Repositório RCAAP

São relatados resultados do estudo da variação de matéria seca, HCN, amido, carboidratos solúveis totais e açúcares redutores em raízes de mandioca (Manihot esculenta, Crantz) nos dias que sucederam à poda ou remoção total da parte aérea. Na amostragem foi utilizado o método convencional: raízes tomadas ao acaso e representativas da população. Diferentes tipos de raízes (da base e meio da maniva e da base das hastes) coletadas 17 dias após a poda apresentaram teores de carboidratos bem diferentes, seja pela mobi-lização mais acentuada de reservas, seja pela sua constituição originalmente diversa, o que sugere pesquisas mais detalhadas sobre o método de amostragem das raízes para análise de laboratório. Verificou-se que, num período de quatorze dias após a poda de plantas com treze meses de idade e em época quente e chuvosa, as transformações mais profundas ocorreram no teor de amido, que decresceu de 79,06% para 62,52%, e nos carboidratos solúveis totais e açúcares redutores, que tiveram um incremento na matéria seca das raízes, respectiva-mente de 7,65% e 1,55% para 17,56% e 5,03%. 0 teor de carboidratos totais foi pouco afetado pela poda, Indicando perda pequena destinada a nova brotação ou a outros processos fisiológicos. O teor de HCN decresceu de 67 para 35 ppm.

Infrutíferos todos os trabalhos visando ao melhoramento de Agave sisalana Perr., por meio de propagação sexual, os estudos voltaram-se para outras espécies, dentre elas duas diplóides: o A. amaniensis e o A. angustifolia: a primeira se caracteriza por apresentar folhas grandes e de boa conformação e, a segunda, por produzir elevado número de folhas. Nesse estudo utilizou-se A. amaniensis e seu híbrido com A. angustifolia. Os indivíduos obtidos (F2) apresentaram grande variação nas suas características, mas só foram estudadas as plantas de porte semelhante ao de A. sisalana. Dentre esses indivíduos, alguns se destacaram por apresentar produção total e produção média anual de fibras bem superiores àquela obtida normalmente com o sisal comum.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome (PJS) is a rare, autosomal dominant disease, caused by deletions in the chromosome 19p33.3/ gene LKB1/STK11. These mutations inactivate a serine/threonine kinase and predispose to carcinogenesis. In PJS, tumors of the gastrointestinal, testicles, pulmonary, breast, pancreas, uterus and ovaries can be found. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate demographics, clinical presentation and complication/outcomes of pediatric patients presenting with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS), as well as to present and discuss management in the context of limited resources. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of a cohort of six patients, who were diagnosed and/or followed at the Clinics Hospital, University of Campinas - Sao Paulo/Brazil, between 2000 and 2018. Data analyzed included gender, age of presentation, age of diagnosis, family history, PJS complications. RESULTS: Median age of diagnosis of 6.7 years, with a mean time of follow-up of 8.1 years. Mucocutaneous pigmentation was universally present. Half of the patients had a known family history at the time of diagnosis. On follow up, intestinal intussusception was documented in four out of six patients, in most (three), in different locations and in multiple occasions. The active investigation of siblings and parents of the index case led to the diagnosis of three first-degree relatives in the present case series. CONCLUSION: In this first pediatric PJS Brazilian case series, we report a wide spectrum of PJS manifestations and complications. In a resource limited scenario, despite limitations for the surveillance of complications, the relative frequency of complications was not higher than historically reported.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Biologics have revolutionized the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, these drugs had a significant influence on treatment-related costs, which resulted in the development of biosimilars. