Effect of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and Vitamin E on serum oxidative status in horses performing very light exercise

In sporting horses the use of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) could enhance performance because these fatty acids are very important in membrane permeability, and in particular they seem to increase the possibility of long chain fatty acids entering mythochondria to be burnt. The composition of cellular membranes and lipoprotein fatty acids com- position is strictly related to dietary fat quality; percentages of polyunsaturated fatty acids and amount of antioxidants also affect tissue susceptibility to lipid peroxidation. Six horses were used in a latin square design in which three homogeneous groups were subsequently assigned three dif- ferent dietary treatments for one month each: Control group (C): basic diet; Oil group (O): Basic diet + 200g/day oil rich in PUFAs (Crossential GLA TG20, Croda ®); Vitamin E group (O+E): basic diet + 200 g/day oil rich in PUFAs (Crossential GLA TG20, Croda ®) + 5 g/day α-toco- pheryl-acetate (Egon-E, Acme ®). At the end of each experimental period blood samples were taken by jugular vein puncture. Serum oxidative status was evaluated by TBARs and d-ROMs assessment. Oxidative markers showed the high- est mean values for the oil group, even if no statistically significant differences were found

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome associated with COVID-19: An Emulated Target Trial Analysis.

RATIONALE: Whether COVID patients may benefit from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) compared with conventional invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the effect of ECMO on 90-Day mortality vs IMV only Methods: Among 4,244 critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 included in a multicenter cohort study, we emulated a target trial comparing the treatment strategies of initiating ECMO vs. no ECMO within 7 days of IMV in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (PaO2/FiO2 <80 or PaCO2 ≥60 mmHg). We controlled for confounding using a multivariable Cox model based on predefined variables. MAIN RESULTS: 1,235 patients met the full eligibility criteria for the emulated trial, among whom 164 patients initiated ECMO. The ECMO strategy had a higher survival probability at Day-7 from the onset of eligibility criteria (87% vs 83%, risk difference: 4%, 95% CI 0;9%) which decreased during follow-up (survival at Day-90: 63% vs 65%, risk difference: -2%, 95% CI -10;5%). However, ECMO was associated with higher survival when performed in high-volume ECMO centers or in regions where a specific ECMO network organization was set up to handle high demand, and when initiated within the first 4 days of MV and in profoundly hypoxemic patients. CONCLUSIONS: In an emulated trial based on a nationwide COVID-19 cohort, we found differential survival over time of an ECMO compared with a no-ECMO strategy. However, ECMO was consistently associated with better outcomes when performed in high-volume centers and in regions with ECMO capacities specifically organized to handle high demand. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)