Physical conditioning in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Cerebral palsy (CP) can be described as a group of permanent non-progressive disorders that occur in the developing fetal or infant brain. Studies have shown that children and adolescents with CP have low cardiorespiratory fitness and higher energy expenditure during daily activities when compared to typical children. Therefore, interventions focused on the physical conditioning of this population could be critical. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of physical conditioning training on distance walked and maximum oxygen consumption (VO2 max) in individuals with CP, through a systematic review. METHOD: Two independent researchers performed systematic searches in the PUBMED, SciELO, PEDro, ERIC, and Cochrane databases using the search terms "physical fitness", "aerobic training" or "endurance" combined with "cerebral palsy". INCLUSION CRITERIA: (1) population (children and adolescents with CP between 5 and 18 years old); (2) type of study (experimental studies); (3) type of intervention (physical conditioning protocols); (4) outcome (distance walked in the 6 min walking test - 6MWT, and VO2 max). RESULTS: 386 studies were identified and 5 articles were considered eligible. After physical conditioning training, there was an increase of 46.34 m (p = 0.07) and 5.93. ml. kg-1. min -1 (p < 0.001) in the 6MWT and VO2 max, respectively. CONCLUSION: Physical conditioning training appears to be clinically beneficial to the cardiorespiratory fitness of children and adolescents with CP.

Eugenol ß-Amino/ß-Alkoxy Alcohols with Selective Anticancer Activity.

Eugenol, 4-allyl-2-methoxyphenol, is the main constituent of clove essential oil and has demonstrated relevant biological activity, namely anticancer activity. Aiming to increase this activity, we synthesized a series of eugenol ß-amino alcohol and ß-alkoxy alcohol derivatives, which were then tested against two human cancer cell lines, namely gastric adenocarcinoma cells (AGS) and lung adenocarcinoma cells (A549). An initial screening was performed to identify the most cytotoxic compounds. The results demonstrated that three ß-amino alcohol derivatives had anticancer activity that justified subsequent studies, having been shown to trigger apoptosis. Importantly, the most potent molecules displayed no appreciable toxicity towards human noncancer cells. Structure-activity relationships show that changes in eugenol structure led to enhanced cytotoxic activity and can contribute to the future design of more potent and selective drugs.

Dietary tryptophan supplementation does not affect growth but increases brain serotonin level and modulates the expression of some liver genes in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

This study aimed at assessing the effects of the dietary tryptophan (Trp) supplementation on growth and feed utilization, brain serotonin content, and expression of selected liver genes (involved in the liver serotonin pathway, protein synthesis degradation, and antioxidant activity) in zebrafish. A growth trial was conducted with zebrafish juveniles fed five experimental isoproteic (40%DM) and isolipidic (8%DM) fishmeal-based diets containing graded levels of Trp: a Trp-non-supplemented diet (diet Trp0, with 0.22% Trp) and four Trp-supplemented diets containing 2-16 times higher Trp content (diets Trp2, Trp4, Trp8, and Trp16 with 0.40, 0.91, 2.02, and 3.34% Trp, respectively). Diets were tested in quadruplicate, with fish being fed twice a day, 6 days a week for 6 weeks to apparent visual satiation. At the end of the trial, growth performance and feed utilization were assessed, and fish from all experimental groups were sampled for whole-body composition analysis. In addition, fish fed low (Trp0), medium (Trp4), and high (Trp16) Trp diets were also sampled for analysis of brain serotonin content and liver gene expression. Tested tryptophan levels did not influence growth performance nor feed intake. However, values of energy and nitrogen retention as well as body energy content indicate a better feed utilization with diets containing around 0.9% and 2.0% DM Trp. Brain serotonin content increased with increasing dietary tryptophan levels. In addition, regarding liver genes, dietary treatment had a modulatory effect on the expression of Htr1aa and Htr2cl1 genes (encoding for serotonin receptors), TPH1a gene (encoding for tryptophan hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of serotonin from tryptophan), TOR gene (involved in protein synthesis), and Keap1 gene (involved in antioxidant responses).