Randomized clinical trial of intravenous soybean oil alone versus soybean oil plus fish oil emulsion after gastrointestinal cancer surgery.

BACKGROUND: Specific immunonutrients may reduce the incidence of postoperative complications and shorten recovery time. This randomized trial evaluated the clinical efficacy of a fish oil emulsion on outcome and immune function after gastrointestinal cancer surgery. METHODS: A total of 206 patients with gastrointestinal or colonic cancer were randomized to receive isocaloric and isonitrogenous intravenous infusions of either soybean oil alone (1.2 g per kg bodyweight per day; control group, 103 analysed) or soybean plus fish oil emulsion (1.0 and 0.2 g per kg per day respectively; treatment group, 100 analysed) over 20-24 h daily for 7 days after surgery. RESULTS: Baseline data were comparable in the two groups. There were fewer infectious complications (four versus 12 on day 8; P = 0.066), systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) was significantly less common (four versus 13; P = 0.039) and hospital stay was significantly shorter (mean(s.d.) 15(5) versus 17(8) days; P = 0.041) in the treatment group. Total postoperative medical costs were comparable in the two groups (mean(s.d.) US $ 1269(254) and 1302(324) in treatment and control groups respectively; P = 0.424). The median (interquartile range) difference in CD4/CD8 between days 1 and 8 after surgery was + 0.30 (0.06 to 0.79) in patients receiving fish oil and + 0.20 (-0.19 to 0.55) in controls (P = 0.021). No severe adverse events occurred in either group. CONCLUSION: Fish oil emulsion-supplemented parenteral nutrition significantly reduced SIRS and length of hospital stay. These clinical benefits may be related to normalization of cellular immune functions and modulation of the inflammatory response.

Effects of selenium and iodine deficiency on bone, cartilage growth plate and chondrocyte differentiation in two generations of rats.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the roles of combined selenium and iodine deficiency in bone development as a possible experimental model of Kashin-Beck osteoarthropathy. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats (n=48) were randomly divided into selenium deficiency (-Se+I), iodine deficiency (+Se-I), combined selenium and iodine deficiency (-Se-I), and selenium and iodine sufficient (+Se+I) groups. Growth of bone and cartilage, and the expression of type X collagen (ColX) and parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) were measured in two generations of rats (F(0) and F(1)). RESULTS: The tibial length in -Se-I rats was significantly shorter in F(1) generation. In +Se-I of F(1) rats, the thickness of the growth plate cartilage, and the proliferative zone was smaller, while in -Se-I rats the growth plate, and the proliferative and hypertrophic zones were also thinner in F(1) generation. In articular cartilage, ColX expression was increased in the deep zone in -Se-I rats of F(0) generation, and in -Se+I, +Se-I and -Se-I rats of F(1) generation. PTHrP expression was increased in the middle zone of -Se+I, +Se-I and -Se-I rats of both F(0) and F(1) generations. In the growth plate cartilage, ColX and PTHrP were expressed in the hypertrophic zone. ColX expression was significantly weaker in -Se+I and -Se-I rats in both F(0) and F(1) generations, while PTHrP expression was stronger in -Se+I, +Se-I and -Se-I rats in both F(0) and F(1) animals. CONCLUSIONS: Combined selenium and iodine deficiency impaired the growth of bone and cartilage. The changes in the expression of ColX and PTHrP induced by combined selenium and iodine deficiency were compatible to measurements of ColX and PTHrP in Kashin-Beck osteoarthropathy.

[Intratesticular subcapsular assay, a simple method for the preliminary screening of male contraceptives].

The MB-50 protocol worked out for long by the World Health Organization has been widely employed for the screening of male contraceptives. With this method, 40-80 rats will be used for 1 sample and the course of study will be about 3 months. In view of the high expenses and long duration of time needed, it seems to be not suitable for a preliminary screening. We have exploited a much simpler method, the intratesticular subcapsular assay. The method is as follows: Puncture the scrotal skin and the tunica albuginea at the equatorial plane of the testis just opposite to the epididymis with an intradermal needle fixed at a tuberculin syringe. Then push on the needle for 3-4 mm along the equator parallel to the tunica albuginea. Inject 100 microliters of solution containing 0.1-5 mg of the sample to each testis. To the controls, only the vehicle is injected. One week later the same procedure is repeated and 2 more weeks later, the animals are sacrificed and the data are observed (see Table 1 and 2). In this paper, 7 samples screened with this method were compared with results of the MB-50 method, no positive sample was missed except one false positive sample. These results indicate the coincidence between these two methods.