Chimarrão consumption and prognostic factors in breast cancer: Correlation with antioxidants and blood caffeine levels.

Breast cancer is the second most common malignancy among women. Ilex paraguariensis A. St. Hil, known as yerba mate, is widely consumed in southern Brazil as a hot infusion drink known as chimarrão. This herb has a complex chemical composition and is rich in antioxidants, which may interfere in the course of chronic inflammatory diseases as breast cancer. This study investigated the impact of chimarrão consumption on the clinicopathological profile of women with breast cancer attended at Francisco Beltrão Cancer Hospital, Paraná, Brazil. Blood antioxidants and caffeine profiles were assessed. Decreases in reduced glutathione and metallothionein levels, and increase in catalase activity were observed among breast cancer patients that were chimarrão consumers. The levels of circulating caffeine in breast cancer patients with luminal A tumors were higher than those in patients with luminal B and HER-2 subtypes. Furthermore, overweight patients presented higher caffeine levels than the eutrophic ones. It was found positive associations between chimarrão intake and high body mass index, and chimarrão intake and menopause at diagnosis. Altogether, these findings suggest that chimarrão consumption affects the blood antioxidants of breast cancer patients, and that the caffeine present in this mixture may favor the development of tumor of good prognosis. HIGHLIGHTS: Chimarrão consumption may affect the course of chronic inflammatory diseases, as breast cancer. Chimarrão intake changed blood antioxidants in breast cancer patients who were current consumers when compared to the non-consumers ones. High levels of caffeine were detected in patients bearing luminal A tumors, suggesting a protective role.

Ghrelin and leptin modulate the feeding behaviour of the hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata during nesting season.

Female sea turtles have rarely been observed foraging during the nesting season. This suggests that prior to their migration to nesting beaches the females must store sufficient energy and nutrients at their foraging grounds and must be physiologically capable of undergoing months without feeding. Leptin (an appetite-suppressing protein) and ghrelin (a hunger-stimulating peptide) affect body weight by influencing energy intake in all vertebrates. We investigated the levels of these hormones and other physiological and nutritional parameters in nesting hawksbill sea turtles in Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil, by collecting consecutive blood samples from 41 turtles during the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 reproductive seasons. We found that levels of serum leptin decreased over the nesting season, which potentially relaxed suppression of food intake and stimulated females to begin foraging either during or after the post-nesting migration. Concurrently, we recorded an increasing trend in ghrelin, which may have stimulated food intake towards the end of the nesting season. Both findings are consistent with the prediction that post-nesting females will begin to forage, either during or immediately after their post-nesting migration. We observed no seasonal trend for other physiological parameters (values of packed cell volume and serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, γ-glutamyl transferase, low-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein). The observed downward trends in general serum biochemistry levels were probably due to the physiological challenge of vitellogenesis and nesting in addition to limited energy resources and probable fasting.

Níveis de tiamina, selênio e cobre em pacientes com cardiomiopatia dilatada idiopática em uso de diuréticos / Thiamin, selenium, and copper levels in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy taking diuretics

OBJECTIVE - To analyze the association of thiamin, selenium, and copper serum levels with cardiac function in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy using diuretics, and also to compare them with levels in control patients with no evidence of disease. METHODS - The study comprised 30 patients with heart disease and 30 healthy control individuals. Thiamin was analyzed by measuring the activity of erythrocytic transketolase and the effect of thiamin pyrophosphate. Selenium and copper serum levels were measured by hydride generation and flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry, respectively. RESULTS - Thiamin deficiency was observed in 10 percent of the control individuals and in 33 percent of the patients with heart disease (p=0.02). The mean selenium and copper serum levels in control individuals and patients with heart disease were, respectively, 73.2±9.9 µg/L (56.5 to 94.5 µg/L) and 72.3±14.3 µg/L (35.5 to 94 µg/L) (p=0.77); 1.1±0.4mg/L (0.6 to 1.8mg/L) and 1.2± 0.4mg/L (0.6 to 2.2mg/L) (p=0.27). No association between the levels of these nutrients and cardiac function was observed. CONCLUSION - Thiamin deficiency was significantly more frequent in patients with heart disease. No significant difference was observed between the mean selenium and copper serum levels in control individuals and in patients with heart disease. The results suggest possible benefits with thiamin replacement in patients taking diuretics

Nível de tiamina no miocárdio, área transversa e número de núcleos de cardiomiócitos de ratos em uso de furosemida / Myocardial thiamine level, cardiomyocyte cross-sectional area and nuclei number in furosemide-treated rats

Objetivo: Avaliar os níveis miocárdicos de tiamina e área transversa e número de núcleos de cardiomiócitos de ratos em uso de furosemida. Métodos: 24 ratos foram estratificados em 4 grupos: 2 grupos receberam furosemida por via intraperitoneal e 2 receberam solução salina, por 21 dias. Dois destes grupos receberam ração-padrão, e 2 ração pobre em tiamina. Os níveis miocárdicos de tiamina foram avaliados por: dosagem de tiamina pirofosfato (TPP) por HPLC, e medidas de atividade da transcetolase miocárdica(ATm) e do efeito da tiamina pirofosfato (ETPP). Métodos estereológicos foram utilizados para a obtenção da área transversa (Acmy) e número de núcleos (Ncmy) dos cardiomiócitos. Resultados: as médias e desvios-padrão de TPP, ATm, ETPP, Acmy e Ncmy foram, respectivamente: Grupo 1 - 133,7 maior ou menor que 17,9ng/100 microlitro de tecido homogeneizado; 173 maior ou menor que 20 micrograma.hexose/ml/h; 3,6 maior ou menor que 1,9 por cento; 808 maior ou menor que 8 milhões; Grupo 2 - 160,2 maior ou menor que 23,2ng/100 microlitro de tecido homogeneizado; 1634 maior ou menor que 137 micrograma.hexose/ml/h; 2,2 maior ou menor que 1,4 por cento; 961 maior ou menor que 59 micrometro2; 63 maior ou menor que 2 milhões; Grupo 3 - 73,5 maior ou menor que 8,6ng/100 microlitro de tecido homogeneizado; 715 maior ou menor que 123 micrograma.hexose/ml/h; 39,8 maior ou menor que 9,8 milhões por cento; 963 maior ou menor que 2 micrometro2; 59 maior ou menor que 4 milhões Grupo 4 - 82,1 maior ou menor que 9ng/100 microlitro de tecido homogeneizado; 863 maior ou menor que 75 micrograma.hexose/ml/h; 26,2 maior ou menor que 11,9 por cento; 1061 maior ou menor que 33 micrometro2; 63 maior ou menor que 5 milhões. Conclusão: A furosemida não reduziu o nível de tiamina no miocárdio, nem alterou a área transversa e o número de núcleos de cardiomiócitos nos animais estudados.