Mineral content is related to antioxidant and antimutagenic properties of grape juice.

Grape juices are an important source of food antioxidants. Unfortunately, there is little data about the mineral composition and the antioxidant, mutagenic and antimutagenic activities of grape juice in eukaryote cells. We evaluated the mineral contents (Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Si, S, Cl) of grape juices, the antioxidant, mutagenic and/or antimutagenic activities of the juices in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and looked for a possible association between mineral content and antioxidant, mutagenic and/or antimutagenic activities of juice samples. Eight commercial grape juices, four purple (Bordo variety) and four white (Niagara variety), were evaluated. Most of the minerals were in similar concentrations in purple and white grape juices, except for calcium and copper; purple grapes had more calcium content and white grapes had more copper content. All grape juices had important antioxidant and antimutagenic activities in S. cerevisiae and prevented the oxidative damage provoked by hydrogen peroxide (P < 0.05). Positive correlations (P < 0.05) were observed between antioxidant and antimutagenic activities and mineral content. In this context, we concluded that the grape juices, white and purple, are an important mineral source, and these contents explain, in part, the important antioxidant and antimutagenic activities.

Buccal micronucleus frequency is associated with age in Down syndrome.

Down syndrome has been linked to premature aging and genomic instability. We examined the frequency of micronucleus (MN) and binucleated cells in the oral mucosa of Down syndrome patients and healthy controls matched by age and gender, addressing the effect of age and family income. Down syndrome individuals had an increased number of MN (14.30 +/- 9.35 vs 4.03 +/- 1.71; P<0.001) and binucleated cells (0.97 +/- 1.3 vs 0.33 +/- 0.66; P<0.05) per 2000 cells. Micronucleus frequency of Down syndrome individuals correlated positively with age (r = 0.437; P = 0.009), and the older (> or =21) Down syndrome age group (30.8 +/- 8.4 years old) had about 2-fold more micronuclei (P < or = 0.05) than did the younger group (<21). Average family income did not correlate with MN frequency in controls (r = -0.948; P = 0.183), but a borderline negative correlation was seen in DS subjects (r = -0.9484; P = 0.0516). Individuals whose average income was ten times minimum wages had about 2-fold less MN than those receiving around minimum wage. We conclude that the buccal MN assay is a useful and minimally invasive method for monitoring genetic damage in humans and could be used as a tool to evaluate age-associated genomic instability in Down syndrome.

In vivo determination of genotoxicity induced by metals from orthodontic appliances using micronucleus and comet assays.

Orthodontic appliances are usually made of stainless steel, which contains metals such as nickel, chromium and iron that have been associated with DNA damage. The aim of the present study was to determine the genetic toxicity associated with orthodontic fixed appliances in twenty healthy patients (16 +/- 2.5 years) undergoing orthodontic treatment (fixed appliances - basic composition: stainless steel alloy), using the micronucleus (MN) and comet (CA) assays in buccal cells. Primary DNA damage level, as assessed by the CA, was low either before the beginning (1.5 +/- 1.05 damage index - DI) or 10 days after the placement of the orthodontic appliance (2.5 +/- 3.08 DI) and did not change significantly between these time points (p= 0.0913). Conversely, there was a significant increase in MN frequency 30 days after the beginning of the treatment (p= 0.0236). In this study, the MN assay was shown to be more sensitive than the CA. Other investigations are necessary in order to assess the genotoxic potential of orthodontic fixed appliances associated with long-term studies concerning these effects in orthodontic patients.

Estudo comparativo da acao terapeutica da glucametacina e oxifenilbutazona. / Comparative study of the therapeutic effect of glucamethazine and oxyphenylbutazone

Sao relatados os resultados de um estudo comparativo entre a glucametacina e a oxifenilbutazona, do qual participaram 106 pacientes com processos inflamatorios de natureza traumato-ortopedica. A posologia utilizada para os dois grupos foi glucametacina 420 mg/dia e oxifenilbutazona 300 mg/dia. A analise estatistica dos resultados relativos aos parametros dor em repouso e ao movimento, rubor, calor, edema, limitacao funcional e sensibilidade anormal ao toque e compressao, observada apos 7 dias de tratamento, demonstrou que os dois medicamentos foram eficientes no sentido de promover uma acentuada reducao da sintomatologia. Ressalte-se que, apesar de nao se constatar uma diferenca de significancia estatistica nos parametros analisados, a porcentagem de casos de melhora completa, bem como a tolerabilidade nos casos tratados com a glucametacina foi ligeiramente superior a verificada no grupo sob tratamento com a oxifenilbutazona