No abstract

The intake of an effective amount of mixed L. plantarum LP01 and B. breve BR03 or B. animalis subsp. lactis BS01 for 30 days is able to significantly relieve the evacuation disorders and hard stools, thus providing a useful tool for the management of such condition, which is particularly widespread in industrialized countries at any age.

Asbestos exposure is the main risk factor for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a rare aggressive tumor. Nevertheless, on average less than 10% of subjects highly exposed to asbestos develop MPM, suggesting the possible involvement of other risk factors. To identify the genetic factors that may modulate the risk of MPM, we conducted a gene-environment interaction analysis including asbestos exposure and 15 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously identified through a genome-wide association study on Italian subjects. In the present study, we assessed gene-asbestos interaction on MPM risk using relative excess risk due to interaction and synergy index for additive interaction and V index for multiplicative interaction. Generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR) analyses were also performed. Positive deviation from additivity was found for six SNPs (rs1508805, rs2501618, rs4701085, rs4290865, rs10519201, rs763271), and four of them (rs1508805, rs2501618, rs4701085, rs10519201) deviated also from multiplicative models. However, after Bonferroni correction, deviation from multiplicative model was still significant for rs1508805 and rs4701085 only. GMDR analysis showed a strong MPM risk due to asbestos exposure and suggested a possible synergistic effect between asbestos exposure and rs1508805, rs2501618 and rs5756444. Our results suggested that gene-asbestos interaction may play an additional role on MPM susceptibility, given that asbestos exposure appears as the main risk factor.

Background: Innovative approaches to improve diagnostic yield of endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition (EUS-TA) have focused on needle design with development of fine-needle biopsy (FNB) needles with microcore-acquisition technology. Recently, a 20-gauge (20G) antegrade-cutting-side-bevelled biopsy needle (ProCore Õ ) was developed for EUS-TA, but data about its diagnostic performance and histological capability are scant. Objectives: We assessed the diagnostic performance and histologic retrieval rate of a new 20G antegrade-cuttingside-bevelled biopsy needle compared with a 22G reverse-side-bevelled needle for EUS sampling of solid pancreatic lesions. Patients and methods: A retrospective analysis of 238 consecutively collected patients who underwent EUS-TA using a 20G or a 22G ProCore Õ needle, without rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE), was conducted at two centres. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were calculated. Histologic tissue retrieval was evaluated applying a scoring system for each case. Results: Sensitivity and specificity were estimated as 98.4-100% in the 20G-, and 94.9-100% in the 22G-needle groups, respectively (p > 0.99). The 20G procured more histologic-grade tissues (92.6% vs 49.5%, p < 0.0001) achieved by a lower number of passes (2.64 vs 3.44, p < 0.0001) compared to the 22G. Conclusions: Both side-bevelled FNB needles achieved a high diagnostic sensitivity. The 20G-side-bevelled needle obtained a significantly higher microcore retrieval rate. Key summaryEstablished knowledge on this subject includes the following:. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition (EUS-TA) has gained a pivotal role in the management of pancreatic solid lesions.