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the drug discontinuation rate in the IBD population who switched from originator to biosimilars in real-world switching studies and address potential nocebo effects as reasons for drug discontinuation. METHODS: Medline (via PubMed), EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and abstract databases of selected congresses were screened for reports of monoclonal antibody (mAb) switching with a minimum post-switch follow-up of >6 months or three infusions. All available information on discontinuation rates was assessed. RESULTS: A total of 30 observational studies were included, involving 3,594 patients with IBD. Twenty-six studies reported a switch from infliximab to CT-P13, two studies involved a switch to SB2, and switching information was not available in two studies. The discontinuation rates were 8%, 14%, and 21% at 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively. The main reasons for drug discontinuation and their respective risks were: disease worsening (2%), remission (4%), loss of adherence (4%), adverse events (5%), and loss of response (7%). The quality of the evidence ranged from low to very low depending on the outcome analyzed. Subjective symptoms leading to drug discontinuation were infrequently reported, and the nocebo effect was clearly assessed in just one of the included papers. CONCLUSION: Discontinuation rates following a switch to a biosimilar in patients with IBD increase over time. However, it was not possible to confirm the nocebo effect as a reason for discontinuation. Therefore, long-term studies evaluating the use of biosimilars to monitor adverse events and potential nocebo effects in post-marketing surveillance are still needed.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and severe complication of cirrhosis. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of AKI staging on 30-day mortality of patients with cirrhosis. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of hospitalized patients with cirrhosis. Acute kidney injury (AKI) was diagnosed according to the International Club of Ascites recommendations and staged according to the European Association for the Study of the Liver guidelines. Comparisons between groups were made by one-way analysis of variance and Tukey test. Chi-square was calculated for dichotomous variables. Comparisons of renal impairment status among patients were performed using Kaplan-Meier statistics and differences between groups were analyzed using the log-rank test. A P-value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: Two hundred and thirty-two patients were included in the study. The diagnosis of AKI was performed in 98 (42.2%) of them. The overall 30-day mortality was 19.8% (46/232). Mortality increased as the degree of AKI progressed. Among patients who did not have AKI, mortality was 5.2% (7/134). When compared to patients without AKI, patients diagnosed with AKI stage 1a had mortality of 12.1% (4/33, P=0.152); patients with AKI stage 1b had mortality of 45% (18/40, P<0.001); and patients with AKI stages 2 or 3 had mortality of 68% (17/25, P<0.001). Moreover, it is noteworthy that full response to treatment was associated to a decreased mortality when compared to patients who did not show complete recovery of renal function (14.3% vs 57.9%, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: AKI stages 1b or greater, but not AKI stage 1a, are associated to higher 30-day mortality of patients with cirrhosis.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Copper deficiency has been linked to alterations in lipid metabolism and hepatic steatosis. Oxidative stress plays a role in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). One of the enzymes that neutralize oxidative stress is Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase, which depends on the availability of adequate amounts of copper. OBJECTIVE: Correlate the levels of ceruloplasmin and of non-ceruloplasmin-bound copper (NCBC) with clinical, biochemical and histological parameters of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients. METHODS: Data from 95 consecutively admitted NAFLD patients who underwent liver biopsy composed the groups based on ceruloplasmin levels lower than 25 mg/dL and on negative NCBC. The risk factors for NAFLD in each group were compared. RESULTS: Body mass index was lower in patients with ceruloplasmin <25 mg/dL (29.1±3.47 vs 32.8±6.24 kg/m2; P=0.005) as were the levels of LDL, HDL and total cholesterol, when compared with their counterparts with ceruloplasmin >25 mg/dL (101±38 vs 116±35 mg/dL, P=0.05; 43±9 vs 51±16 mg/dL, P=0.01; 174±43 vs 197±39 mg/dL, P=0.01, respectively). Mean serum ferritin levels were higher in the ceruloplasmin <25 mg/dL group (343±327 vs 197±190 ng/mL; P=0.02). Otherwise, patients with negative NCBC had higher HOMA-IR (8.2±14.7 vs 4.6±3.7; P=0.03). Age, gender, hypertension and diabetes showed no statistical difference. CONCLUSION: Patients with NAFLD had different clinical and biochemical markers according to the levels of NCBC and ceruloplasmin.