence of overweight in young people suggests that adolescent nutritional status is influenced by environmental factors. Using hierarchical modelling, this study aimed to analyse the association between individual, household and neighborhood factors and adolescent nutritional status and well-being. The study used data from a population-based household survey conducted in Belo Horizonte, the capital of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, between 2008 and 2009.

Strategies for High-Quality Nutrition Therapy in Brazil.

Strategies for improving nutrition therapy (NT) are of utmost importance in any healthcare system. The identification and treatment of malnourished patients improves clinical outcome and reduces the length of hospital length of stay and the associated costs. In particular, federal policy regulating the use of NT in Brazil and reimbursement of enteral nutrition (EN) treatment were 2 powerful mechanisms that stimulated the development of nutrition care.

Spotlight on Global Malnutrition: A Continuing Challenge in the 21st Century.

Malnutrition as undernutrition, overnutrition, or an imbalance of specific nutrients, can be found in all countries and in both community and hospital settings around the world. The prevalence of malnutrition is unacceptably high in all settings and affects children, adolescents, pregnant women, and sick and older adults. Malnutrition has multiple underlying issues (food insecurity, chronic and acute illnesses, sanitation and safety, and aging in the community), which need to be addressed.

Functional status and heart rate variability in end-stage liver disease patients: association with nutritional status.

Objectives: Muscle dysfunction and reduced heart rate variability (HRV) are common in patients with advanced liver disease, and both are related to poor outcomes. Malnutrition is also highly prevalent in these patients, however, the association between the malnutrition and HRV has not yet been assessed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term HRV, functional and nutritional statuses in patients with advanced liver disease.

The antimicrobial activity of heterotrophic bacteria isolated from the marine sponge Erylus deficiens (Astrophorida, Geodiidae).

Interest in the study of marine sponges and their associated microbiome has increased both for ecological reasons and for their great biotechnological potential. In this work, heterotrophic bacteria associated with three specimens of the marine sponge Erylus deficiens, were isolated in pure culture, phylogenetically identified and screened for antimicrobial activity. The isolation of bacteria after an enrichment treatment in heterotrophic medium revealed diversity in bacterial composition with only Pseudoalteromonas being shared by two specimens.

Randomized Clinical Trial: Impact of Oral Administration of Saccharomyces boulardii on Gene Expression of Intestinal Cytokines in Patients Undergoing Colon Resection.

Background: When intestinal microbiota is imbalanced, a patient becomes more vulnerable to infectious complications; intervention with beneficial probiotics may help lower risk for infection. The aim of this study was to measure levels of inflammatory cytokine messenger RNA (mRNA) in surgical samples of intestinal mucosal tissues from patients who were given the probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii before undergoing colon surgery.

Methods: Thirty-three patients undergoing colon resection were randomly assigned to receive at least 7-day preoperative probiotic treatment (n = 15) or conventional (n = 18) treatment.

Addressing Disease-Related Malnutrition in Healthcare: A Latin American Perspective.

Alarmingly high rates of disease-related malnutrition have persisted in hospitals of both emerging and industrialized nations over the past 2 decades, despite marked advances in medical care over this same interval. In Latin American hospitals, the numbers are particularly striking; disease-related malnutrition has been reported in nearly 50% of adult patients in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Uruguay. The tolls of disease-related malnutrition are high in both human and financial terms-increased infectious complications, higher incidence of pressure ulcers, longer hospital stays, more frequent readmissions, greater costs of care, and increased risk of death.

L-arginine pretreatment reduces intestinal mucositis as induced by 5-FU in mice.

Beneficial effects of L-arginine on immune responses and bowel function have been reported. Mucositis is a side effect of chemotherapy treatment that affects approximately 40% of patients. This complication is characterized by inflammation that affects the gastrointestinal tract, increasing permeability and causing abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which worsen the patient's nutritional status and increases morbimortality.

The effect of Saccharomyces boulardii in patients eligible for liver transplantation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of Saccharomyces boulardii on the intestinal permeability, laboratory parameters and MELD and Child-Pugh severity scores in cirrhotic patients eligible for liver transplantation.

Methods: Eighteen patients followed in a Transplant Outpatient Clinic were evaluated immediately before the beginning of treatment, after a 30-day period of treatment period with probiotics and at the end of the second study month (after a thirty-day period without probiotics). Fifteen healthy controls also underwent the intestinal permeability test (lactulose/mannitol).

Nutritional and metabolic status of breast cancer women.

Introduction: The nutritional and metabolic status have been related to cancer risk factors as well as to cancer treatment morbimortality. Thus, its assessment is important for developing strategies for the promotion, maintenance and / or recovery of nutritional status and cancer outcome.

Material And Methods: Several different methods for nutritional assessment in breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant therapy were used, including subjective global assessment (SGA), body mass index (BMI), triceps skinfold (TSF), mid-arm circumference (MAC), adductor pollicis muscle thickness (APMT), hand grip strength (HGS) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA).

Pretreatment With L-Citrulline Positively Affects the Mucosal Architecture and Permeability of the Small Intestine in a Murine Mucositis Model.

Background: Mucositis is a common complication in patients undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy. It is associated with pain, poor quality of life, and malnutrition, leading to an increased number of hospital admissions and prolonged hospitalization. The use of immunonutrients may be an alternative treatment option, which may help to improve patient outcome.

Energy Expenditure in Patients With Esophageal, Gastric, and Colorectal Cancer.

Background: Changes in resting energy expenditure (REE) appear to be one of the causes of nutritional depletion in cancer. Assessing REE may be an important tool for providing adequate nutritional therapy to these patients. The aims of this study were to evaluate REE of patients with gastrointestinal tract cancer and to compare it to that of healthy controls.

[Polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids and systemic lupus erythematosus: what do we know?].

Various studies have demonstrated the impact of omega-3 fatty acids on the concentration of C reactive protein (CRP), pro-inflammatory eicosanoids, cytokines, chemokines and other inflammatory mediators. Therefore, the supplementation of these types of lipids may represent additional option treatment for chronic systemic diseases, such as Systemic Lupus Erythematous and other rheumatic diseases. The role of these lipids has not been well established, yet.

Prevalence and factors associated with dyslipidemia after liver transplantation.

Objective: to determine the prevalence of abnormal total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglycerides in patients undergoing liver transplantation (LTx) and to identify predictors of these disorders.

Methods: cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence of dyslipidemia in patients undergoing LTx. Demographic, socioeconomic, clinical, anthropometric and dietetic data were collected to determine the association with dyslipidemia using univariate and multivariate statistical analysis.

Nutrition status of patients with chronic hepatitis B or C.

Objective: Nutrition disorders in patients with chronic liver disease have become a recent concern because these disorders influence outcomes. We investigated patients' nutrition status, included consecutively in the last 2 years to the study, and related the results with the severity of liver disease.

Methods: A total of 230 patients with hepatitis B (n = 80) or C (n = 150) were evaluated by the subjective global assessment (SGA) and body mass index (BMI).

Arginine Supplementation Induces Arginase Activity and Inhibits TNF-α Synthesis in Mice Spleen Macrophages After Intestinal Obstruction.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of arginine supplementation on arginase activity, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) synthesis in cultured splenic macrophages from a murine model of intestinal obstruction (IO). The effects of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibition were also studied using iNOS knockout animals.

Material And Methods: Male C57BL6/J wild-type (WT) and iNOS knockout (iNOS-/-) mice were randomized into 6 groups: Sham and Sham-/- (standard chow), IO and IO-/- (standard chow + IO), and Arg and Arg-/- (standard chow supplemented with arginine + IO).