Nutrition economics – characterising the economic and health impact of nutrition

There is a new merging of health economics and nutrition disciplines to assess the impact of diet on health and disease prevention and to characterise the health and economic aspects of specific changes in nutritional behaviour and nutrition recommendations. A rationale exists for developing the field of nutrition economics which could offer a better understanding of both nutrition, in the context of having a significant influence on health outcomes, and economics, in order to estimate the absolute and relative monetary impact of health measures. For this purpose, an expert meeting assessed questions aimed at clarifying the scope and identifying the key issues that should be taken into consideration in developing nutrition economics as a discipline that could potentially address important questions. We propose a first multidisciplinary outline for understanding the principles and particular characteristics of this emerging field. We summarise here the concepts and the observations of workshop participants and propose a basic setting for nutrition economics and health outcomes research as a novel discipline to support nutrition, health economics and health policy development in an evidence and health-benefit-based manner

Development of an educational intervention for patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) – a pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many IBS patients experience that they receive limited information and that the health care system does not take their complaints seriously. We aimed to develop a structured patient education, an 'IBS school', and investigate if the efficacy could be evaluated in terms of improved knowledge, symptom severity and health related quality of life (HRQOL).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The IBS school consisted of six weekly two hour sessions in a group setting. Five different health care professionals were responsible for one session each. Questionnaires covering patients' experience of the education, perceived knowledge about IBS, gastrointestinal symptoms, and HRQOL, were used for evaluation at baseline and at three, six, and twelve months after education.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twelve IBS patients were included. The patients were overall satisfied with the IBS school. In line with this, the gastrointestinal symptoms, HRQOL, and perceived knowledge about IBS improved significantly after the education.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>An IBS school seems to be a proper method to meet the patients' need of information about IBS and also to improve the patients' gastrointestinal symptoms, HRQOL, and knowledge about IBS. Further controlled studies are now needed in larger numbers of patients to confirm these preliminary results in order to implement this intervention in clinical practice.</p

Human native kappa opioid receptor functions not predicted by recombinant receptors: Implications for drug design

International audienc

Beneficial effects of Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 on clinical disorders associated with intestinal barrier disruption

Chloe Terciolo,1,2 Michel Dapoigny,3 Frederic Andre4 1INRA, UMR 1331 Toxalim, Research Center in Food Toxicology, F-31027 Toulouse, France; 2Aix-Marseille Universit&eacute;, INSERM, UMR 911, CRO2, Marseille, France; 3M&eacute;decine Digestive, CHU Estaing, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Universit&eacute; Clermont Auvergne, INSERM UMR 1107, Neuro-Dol, Clermont-Ferrand, France; 4Centre de Recherche en Canc&eacute;rologie de Marseille (CRCM), INSERM U1068, CNRS UMR 7258, Aix-Marseille Universit&eacute; and Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Parc scientifique et technologique de Luminy, Marseille, France Abstract: Intestinal barrier defects lead to &ldquo;leaky gut syndrome&rdquo;, defined as an increase in intestinal permeability that allows the passage of luminal content into intestinal tissue and the bloodstream. Such a compromised intestinal barrier is the main factor underlying the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, but also commonly occurs in various systemic diseases such as viral infections and metabolic syndrome. The non-pathogenic yeast Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 has demonstrated its effectiveness as a probiotic in the prevention and treatment of antibiotic-associated, infectious and functional diarrhea. Via multiple mechanisms of action implicated in intestinal barrier function, S. boulardii has beneficial effects on altered intestinal microbiota and epithelial barrier defects in different pathologies. The well-studied probiotic yeast S. boulardii plays a crucial role in the preservation and/or restoration of intestinal barrier function in multiple disorders. This could be of major interest in diseases characterized by alterations in intestinal barrier function. Keywords: Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745, apical junctional complex, leaky gut syndrome, intestinal barrier function, intestinal permeability, tight junction

Cholecystokinin and nitric oxide in transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxation to gastric distention in dogs

International audienc

Determination of low level of actinium 227 in seawater and freshwater by isotope dilution and mass spectrometry

By diffusing from the sediments into the ocean, 227Ac (half-life = 21.7 y) is a powerful tracer of vertical mixing in the deep ocean on decadal time scales. However, its use is limited by its very low concentration resulting in large volumes (hundreds of L) of water required for its analysis. We have developed a new method of 227Ac analysis by isotope dilution and MC-ICPMS that significantly improves the measurement accuracy and reduces the sample size (10−30L). After spiking water samples with 225Ac milked from a 229Th solution, actinium isotopes are preconcentrated by manganese co-precipitation, purified by chromatographic methods and then measured by MC-ICPMS. The performance of the analytical method (accuracy, precision) was estimated with a homemade actinium standard solution. An internal quality control was carried out to validate the method by repeated measurements of 2 L of surface seawater doped with 227Ac (1000 ag/kg) and duplicates of the Vienne river water (6.1 ± 1.7 ag/kg and 4.1 ± 1.3 ag/kg). 231Pa was also co-precipitated, purified during the chromatography and analysed by MC-ICPMS. The combined measurement of 227Ac and 231Pa from the same sample allows discriminating 227Ac supported by 231Pa decay from the 227Ac released by remobilization from the sediments. The 227Ac concentrations measured on the first seawater samples of 29 L from the South China Sea water range from below the detection limit in surface water (~ 0.5 ag/kg for 30 L) to 3.4 ± 0.5 ag/kg at 2760 m depth (uncertainties are given in 2σn). The 227Ac measured in the deep South China Sea waters entering through the Luzon strait are consistent with previous data obtained in the same water mass in the Pacific Ocean (PDW). Seawater from the southernmost station of Bonus GoodHope, in the Weddell Gyre, were also analysed, with 227Ac concentration ranging from 4.2 ± 0.4 ag/kg to 10.9 ± 1.0 ag/kg in good agreement with previous measurement in the Weddell Gyre by Geibert et al. (2002, 2008)

Distribution of Pa in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean: Tracking scavenging during water mass mixing along neutral density surfaces

International audienceDissolved and particulate Protactinium-231 ($^{231}$Pa) was analyzed for samples from the BONUS GoodHope (BGH) IPY-GEOTRACES cruise in the SE Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean (36°S-13°E to 57°S-0°, Feb.–Mar. 2008). The inflowing waters from the Atlantic Ocean fuel the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in dissolved $^{231}$Pa which is mostly removed from seawater by the biogenic silica produced by diatoms in the Southern Ocean. This scavenging flux of the $^{231}$Pa induces a meridional gradient of the $^{231}$Pa concentration and of the Th–Pa fractionation factor (F$_{Th/Pa}$).We propose a first direct estimate of the $^{231}$Pa partition coefficient between suspended opal and seawater of about 1.42 ± 0.55 × 10$^6$ g/g. This partition coefficient could directly apply to simulate the particulate Pa concentration from the dissolved fraction and the opal concentration. We apply to $^{231}$Pa the isopycnal advection-diffusion-scavenging model built for Th isotopes across the ACC. This additional constraint on the model does not modify the isopycnal eddy diffusion estimate of about 1900 ± 180 m$^2$/s at different isopycnal surfaces but suggests a higher particle settling velocity, about 1000 m/y, in the northern part of the ACC than solely derived from Th isotopes. The most different feature is the reduction by half of the estimated uncertainties among the different transport parameters just by the addition of a new constraining parameter. Moreover, this study confirms that $^{231}$Pa budget of the Atlantic Sector of Southern Ocean cannot be balanced by considering meridional transport only, and need to consider eastward export to scavenge Pa in the whole area of the Opal Belt