Gut microbiota composition in himalayan and andean populations and its relationship with diet, lifestyle and adaptation to the high-altitude environment

Human populations living at high altitude evolved a number of biological adjustments to cope with a challenging environment characterised especially by reduced oxygen availability and limited nutritional resources. This condition may also affect their gut microbiota composition. Here, we explored the impact of exposure to such selective pressures on human gut microbiota by considering different ethnic groups living at variable degrees of altitude: the high-altitude Sherpa and low-altitude Tamang populations from Nepal, the high-altitude Aymara population from Bolivia, as well as a low-altitude cohort of European ancestry, used as control. We thus observed microbial profiles common to the Sherpa and Aymara, but absent in the low-altitude cohorts, which may contribute to the achievement of adaptation to high-altitude lifestyle and nutritional conditions. The collected evidences suggest that microbial signatures associated to these rural populations may enhance metabolic functions able to supply essential compounds useful for the host to cope with high altitude-related physiological changes and energy demand. Therefore, these results add another valuable piece of the puzzle to the understanding of the beneficial effects of symbiosis between microbes and their human host even from an evolutionary perspective

European registry on helicobacter pylori management: Effectiveness of first and second-line treatment in Spain

The management of Helicobacter pylori infection has to rely on previous local effectiveness due to the geographical variability of antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of first and second-line H. pylori treatment in Spain, where the empirical prescription is recommended. A multicentre prospective non-interventional registry of the clinical practice of European gastroenterologists concerning H. pylori infection (Hp-EuReg) was developed, including patients from 2013 until June 2019. Effectiveness was evaluated descriptively and through a multivariate analysis concerning age, gender, presence of ulcer, proton-pump in-hibitor (PPI) dose, therapy duration and compliance. Overall, 53 Spanish hospitals were included, and 10, 267 patients received a first-line therapy. The best results were obtained with the 10-day bismuth single-capsule therapy (95% cure rate by intention-to-treat) and with both the 14-day bismuth-clarithromycin quadruple (PPI-bismuth-clarithromycin-amoxicillin, 91%) and the 14-day non-bismuth quadruple concomitant (PPI-clarithromycin-amoxicillin-metronidazole, 92%) therapies. Second-line therapies were prescribed to 2448 patients, with most-effective therapies being the triple quinolone (PPI-amoxicillin-levofloxacin/moxifloxacin) and the bismuth-levofloxacin quadruple schemes (PPI-bismuth-levofloxacin-amoxicillin) prescribed for 14 days (92%, 89% and 90% effective-ness, respectively), and the bismuth single-capsule (10 days, 88.5%). Compliance, longer duration and higher acid inhibition were associated with higher effectiveness. “Optimized” H. pylori therapies achieve over 90% success in Spain

European Registry on Helicobacter pylori Management: Effectiveness of First and Second-Line Treatment in Spain

The management of Helicobacter pylori infection has to rely on previous local effectiveness due to the geographical variability of antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of first and second-line H. pylori treatment in Spain, where the empirical prescription is recommended. A multicentre prospective non-interventional registry of the clinical practice of European gastroenterologists concerning H. pylori infection (Hp-EuReg) was developed, including patients from 2013 until June 2019. Effectiveness was evaluated descriptively and through a multivariate analysis concerning age, gender, presence of ulcer, proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) dose, therapy duration and compliance. Overall, 53 Spanish hospitals were included, and 10,267 patients received a first-line therapy. The best results were obtained with the 10-day bismuth single-capsule therapy (95% cure rate by intention-to-treat) and with both the 14-day bismuth-clarithromycin quadruple (PPI-bismuth-clarithromycin-amoxicillin, 91%) and the 14-day non-bismuth quadruple concomitant (PPI-clarithromycin-amoxicillin-metronidazole, 92%) therapies. Second-line therapies were prescribed to 2448 patients, with most-effective therapies being the triple quinolone (PPI-amoxicillin-levofloxacin/moxifloxacin) and the bismuth-levofloxacin quadruple schemes (PPI-bismuth-levofloxacin-amoxicillin) prescribed for 14 days (92%, 89% and 90% effectiveness, respectively), and the bismuth single-capsule (10 days, 88.5%). Compliance, longer duration and higher acid inhibition were associated with higher effectiveness. "Optimized" H. pylori therapies achieve over 90% success in Spain