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Current policy for listing to liver transplant (LT) may place cirrhotic patients without MELD exception points (CIR) in a disadvantageous position if compared to patients enlisted with appealed MELD scores - patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or special conditions other than hepatocellular carcinoma (SPE). Transplant rates, delisting, and waitlist mortality of CIR, HCC, and SPE candidates were compared. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to counterweight the listing rate and speed of listing of HCC, SPE, and CIR patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study comparing the outcomes of patients enlisted for SPE to those of HCC and CIR. In several countries worldwide, SPE patients also receive appealed MELD scores in a similar way of HCC patients. METHODS: Two cohorts of patients listed for LT in a single institution were evaluated. The first cohort (C1, n=180) included all patients enlisted on August 1st, 2008, and all additional patients listed from this date until July 31st, 2009. The second cohort (C2, n=109) included all patients present on the LT list on October 1st, 2012, and all additional patients listed from this date until May 2014. RESULTS: In both cohorts, HCC patients had a higher chance of receiving a LT than CIR patients (C1HR =2.05, 95%CI=1.54-2.72, P<0.0001; C2HR =3.17, 95%CI =1.83-5.52, P<0.0001). For C1, 1-year waiting list mortality was 21.6% (30.0% for CIR vs 9.5% for HCC vs 7.1% for SPE) (P<0.001). For C2, 1-year waiting list mortality was 13.3% (25.7% for CIR, 8.3% for HCC, and 4.0% for SPE) (P<0.001). Post-transplant survival was similar among the three groups. CONCLUSION: Compared to CIR, SPE and HCC patients had lower wait list mortality. CIR patients had the highest waitlist mortality and the lowest odd of LT. Current LT allocation system does not allow equitable organ allocation.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a complication associated with cirrhosis that may contribute to worsening exercise capacity and reduced survival after liver transplantation (LT). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate exercise capacity, complications and survival after LT in patients with cirrhosis and HPS and to compare these results with the results of patients with cirrhosis without HPS. METHODS: A prospective cohort study, consisting initially of 178 patients, of whom 90 underwent LT (42 with HPS and 48 without HPS). A previous evaluation consisted of the six-minute walk test (6MWT), an exercise test and manovacuometry. Those who underwent LT were evaluated for the mechanical ventilation time (MV), noninvasive ventilation (NIV) use, and survival two years after the procedure. In the statistical analysis, we used the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Student’s t-test, the linear association square test, and the Kaplan-Meier survival curve. The data were analyzed with the SPSS 16.00 program and considered significant at P<0.05. RESULTS: The HPS group demonstrated a lower peak of oxygen consumption (VO2peak) (14.2±2.3 vs 17.6±2.6) P<0.001 and a shorter distance walked on the 6MWT (340.8±50.9 vs 416.5±91.4) P<0.001 before LT compared with the non-HPS group. The transplanted patients with HPS remained longer hours in MV (19.5±4.3 vs 12.5±3.3) P=0.02, required more NIV (12 vs 2) P=0.01, and had lower survival two years after the procedure (P=0.01) compared with the transplanted patients without HPS. CONCLUSION: Patients with HPS had worse exercise capacity before LT, more complications and shorter survival after this procedure than patients without HPS.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Endoscopic papillectomy has been conceived as a less invasive therapeutic option for treatment of early neoplastic lesions located at the major duodenal papilla. OBJECTIVE: Evaluating patients with early ampullary lesions who underwent curative intent endoscopic papillectomy related to technical success (histopathological tumor margin assessment) and safety (adverse event rate). METHODS: A retrospective study including consecutive patients who underwent curative intent endoscopic papillectomy for demographic, histopathological and pre-/post-procedural clinical assessment. Endpoints were technical success (histopathological residual tumor assessment) and adverse events rates. RESULTS: A total of 21 medical records patients with a female predominance (13 cases, 61.9%) were included. The tumor was incidental in 8 (38%) cases. Negative residual tumor resection margin rate was 72% (15 cases); three of these cases confirmed high-grade dysplasia in the resected specimen, and six cases were invasive neoplasia. Tumoral recurrence was seen in two cases, and median follow-up time was 12 months, with a 23% loss rate (five patients). Six (28.5%) patients had adverse events, all of them early (bleeding and pancreatitis); none of them required surgical intervention and there was no mortality. