No abstract

Synbiotics, a combination of prebiotics and probiotics, produce synergistic effects to promote gastrointestinal health. Herein, we investigated the synbiotic interaction between the Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG (LGG; a probiotic strain) and tagatose (a prebiotic) in a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis murine model. Initially, body weight, food intake, and clinical features were dramatically decreased after treatment with DSS, and the addition of LGG, tagatose, or both ameliorated these effects. In our pyrosequencing analysis of fecal microbiota, DSS treatment increased the abundance of Proteobacteria and decreased that of Firmicutes. When LGG and tagatose were administered as synbiotics, the gut microbiota composition recovered from the dysbiosis caused by DSS treatment. In particular, the abundance of Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, and Akkermansia was significantly associated with probiotic, prebiotic, and synbiotic treatments. Taken together, our results suggest that LGG and tagatose as synbiotics can alleviate colitis, and synbiotics could be applied as dietary supplements in dairy foods such as yogurt and cheese.

We investigated the synergic anti-inflammatory activity of Gleditsia sinensis Lam. (GS) extract and Lactobacillus brevis KY21 both in vitro and in vivo. Western blot analysis and immunostaining showed that AKT phosphorylation that increased by the exposure of LPS were significantly decreased by the presence of either GS extract or L. brevis KY21. In addition, p65 intracellular transport was critically inhibited by GS extract and L. brevis KY21. We further studied these effects using an in vivo dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced mouse model. Body weight, food intake, and clinical scores were dramatically decreased after treatment with DSS, whereas these effects were palliated by the addition of GS extract and L. brevis KY21. Importantly, transcription of genes encoding pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, TNF-α, and IFN-γ in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and the spleen were increased by DSS treatment, whereas they were inhibited by the presence of GS extract and L. brevis KY21.

To investigate the potential relationship between septal deviation (SD) and headache using nationwide representative cohort sample data. This study used a nationwide cohort sample from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. The cohort sample was composed of 1 million patients, which is obtained by propensity score matching from 2002 to 2013. There were 9171 individuals in the SD group and 28243 in the control or no SD group. The Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, the log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazard regression analysis were used to calculate the incidence, survival curve, and hazard ratio of headache for each group. There were no statistically significant differences in sex (P = .7708), age (P = .991), residential area (P = .9626), or socioeconomic status (P = .9982) between the 2 groups. The survival curve between SD and control or no SD showed a statistically significant difference. The adjusted hazard ratio for headache incidence during the 10-year follow-up period of the SD group was 1.37 (95% CI: 1.31-1.43). This cohort study suggests that SD is associated with headache. Therefore, these findings suggest that septoplasty can be considered as 1 of the treatment option in SD patients with headache.

This study examined the effects of Maillard reaction products reacted by casein and lactose (cMRP) and of cMRP fermented by Lactobacillus fermentum H9 (F-cMRP) on hypolipidemic and antiinflammatory effects in rats fed a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet (HD). The HD-fed rats had significantly increased hepatic triglyceride concentrations compared with the rats fed a normal diet. It was shown that treatment with simvastatin, L. fermentum H9 (H9), cMRP, and F-cMRP decreased total triglycerides in the liver compared with the HD group. On histological analysis, a reduction of lipid accumulation in the liver and aortic tissues was observed in the cMRP, F-cMRP, and H9-fed rats. Also, F-cMRP and cMRP reduced intima-media thickness in the HD group. In addition, the H9, cMRP, and F-cMRP treatments significantly reduced the expression levels of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, but not of MCP-1. In particular, the expressions of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 were significantly decreased in the F-cMRP group compared with the HD group. These results of the present study suggest that cMRP and F-cMRP in dairy foods could potentially be used to prevent or treat cardiovascular diseases, especially atherosclerosis.

This study examined the effects of Maillard reaction products reacted by casein and lactose (cMRP) and of cMRP fermented by Lactobacillus fermentum H9 (FcMRP) on hypolipidemic and anti inflammatory effects in rats fed a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet (HD). The HD-fed rats had significantly increased hepatic triglyceride concentrations compared with the rats fed a normal diet. It was shown that treatment with simvastatin, L. fermentum H9 (H9), cMRP, F-cMRP decreased total triglycerides in the liver compared with the HD group. On histological analysis, a reduction of lipid accumulation in the liver and aortic tissues was observed in the cMRP, F-cMRP, and H9-fed rats. Also, F-cMRP and cMRP reduced intima-media thickness in the HD group. In addition, the H9, cMRP, F-cMRP treatments significantly reduced the expression levels of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, but not of MCP-1. In particular, the expressions of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 were significantly decreased in the F-cMRP group compared with the HD group. These results of the present study suggest that cMRP and F-cMRP in dairy foods could potentially be used to prevent or treat cardiovascular diseases, especially atherosclerosis. Keywordshypolipidemic and antiinflammatory effect, Maillard reaction product, Lactobacillus fermentum, reverse transcription-PCR, rat animal model

Background and Objectives Invasive fungal sinusitis is extremely rare. Yet the consequences of this infection may be fatal if not diagnosed correctly at an early stage. We discuss three cases of Aspergillosis sphenoid sinusitis that were misdiagnosed and have led to fatal consequences. Subjects and Method This is a retrospective analysis of cases diagnosed as invasive fungal sinusitis of sphenoid sinus. Results All three cases were of men who had immunocompromised medical histories that included leukemia and diabetes mellitus. The patients presented symptoms that included fever, chronic headache, weakness on one side, and facial edema. In the first case, CT showed no suspicious lesions that indicated fungal infection. However, five days after being prescribed antibiotics, the patient suffered obstruction of the right internal carotid artery (ICA) and right cavernous sinus. In the second case, CT showed total obstruction in the left ICA and a soft tissue mass in the left sphenoid sinus that extended and involved the left cavernous sinus. In the last case, CT showed soft density progression in the right sphenoid sinus with bone erosion when compared to images taken eight days earlier. In each of these cases, we performed emergency endoscopic sinus surgery. One case was confirmed to be invasive aspergillosis by histology whereas the other two cases were suspected to be invasive aspergillosis based on their past medical histories, clinical findings and image studies. Conclusion Clinicians must take great care to rule out invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients with sinusitis.