Efficacy and Tolerability of 6-Month Treatment with Tamsulosin Plus the Hexanic Extract of Serenoa repens versus Tamsulosin Plus 5-Alpha-Reductase Inhibitors for Moderate-to-Severe LUTS-BPH Patients: Results of a Paired Matched Clinical Study.

The objective of this subset analysis was to evaluate and compare the efficacy and tolerability of two combination treatments for men with moderate-to-severe lower urinary tract symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH). Data were from a real-world, open-label, prospective, and multicenter study performed in outpatient urology clinics. Men with moderate-to-severe LUTS/BPH received 6-month treatment with tamsulosin (TAM) in combination with either the hexanic extract of S. repens (HESr) or a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor (5ARI). Changes in urinary symptoms and quality of life were measured using the IPSS and BII questionnaires, respectively. Treatment tolerability was assessed by recording adverse effects (AEs). Patients in the two study groups were matched using iterative and propensity score matching approaches. After iterative matching, data were available from 136 patients (n = 68 treated with TAM + 5ARI, n = 68 with TAM + HESr). After 6 months of treatment, mean (SD) IPSS total score improved by 7.7 (6.3) and 6.7 (5.0) points in the TAM + 5ARI and TAM + HESr groups, respectively (p = 0.272); mean BII total scores improved by 3.1 (2.9) and 2.9 (2.4) points (p = 0.751), respectively. AEs were reported by 26.5% and 10.3% of patients in the same groups, mostly affecting sexual function (p < 0.027). When used in a real-world setting to treat patients with moderate-severe LUTS/BPH, 6-month treatment with TAM + HESr was as effective as TAM + 5ARI, but with better tolerability.

In vivo antitumor activity of Euphorbia lathyris ethanol extract in colon cancer models.

Euphorbia lathyris seeds have been used to treat various medical conditions. We previously reported that ethanolic extract from the defatted seed of Euphorbia lathyris (EE) (variety S3201) possesses a potent in vitro antitumor activity against colon cancer (CRC) cell lines. However, the effects of EE on CRC in vivo models and its possible preventive activity have not been elucidated. The aim of this study is to develop an in vivo study to corroborate its efficacy. For this purpose, two tumor induction models have been developed. In orthotopic xenograft model, it has been shown that EE reduces tumor size without hematological toxicity. The ethanolic extract induced an intense apoptosis in tumors mediated by caspase 3. Using the Azoxymethane/Dextran Sulfate Sodium model, a reduction of dysplastic polyps has been demonstrated, showing its preventive power. Furthermore, EE promoted the presence of an eubiotic microbiotal environment in the mucosa of the colon and induced an increase in antioxidant enzyme activity. This fact was accompanied by a modulation of cytokine expression that could be related to its protective mechanism. Therefore, although further experiments will be necessary to determine its applicability in the treatment of CRC, ES could be a new prevention strategy as well as treatment for this type of tumor, being a powerful candidate for future clinical trials.

Bioavailability and biotransformation of linolenic acid from basil seed oil as a novel source of omega-3 fatty acids tested on a rat experimental model.

Basil is an aromatic herb with a high concentration of bioactive compounds. The oil extracted from its seeds is a good source of α-linolenic acid (ALA) and also provides substantial amounts of linoleic acid (LA). This study aimed to test the bioavailability of the oil derived from basil seeds and its effects on different physiological parameters using 7-15% dietary inclusion levels. Furthermore, the assimilation of LA and ALA and their transformation in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) have been studied. Digestive utilization of total fat from basil seed oil (BSO) was high and similar to that of olive oil used as a control. Consumption of BSO resulted in increased LA and ALA levels of the plasma, liver, and erythrocyte membrane. In addition, the transformation of LA to arachidonic acid (ARA) was decreased by the high dietary intake of ALA which redirected the pathway of the Δ-6 desaturase enzyme towards the transformation of ALA into eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). No alterations of hematological and plasma biochemical parameters were found for the 7 and 10% dietary inclusion levels of BSO, whereas a decrease in the platelet count and an increase in total- and HDL-cholesterol as well as plasma alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were found for a 15% BSO dose. In conclusion, BSO is a good source of ALA to be transformed into EPA and decrease the precursor of the pro-inflammatory molecule ARA. This effect on the levels of EPA in different tissues offers potential for its use as a dietary supplement, novel functional food, or a constituent of nutraceutical formulations to treat different pathologies.

Efficacy and tolerability of the hexanic extract of Serenoa repens compared to tamsulosin in moderate-severe LUTS-BPH patients.