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic papillectomy allowed for technical successful procedure with complete removal of ampullary neoplastic lesions in the majority of cases with acceptable adverse event rates. Recurrence rate should be carefully assessed in further studies. There was a recent increase in the number of procedures. There was also a low correlation between pre- and post-histopathological assessment regarding the presence of invasive carcinoma and adenoma with high grade dysplasia, with a predominance of superficial neoplastic adenomatous lesions.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Rectal bleeding is the most important symptom of intestinal neoplasia; thus, tests of occult blood detection in stools are widely used for pre neoplastic lesions and colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the accuracy of OC-Sensor quantitative test (Eiken Chemical, Tokyo, Japan) at cut-off 10 µg Hb/g feces (50 ng/mL) in a cohort of subjects that had to undergo diagnostic colonoscopy, and if more than one sample collected in consecutive days would improve the diagnostic accuracy of the test. METHODS: Patients (mean age 56.3±9.7 years) that underwent colonoscopy prospectively randomly received one (1-sample FIT, FIT 1) or two (2-sample FIT, FIT 2) collection tubes. They collected the stool sample before starting colonoscopy preparation. Samples were analyzed by the OC-Auto Micro 80 (Eiken Chemical, Tokyo, Japan). The performance of FIT 1 and FIT 2 were compared to the colonoscopy findings. RESULTS: Among 289 patients, CRC was diagnosed in 14 (4.8%), advanced adenoma in 37 (12.8%), early adenoma in 71 (24.6%) and no abnormalities in 141 (48.8%). For FIT 1, the sensitivity for CRC was 83.3% (95%CI 36.5-99.1%), for advanced adenoma was 24% (95%CI 10.1-45.5%), with specificity of 86.9% (95%CI 77.3-92.9%). For FIT 2, the sensitivity for CRC was 75% (95%CI 35.6-95.5%), for advanced adenoma was 50% (95%CI 22.3-77.7%), with specificity of 92.9% (95%CI 82.2-97.7%). The positive likelihood ratios were 1.8 (95%CI 0.7-4.4 for FIT 1) and 7.1 (95%CI 2.4-21.4 for FIT 2) for advanced adenoma, and 6.4 (95%CI 3.3-12.3, for FIT 1) and 10.7 (95%CI 3.8-29.8, for FIT 2) for CRC. The negative likelihood ratio were 0.9 (95%CI 0.7-1, for FIT 1) and 0.5 (95%CI 0.3-0.9, for FIT 2) for advanced adenoma, and 0.2 (0.03-1.1, for FIT 1) and 0.3 (0.08-0.9, for FIT 2) for CRC. The differences between FIT 1 and FIT 2 performances were not significant. However, the comparison of the levels of hemoglobin in feces of patients of FIT 1 and FIT 2 showed that the differences between no polyp group and advanced adenoma and CRC were significant. CONCLUSION: The accuracy of OCR Sensor with 10 µg Hb/g feces cut-off was comparable to other reports and two-sample collection improved the detection rate of advanced adenoma, a pre neoplastic condition to prevent CRC incidence.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Chronic hepatitis C still figures as an important cause of morbidity among the Brazilian population, and is closely associated with metabolic disturbances, including insulin resistance (IR), which can be evaluated by the Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA-IR). IR may entail lower sustained virologic response (SVR) on certain therapeutic regimens and faster progression to advanced hepatic fibrosis. With the arrival of the direct acting agents (DAA) in hepatitis C treatment, there is an increased need in observing the impact in patients’ IR profile while using such therapies. OBJECTIVE: - 1) To compare the results of HOMA-IR in patients affected by chronic hepatitis C before treatment with DAA and 12 months after finishing it with SVR. 2) To evaluate the evolution of weight after curing chronic hepatitis C. METHODS: We included patients older than 18 from two tertiary care in Curitiba - PR, of both sexes, with chronic hepatitis C, treated with DAA, from July 2015 to September 2017. We also evaluated the patients’ levels of fasting insulin, fasting glucose and glycated hemoglobin before starting treatment and 12 months after finishing it. We also used epidemiologic data, such as age, sex, hepatic fibrosis degree, body mass index, abdominal circumference, viral genotype and the presence of diabetes mellitus before and after treatment. IR was assessed before and after treatment and calculated by the HOMA-IR score. Insulin resistance was defined by a HOMA-IR greater than 2.5. We excluded patients who lost follow-up, those who did not achieve SRV and