In vitro sensitivity of probiotics to human pancreatic juice.

Background: The resistance of gut flora with probiotic activity to pancreatic juice is usually tested with artificial pancreatic fluid. Previous studies evaluated the sensitivity of diverse probiotics to human gastric and biliary secretion; none tested the resistance of probiotics to human pancreatic juice. As most bacteria sensitive to artificial pancreatic fluid in vitro have a high rate of isolation from feces, the resistance to human pancreatic juice could be higher.

The inflammatory response in cerebral ischemia: focus on cytokines in stroke patients.

This paper outlines the characteristics of the inflammatory reaction to brain ischemia with the aim of underlying its relevance and specific implication in the pathogenesis of this disorder. The attention is focused on cytokines, major inflammatory mediators produced in the central nervous system and in the periphery in the context of the response to brain injury. The available data on cytokines in patients with stroke are reviewed to investigate the characteristics of the inflammatory response in human samples and to elucidate if the production of these inflammatory molecules may be related to the clinical outcome.