Objective. To evaluate the involvement of proinflammatory and oxidative stress markers in gingival tissue in individuals with chronic periodontitis. Subject and methods. Eighteen subjects were divided in two groups: experimental (age 52.9±5.0) and control (age 51.1±9.6). The activities of enzymatic antioxidants such as catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase, nonenzymatic antioxidants: total glutathione and reduced glutathione, oxidized glutathione (GSSG), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and myeloperoxidase activity (MPO) were evaluated in gingival tissues from interproximal sites. Statistical differences between groups were determined by independent Student t test and P<.05. Results. Individuals with periodontal disease exhibited a significant increase in the activities of MPO, GPx, GST, and also in TBARS and GSSG levels in gingival tissue compared to the control group (P<.05). Conclusion. The results of the present work showed an important correlation between oxidative stress biomarkers and periodontal disease.

O comportamento alimentar ocupa atualmente um papel central na prevenção e no tratamento de doenças. A alimentação durante a infância, ao mesmo tempo em que é importante para o crescimento e desenvolvimento, pode também representar um dos principais fatores de prevenção de algumas doenças na fase adulta. Freqüentemente a família, os fatores sociais e os ambientais podem influenciar o padrão alimentar das crianças. O objetivo desta revisão foi abordar os diversos fatores ambientais envolvidos na aquisição de hábitos alimentares na infância. Os artigos selecionados foram pesquisados nas bases de dados Medline e SciELO considerando o período de 1978 a 2007. Foram utilizados os termos em ingles: children's eating patterns, children's dietary quality, determinants of children's eating patterns e em português. São apresentados os resultados de algumas investigações mais relevantes nesta área. Embora alguns desses fatores sejam inatos e, por isso, necessitem de um controle mais rigoroso, ressalta-se o papel determinante da família na formação dos hábitos alimentares saudáveis, pois a modificação de um hábito alimentar durante a fase adulta tem, em geral, alta taxa de insucesso. Além disso, outros fatores, como a escola, a rede social, as condições socioeconômicas e culturais, são potencialmente modificáveis e influenciam no processo de construção dos hábitos alimentares da criança e, conseqüentemente, do indivíduo adulto. Termos de indexação:Comportamento alimentar. Educação alimentar e nutricional. Crianças. Hábitos alimentares. A B S T R A C TEating behavior currently has a central role in the prevention and treatment of illnesses. Eating patterns during childhood, while important for growth and development, also represent one of the main factors that can

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of supplementation of vitamin E, vitamin C, and zinc on the oxidative stress in burned children. In a prospective double-blind placebo controlled pilot study, 32 patients were randomized as no supplementation (n = 15) or antioxidant supplementation (n = 17) groups. Supplementation consisted of the antioxidant mixture of vitamin C (1.5 times upper intake level), vitamin E (1.35 times upper intake level), and zinc (2.0 times recommended dietary allowance) administered during 7 days starting on the second day of admittance into the hospital. Energy requirement was calculated by the Curreri equation, and protein input was 3.0 g/kg of ideal body mass index (percentile 50). Total antioxidant capacity of plasma and malondialdehyde were used to monitor oxidative stress. The time of wound healing was evaluated as the main clinical feature. Patients (age 54.2 +/- 48.9 months, 65.6% males), who exhibited 15.5 +/- 6.7% of total burn area, showed no differences in age and sex, when compared with controls. Intake of the administered antioxidants was obviously higher in treated subjects (P = .005), and serum differences were confirmed for vitamin E and C, but not for zinc (P = .180). There was a decrease in lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde level) (P = .006) and an increase in vitamin E concentrations in the antioxidant supplementation group (P = .016). The time of wound healing was lower in the supplemented group (P < .001). The antioxidant supplementation through vitamin E and C and the mineral zinc apparently enhanced antioxidant protection against oxidative stress and allowed less time for wound healing.

Este trabalho constitui uma revisão de dados científicos sobre o consumo de licopeno e sua ação como fator antioxidante. O licopeno é considerado o carotenóide que possui a maior capacidade seqüestrante do oxigênio singlete. Radicais livres agem continuamente no organismo, podendo desencadear danos celulares e serem os responsáveis pelo desenvolvimento de câncer e certas doenças crônicas. Estudos mostram que o licopeno protege moléculas de lipídios, lipoproteínas de baixa densidade, proteínas e DNA contra o ataque dos radicais, tendo um papel essencial na proteção de doenças. Como prevenção, preconiza-se o consumo de dietas ricas em alimentos fontes de licopeno: tomates e seus produtos (purê, pasta, catchup), mamão, pitanga e goiaba; que aportem cerca de 35mg de licopeno ao dia.Termos de indexação: licopeno, antioxidantes, radicais livres, carotenóides, tomates, Lycopersicon esculentum. A B S T R A C TThis paper is a review of scientific data about lycopene as an antioxidant agent. Lycopene is considered the carotenoid that has the highest capacity of capturing the singlet oxygen. Free radicals are continuously acting on the organism, being capable of promoting cellular damage and development of cancer among other chronic diseases. Studies show that lycopene protects lipid molecules, low-density lipoproteins, proteins and DNA against the attack of free radicals. They have an essential function in the protection against diseases. As a precaution, one should eat foods that are a source of lycopene: tomatoes and tomato-products (purée, pasta, ketchup), papaya, pitanga and guava; to provide approximately 35mg of lycopene a day.

