Crecimiento y desarrollo intestinal de aves de engorde alimentadas con cepas probióticas

A través de la alimentación, los animales se exponen a agentes extraños, donde el epitelio intestinal actúa como una barrera natural contra las bacterias y sustancias tóxicas que estén presentes en el lumen intestinal. No obstante, la ingesta de bacterias probióticas podría influir sobre el desarrollo y función de órganos digestivos, específicamente el intestino, mejorando los parámetros fisiológicos, nutricionales e inmunológicos de este. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar diferentes cepas probióticas sobre el crecimiento alométrico y desarrollo intestinal de pollos de engorde durante su etapa productiva. Se utilizaron 125 pollos machos (Cobb) de un día de edad y alimentados con dos dietas: dieta comercial con y sin la adición de antibiótico. Los diferentes probióticos (Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus ó Enterococcus faecium) se suministraron en el agua de bebida de los animales que consumieron la dieta basal sin antibiótico garantizando una concentración de 107 UFC/ml. El diseño estadístico utilizado fue de bloques al azar en arreglo de parcelas divididas. La inclusión de probióticos, específicamente E. faecium, en la alimentación de pollos de engorde mejoraron el peso, desarrollo y crecimiento de órganos de importancia digestiva, específicamente intestino, lo cual se ve reflejado en vellosidades con mayor altura y ancho, y criptas menos profundas (p

ADHD correlates, comorbidity, and impairment in community and treated samples of children and adolescents

Patterns of correlates, comorbidity and impairment associated with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and youth were examined in representative samples from the community and from treatment facilities serving medically indigent youth in Puerto Rico. Information from caretakers and youths was obtained using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, (version IV), measures of global impairment, and a battery of potential correlates. In the community (N = 1,896) and the treated samples (N = 763), 7.5 and 26.2% of the children, respectively, met criteria for DSM-IV ADHD in the previous year. Although the prevalence rates and degree of impairment differed, the general patterns of correlates, comorbidity and impairment were similar in both populations. The exceptions were associated with conduct disorder, anxiety, impairment in the ADHD comorbid group, and age factors that appeared to be related to selection into treatment.

ADHD and gender: are risks and sequela of ADHD the same for boys and girls?

BACKGROUND

Research comparing treatment-referred boys and girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has yielded equivocal results. Contradictory findings may be associated with differential referral practices or unexplored interactions of gender with ADHD subtypes.

METHOD

We examined possible gender differences in ADHD and its subtypes among children aged 4 to 17 in a representative community sample (N = 1896) in Puerto Rico. Caretakers provided information through the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (version IV) and a battery of impairment, family relations, child problems, comorbidity and treatment measures.

RESULTS

ADHD was 2.3 times more common in boys than girls, but with one exception there was little evidence that the patterns of associations of ADHD with correlates were different for boys and girls. The exception was school suspension, which was more common among ADHD boys than girls. Additional gender interactions were found when ADHD subtypes were considered. Among those with combined type (n = 50), boys were more likely to be comorbid with mood disorders than girls. For those with the inattentive type (n = 47), girls were more likely to be comorbid with anxiety disorders than boys.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings lend cross-cultural generalizability to recent reports that gender does not interact with correlates for ADHD overall, but that it may play a role in subtypes.

Examining minor and major depression in adolescents

BACKGROUND

Research has shown that a large proportion of adolescents with symptoms of depression and substantial distress or impairment fail to meet the diagnostic criteria for a major depressive disorder (MDD). However, many of these undiagnosed adolescents may meet criteria for a residual category of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition-Text Revised (DSM-IV-TR), Depressive Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. Minor Depression (mDEP), an example of one of these categories, allows the inclusion of sub-threshold cases that fall below the diagnostic criteria of the five symptoms required for MDD. Minor depression in adolescence is important because it is significantly related to MDD in adulthood. The present study examines a number of risk factors, functional impairment, comorbidity and service utilization patterns associated with depression in community adolescents who met the DSM-IV criteria for mDEP and compares their profile to adolescents who met the criteria for MDD.

METHOD

Puerto Rican adolescents 11 to 17 years old were selected from an island-wide probability household sample of children ranging in age from 4 to 17. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule in Spanish (DISC IV), together with a structured protocol of risks and protective factors, and service utilization questionnaires were administered to primary caretakers and their children.

RESULTS

Our findings indicate that youngsters with mDEP had significant impairment and used more mental health services than those with major depression. In addition, adolescents with mDEP had similar outcomes when compared to those meeting full criteria for MDD in terms of psychosocial correlates and comorbidity.

CONCLUSIONS

The results, although not definitive, suggest a need for further research in order to determine the validity of the present DSM IV diagnostic criteria for mDEP in adolescents.

