Probiotics, Prebiotics, Fecal Microbiota Transplantation, and Dietary Patterns in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

SCOPE: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is one of the most common chronic and debilitating functional bowel disorders affecting around 11% of the population across the world. IBD is associated with 3.6 million physician visits per year, being the most common reason visiting a gastroenterologist and the second most common reason to be absent from work, sharply increasing the health care costs. METHODS AND RESULTS: Several treatments seem to be effective in IBD symptoms relief, such as probiotics, prebiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), and dietary patterns. Probiotics (living microorganisms that can be supplemented) can protect against pathogenic bacteria due to their antimicrobial qualities. Prebiotics (nondigestible food ingredients) promote the growth of beneficial microbial strains in the gut, giving a health benefit to the host. FMT is supposed to directly change the recipient's microbial composition when a transfer of gastrointestinal microbiota from a healthy donor is carried out. And finally, dietary patterns are in the spotlight, due to the presence of certain nutrients in the gastrointestinal tract affecting gastrointestinal motility, sensitivity, barrier function, and gut microbiota. CONCLUSION: It is particularly important to know what treatment options are available and which are the most efficient in relieving IBD symptoms and improving IBD patient's quality of life.

Confirmation of radiant catalytic ionization efficacy for airborne SARS-CoV-2 elimination indoors using "COVID19 traps".

Radiant catalytic ionization (RCI) is a novel technology that uses the appropriate wavelength (240-260 nm) and the phenomenon of photo-oxidation leading to permanent removal of viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Here, two analyses were performed. The first of them was a complete analysis of environmental biosecurity in a hospital environment. The second one was a longitudinal study with 40 patients with confirmed COVID19 and high viral load to assess the efficacy of RCI technology eliminating airborne SARS-CoV-2 indoors. A significant decrease in the number of bacteria and fungi colony-forming units (CFUs) was found in rooms with RCI when compared with rooms without it (p=0.03 for both of them). In the second part of the study, 16 samples out of 40 (40%) were positives when RCI technology was absent; whereas, these samples were negative when the equipment was on. Incidence rates (IR) with their Poisson 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) were calculated as the number of positive tests with the purifier or without it, showing an IR difference of 48.5% [CI(15.9-81), p=0.004]. Furthermore, the IR ratio was calculated obtaining a value of 3.3, confirming that RCI diminished more than 3-fold the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 in the air of the patients' rooms, thus laying the first stone in the fight for prevention of SARS-CoV-2 dissemination indoors.