Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Common sources and estimated intake of plant sterols in the Spanish diet

Plant sterols (PS) are minor lipid components of plants, which may have potential health benefits, mainly based in their cholesterol-lowering effect. The aim of this study was to determine the composition and content of PS in plant-based foods commonly consumed in Spain and to estimate the PS intake in the Spanish diet. For this purpose, the determination of PS content, using a modern methodology to measure free, esterified, and glycosidic sterol forms, was done. Second, an estimation of the intake of PS, using the Spanish National Food Consumption data, was made. The daily intake per person of PS-campesterol, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and stigmastanol-in the Spanish diet was estimated at 276 mg, the largest component being β-sitosterol (79.7%). Other unknown compounds, tentatively identified as PS, may constitute a considerable potential intake (99 mg). When the daily PS intake among European diets was compared in terms of campesterol, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and stigmastanol, the PS intake in the Spanish diet was in the same range of other countries such as Finland (15.7% higher) or The Netherlands (equal). However, some qualitative differences in the PS sources were detected, that is, the predominant brown bread and vegetable fat consumption in the northern diets versus the white bread and vegetable oil consumption in the Spanish diet. These differences may help to provide a link between the consumption of PS and healthy effects of the diet. © 2006 American Chemical Society.Peer Reviewe

Effect of grape antioxidant dietary fibre on the prevention of lipid oxidation in minced fish: Evaluation by different methodologies

Effect of grape antioxidant dietary fibre (GADF) addition to minced fish muscle (MFM) on lipid stability during frozen storage (6 months) was studied. Concentrations of 0%, 2%, and 4% GADF were added to MFM samples. Analyses were carried out immediately after preparation of samples and during and after storage at 20 C. GADF was characterized in terms of dietary fibre, total polyphenols and antioxidant capacity, and multifunctional antioxidant assays were carried out on all the MFM samples. The addition of red grape fibre considerably delayed lipid oxidation in minced horse mackerel muscle during the first 3 months of frozen storage.Peer reviewe

Antioxidant protection of white grape pomace on restructured fish products during frozen storage

9 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables.-- Available online Feb 20, 2007.White grape antioxidant dietary fibre (WGDF) was obtained from white grape (Vitis vinifera, var. Airén) pomace from wine production. The antioxidant capacity of WGDF was determined in minced fish muscle (MFM) during frozen storage. Concentrations of 0, 2, and 4% WGDF ((0-WGDF), (2-WGDF), and (4-WGDF) respectively) were added to MFM samples. Analyses were carried out immediately after preparation of samples and over 6 months of storage at −20°C. WGDF was characterized in terms of dietary fibre (DF) (insoluble and soluble), total polyphenols and antioxidant capacity, and multifunctional antioxidant assays were done on all the MFM samples. The addition of white grape DF considerably delayed lipid oxidation in minced horse mackerel muscle during the frozen storage. Vacuum-packing the sample with 2% WGDF significantly enhanced the antioxidant properties of WGDF.This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia under Projects AGL2002-04104-C04-03 and AGL2002-04104-C04-01, and by the EU under Integrated Project SEAFOODplus (Ref. FP6/506359). The authors wish to thank the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia for Ms. Sánchez-Alonso's predoctoral fellowship.Peer reviewe