those who did not have a laboratory profile. The results of quantitative variables were described by means, medians, and standard deviations. P values <0.05 indicated statistical significance. RESULTS: We included 75 patients in this study, with a mean age of 55.2 years and 60% of males. Forty-three patients had advanced fibrosis. Twenty one (28%) had a previous diabetes mellitus diagnosis. We identified 31 (41.3%) patients with IR before antiviral treatment, and this number increased to 39 (52%) after 12 months of finishing treatment, according to HOMA-IR. There was no statistic difference between insulin, glucose and HOMA-IR measurements before and after curing hepatitis C. We observed a weight gain in patients shortly after curing hepatitis C, but this did not persist at the end of the study. We also had no significant difference in IR prevalence when viral genotype was concerned. CONCLUSION: In this study, there was no statistically significant difference between HOMA-IR results in patients before and 12 months after treatment for hepatitis C. Even though patients gained weight after the cure, this was not statistically significant after a year (P=0.131).

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Data regarding the prevalence of anemia in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients are scarce in Brazil. Anemia and iron deficiency anemia have been known to cause significant functional impairment, lower quality of life, and higher morbidity and mortality and may be correlated with an impact on the cost of treatment. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and risk factors for anemia and iron deficiency anemia in patients with IBD in a tertiary IBD unit in Southeast Brazil. METHODS: We conducted an Institutional Review Board-approved retrospective analysis of an adult IBD cohort (IBD Unit, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Brazil) consisting of 579 patients between January 2014 and July 2018. Clinicoepidemiological data, hemoglobin measurements and serum ferritin were extracted from electronic medical records. Anemia prevalence was calculated among ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) phenotypes. Risk factors for anemia were also calculated. RESULTS: A total of 529 (91%) patients had complete blood counts available in their medical records. Only 35.5% of IBD patients were fully screened for anemia. The prevalence of anemia in IBD patients was 24.6% (29.1% in CD and 19.1% in UC, P=0.008). The anemia was moderate to severe in 16.9% (19.8% in CD and 11.4% in UC, P=0.34). The prevalence of iron deficiency was 52.3% (53.6% in CD and 51.2% in UC, P=0.95). Anemia of chronic disease was present in 14.1% of IBD patients. A total of 53.8% of patients with anemia were in clinical remission. CD was associated with an increased prevalence of anemia (P=0.008; OR=1.76; CI 95% =1.16-2.66) compared to UC. The penetrant disease phenotype in CD was associated with a lower risk of anemia (P<0.0001; OR=0.25; CI 95% =0.14-0.43). Active disease compared to the disease in clinical remission was associated with an increased risk of anemia (P=0.0003; OR=2.61; CI 95% =1.56-4.36) in CD. The presence of anemia was less frequent in patients with CD who underwent surgical bowel resection compared to those who did not undergo surgery (P<0.0001; OR=0.24; CI 95% =0.14-0.40). No differences in anemia prevalence were observed regarding CD localization, age at diagnosis, UC extension or biological therapy (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Despite the low levels of full screening, anemia and iron deficiency anemia were common manifestations of IBD. CD was associated with an increased risk of anemia, especially with active disease. In addition, patients with CD who underwent surgical bowel resection and penetrant disease phenotype in CD were associated with lower risk of anemia.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Weight loss and body composition changes are common in patients with pancreatic cancer. Computed tomography (CT) images are helpful to investigate body composition and its changes and to discriminate the different kinds of body tissues. Patients with pancreatic cancer routinely undergo CT scans. OBJECTIVE: To verify the association of muscle mass and visceral fat measured by CT with toxicity and survival of patients with pancreatic cancer. METHODS: We evaluated the imaging of the abdomen of all consecutive adult patients with pancreatic cancer treated between October 2007 and September 2015 in our service, to assess skeletal muscle mass and fat, intramuscular fat and visceral fat. We graded treatment toxicity symptoms according to the Common