FODMAP Content Like-by-like Comparison in Spanish Gluten-free and Gluten-containing Cereal-based Products

Gluten-free foods (GF) availability on supermarket shelves is growing and it is expected to continue expanding in the years ahead. These foods have been linked to a lower content of fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAPs), molecules that trigger gastrointestinal symptoms in sensitive persons. In this study, the FODMAP content of 25 cereal-based GF foods in Spain (breakfast cereals, pasta, bread, biscuits, bakery products, and dough and puff pastry) and 25 gluten-containing equivalents (GC) available in the same supermarket were analysed and compared. Lactose, fructose, glucose, sorbitol, mannitol, raffinose, stachyose and fructans were quantified. In a like-by-like analysis, GF foods were found to generally contain fewer FODMAPs than their GC counterparts. The ingredients used in the manufacture of GF cereal-based foods may contribute to this fact. When the individually wrapped size was considered, the proportion of samples classified as high-FODMAPs in GC and GF foods showed a trend towards fewer samples in the GF. However, not all the GF samples were low-FODMAP. Altogether, our findings provide essential information for FODMAP content databases of GF products in Spain.

Uncovering the Concerns and Needs of Individuals with Celiac Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study

The treatment for celiac disease (CD) involves a strict gluten-free diet, which can be challenging and lead to questions for patients. Pinpointing these uncertainties can enable the creation of efficient educational resources. In this study, a questionnaire was specifically designed to gain insights into the knowledge, concerns, and needs of individuals with CD and their supporters. The questionnaire was distributed through the Instagram social network and received adequate responses from 300 participants, 258 (86%) being female and 152 (50.7%) falling in the age range of 25-44 years. The concerns of individuals with celiac disease and celiac supporters were rated on a 1-4 scale, with a mean score of 3.5 indicating significant concern. A total of 255 (85%) of all participants expressed that their principal concern was the social limitations they faced, such as difficulties in eating out and sharing food with others. Every participant evaluated their overall disease knowledge, averaging at 2.92 out of 4, indicating a reasonable level of awareness. When asked if they believed that improving general knowledge about CD in the general population would enhance their quality of life, the vast majority responded affirmatively. This finding underscores the importance of not only educating individuals with CD but also reaching out to the wider population, especially those who have a direct impact on the daily lives of individuals with CD, such as family members, friends, and food service providers.

Audiogram of a formerly stranded long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) measured using auditory evoked potentials

Long-finned pilot whales are highly social odontocetes found in temperate and subpolar regions. This species is particularly known for its interaction with fisheries as well as its mass strandings. Recent tagging work has provided some information about pilot whales in the wild but, even though they have been successfully kept in captivity, little is known about their sensory capabilities. This study investigates the hearing abilities of a rehabilitated 2 year old male long-finned pilot whale. A complete audiogram was collected using auditory evoked potential techniques that included measurements of nine frequencies from 4 to 100 kHz presented as sinusoidally amplitude-modulated tones. The results indicated that the region of best hearing was between 11.2 and 50 kHz and the subject had relatively poor high frequency hearing compared with other odontocete species. This study emphasizes the importance of collecting basic hearing measurements from new species, understanding diagnostic life histories as well as continuously increasing the sample size of audiometry measurements within and between odontocete species as animals become available.

MR imaging features of brain stem hypoplasia in familial horizontal gaze palsy and scoliosis

We report the case of a child with horizontal gaze palsy, pendular nystagmus, and discrete thoracolumbar scoliosis. MR imaging of the brain depicted pons hypoplasia with an absence of the facial colliculi, hypoplasia, butterfly configuration of the medulla, and the presence of a deep midline pontine cleft (split pons sign). These MR imaging findings suggest familial horizontal gaze palsy with progressive kyphoscoliosis, a rare congenital disorder. To the best of our knowledge, MR imaging findings of only 4 similar cases, with or without progressive idiopathic scoliosis, have been reported. We discuss the pathogenesis substratum of this entity. Early recognition of this rare entity is important if supportive therapeutic measures in progressive scoliosis are to be applied.

Differential diagnosis of mesiotemporal lesions: case report of neurosyphilis

We report a clinical and imaging case of suspected herpes simplex encephalitis subsequently diagnosed as neurosyphilis based on positive antibodies in the CSF. MRI of the brain showed cortical and subcortical lesions in the mesial temporal region, septal area, insula and cingulated gyrus of the right cerebral hemisphere. Neurosyphilis should be included in the differential diagnosis of mesial temporal region lesions on MRI.

[Angiographic evaluation and embolization of cervico-cranial tumors -- juvenile paraganglioma and angiofibroma of the nasopharynx]

INTRODUCTION

The goal of pre-operative embolization is tumoral desvascularization, with decrease of intraoperative hemorrhage and shortening of operation time and, consequently, decrease operative morbility. The authors review their experience in angiographic evaluation and preoperative embolization of paragangliomas and juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA).

PATIENTS AND METHODS/RESULTS

There were reviewed the angiographic characteristics of 22 patients with paragangliomas, most of them jugular and/or tympanic, 10 of them embolized with PVA. There were angiographically evaluated 6 JNA, 5 of which were embolized with PVA. There weren't any neurological complications during the procedures, diagnostic angiography and embolization. In the cases submitted to endovascular treatment, there was a significative preoperative desvascularization rate, with subjective improving of intraoperative conditions in terms of blood loss.

CONCLUSION

A detailed angiographic characterization of the tumor allows the evaluation of embolization risks, due to the presence of anastomoses or arterial feeding of important structures. Tumor preoperative embolization must be done in a restricted group of hypervascular tumors, in a multidisciplinary approach with the surgical team and must be a safe procedure, without carrying additional morbility to the surgery.

[Magnetic resonance imaging of aqueductal flow in patients with normal hydrocephalus pressure]

The treatment of patients with the so-called Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH) consists of ventricular shunting, but only in some cases is there clinical improvement. The selection of patients for ventricular shunting is usually based on the response to the evacuating lumbar punctures of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), but new MRI techniques of flow measurement have been used successfully. In this study, a group of 58 patients, 28 of which with NPH, is presented. Flow quantification of the aqueductal CSF using the MR Phase Contrast technique was performed in all of them. The authors conclude that the method is sensitive and can be a valid criterium in the selection of patients for ventricular shunting.