An enrichment method to increase cell-free fetal DNA fraction and significantly reduce false negatives and test failures for non-invasive prenatal screening: a feasibility study.

Background: Noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) based on cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) has rapidly been applied into clinic. However, the reliability of this method largely depends on the concentration of cffDNA in the maternal plasma. The chance of test failure results or false negative results would increase when cffDNA fraction is low.

Immunological Tolerance and Function: Associations Between Intestinal Bacteria, Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Phages.

Post-birth there is a bacterial assault on all mucosal surfaces. The intestinal microbiome is an important participant in health and disease. The pattern of composition and concentration of the intestinal microbiome varies greatly.

The role of adjuvant probiotics to attenuate intestinal inflammatory responses due to cancer treatments.

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment regimens for gastrointestinal, peritoneal and pelvic tumours can disrupt the intestinal microbiome and intestinal epithelia. Such disturbances can provoke symptoms such as diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy induced gastrointestinal toxicity aggravating intestinal microbiome dysbiosis is postulated to adversely alter the intestinal microbiome, with a consequent induced pro-inflammatory effect that disrupts the intestinal microbiome-epithelia-mucosal immunity axis.

The Brain-Intestinal Mucosa-Appendix- Microbiome-Brain Loop.

The brain and the gut are connected from early fetal life. The mother's exposure to microbial molecules is thought to exert in utero developmental effects on the fetus. These effects could importantly underpin the groundwork for subsequent pathophysiological mechanisms for achieving immunological tolerance and metabolic equilibrium post birth, events that continue through to 3-4 years of age.

Adjuvant Probiotics and the Intestinal Microbiome: Enhancing Vaccines and Immunotherapy Outcomes.

Immune defence against pathogenic agents comprises the basic premise for the administration of vaccines. Vaccinations have hence prevented millions of infectious illnesses, hospitalizations and mortality. Acquired immunity comprises antibody and cell mediated responses and is characterized by its specificity and memory.

The Effect of a Standardized Ginger Extract on Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea-Related Quality of Life in Patients Undergoing Moderately or Highly Emetogenic Chemotherapy: A Double Blind, Randomized, Placebo Controlled Trial.

Ginger supplementation could be an effective adjuvant treatment for chemotherapy-induced nausea (CIN). The aim of this clinical trial was to address significant methodological limitations in previous trials. Patients (N = 51) were randomly allocated to receive either 1.

A combination of probiotics and magnesium orotate attenuate depression in a small SSRI resistant cohort: an intestinal anti-inflammatory response is suggested.

Approximately, one-third of those who develop major depression will have a poor response to treatment and over time can become treatment resistant. Intestinal dysbiosis has been implicated in depression with systemic inflammation and vagal and enteric nerve impairment. We report on a sequel pilot study (n = 12) with a combination probiotics/magnesium orotate formulation adjuvant administered with SSRIs for treatment resistant depression.

Modulating the Gut Micro-Environment in the Treatment of Intestinal Parasites.

The interactions of micro-organisms cohabitating with spans millennia, with microbial communities living in a symbiotic relationship with the host. Interacting to regulate and maintain physiological functions and immunological tolerance, the microbial community is able to exert an influence on host health. An example of micro-organisms contributing to an intestinal disease state is exhibited by a biodiverse range of protozoan and bacterial species that damage the intestinal epithelia and are therefore implicated in the symptoms of diarrhea.

A randomised, placebo-controlled trial assessing the efficacy of an oral B group vitamin in preventing the development of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).

Introduction: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a debilitating side effect resulting from neurotoxic chemotherapeutic agents. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of an oral B group vitamin compared to placebo, in preventing the incidence of CIPN in cancer patients undergoing neurotoxic chemotherapy.

Methods: A pilot, randomised, placebo-controlled trial was conducted.

Probiotics modify tight-junction proteins in an animal model of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background: We have investigated the effects of a multispecies probiotic preparation containing a combination of probiotic bacterial genera that included Bifidobacteria, Lactobacilli and a Streptococcus in a mouse model of high-fat diet or obesity-induced liver steatosis.

Methods: Three groups of C57B1/6J mice were fed either a standard chow or a high-fat diet for 20 weeks, while a third group was fed a high-fat diet for 10 weeks and then concomitantly administered probiotics for a further 10 weeks. Serum, liver and large bowel samples were collected for analysis.

Testofen, a specialised Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract reduces age-related symptoms of androgen decrease, increases testosterone levels and improves sexual function in healthy aging males in a double-blind randomised clinical study.

This study examined the effect of Testofen, a specialised Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract on the symptoms of possible androgen deficiency, sexual function and serum androgen concentrations in healthy aging males. This was a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial involving 120 healthy men aged between 43 and 70 years of age. The active treatment was standardised Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract at a dose of 600 mg/day for 12 weeks.

Indoxyl sulphate and kidney disease: Causes, consequences and interventions.

In the last decade, chronic kidney disease (CKD), defined as reduced renal function (glomerular filtration rate (GFR) < 60 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) ) and/or evidence of kidney damage (typically manifested as albuminuria) for at least 3 months, has become one of the fastest-growing public health concerns worldwide. CKD is characterized by reduced clearance and increased serum accumulation of metabolic waste products (uremic retention solutes).

Metabolic Interactions in the Gastrointestinal Tract (GIT): Host, Commensal, Probiotics, and Bacteriophage Influences.

Life on this planet has been intricately associated with bacterial activity at all levels of evolution and bacteria represent the earliest form of autonomous existence. Plants such as those from the Leguminosae family that form root nodules while harboring nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria are a primordial example of symbiotic existence. Similarly, cooperative activities between bacteria and animals can also be observed in multiple domains, including the most inhospitable geographical regions of the planet such as Antarctica and the Lower Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park.

Cystatin C--a paradigm of evidence based laboratory medicine.

Cystatin C is a 13-kDa protein, of the cysteine proteinase inhibitor superfamily, produced by all nucleated cells. Its production rate is constant throughout the ages of 1 to 50 years. It is freely filtered at the glomerulus and then resorbed and fully catabolised by proximal renal tubules, making it an ideal marker of glomerular filtration rate (GFR).