Toxicity Criteria of the United States National Cancer Institute (version 2.0). RESULTS: The study involved 17 patients, with a mean age of 63 (±10) years (range: 51-73 years). Eleven (65%) were male. The mean initial body mass index (BMI) was 26 kg/m2 (±3) and 23 kg/m2 (±3) after treatment. The mean weight loss was 10.0 kg (±6.8; 13%). Sarcopenia was present in 47% of patients, and it was not associated with significant differences in muscle mass, visceral fat, toxicity or survival. The mean skeletal muscle attenuation was 36 Hounsfield units, not associated with survival or treatment toxicity. Mean muscle mass was not associated with toxicity either. However, there was a significant inverse association between toxicity and visceral fat. CONCLUSION: Muscle mass had no impact on the survival or on treatment toxicity among the patients with pancreatic cancer. However, the visceral fat exerted a protective effect against the treatment toxicity. We stress the importance of further studies on visceral fat associated with prognosis and toxicity in cancer patients.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Barrett’s esophagus (BE) is a premalignant condition that raises controversy among general practitioners and specialists, especially regarding its diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up protocols. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aims to present the particularities and to clarify controversies related to the diagnosis, treatment and surveillance of BE. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted on PubMed, Cochrane, and SciELO based on articles published in the last 10 years. PRISMA guidelines were followed and the search was made using MeSH and non-MeSH terms “Barrett” and “diagnosis or treatment or therapy or surveillance”. We searched for complete randomized controlled clinical trials or Phase IV studies, carried out with individuals over 18 years old. RESULTS: A total of 42 randomized controlled trials were selected after applying all inclusion and exclusion criteria. A growing trend of alternative and safer techniques to traditional upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were identified, which could improve the detection of BE and patient acceptance. The use of chromoendoscopy-guided biopsy protocols significantly reduced the number of biopsies required to maintain similar BE detection rates. Furthermore, the value of BE chemoprophylaxis with esomeprazole and acetylsalicylic acid was relevant, as well as the establishment of protocols for the follow-up and endoscopic surveillance of patients with BE based predominantly on the presence and degree of dysplasia, as well as on the length of the follow-up affected by BE. CONCLUSION: Although further studies regarding the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of BE are warranted, in light of the best evidence presented in the last decade, there is a trend towards electronic chromoendoscopy-guided biopsies for the diagnosis of BE, while treatment should encompass endoscopic techniques such as radiofrequency ablation. Risks of ablative endoscopic methods should be weighted against those of resective surgery. It is also important to consider lifetime endoscopic follow-up for both short and long term BE patients, with consideration to limitations imposed by a range of comorbidities. Unfortunately, there are no randomized controlled trials that have evaluated which is the best recommendation for BE follow-up and endoscopic surveillance (>1 cm) protocols, however, based on current International Guidelines, it is recommended esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) every 5 years in BE without dysplasia with 1 up to 3 cm of extension; every 3 years in BE without dysplasia with >3 up to 10 cm of extension, every 6 to 12 months in BE with low grade dysplasia and, finally, EGD every 3 months after ablative endoscopic therapy in cases of BE with high grade dysplasia.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Rutin is a flavonol glycoside that can be found in a wide variety of vegetables and has activity, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic properties. