CBmeter- a new medical device for early screening of metabolic diseases

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a highly prevalent disease worldwide which is asymptomatic in about 44% of patients being critical to search for new ways of early diagnosis. Recent studies have demonstrated that the etiology of this disease may be associated with alterations in the function of the carotid body (CB), a chemosensor organ located within the bifurcation of the carotid artery. In animal models of metabolic syndrome it was observed that the CBs are overactivated, underlying diseases such as obesity, hypertension and T2DM. This discovery provided a new paradigm in the neuroendocrinology field, suggesting that diagnostic function of the CBs has predictive value for the development of metabolic diseases. Despite this fact, it is not common in clinical practice to look at the CBs as organs associated with endocrine dysfunction and we believe this is probably due to the nonexistence of a user-friendly, portable medical device that diagnosis the function of the CBs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

mHealth Applications to Monitor Lifestyle Behaviors and Circadian Rhythm in Clinical Settings: Current Perspective and Future Directions

Metabolic diseases are a global rising health burden, mainly due to the deleterious interaction of current lifestyles with the underlying biology of these diseases. Daily habits and behaviors, such as diet, sleep, and physical exercise impact the whole-body circadian system through the synchronization of the peripheral body clocks that contribute to metabolic homeostasis. The disruption of this system may promote the development of metabolic diseases, including obesity and diabetes, emphasizing the importance of assessing and monitoring variables that affect circadian rhythms. Advances in technology are generating innovative resources and tools for health care management and patient monitoring, particularly important for chronic conditions. The use of mobile health technologies, known as mHealth, is increasing and these approaches are contributing to aiding both patients and healthcare professionals in disease management and education. The mHealth solutions allow continuous monitoring of patients, sharing relevant information and data with physicians and other healthcare professionals and accessing education resources to support informed decisions. Thus, if properly used, these tools empower patients and help them to adopt healthier lifestyles. This article aims to give an overview of the influence of circadian rhythms disruption and lifestyle habits in the progression of metabolic diseases while also reviewing some of the mobile applications available to monitor lifestyle behaviors and individual chronobiology. Herein is also described the design and development of the NutriClock system, an mHealth solution developed by our team to monitor these variables

PROVA DE TOLERÂNCIA A UMA REFEIÇÃO MISTA COMO MÉTODO DE RASTREIO DE DIABETES GESTACIONAL: UMA REVISÃO NARRATIVA

The oral glucose tolerance test is, to this day, the gold standard method to screen for gestational diabetes mellitus, even though it can cause various side effects. To outcome this problem, a few studies have tested the use of a Mixed Meal Tolerance Test in pregnant women as an alternative to the glucose load, which are reviewed in this article. After analyzing these studies, it can be concluded that the Mixed Meal Tolerance Test could be a viable alternative to the gold standard, although further studies should be conducted.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nutrition education strategies to promote vegetable consumption in preschool children: The Veggies4myHeart project

Objective: To test the efficacy of three nutrition education strategies on the intake of different vegetables in preschool children. Design: This is an experimental study conducted in four Portuguese preschools. The intervention consisted of 20-min educational sessions, once a week, for 5 weeks, with one of the following randomised educational strategies: Portuguese Food Wheel Guide (control), digital game, storybook, storybook and reward (stickers). All groups had repeated exposure to vegetables in all sessions. A preand post-test were conducted to determine vegetable intake, and a 6-month follow-up was realised. Setting: Preschools of Leiria district, Portugal. Participants: A sample of 162 children aged 3 to 6 years. All eligible children attending the preschools were invited to participate. Results: All interventions tested were effective in increasing vegetable consumption both in the short and medium term, without statistically significant differences, compared to the control group. Stickers were more effective in the short term than in the medium term. Conclusions: The nutritional education strategies associated with repeated exposure tested in this study were effective in promoting vegetable consumption in preschool children. The use of stickers may be a valid strategy to promote the consumption of vegetables less recognised by children.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nutrition education strategies to promote vegetable consumption in preschool children - The Veggies4myHeart Project

Funding: We are very grateful to the principals, teachers, staff, and families of the preschools with which we partnered on this project. Financial support: This work was funded by ‘Challenges in Cardiology Accelerator Program 2018’and by Portuguese national funds provided by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) (UIDB/ 05704/2020 and UIDP/05704/2020).Objective: To test the efficacy of three nutrition education strategies on the intake of different vegetables in preschool children. Design: This is an experimental study conducted in four Portuguese preschools. The intervention consisted of 20-minutes educational sessions, once a week, for five weeks, with one of the following randomized educational strategies: Portuguese Food Wheel Guide (control), digital game, storybook, storybook and reward (stickers). All groups had repeated exposure to vegetables in all sessions. A pre- and post-test were conducted to determine vegetable intake and a 6-month follow-up was realized. Setting: Preschools of Leiria district, Portugal. Participants: A sample of 162 children aged 3 to 6 years. All eligible children attending the preschools were invited to participate. Results: All interventions tested were effective in increasing vegetable consumption both in the short and medium-term, without statistically significant differences, compared to the control group. Stickers were more effective in the short-term than in the medium term. Conclusions: The nutritional education strategies associated with repeated exposure tested in this study were effective in promoting vegetable consumption in preschool children. The use of stickers may be a valid strategy to promote the consumption of vegetables less recognized by children.publishersversionpublishe

