Intermittent urethral catheterization-descriptive study at a Brazilian service.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: The rehabilitation process of patients with neurogenic bladder involves psychosocial, cultural, political and economic human factors, representing a challenge for patients/caregivers as well as health professionals. This study was aimed at characterizing patients with neurogenic bladder who use intermittent urethral catheterization and were going through rehabilitation at a teaching hospital. METHOD: This descriptive study was undertaken in the interior of São Paulo State-Brazil. All ethical guidelines were complied with. To collect the data, interviews were held during nursing consultations with patients more than 18years of age suffering from neurogenic bladder who used intermittent urethral catheterization. RESULTS: Most patients had spinal cord trauma, are single, male and gain a low income. They have been using catheterization for several years, at irregular frequencies, using polyethylene catheters. CONCLUSIONS: No standardization exists in the accomplishment of the practices used and strategies are needed to remodel the service.

Antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and gastroprotective effects of a hydroalcoholic extract from the leaves of Eugenia punicifolia (Kunth) DC. in rodents.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: An ethnopharmacological survey indicated that leaves from Eugenia punicifolia (Kunth) DC. (Myrtaceae) are popularly used as a natural therapeutic agent to treat pain and inflammation. AIM OF THE STUDY: The overall objective of the present study was to evaluate the antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and gastroprotective activities of a hydroalcoholic extract of leaves from Eugenia punicifolia (HEEP) in rodents. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The antinociceptive effects of HEEP were evaluated in mice after oral administration in chemical (formalin and glutamate) and thermal (hot-plate) tests. We evaluated the involvement of the glutamatergic, opioidergic and nitrergic pathways in the antinociception of HEEP and the effect of HEEP on the inhibition of p38α MAPK. The anti-inflammatory effect of HEEP was evaluated in mice and rats using xylene-induced ear edema and carrageenan-induced paw edema, respectively. Furthermore, the gastroprotective effect of HEEP was evaluated in rats with acute gastric lesions induced by ethanol or indomethacin. Finally, we performed a phytochemical analysis of HEEP. RESULTS: The oral administration of HEEP (125, 250 and 500mg/kg, p.o.) significantly inhibited the neurogenic and inflammatory phases of formalin-induced licking, and HEEP (250mg/kg, p.o.) also significantly inhibited the nociception caused by glutamate. The antinociceptive effects of HEEP were significantly reversed by l-arginine (500mg/kg, i.p.) but not by naloxone (1mg/kg, i.p.) in the formalin test. HEEP did not affect animal motor performance in the rotarod model. In addition, HEEP also increased the paw withdraw latency in the hot-plate test. HEEP significantly inhibited ear edema induced by xylene (64%) and paw edema induced by carrageenan (50%) compared to the control group. Furthermore, HEEP (3-30mg/mL) also inhibited the phosphorylation of p38α MAPK by approximately 90%. In addition, HEEP (125, 250 and 500mg/kg, p.o.) protected the rats against ethanol (88.4-99.8%) and indomethacin (53-72.3%) and increased the mucus levels of the gastric mucosa without producing an antisecretory effect. The phytochemical profile of HEEP obtained using HPLC-PDA showed secondary metabolites already reported for the genus, mostly flavonoids, gallotannins and proanthocyanidins. CONCLUSIONS: These data show for the first time that HEEP has significant antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects, which appear to be related to the inhibition of the glutamatergic system, the synthesis of nitric oxide and the inhibition of the phosphorylation of p38α MAPK. HEEP also has interesting gastroprotective effects related to the maintenance of protective factors, such as mucus production. These results support the use of Eugenia punicifolia in popular medicine and demonstrate that this plant has therapeutic potential for the development of phytomedicines with antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and gastroprotective properties.

The effect of a minor constituent of essential oil from Citrus aurantium: the role of ß-myrcene in preventing peptic ulcer disease.

The monoterpene ß-myrcene has been widely used in cosmetics, food and beverages, and it is normally found in essential oil from citrus fruit. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-ulcer effects of ß-myrcene on experimental models of ulcers that are induced by ethanol, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), stress, Helicobacter pylori, ischaemia-reperfusion injury (I/R) and cysteamine in order to compare with the essential oil of Citrus aurantium and its major compound limonene. The results indicate that the oral administration of ß-myrcene at a dose of 7.50mg/kg has important anti-ulcer activity with significantly decreased gastric and duodenal lesions as well as increased gastric mucus production. The results showed treatment with ß-myrcene caused a significant increase in mucosal malondialdehyde level (MDA), an important index of oxidative tissue damage. The ß-myrcene was also endowed with marked enhancement of antioxidant enzyme activity from GR system as evidenced by the decreased activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and increased levels of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), and total glutathione in gastric tissue. Our results also shown that treatment with ß-myrcene is not involved with thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) activity. Our results reveal, for the first time, the importance of ß-myrcene as an inhibitor of gastric and duodenal ulcers and demonstrate that an increase in the levels of gastric mucosa defence factors is involved in the anti-ulcer activity of ß-myrcene.

Effects of limonene and essential oil from Citrus aurantium on gastric mucosa: role of prostaglandins and gastric mucus secretion.

Essential oil from Citrus aurantium and the monoterpene limonene are widely used flavoring agents that are found in some common food items. This specie is also used medicinally throughout the world to treat gastritis and gastric disorders. Therefore, biological assays were performed in vivo on essential oil of C. aurantium (OEC) and its majority compound limonene (LIM) to evaluate their effect on gastric mucosa. The OEC (250 mg/kg, p.o.) and LIM (245 mg/kg, p.o.) provided effective (99%) gastroprotection against lesions induced by absolute ethanol and NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) in rats. OEC and LIM do not interfere with gastric H(+) secretion, serum gastrin or glutathione (GSH) level in gastric mucosa. But the gastroprotective action of OEC and LIM occurs due to an increase in the gastric mucus production induced by conserving the basal PGE(2) levels after challenge by agents harmful to the gastric mucosa. Given that LIM and OEC are excellent flavoring agents and also present gastroprotective actions, they can be regarded as a promising target for the development of a new drug for the prevention of gastric damage.