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of rutin oral administration on Wistar rats submitted to hepatic hyperplasia after partial hepatectomy (PH). METHODS: To achieve this, we considered the analysis of hepatic hyperplastic and plasma biochemical activity of Wistar rats, subjected to treatment with rutin 40 mg/kg/day for 10 days in group 1 (G1) or saline in group 2 (G2), followed by partial hepatectomy. RESULTS: The results indicated an increase in the number of mitoses after 24 hours and 48 hours (P=0.0022 and P=0.0152, respectively) of PH in the group that received rutin, as well as an increase in AST serum levels after 24 hours (P=0.0159) and 48 hours (P=0.0158) and alkaline phosphatase after 24 hours (P=0.015) in the same group, in relation to the respective controls. The group that received rutin showed a more evident variation than the control group when comparing the 24 hour and 48 hour results regarding AST, number of mitoses and number of apoptosis (P<0.005). CONCLUSION: It was concluded that rutin intervened in hepatic hyperplasia after 24 hours and 48 hours of PH, favoring hepatic hyperplasia.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Evacuation disorders are prevalent in the adult population, and a significant portion of cases may originate from pelvic floor muscle dysfunctions. Anorectal manometry (ARM) is an important diagnostic tool and can guide conservative treatment. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of pelvic dysfunction in patients with evacuation disorders through clinical and manometric findings and to evaluate, using the same findings, whether there are published protocols that could be guided by anorectal manometry. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of a prospective database of 278 anorectal manometries performed for the investigation of evacuation disorders in patients seen at the anorectal physiology outpatient clinic of Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto between January 2015 to June 2019 was conducted. The following parameters were calculated: resting pressure (RP), squeeze pressure (SP), high-pressure zone (HPZ), rectal sensitivity (RS) and rectal capacity (RC). The pressure measurements and manometric plots were reviewed to determine the diagnosis and to propose potential pelvic physical therapy procedures. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Fisher’s exact test were used to compare the continuous variables and to evaluate the equality of variances between groups of patients with fecal incontinence (FI) and chronic constipation (CC). Results with a significance level lower than 0.05 (P-value <0.05) were considered statistically significant. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM® SPSS® Statistics version 20. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 45±22 years, with a predominance of females (64.4%) and economically inactive (72.7%) patients. The indications for exam performance were FI (65.8%) and CC (34.2%). Patients with FI had lower RP (41.9 mmHg x 67.6 mmHg; P<0.001), SP (85.4 mmHg x 116.0 mmHg; P<0.001), HPZ (1.49 cm x 2.42 cm; P<0.001), RS (57.9 mL x 71.5 mL; P=0.044) and RC (146.2 mL x 195.5 mL; P<0.001) compared to those of patients with CC. For patients with FI, the main diagnosis was the absence of a functional anal canal (49.7%). For patients with CC, the main diagnosis was outflow tract obstruction (54.7%). For patients with FI, the main protocol involved a combination of anorectal biofeedback (aBF) with tibial nerve stimulation (TNS) (57.9%). For patients with CC, the most indicated protocol was aBF combined with TNS and rectal balloon training (RBT) (54.7%). CONCLUSION: There was a high prevalence of pelvic floor changes in patients with evacuation disorders. There was a high potential for performing pelvic floor physical therapy based on the clinical and manometric findings.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the primary inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), and its pathogenesis is related to genetic and environmental factors. Currently, the diagnosis of IBD results in a multidisciplinary approach with significant disadvantages, such as its invasive nature, time spent, and the fact that 10% of patients remain without diagnostic classification. However, new methodologies of analysis have emerged that allowed the expansion of knowledge about IBD, as the metabolomics, the study of metabolites. The presence and prevalence of such metabolites may prove to be useful as biomarkers in the diagnosis of IBD. OBJECTIVE: Analyze fecal samples for metabolic analysis in the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), providing differentiation between Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. METHODS: This is an observational study with 21 patients diagnosed with IBD (ulcerative colitis 11 and Crohn’s disease 10) and 15 healthy controls, all with the consent and clarification. The fecal extracts of all patients are submitted to a high-resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Hydrogen (1H-NMR) spectroscopy combined with multivariate and univariate pattern recognition techniques. Through the metabolomics