Obesity is characterized by the abnormal or excessive deposition of fat in the adipose tissue. Its consequences go far beyond adverse metabolic effects on health, causing an increase in oxidative stress that leads not only to endothelial dysfunction but also to negative effects in relation to periodontitis, because of the increase in proinflammatory cytokines. Thus, obesity appears to participate in the multifactorial phenomenon of causality of periodontitis through the increased production of reactive oxygen species. Within this context, this paper aims to highlight, by analysis and description of previous studies, the interface between obesity and periodontitis, with emphasis on oxidative stress and the inflammatory response.

It has been shown that caloric restriction (CR) increases average and maximum lifespan but the mechanisms are unclear. CR reduces metabolic rate and oxidative stress, improves insulin sensitivity, cardiac function, and alters the neuroendocrine axes in animals (1). The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is an important regulator of both the cardiovascular system and energy balance, and is assumed to play a role in the pathophysio logy of obesity. Furthermore, an increase in the ratio between the two components of the ANS, the sympathetic nervous sys tem (SNS), and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is an independent risk factor of cardiovascular disease (2). Both obesity and aging are associated with this kind of imbalance (3) but weight loss (4) and regular exercise seem to have a normal izing effect (5). Increased PNS has been implicated as a driving force for obesity in rodents (6). Although a relationship has been found between PNS activity and fat mass in humans, the specific involvement of PNS in human energy metabolism is still unclear. Evaluation of PNS activity in humans is difficult as no direct measurement is available at present and invasive techniques cannot be used in human research.Beat to beat variation in heart rate (heart rate variability (HRV)) has been a safe tool to measure ANS balance providing a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of neuroautonomic function (7). Power spectral analysis of HRV has shown at least two distinct regions of periodicity in electrocardiogram R wave intervals. The high frequencies of HRV are associated with PNS activity, and the low frequencies are associated with both SNS and PNS activities (8). HRV power spectral analysis therefore represents a method to quantify the SNS/PNS balance of the neuroautonomic regulatory system. Meal ingestion has been shown to cause a thermogenic response in normal weight subjects, but less in obese individuals and to influence both SNS and PNS activities (9). The objective of this study was therefore to examine the effect of different approaches of CR on autonomic function before and after a meal stimulus in participants in the Comprehensive Assessment of Long term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE) trial. Methods and experiMental proceduresA total of 28 healthy men and women (16 women/12 men;age:37.1 ± 0.9 years; BMI: 27.9 ± 0.2 kg/m 2 ) participated in this study, which was part of the CALERIE trial. Details of this trial have been described previously (1). None of the subjects were receiving drugs known to affect ANS activity. The institutional review board of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the data safety monitoring board of CALERIE approved the study protocol. Written consent was obtained from all subjects. Caloric restriction (CR) increases maximum lifespan but the mechanisms are unclear. Dominance of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) over the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) has been shown to be a strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Obesity and aging are associated with increa...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of cystic fibrosis and antibiotic therapy on intestinal microbiota composition and intestinal inflammation in children and adolescents. A cross-sectional controlled study was conducted with 36 children and adolescents: 19 in the cystic fibrosis group (CFG) and 17 in the control group (CG) matched for age and sex. The CFG was subdivided based on the use of antibiotic therapy (CFAB group) and non-use of antibiotic therapy (CFnAB group). The following data were evaluated: colonization, antibiotic therapy, mutation, breastfeeding, use of infant formula, type of delivery, introduction of solid foods, body mass index, fecal calprotectin and intestinal microbiota composition (fluorescence in situ hybridization). Intestinal inflammation evaluated by fecal calprotectin was significantly higher in the CFG (median: 40.80 µg/g, IQR: 19.80–87.10, p = 0.040) and CFAB group (median: 62.95 µg/g, IQR: 21.80–136.62, p = 0.045) compared to the CG (median: 20.15 µg/g, IQR: 16.20–31.00), and the Bacteroides, Firmicutes, Eubacterium rectale and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in the CFG compared to the CG, whereas the bacteria Clostridium difficile, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were significantly increased in the CFG (p < 0.05). The main differences were found between the CG and CFAB group for Eubacterium rectale (p = 0.006), Bifidobacterium (p = 0.017), Escherichia coli (p = 0.030), Firmicutes (p = 0.002), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (p < 0.001) and Clostridium difficile (p = 0.006). The results of this study confirm intestinal inflammation in patients with CF, which may be related to changes in the composition of the intestinal microbiota.

Alimentação complementar e características maternas de crianças menores de dois anos de idade em Florianópolis (SC)Complementary feeding and maternal characteristics of children younger than two years old in Florianópolis,