Development of a highly tolerant bacterial consortium for asphaltene biodegradation in soils.

Asphaltenes are the most polar and heavy fraction of petroleum, and their complex structure and toxicity make them resistant to biodegradation. The ability to tolerate high asphaltene concentrations is crucial to reducing the toxicity-related inhibition of microbial growth and improving their capacity for adaptation, survival, and biodegradation in soils highly contaminated with asphaltenes. This study developed a highly tolerant consortium for efficient asphaltene biodegradation in soils from 22 bacterial isolates obtained from heavy-crude oil-contaminated soils. Isolates corresponded to the Rhodococcus, Bacillus, Stutzerimonas, Cellulosimicrobium, Pseudomonas, and Paenibacillus genera, among others, and used pure asphaltenes and heavy crude oil as the only carbon sources. Surface plate assays were used to evaluate the tolerance of individual isolates to asphaltenes, and the results showed variations in the extension and inhibition rates with maximum tolerance levels at 60,000 mg asphaltenes l-1. Inhibition assays were used to select non-antagonistic bacterial isolates among those showing the highest tolerance levels to asphaltenes. A consortium made up of the five most tolerant and non-antagonistic bacterial isolates was able to degrade up to 83 wt.% out of 10,000 mg asphaltenes kg-1 in the soil after 52 days. Due to its biological compatibility, high asphaltene tolerance, and ability to utilise it as a source of energy, the degrading consortium developed in this work has shown a high potential for soil bioremediation and is a promising candidate for the treatment of aged soil areas contaminated with heavy and extra-heavy crude oil. This would be the first research to assess and consider extreme bacterial tolerance and microbial antagonism between individual degrading microbes, leading to the development of an improved consortium capable of efficiently degrading high amounts of asphaltenes in soil.

Increased gut permeability and bacterial translocation are associated with fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: implications for disease-related biomarker discovery.

Background: There is growing evidence of the significance of gastrointestinal complaints in the impairment of the intestinal mucosal barrier function and inflammation in fibromyalgia (FM) and in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). However, data on intestinal permeability and gut barrier dysfunction in FM and ME/CFS are still limited with conflicting results. This study aimed to assess circulating biomarkers potentially related to intestinal barrier dysfunction and bacterial translocation and their association with self-reported symptoms in these conditions. Methods: A pilot multicenter, cross-sectional cohort study with consecutive enrolment of 22 patients with FM, 30 with ME/CFS and 26 matched healthy controls. Plasma levels of anti-beta-lactoglobulin antibodies (IgG anti-ß-LGB), zonulin-1 (ZO-1), lipopolysaccharides (LPS), soluble CD14 (sCD14) and interleukin-1-beta (IL-1ß) were assayed using ELISA. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the participants were recorded using validated self-reported outcome measures. The diagnostic accuracy of each biomarker was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: FM patients had significantly higher levels of anti-ß-LGB, ZO-1, LPS, and sCD14 than healthy controls (all P < 0.0001). In ME/CFS patients, levels of anti-ß-LGB, ZO-1, LPS, and sCD14 were significantly higher than controls, but lower than in FM (all P < 0.01), while there was no significant difference in IL-1ß level. In the FM and ME/CFS cohorts, both anti-ß-LGB and ZO-1 correlated significantly with LPS and sCD14 (P < 0.001 for both). In the FM group, both anti-ß-LGB and ZO-1 were correlated significantly with physical and mental health components on the SF-36 scale (P < 0.05); whereas IL-1ß negatively correlated with the COMPASS-31 score (P < 0.05). In the ME/CFS cohort, ZO-1 was positively correlated with the COMPASS-31 score (P < 0.05). The ROC curve analysis indicated a strong ability of anti-ß-LGB, ZO-1, LPS and sCD14 to predictively distinguish between FM and ME/CFS from healthy controls (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Biomarkers of intestinal barrier function and inflammation were associated with autonomic dysfunction assessed by COMPASS-31 scores in FM and ME/CFS respectively. Anti-ß-LGB antibodies, ZO-1, LPS, and sCD14 may be putative predictors of intestinal barrier dysfunction in these cohorts. Further studies are needed to assess whether these findings are causal and can therefore be applied in clinical practice.

Improvement of digestive symptoms in fibromyalgia patients following a diet modification according to histamine release test - an observational study.

Introduction: There is growing interest in the relationship between fibromyalgia and processes related to food, such as food intolerances. In fact, different associations have been described between the control of dietary habits and the improvement of the different symptoms of fibromyalgia. Material and methods: We collected the results of applying a specific test of histamine release related to the diet of patients with fibromyalgia, and evaluated the changes in terms of the symptoms usually described by the patients. A total of 84 patients who met the established criteria were recruited; 40 of them underwent the exclusion diet for a period of 6 months, while the remaining ones continued with their usual dietary habits. All patients were instructed not to modify any other parameter during the study, such as medication, exercise, or other complementary treatments. The parameters studied were as follows: the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Gastrointestinal Symptoms Rating Scale (GSRS), the pain Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), as well as the patients' body weight was controlled. Results: There was a significant improvement (p < 0.05) in the group of patients who underwent the exclusion diet in assesment by GSRS and in total in total body weight. There were no differences compared to the rest of the patients in terms of VAS and FIQ. Conclusions: Diet modification in patients with fibromyalgia by specific histamine relase test improves certain clinical parameters related to the symptoms of the digestive sphere, compared to the control group. Our work opens a possible way of non-pharmacological treatment to improve some symptoms of this very prevalent disease.