of fecal extracts, gives us a characterization of employing a noninvasive approach. RESULTS: We identify some metabolites, such as lactate, succinate, alanine, and tyrosine, in the Crohn’s disease fecal samples, and leucine, alanine, and tyrosine in the ulcerative colitis fecal samples. All the amino acids presented positive covariance for disease correlation. CONCLUSION: The results showed different metabolic profiles between IBD patients and healthy volunteers based on 1H-NMR analysis of fecal extracts. Moreover, the approach discriminated patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The metabolomics analysis is promising as a novel diagnostic technique for further IBD recognition and surveillance. New studies are necessary to validate these findings.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, are chronic immune-mediated diseases that present a relapsing and remitting course and requires long-term treatment. Anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy has changed the management of the disease by reducing the need for hospitalizations, surgeries and improving patient´s quality of life. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review is to discuss the role of anti-TNF agents in IBD, highlighting the situations where its use as first-line therapy would be appropriate. METHODS: Narrative review summarizing the best available evidence on the topic based on searches in databases such as MedLine and PubMed up to April 2020 using the following keywords: “inflammatory bowel disease’’, “anti-TNF agents” and ‘’biologic therapy’’. CONCLUSION: Biological therapy remains the cornerstone in the treatment of IBD. In the absence of head-to-head comparisons, the choice of the biological agent may be challenging and should take into account several variables. Anti-TNF agents should be considered as first line therapy in specific scenarios such as acute severe ulcerative colitis, fistulizing Crohn’s disease and extra-intestinal manifestations of IBD, given the strong body of evidence supporting its efficacy and safety in these situations.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) appears to be common in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD). The rate of SIBO has been estimated at 25%-88% in this setting. However, different demographic, socioeconomic, and disease-related factors may exist between South American and North American or European populations that may limit the generalization of these findings, as the data are mainly derived from North American or European studies. OBJECTIVE: We studied the prevalence and predictors of SIBO in CD outpatients. METHODS: In this retrospective study, between June 2011 and June 2016, the medical records of 110 CD patients were assessed for presence of SIBO using the H2/CH4 glucose breath test. Univariate analysis was performed to investigate the potential association between SIBO and demographic, disease-related data, systemic markers of inflammation (C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate). RESULTS: The SIBO rate was high in CD patients (30%). Patients with and without SIBO were comparable according to demographics, systemic inflammatory biomarkers, and disease characteristics, except to the stricturing phenotype more common in the SIBO-positive CD patients (48.5% vs 19.5%, P=0.001). CONCLUSION: In Brazilian CD patients, SIBO is a highly prevalent condition. Stricturing phenotype demonstrated association with SIBO. An individualized screening plan followed by the timely treatment for SIBO should be carried out as part of quality of care improvement in CD individuals.

ABSTRACT Over the last years, there is growing evidence that microorganisms are involved in the maintenance of our health and are related to various diseases, both intestinal and extraintestinal. Changes in the gut microbiota appears to be a key element in the pathogenesis of hepatic and gastrointestinal disorders, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, liver cirrhosis, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and Clostridium difficile - associated diarrhea. In 2019, the Brazilian Society of Hepatology (SBH) in cooperation with the Brazilian Nucleus for the Study of Helicobacter Pylori and Microbiota (NBEHPM), and Brazilian Federation of Gastroenterology (FBG) sponsored a joint meeting on gut microbiota and the use of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics in gastrointestinal and liver diseases. This paper summarizes the proceedings of the aforementioned meeting. It is intended to provide practical information about this topic, addressing the latest discoveries and indicating areas for future studies.