The effect of preparation processes on the physicochemical characteristics and antibacterial activity of chitooligosaccharides.

The bioactivities of chitooligosaccharides are markedly influenced by the degree of acetylation, degree of polymerization or molecular weight and pattern of acetylation. Thus, it is crucial to identify reproducible processes that will give rise to well-defined chitooligosaccharides and establish methods for their posterior physicochemical characterization in order to advance in the knowledge of their bioactivity. Chitooligosaccharides were prepared by two different processes. The first used chitosanase enzymatic hydrolysis and the second consisted of a two-step procedure based on chemical hydrolysis followed by chitosanase hydrolysis. Chitooligosaccharides produced in the second process were composed of 63 % of fully deacetylated sequences and inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. Better antibacterial activity was found for those obtained in the first process composed of 27 % of fully deacetylated sequences. Therefore, a low percentage of free amino groups and the presence of acetylated sequences are necessary in these molecules to exert good antibacterial capacity.

Pseudo-hypertriglyceridaemia or hyperglycerolemia?

Hyperglycerolemia is a very rare genetic disorder caused by glycerol kinase deficiency. Although usually is presented unexpectedly in routine checks, there are severe forms, especially in children. In general, glycerol and glycerol kinase activity analyses are not included in routine laboratory determination. Glycerol presents positive interferences with some biochemical analytic techniques, e.g. in serum triglycerides and plasma ethylene glycol levels assays. Here, we report a Spanish patient with a pseudo-hypertriglyceridaemia, a falsely elevated triglycerides concentration that was not corrected with lipid-lowering therapy for 3 years.

[Prevention secondary to ischemic cardiopathy at the lipid level in primary care in Aragon. PRECIAR study 1]. / Prevención secundaria de cardiopatía isquémica a nivel lipídico en atención primaria Aragón. Estudio PRECIAR 1.

BACKGROUND: Despite the existing evidence of the effectiveness of secondary prevention by modifying lifestyles or using the different drugs which have shown themselves to be clinically beneficial for heart patients, there is little, not highly accurate information available regarding the handling of the treatment of these patients within the scope of primary care in our country. The purpose of this study is that of ascertaining the current status of secondary prevention of heart disease as far as lipid control is concerned. METHODS: A review was made of the clinical records of all of the patients diagnosed at some point in time of their life as having ischemic heart disease, including those under the heading of acute myocardial infarction and angina pectoris within the 11 groups of patients assigned to three urban Health Care Centers in Area II in Zaragoza. The population in question totaled 19,692 patients, 388 cases of ischemic heart disease having been found in the record files data. RESULTS: Based on a study of the lipid control data, 60.8% of the cases analyzed in this study showed a complete lipid profile for the last year. Solely 4.7% of these patients had LDL < 100, the control objective having to be limited to c-LDL < 130 to find a 31.3% of patients with a lower than optimum control of this parameter. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study reveal that the diagnosis of dyslipemias as well as the control of all other heart disease risk factors in secondary care have not been in keeping, for the most part, with the quality criteria of this health care procedure and therefore reveal the existence of a major degree of room for improvement.

Prevención secundaria de cardiopatia isquémica a nivel lipídico en atención primaria Aragón. Estudio PRECIAR 1. Prevención secundaria de cardiopatia isquémica a nivel lipídico / Secondary prevention of ischemic heart disease at the Lipid-related level in primary care in Aragon. Study PRECIAR I

Fundamento: A pesar de la evidencia existente sobre la eficacia de la prevención secundaria, modificando los estilos de vida o utilizando los diversos fármacos que han mostrado su beneficio clínico en pacientes coronarios, la información disponible sobre el manejo terapéutico de estos pacientes en el ámbito de la atención primaria en nuestro país es escasa y poco precisa. El objetivo de este estudio es conocer el estado de la prevención secundaria de la enfermedad coronaria desde el punto de vista del control de los lípidos. Métodos: Se revisaron las historias clínicas de todas las personas diagnosticadas en algún momento de su vida de patología cardiovascular isquémica; incluyéndose en este apartado el infarto agudo de miocardio y el ángor, dentro de 11 cupos de 3 Centros de Salud urbanos del área II de Zaragoza. La población global era de 19.692 pacientes, encontrándose 388 casos de cardiopatía isquémica, de los datos recogidos de las historias. Resultados: Estudiando los datos sobre el control lipídico, el 60.8 por ciento de los casos analizados en este estudio presentaba un perfil lipídico completo en el último año. De estos 236 pacientes solamente el 4,7 por ciento tenía el LDL < 100, teniendo que limitar a un c-LDL < 130 el objetivo de control para encontrar un 31,3 por ciento de pacientes con un control subóptimo de este parámetro. Conclusiones: Los resultados de nuestro estudio revelan que el diagnóstico de las dislipemias, así como el control del resto de factores de riesgo cardiovascular en prevención secundaria no se han adecuado en gran medida a los criterios de calidad de este proceso asistencial y señalan, en consecuencia, la existencia de un amplio margen de mejora (AU)