In a subset analysis of data from a 6-month, multicenter, non-interventional study, we compared change in symptoms and quality of life (QoL), and treatment tolerability, in men with moderate to severe lower urinary tract symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH) receiving tamsulosin (TAM, 0.4 mg/day) or the hexanic extract of Serenoa repens (HESr, 320 mg/day) as monotherapy. Symptoms and QoL were assessed using the IPSS and BII questionnaires, respectively. Patients in the treatment groups were matched using two statistical approaches (iterative and propensity score matching). Within the iterative matching approach, data was available from a total of 737 patients (353 TAM, 384 HESr). After 6 months, IPSS scores improved by a mean (SD) of 5.0 (4.3) points in the TAM group and 4.5 (4.7) points in the HESr group (p = 0.117, not significant). Improvements in QoL were equivalent in the two groups. TAM patients reported significantly more adverse effects than HESr patients (14.7% vs 2.1%; p < 0.001), particularly ejaculation dysfunction and orthostatic hypotension. These results show that HESr is a valid treatment option for men with moderate/severe LUTS/BPH; improvements in urinary symptoms and QoL were similar to those observed for tamsulosin, but with considerably fewer adverse effects.

The genomic history of the Iberian Peninsula over the past 8000 years.

We assembled genome-wide data from 271 ancient Iberians, of whom 176 are from the largely unsampled period after 2000 BCE, thereby providing a high-resolution time transect of the Iberian Peninsula. We document high genetic substructure between northwestern and southeastern hunter-gatherers before the spread of farming. We reveal sporadic contacts between Iberia and North Africa by ~2500 BCE and, by ~2000 BCE, the replacement of 40% of Iberia's ancestry and nearly 100% of its Y-chromosomes by people with Steppe ancestry. We show that, in the Iron Age, Steppe ancestry had spread not only into Indo-European-speaking regions but also into non-Indo-European-speaking ones, and we reveal that present-day Basques are best described as a typical Iron Age population without the admixture events that later affected the rest of Iberia. Additionally, we document how, beginning at least in the Roman period, the ancestry of the peninsula was transformed by gene flow from North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean.

Quality of life in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms associated with BPH: change over time in real-life practice according to treatment--the QUALIPROST study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate change in quality of life (QoL) and symptoms in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms/benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH) in conditions of current clinical practice. METHODS: Prospective, longitudinal, multicenter open-label study was carried out in urology outpatient clinics. Patients were ≥40 years of age with an International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) score ≥ 8. QoL and symptoms were measured at baseline and 6 months using the Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Impact Index (BII) and the IPSS. RESULTS: 1713 patients were included for analysis. Mean (SD) IPSS and BII scores at baseline were 16.8 (5.4) and 6.8 (2.6), respectively. 8.9 % (n = 153) of study participants did not receive treatment (watchful waiting, WW), 70.3 % (n = 1204) were prescribed monotherapy (alpha-adrenergic blockers [AB]; phytotherapy [PT, of which 95.2 % was the hexanic extract of Serenoa repens, HESr]; or 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors [5ARI]), and 20.8 % (n = 356) received combined treatment (AB + 5ARI; AB + HESr; others). At 6 months, improvements in QoL were similar across the different medical treatment (MT) groups, both for monotherapy (AB: mean improvement [SD] of 2.4 points [2.4]; PT: 1.9 [2.4]; 5ARI: 2.5 [2.3]) and combined therapy (AB + 5ARI: 3.1 [2.9]; AB + PT: 3.1 [2.5]). There were no clinically significant differences between MT groups and all showed significant improvement over WW (p < 0.05). HESr showed similar efficacy to AB and 5ARI both as monotherapy and in combination with AB. Results on the IPSS were similar. CONCLUSIONS: Improvements in QoL and symptoms were equivalent across the medical treatments most widely used in real-life practice to manage patients with moderate or severe LUTS. HESr showed an equivalent efficacy to AB and 5ARI with fewer side effects.

¿Diagnosticar mejor? Savia nueva para un árbol viejo / Improving diagnosis? New sap for an old tree

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Development of a capillary electrophoresis method for the characterization of "palo azul" (Eysenhardtia polystachya).

The tree Eysenhardtia polystachya (Ortega) Sarg. has quite a wide popular use within the traditional Mexican medicine as herbal remedy. Popular practices constitute a relevant enough basis to design optimum analytical methods in order to determine basic principles of diverse medicinal plants. This has become one of the essentials needed to characterize such products, for which it is fundamentally important to develop an efficient and reliable separation method. This work presents the results concerning the development and optimization of a novel CE method for the separation of components from water/etanol (1:1) extracts of E. polystachya, using the following conditions, considered the best obtained: phosphate buffer 10 mM, 20 kV voltage, and pH 8.1 at 214 nm and 50 mM, 12.5 kV voltage with pH 8.1 at 426 nm. The optimization takes into account the parameters associated in the resulting electropherograms, such as number of peaks, migration times, and the Deltat(m) of the neighboring peaks. Under optimal conditions the separation intended was attained within 15 and 20 min for 214 and 426 nm, respectively. The characterization method developed was applied to the analysis of diverse extracts of E. polystachya.