Nutritional knowledge among a large cohort of Italian students: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Healthy food behavior among adolescents represents a prevention factor for the onset of chronic diseases in adult life and is influenced by the familiar, socio-cultural and physical environment. Good nutritional knowledge plays a key role in ensuring healthy eating, that is adequate food choice and intake. This study aimed to assess the nutritional knowledge of Italian students from three Italian provinces of the Lazio Region (i.e., Rome, Frosinone, Latina) and to investigate its interrelationship with some socio-demographic characteristics (physical activity, parental education, school district city, BMI) of the surveyed subjects. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Students (n = 2573) were surveyed for their nutritional knowledge through the Italian version of the Moynihan questionnaire and for their socio-demographic characteristics. The relationship between their nutritional knowledge and their socio-demographic characteristics was investigated by univariate and multivariate statistical analyses. RESULTS: Most participants displayed a normal weight (84%), followed by overweight (14%) and underweight (2%) subjects. Most students (44%) practiced physical activity at least twice a week. Most students (75%) reported a high family education level. Sixty percent of the subjects showed inadequate knowledge about healthy nutrition. A significant association (p<0.001) was observed between nutritional knowledge and school district city. CONCLUSIONS: Educational nutrition programs should be promoted to improve nutritional knowledge among young people and reduce the risk of chronic disease development.

Growth hormone in inflammatory bowel disease.

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract characterized by chronic relapsing inflammation and catabolism. Growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor-I axis is important in inflammatory bowel disease, because of the effects on epithelial cell kinetics, collagen deposition and immunomodulation. The potential of growth hormone as a therapeutic option in inflammatory bowel disease has been proven in various clinical settings. Acquired growth hormone resistance in inflammatory bowel disease seems to be mediated by a combination of undernutrition and active inflammation. In particular, proinflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-a and interleukin-6, have been implicated as potential mediators of growth hormone resistance. The introduction of anti-TNF-alpha monoclonal antibodies has proven very efficacious in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. By reducing cytokines levels in inflammatory cells of intestinal mucosa, infliximab could interfere with cytokine-induced growth hormone resistance. Recent in vivo data have shown that acquired growth hormone resistance in patients with inflammatory bowel disease may be reversed after the administration of anti-TNF-alpha therapy.

Infliximab in the treatment of steroid-dependent ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Infliximab has proven efficacious in the treatment of Crohn's disease. Limited and contrasting data are available on effectiveness of anti-TNF alpha therapy in ulcerative colitis. We evaluated the efficacy of infliximab in the management of steroid-dependent ulcerative colitis. METHODS: We report preliminary data from a randomized, open-label, methylprednisolone-controlled trial of infliximab in the induction and maintenance of remission of patients with moderate to severe steroid-dependent ulcerative colitis. Twenty patients received either three infusion of infliximab (5 mg/kg) at 0, 2 and 6 weeks and thereafter every 8 weeks (group A) or methylprednisolone (0,7-1 mg/kg) daily for one week followed by a tapering regimen up to the minimal dose to maintain a symptom-free condition (group B). Clinical remission was defined as a DAI score less than 3. RESULTS: Ten patients in group A (DAI: 8.9+/-1.4) achieved remission after the first infusion (DAI: 1.6+/-0,7; p = 0.005) and steroids were progressively discontinued. At present (mean follow-up: 9.8+/-1.1 months), 9 out of 10 patients maintain clinical remission, while one patient relapsed at 3 months. Ten patients in group B (DAI: 8.7+/-1.4) reached clinical remission at one week (DAI: 1.9+/-0.3; p = 0.005). Eight out of 10 patients were maintained at a minimal steroid dosage without any relapse at 9.7+/-1.0 months follow-up. Two patients relapsed at 6 and 8 months, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Infliximab seems to be as effective as steroids in the management of moderate to severe steroid-dependent ulcerative colitis. These preliminary data suggest the potential efficacy of repeated treatment with infliximab for short-term maintenance of remission and steroid withdrawal in glucocorticoid-dependent ulcerative colitis.