Lactose in yogurt is better digested than lactose in other dairy foods by lactase-deficient individuals, in part because of intraintestinal activity of yogurt microbial beta-galactosidase (beta-gal). The survival and activity of yogurt beta-gal depend on gastrointestinal transit, pH, and viability of the yogurt culture. To evaluate the ability of yogurt beta-gal to digest lactose when yogurt is consumed with food or with additional lactose, 22 healthy lactose-maldigesting individuals were fed 10 test meals. Results of breath-hydrogen expiration, incidence of symptoms, and enzyme and lactose content of gastric aspirates indicate that the consumption of a meal with yogurt does not inhibit, and may slightly improve, lactose digestion from yogurt. However, yogurt beta-gal appears unable to assist in the digestion of additional lactose beyond that normally present in yogurt.

Abstract.Objective: Recent studies suggest that in some circumstances, alcohol intoxication at the time of severe head injury may be neuroprotective. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of acute and chronic alcohol ingestion on outcome in rodents sustaining multiple episodes of mild traumatic brain injury while intoxicated. Methods: For two weeks before experimentation, adult male SpragueDawley rats received intoxicating levels of 95% ethanol (3 g/kg) or normal saline (NS) every other day by orogastric instillation. On the day of experimentation, the animals were randomized to receive alcohol or NS. Two hours later, the animals received either mild (1.2 Ϯ 0.4 ATA) fluid percussion injury (FPI) or no injury. The injured animals received a total of three episodes of FPI (once every four days). Mean reflex recovery time (RRT) was determined (seconds Ϯ SEM) immediately after each episode. Mean latency time (seconds Ϯ SEM) for Morris Water Maze (MWM) performance was assessed at posttrauma days 11-19. Results: The chronic alcoholexposed (CA) and the non-alcohol-exposed (NA) animals intoxicated when injured had prolonged escape, righting, and corneal RRTs after each FPI compared with the nonintoxicated injured animals and the noninjured shams. However, the CA animals had significantly shorter RRTs when compared with the NA rats. All the injured animals had MWM deficits on testing days 1-6 compared with the noninjured controls. On the last two MWM testing days, the injured NA animals had significantly better MWM performance than the injured CA rats. Conclusions: The injured intoxicated CA animals had a more rapid recovery of reflexes compared with the injured intoxicated NA animals. Despite initial MWM deficits, the injured NA rodents eventually began to learn the MWM. The injured CA rats never learned the maze. Under the conditions of this study, acute alcohol intoxication at the time of multiple episodes of minor head trauma did not provide neuroprotection for NA or CA rodents.

Background: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients presenting to community hospitals may frequently be transferred to stroke centers if appropriate resources are not available at the referring facilities. Many patients may require discharge to acute rehabilitation (ARF) or skilled nursing (SNF) facilities prior to returning to home. We hypothesize that patients transferring to our comprehensive stroke center (CSC) who require discharge to either ARF or SNF may have longer lengths of stay (LOS) as compared to those who directly present to our CSC. Methods: From September 2015 to December 2016, LOS (days) of AIS patients admitted to our CSC who were discharged to either an ARF or SNF were examined. Patients were compared based on method of presentation (direct versus transfer). Results: During the study period, a total of 259 patients (75.1±14.1 years, 50.6% female) were examined (181 direct, 78 transfer). Mean distance of transferring facilities to our CSC was 112.3±87.3 miles. There were 154 patients (99 direct, 55 transfer) discharged to ARF, and 105 patients (82 direct, 23 transfer) were discharged to SNF. Transferred-in patients discharged to ARF had significantly longer LOS when compared to direct presentation patients discharged to ARF (6.1±3.5 vs 3.9±2.4, p<0.0001). However, no such significant difference was noted for discharges to SNF (5.3±2.8 transfer vs 7.9±15.9 direct, p=0.58). Conclusion: While LOS for patients discharged to SNF was not significantly different between those transferred as compared to those who directly present to our CSC, discharges to ARF were significantly longer among those who were transferred to our CSC. Future efforts should be made to examine potential reasons for prolonged LOS among this group of patients.