Home enteral nutrition in children: a 10 year experience with 304 pediatric patients

Background & aims: Home enteral nutrition is used increasingly in pediatric populations. Our objective was to describe the profile of pediatric patients requiring this treatment. Material and methods: All patients under 18 years old requiring treatment with home enteral nutrition between January 1995 and December 2004 were analyzed retrospectively. Results: 304 patients were studied (157 boys). The mean age at the start of treatment was 4.02 ± 4.09 years, median of 2.5 years; 28% of all patients were under 1 year. The main indications were oncological disease in 91 patients (29.9%) and digestive diseases in 84 (27.6%). There were significant differences depending on the clinical diagnosis for the start age, type of access, infusion regime and formula prescribed. Nutrients were delivered by nasogastric tube in 218 patients (71.7%). Overnight enteral nutrition was the preferred infusion regime in 155 patients (51%). Adult or pediatric polymeric formulas were mostly prescribed in 190 patients (62.5%). The mean treatment duration was 306 ± 544 days. Conclusion: In our series, enteral support usually begins at an early age. Its characteristics varied depending on patient pathology. Knowledge of the pediatric patient profile is important to design the most effective strategy for home enteral nutrition

Inducción de fluorescencia en pino: Respuesta de Pinus halepensis Miller, P. nigra Arnold y P. pinaster Aiton a los herbicidas hexazinona y simazina

Las primeras fases del desarrollo de pinos pueden verse afectadas por la competencia de las malas hierbas, siendo la utilización de herbicidas fundamental para su control, aunque este tratamiento no debe afectar al pino. En este trabajo, se estudia el efecto de dos herbicidas simazina y hexazinona en tres especies de pino, Pinus halepensis, P. nigra y P. pinaster, mediante medidas de la fase rápida de la cinética de inducción de fluorescencia clorofílica. El estudio se lleva a cabo sobre las primeras hojas caulinares de pino, sometidos a tratamiento con dosis de 2 y 4 ppm de cada uno de los herbicidas durante 48 horas. El tratamiento y la posterior recuperación, se lleva a cabo en cultivo hidropónico en cámara climática. En los tratamientos con hexazinona, P. nigra ha resultado más tolerante que P. pinaster y P. halepensis. No se han encontrado diferencias entre especies en la respuesta a simazina. En las tres especies de pino se produce una mayor recuperación de la actividad fotosintética, lo que indica una mayor tolerancia del árbol, a hexazinona que a simazina

Heme-regulated eIF2α kinase modulates hepatic FGF21 and is activated by PPARβ/δ deficiency

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), a peptide hormone with pleiotropic effects on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, is considered a target for the treatment of diabetes. We investigated the role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) b/d deficiency in hepatic FGF21 regulation. Increased Fgf21 expression was observed in the livers of PPARb/d-null mice and in mouse primary hepatocytes when this receptor was knocked down by small interfering RNA (siRNA). Increased Fgf21 was associated with enhanced protein levels in the heme-regulated eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2a (eIF2a) kinase (HRI). This increase caused enhanced levels of phosphorylated eIF2a and activating transcription factor (ATF) 4, which is essential for Fgf21-induced expression. siRNA analysis demonstrated that HRI regulates Fgf21 expression in primary hepatocytes. Enhanced Fgf21 expression attenuated tunicamycin-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress, as demonstrated by using a neutralizing antibody against FGF21. Of note, increased Fgf21 expression in mice fed a high-fat diet or hepatocytes exposed to palmitate was accompanied by reduced PPARb/d and activation of the HRI-eIF2α-ATF4 pathway. Moreover, pharmacological activation of HRI increased Fgf21 expression and reduced lipid-induced hepatic steatosis and glucose intolerance, but these effects were not observed in Fgf21-null mice. Overall, these findings suggest that HRI is a potential target for regulating hepatic FGF21 levels.This study was partly supported by funds from the Spanish Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness (SAF2015-65267-R to Á.M.V., SAF2014-55725 to F.V., and SAF2012-30708 and SAF2015-64146-R to M.V.-C.) and the European Union European Regional Development Fund. CIBERDEM and CIBEROBN are Instituto de Salud Carlos III Health Institute projects. T.Q.-L. is supported by a CONACyT (National Council for Science and Technology in Mexico) PhD scholarship. W.W. is supported by start-up grants from the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, and by the Région Midi-Pyrénées, France.Peer Reviewe