Treatment with low-intensity transcranial magnetic stimulation in women with fibromyalgia improves diagnostic variables up to 6 months after treatment completion.

OBJECTIVES: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a disease treated with various therapeutic approaches that have limited success. Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy has been proposed as a possible solution to reduce several symptoms. This study aims to analyse the therapeutic effects of transcranial low-intensity magnetic stimulation (LIMS) in women diagnosed with FM at 2, 12 and 24 weeks from the last LIMS administration treatment session. METHODS: 560 women (53.7 ± 11.3 years) diagnosed with FM according to the ACR 2016 criteria were randomly allocated in two groups: 280 received standard pharmacological treatment and 280 received the same treatment plus eight sessions of LIMS, 20 minutes long, once a week. The variables analysed were the widespread pain index (WPI), symptoms severity score (SS score) and the Spanish-validated version of the FM impact questionnaire (S-FIQ). The evaluations were performed at the beginning of LIMS treatment and at 2, 12 and 24 weeks after the end of the last LIMS treatment session. RESULTS: From the second week after the last LIMS session, there was significant improvement (p <0.001) in the variables WPI, SS score and S-FIQ. This improvement was maintained throughout the 24 weeks of monitoring after the last intervention. The age of the patients and the severity of the symptoms at the time of diagnosis did not affect the improvement observed in the three variables studied. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with LIMS for eight weeks resulted in significant improvement in FM diagnostic variables, which was maintained up to 24 weeks after the last treatment session. This therapy could be recommended as a part of a multimodal approach for FM treatment.

Eosinophilic esophagitis.

BACKGROUND: Esophagitis is an increasingly diagnosed disease. Patients with gastroesophagic reflux, dysphagia, vomiting or abdominal pain, with a torpid response to the treatment, could be suffering from it. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A 37 year-old male patient with background of gastroesophagic reflux and dysphagia for solids since 2002, self-limited diarrhea episodes and intolerance to alcoholic drinks due to epigastric pain. Skin prick tests, specific IgE, histamine release test and basophil activation test were carried out. RESULTS: Skin prick test to the usual allergens with negative result; prick-prick tests to egg white and yolk, milk and apple with positive result to egg white; total serum IgE within normal levels, specific IgE to egg white with positive result; histamine release test (HRT) and basophil activation test (BAT) with positive result to egg white and yolk. CONCLUSION: The patient was diagnosed eosinophilic esophagitis. The commercial food extracts have a great variability in their allergenic composition, which could result in false negative results in the prick test. Prick-prick with the natural food is a more sensitive technique than prick in the diagnosis of food allergy. There are other useful in vitro techniques, apart from specific IgE, in the diagnosis of food allergy. In our case, an exclusion diet of the involved food was more effective than other treatments for remission of the symptoms.

Eosinophilic esophagitis / Esofagitis eosinofílica

Background: Esophagitis is an increasingly diagnosed disease. Patients with gastroesophagic reflux, dysphagia, vomiting or abdominal pain, with a torpid response to the treatment, could be suffering from it. Material and methods: A 37 year-old male patient with background of gastroesophagic reflux and dysphagia for solids since 2002, self-limited diarrhea episodes and intolerance to alcoholic drinks due to epigastric pain. Skin prick tests, specific IgE, histamine release test and basophil activation test were carried out. Results: Skin prick test to the usual allergens with negative result; prick-prick tests to egg white and yolk, milk and apple with positive result to egg white; total serum IgE within normal levels, specific IgE to egg white with positive result; histamine release test (HRT) and basophil activation test (BAT) with positive result to egg white and yolk. Conclusion: The patient was diagnosed eosinophilic esophagitis. The commercial food extracts have a great variability in their allergenic composition, which could result in false negative results in the prick test. Prick-prick with the natural food is a more sensitive technique than prick in the diagnosis of food allergy. There are other useful in vitro techniques, apart from specific IgE, in the diagnosis of food allergy. In our case, an exclusion diet of the involved food was more effective than other treatments for remission of the symptoms

Introducción: La esofagitis eosinofílica es una entidad cada vez más diagnosticada. Pacientes que presentan síntomas de reflujo gastroesofágico, disfagia, vómitos o dolor abdominal con mala respuesta al tratamiento, pueden tener esta enfermedad. Presentamos el caso de un paciente varón de 37 años con antecedente de reflujo gastroesofágico y disfagia para sólidos desde 2002, episodios diarreicos autolimitados e intolerancia al alcohol por dolor epigástrico, que fue diagnosticado de esofagitis eosinofílica. Material y métodos: En el estudio alergológico realizado se efectuaron pruebas cutáneas (Prick) a los alergenos habituales con resultado negativo; pruebas cutáneas (Prick-Prick) frente a clara y yema de huevo, leche y manzana con resultado positivo frente a clara; IgE sérica total que resultó dentro de la normalidad, IgE específica frente a clara de huevo con resultado positivo; Test de Liberación de Histamina (TLH) y Test de Activación de Basófilos (TAB) con resultado positivo frente a clara y yema. Conclusion: Los extractos comerciales a alimentos presentan gran variabilidad en su composición alergénica, lo que puede dar resultados falsamente negativos en el prick. El prick-prick con el alimento en estado natural es una técnica más sensible y que ha demostrado una rentabilidad diagnóstica mayor que el prick en el diagnóstico de alergia a alimentos. Existen otras técnicas in vitro además de la IgE específica que sirven para el diagnóstico de la alergia alimentaria. En nuestro caso, una dieta de exclusión del alimento implicado resultó ser más determinante que otros tratamientos para la resolución de los síntomas