The Brief Impairment Scale (BIS): a multidimensional scale of functional impairment for children and adolescents

OBJECTIVE

This article provides the results of the psychometric testing of the Brief Impairment Scale (BIS). The BIS is a 23-item instrument that evaluates three domains of functioning: interpersonal relations, school/work functioning, and self-care/self-fulfillment. It capitalizes on the strengths of existing global measures while addressing some of their limitations.

METHOD

Cross-sectional parent respondent data from one clinical (N = 757) and two community samples (N = 1,888 and 1,132) of children ranging in age from 4 to 17 years is employed to test the reliability and validity of the BIS. Receiver operating characteristic analyses are employed to assess useful cutoff scores on the scale.

RESULTS

The total scale's internal consistency ranged from 0.81 to 0.88 and from 0.56 to 0.81 on the three subscales. Test-retest reliability for individual items ranged from fair to substantial in all but six items. The BIS has high convergent and concurrent validity. Receiver operator characteristic analyses suggest possible thresholds for different uses.

CONCLUSIONS

The BIS is psychometrically sound, useful in assessments and as an outcome measure in clinical practice and research. Its advantages over other global impairment instruments are that it is respondent based, short in administration time, and multidimensional.

[The quality of life of patients with strokes: from the point of view of factors which may affect it]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of clinical and psychosocial factors on the quality of life of patients with stroke.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A non-experimental transverse study was done on 39 patients with strokes seen in the cerebrovascular diseases clinic of the Institute de Neurología y Neurocirugía in La Havana (Cuba). We recorded data on clinical variables (age, sex, race, previous illnesses, type of stroke, vascular territory, classification of prognosis, etiopathogenesis and function on the Rankin scale) and on psychosocial variables (pattern of behavior, anxiety as a feature and state, depression, manner of coping and social support received). Correlations were established with the dependent variable Quality of life, evaluated on the Nottingham Health Profile.

RESULTS

Of the clinical variables there was no correlation with age, female sex was related to greater isolation and the presence of diabetes mellitus with less energy. Greater isolation was seen to be correlated with increased score on the Rankin scale, but this association was not statistically significant. Similarly the clinical characteristic of anxiety was related to greater difficulty in sleeping, as also occurred in depression. The latter was also associated with less energy and greater social isolation. The characteristics of self-control, acceptance of responsibility and positive reevaluation had a positive relation with energy and physical mobility. The greater the social support, especially in the area of health, the better the quality of life in the realms of pain, sleep and social isolation.

CONCLUSION

The psychosocial aspects had more influence on the quality of life of these patients than the clinical factors did.

Possible relationship between neurocysticercosis and hematological malignancies

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have shown an increased frequency of chromosomal abnormalities in lymphocytes from animals and humans with cysticercosis. Some reports have suggested an association between cancer and cysticercosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible association between neurocysticercosis and cancer.

METHODS

We designed a mortality rate study from the autopsy files of the Department of Pathology at the General Hospital of Mexico. A total of 1,271 autopsy files were reviewed. All files in which a malignant neoplasia was found during autopsy were selected as cases. Autopsies in which no malignant disease was found were used as controls. The odds ratio was determined between the frequency of neurocysticercosis in patients with any malignant neoplasia and that of the controls.

RESULTS

Neurocysticercosis was more frequent in cases with malignant hematological diseases (MHD) than in controls (p = 0.01). The odds ratio for this association was 3.54, with 95% confidence interval from 1.17-9.79.

CONCLUSIONS

Most human cancers arise from the interaction of a multiplicity of factors, including xenobiotics and endogenous constituents. Therefore, while it will be difficult to demonstrate that neurocysticercosis is a causal agent of malignant hematological diseases (MHD), it should be considered as a potential risk factor for cancer induction in countries where cysticercosis remains a public health problem.

Dissociation of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep features: possible implications for REM triggering mechanisms

Neurophysiological and biochemical mechanisms regulating REM sleep episodes were studied in behaving cats with chronic electrodes. Push-pull perfusion of the midbrain or pontine reticular formation (RF) by a protein synthesis inhibitor, chloramphenicol (CAP), reduced neuronal unit discharge, particularly discharge bursts, within the perfused area, and reduced the incidence of sustained REM periods. During transitions to "aborted" as compared to sustained REM episodes. RF unit discharge was reduced, under all conditions. In 72-hour sleep deprived cats, systemic injections of both atropine (ATR) and CAP attenuated REM rebound, but with different patterns. CAP reduced REM episode frequency. ATR reduced REM duration. ATR also reduced PGO wave frequency. Combined CAP and ATR treatment produced additive REM depressant effects. These data suggest that cholinergic mechanisms regulate PGO activity and maintenance of REM episodes and that protein synthesis-dependent mechanisms regulate RF unit discharge bursts, and REM triggering.