Our results suggest that the reduced antioxidant defense and the local NF-κB pathway play an important role in the impairment of endothelium-dependent relaxation in aorta from obese mice.

Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius), a tuberous root native to the Andean region of South America, contains high concentration of fructans with potential for colon cancer prevention. This study investigated the potential beneficial of yacon intake on colon carcinogenesis induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) in male Wistar rats. After 4 weeks of DMH-initiation, groups were fed basal diet (G1 and G6) or basal diet containing dried extract of yacon root at 0.5% (G2), 1.0% (G3 and G5) or a synbiotic formulation (G4) (1.0% yacon plus Lactobacillus casei at 2.5 × 10(10)CFU per g diet) for 13 weeks. At week 20, a significant reduction in number and multiplicity of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) and in number of invasive adenocarcinomas was observed in the groups orally treated with 1.0% yacon (G3) or the synbiotic formulation (G4) (0.05

Aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in the colon of carcinogen-treated rodents are considered to be the earliest hallmark of colon carcinogenesis. In the present study the relationship between a short-term (4 weeks) and medium-term (30 weeks) assay was assessed in a model of colon carcinogenesis induced by dimethylhydrazine (DMH) in the rat. Sixweek-old male Wistar rats were given subcutaneous injections of DMH (40 mg/kg) twice a week for 2 weeks and killed at the end of the 4th or 30th week. ACF were scored for number, distribution pattern along the colon and crypt multiplicity in 0.1% methylene-blue wholemount preparations. ACF were distinguished from normal crypts by their larger size and elliptical shape. The incidence, distribution and morphology of colon tumors were recorded. The majority of ACF were present in the middle and distal colon of DMH-treated rats and their number increased with time. By the 4th week, 91.5% ACF were composed of one or two crypts and 8.5% had three or more crypts, while by the 30th week 46.9% ACF had three or more crypts. Thus, a progression of ACF consisting of multiple crypts was observed from the 4th to the 30th week. Nine well-differentiated adenocarcinomas were found in 10 rats by the 30th week. Seven tumors were located in the distal colon and two in the middle colon. No tumor was found in the proximal colon. The present data indicate that induction of ACF by DMH in the short-term (4 weeks) assay was correlated with development of well-differentiated adenocarcinomas in the medium-term (30 weeks) assay.

A infecção pelo Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) induz inflamação persistente na mucosa gástrica com diferentes lesões orgânicas em humanos, tais como gastrite crônica, úlcera péptica e câncer gástrico. Os fatores determinantes desses diferentes resultados incluem a intensidade e a distribuição da inflamação induzida pelo H. pylori na mucosa gástrica. Evidências recentes demonstram que cepas do Recebido em 06/11/02 Aceito para publicação em 19/03/03

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