Development of a mixed-meal that impacts carotid-body mediated cardiorespiratory and metabolic parameters - a pilot study

The carotid bodies (CB) have been recently implicated in the genesis of metabolic diseases in animal models. The CBs respond to circulating insulin to increase heart rate, respiratory rate and blood glucose levels. In humans, this mechanism is not well characterized.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The NutriClock Study Protocol - Assessing the Impact of a Chrononutrition Intervention in Patients With Cardiometabolic Disturbances

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Spontaneous B-cell lymphoma in hamster

Durante estudo anatomopatológico, incluindo imunoistoquímica, sobre pancreatite chagásica, experimentalmente induzida em hamsters machos, não-isogênicos, com quatro meses de idade, pesando 107,8 ± 10,9g, infiltração por linfoma foi observada em um animalcontrole normal, com 15 meses de idade. A neoplasia foi notada na ocasião da necropsia, 330 dias após o início do experimento. Lirifoma similar não foi achado nos demais controles normais (n=73), nem nos hamsters do grupo infectado, pareados para peso e idade (n=94). As alterações histopatológicas e imunoistoquímicas foram consistentes com linfoma difuso, não-Hodgkin, de grandes céiulas-B; porém, a hipótese de eventual origem leucêmica não foi inteiramente excluída. Linfomas experimentalmente induzidos têm sido relatados em animais de laboratório; entretanto, relatos de caso de linfoma, ocorrendo espontaneamente em hamsters, não têm sido freqüentes. No presente caso, o desenvolvimento da doença poderia ter alguma relação com o processo de envelhecimento.During anatomopathologic study, including immunohistochemistry, about chagasic pancreatitis experimentally induced in four month aged male non-isogenic hamsters, weighing 107.8 ± 10.9g, lymphoma infiltration was observed in a 15 month-aged normal control animal. The neoplasia was disclosed on the occasion of necropsy studies, 330 days after the beginning of experiment. Similar lymphoma was not found in the remainder normal controls (n=73), nor in the group of infected hamsters age and weight matched (n=94). The neoplasia histopathologic and immunohistochemical changes were consistent with non-Hodgkin diffuse large B-ceIl lymphoma; nevertheless, the hypothesis of eventual leukemic origin was not entirely excluded. Experimentally induced lymphomas have been related in laboratory animais; however, cases of spontaneously occurring lymphoma have been infrequently described in hamsters. In the present case, the development of the disease could have some relation with the animal aging process

The Usefulness of Inflammatory Biomarkers to Predict Anastomotic Leakage after Colorectal Surgery: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Aim: Anastomotic leakage (AL) is a severe postoperative complication in colorectal surgery, but its preclinical diagnosis may improve outcomes and increase anastomotic salvage. This study aimed to assess the added value of serum biomarkers for early detection of colorectal AL. Method: We performed a comprehensive literature review, and a qualitative and quantitative analysis of papers retrieved from MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and the Cochrane Library. We included all studies published before September 2021 assessing the serum biomarkers white blood cells (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and calprotectin (CLP) for the early diagnosis of AL. Results: Fifteen studies that evaluated three different systemic biomarkers in the context of AL were identified, including 5150 patients. Diagnostic test accuracy was estimated for CRP and PCT. On postoperative day (POD) 5, the highest AUC (87.1%) and specificity (80.2%) values were estimated for CRP. Random-effects meta-analysis and total effect sizes estimation for the biomarkers CRP, PCT and WBC were performed according to POD. The concentration of serum biomarkers is significantly higher in patients presenting AL. Regarding the qualitative analysis, there was significant heterogeneity in the inclusion of different subcategories of the consensus definition of colorectal AL in each paper’s definition. Conclusion: The serum biomarkers CRP and PCT are moderate predictors for AL, showing a high heterogeneity among the studies. Combinations of these biomarkers might improve predictive accuracy, but more studies will be necessary to conduct a quality metaregression.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Aceitação de um programa mHealth para prevenção da obesidade em adolescentes: estudo misto sequencial

A área da saúde tem-se adaptado ao uso de tecnologia, recorrendo a esta como um aliado relevante em programas de monitorização e prevenção da obesidade e problemas associados. Objetivo: Avaliar a aceitação do programa e-terapêutico TeenPower em adolescentesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio