LC-HRMS analysis of 13 classes of pharmaceutical substances in food supplements

Food supplements should not contain substances considered unsafe or pose a health risk to consumers. In recent years illegal adulterants have been found in various functional foods without notification of their presence or amount in the labelling. In this study, a validated method was developed and applied as a screening method to detect 124 forbidden substances belonging to 13 classes of compounds in food supplements. Liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) and a simple and rapid extraction protocol was applied to 110 food supplements collected from the internet market or during official controls in Italy. The percentage of non-compliant samples was 4.5%, relatively high compared with the official control results for these substances usually obtained on other food matrices. The results suggested the need to strengthen controls in this field to detect food supplement adulteration, which represents a potential health risk for the consumer.

Operative treatment of tibiofibular diastasis: a comparative study between transfixation screw and reabsorbable cerclage. Preliminary result

OBJECTIVES

The tibiofibular diastasis requires an appropriate surgical treatment in order not to run into negative results such as decreased range of motion and chronic instability. We have conducted a comparative study between the transfixation screw and a new technique based upon the reabsorbable cerclage, a less invasive technique.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We enrolled 30 patients affected by tibiotarsal distortion with an acute lesion of the syndesmosis, and we divided them in 2 groups randomly. The first group of patients (15 cases) has been treated with a tricortical, or quadricortical syndesmotic screw, and the second group of patients (15 cases) has been treated with a tibiofibular cerclage with reabsorbing wires. The evaluation of the lesions was documented through comparative radiographies of the ankle in the AP, LL and mortise projections.

RESULTS

In group 1, we observed an excellent outcome in 4 patients, while in the remaining 11 cases there was evidence of alterations in the evaluated parameters. In group 2, we observed an excellent outcome in 6 patients, and only in half of the remaining cases it was found a slight alteration only when the articulation is stressed.

CONCLUSIONS

The main indications for the tibiofi bular cerclage are the syndesmotic lesions not associated to fi bular fractures. The achieved results support the validity of the cerclage technique, showing evidence of advantages concerning the functional recovery. The cerclage also allows to avoid the subsequent surgery required for the screw removal. Therefore the tibiofi bular cerclage represents a valid alternative to the treatment with the syndesmotic screw.