No abstract

Inflammation is a driven force in modulating microbial communities, but little is known about the interplay between colonizing microorganisms and the immune response in periodontitis. Since local and systemic inflammation may play a whole role in disease, we aimed to evaluate the oral and fecal microbiome of patients with periodontitis and to correlate the oral microbiome data with levels of inflammatory mediator in saliva.Methods: Nine patients with periodontitis (P) in Stage 3/Grade B and nine age-matched non-affected controls (H) were evaluated. Microbial communities of oral biofilms (the supra and subgingival from affected and non-affected sites) and feces were determined by sequencing analysis of the 16SrRNA V3–V4 region. Salivary levels of 40 chemokines and cytokines were correlated with oral microbiome data.Results: Supragingival microbial communities of P differed from H (Pielou's evenness index, and Beta diversity, and weighted UniFrac), since relative abundance (RA) of Defluviitaleaceae, Desulfobulbaceae, Mycoplasmataceae, Peptostreococcales-Tissierellales, and Campylobacteraceae was higher in P, whereas Muribaculaceae and Streptococcaceae were more abundant in H. Subgingival non-affected sites of P did not differ from H, except for a lower abundance of Gemellaceae. The microbiome of affected periodontitis sites (PD ≥ 4 mm) clustered apart from the subgingival sites of H. Oral pathobionts was more abundant in sub and supragingival biofilms of P than H. Fecal samples of P were enriched with Acidaminococcus, Clostridium, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Megasphaera, and Romboutsia when compared to H. The salivary levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and inflammatory chemokines were positively correlated with the RA of several recognized and putative pathobionts, whereas the RA of beneficial species, such as Rothia aeria and Haemophilus parainfluenzae was negatively correlated with the levels of Chemokine C-C motif Ligand 2 (CCL2), which is considered protective. Dysbiosis in patients with periodontitis was not restricted to periodontal pockets but was also seen in the supragingival and subgingival non-affected sites and feces. Subgingival dysbiosis revealed microbial signatures characteristic of different immune profiles, suggesting a role for candidate pathogens and beneficial organisms in the inflammatory process of periodontitis.

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common type of cancer worldwide with high incidences in Asia, Central, and South American countries. This patchy distribution means that GC studies are neglected by large research centers from developed countries. The need for further understanding of this complex disease, including the local importance of epidemiological factors and the rich ancestral admixture found in Brazil, stimulated the implementation of the GE4GAC project. GE4GAC aims to embrace epidemiological, clinical, molecular and microbiological data from Brazilian controls and patients with malignant and pre-malignant gastric disease. In this letter, we summarize the main goals of the project, including subject and sample accrual and current findings.

Objective: To establish the relationship between cardiovascular (CV) risk profile and detected risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in two questionnaires - STOP-BANG (SB) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), in a young population of adults registered in a Primary Health Care unit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Design and method: This cross-sectional population study enrolled adults between 20–50 years old, registered in a primary healthcare unit in Rio de Janeiro. A database is being developed including sociodemographic and anthropometric data, and CV risk factors. Office blood pressure (BP) and Home Blood Pressure Monitoring (HBPM) (7-day protocol) (Omron-705CP). Moreover, OSA was investigated by SB and ESS. Patients with a high risk for OSA in either of these two questionnaires were subsequently assigned for polysomnography (PSG). Results: A total of 562 subjects were evaluated [40% males, 38.9 ± 8.8 years], where 151 (26.9%) were identified as high risk for OSA by the SB questionnaire and 210 (37.4%) by ESS. The most common CV risk factor was physical inactivity (43%), followed by dyslipidemia (38%) and obesity (28%). By OBP, the prevalence of hypertension was 13.4% while by HBPM was 18.6%, with a low concordance between them (kappa = 0.472). Subjects with a high risk at SB are older, with a higher prevalence of obesity, hypertension and higher office BP and HBPM. On the other hand, individuals with high-risk by ESS were more obese, with increased waist circumference, higher prevalence of dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome. Nevertheless, there was no difference in BP levels. Among the subjects submitted to PSG, 46% had a diagnosis of OSA (AHI higher 5/hour) and 23% of moderate/severe OSA (AHI higher 15/hour). The best predictor of AOS was SB, positive in 100% of subjects with moderate/severe OSA, while ESS was positive in only 20% of them. Conclusions: This young and apparently healthy population presented a high prevalence and risk for OSA. The SB had a higher association with higher BP levels, while ESE was associated with a worse metabolic profile. SB questionnaire seems to be the best predictor for moderate/severe OSA in this young adult population.

Background: Obesity is increasing in younger populations, and is associated with a high cardiovascular (CV) risk, however, it is not clear whether metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) may have a lower CV risk or if it is just an earlier stage of the disease. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and CV risk factors associated with MHO in a young adult population provided by a Primary Healthcare Center in a large urban area of Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional population study for CV risk assessment in adults aged 20-50 years old provided by a Primary Healthcare Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Demographic, anthropometric data and CV risk factors were recorded. All underwent office blood pressure (OBP) measurements, laboratory evaluation (lipid and glycemic profile). Obesity was defined as a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 and MHO are those who have less than 3 of the following criteria: hypertension, diabetes, total cholesterol ≥ 200 mg/dL, HDL<40 mg/dL (men) and 50 mg/dL (women), triglycerides>150 mg/dL and increased waist circumference. Results: A total of 632 individuals were evaluated (60% female; mean age 37 ± 9 years). The prevalence of obesity was 25% (161 of 632 individuals), of which 73% (117 of 161 individuals) were classified as MHO. Obese individuals are older, with a higher prevalence of physical inactivity (51% vs 41%, p=0.03), hypertension (44% vs 19%, p<0.001), dyslipidemia (50% vs 36%, p=0.002) and diabetes (7% vs 2%, p=0.001) with higher systolic OBP. MHO compared to unhealthy ones are significantly younger and smoke less. Despite being obese, they have lower BMI (33.6 vs 35.2 kg/m2, p=0.02) and abdominal circumference (102 vs 110 cm, p=0.03), with lower diastolic BP. Conclusions: MHO was more prevalent in this young adult population and seems to have a lower CV risk, however it is not clear whether these younger and less obese individuals are only at an earlier stage of the disease. Perhaps the CV diseases onset is postponed for a few years. Even so, these individuals should not be excluded from public health policies as a form of primary prevention.