OBJECTIVE: Apolipoprotein E4 may benefit children during early periods of life when the body is challenged by infection and nutritional decline. We examined whether apolipoprotein E4 affects intestinal barrier function, improving short-term growth and long-term cognitive outcomes in Brazilian shantytown children. METHODS: A total of 213 Brazilian shantytown children with below-median height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) received 200,000 IU of retinol (every four months), zinc (40 mg twice weekly), or both for one year, with half of each group receiving glutamine supplementation for 10 days. Height-for-age z-scores, weight-for-age z-scores, weight-forheight z-scores, and lactulose:mannitol ratios were assessed during the initial four months of treatment. An average of four years (range 1.4-6.6) later, the children underwent cognitive testing to evaluate non-verbal intelligence, coding, verbal fluency, verbal learning, and delayed verbal learning. Apolipoprotein E4 carriage was determined by PCR analysis for 144 children. RESULTS: Thirty-seven children were apolipoprotein E4(+), with an allele frequency of 13.9%. Significant associations were found for vitamin A and glutamine with intestinal barrier function. Apolipoprotein E4(+) children receiving glutamine presented significant positive Pearson correlations between the change in height-for-age z-scores over four months and delayed verbal learning, along with correlated changes over the same period in weight-for-age z-scores and weight-for-height z-scores associated with non-verbal intelligence quotients. There was a significant correlation between vitamin A supplementation of apolipoprotein E4(+) children and improved delta lactulose/mannitol. Apolipoprotein E4(-) children, regardless of intervention, exhibited negative Pearson correlations between the change in lactulose-to-mannitol ratio over four months and verbal learning and non-verbal intelligence. CONCLUSIONS: During development, apolipoprotein E4 may function concomitantly with gut-tropic nutrients to benefit immediate nutritional status, which can translate into better long-term cognitive outcomes.

A cessação tabágica é uma das melhores formas de melhorar o prognóstico dos doentes com DPOC. Baseados na evidência actualmente disponível, todos os profissionais de saúde devem ter um papel proactivo e contínuo na motivação para parar e no tratamento para a cessação de todos os fumadores. O tratamento deve incluir farmacoterapia combinada com suporte comportamental e deve integrar o seguimento da doença respiratória crónica como recomendado no Plano Nacional de Prevenção e Controlo da DPOC. Os pneumologistas e os restantes profissionais de saúde devem receber treino que garanta conhecimento, atitudes e capacidades necessários para fornecer estas intervenções ou para referenciar a especialistas na área. No futuro próximo, unidades especializadas em tabagismo deverão fornecer assistência especializada, formação, investigação, divulgação e medidas de controlo na área de saúde de influência (hospital e cuidados de saúde primários).

Smoking cessation is one of the most important ways of improving the prognosis of COPD patients. Based on currently available evidence professional health workers should take a proactive and continuous role with smokers, motivating them to stop smoking and providing treatment to aid smoking cessation. The treatment should include pharmacotherapy in addition to behavioural support and should be part of management of the patient’s chronic respiratory condition, as the COPD National Prevention and Treatment Programme recommends. Respiratory physicians and other professional health workers should receive training to ensure they have the necessary knowledge, attitude and skills to undertake these initiatives or to refer the smokers to a suitable qualified specialist. In the near future specialised smoking units should provide specific support, promote training, improve research and awareness and establish tobacco control measures in hospitals and primary health care centres.

O tabagismo é a causa de morte evitável mais frequente. Para além de provocar múltiplas doenças causadoras de internamentos, o tabagismo é também uma doença a tratar durante o internamento, não só para controlar a síndroma de abstinência do doente, sujeito a interrupção abrupta, mas também para cumprir a legislação que proíbe o uso de tabaco nos serviços de saúde, única forma eficaz de prevenir a exposição dos não fumadores ao fumo do tabaco presente no ambiente (FTA). Tratar o fumador internado de forma apropriada é também aproveitar a janela de oportunidade para promover a cessação tabágica e não apenas a abstinência temporária.

Tobacco use is the most avoidable cause of death. Other than provoking multiple diseases requiring hospitalisation, Tobacco Use is also a disease requiring management in the hospital setting, not only in terms of controlling the withdrawal symptoms of the patient, who has been abruptly prohibited from smoking, but also for fulfilling legislation which prohibits tobacco use in the health services, the only efficient way of preventing exposure of non-smokers to environmental tobacco smoke. Treating the in-patient smoker in an appropriate way also provides a window of opportunity for promoting not just a temporary but a complete smoking cessation.

O treino de exercício tornou-se a pedra basilar dos programas de reabilitação respiratória. Desde os anos 90, está comprovada a sua eficácia na melhoria da capacidade para o exercício e qualidade de vida. As normas actuais recomendam exercício contínuo de alta intensidade dos membros inferiores, como a modalidade de exercício mais eficaz (evidência A); no entanto, para alguns doentes é por vezes difícil iniciar este tipo de programa, dada a limitação por dispneia ou fadiga dos membros inferiores. Nos últimos anos, têm-se dado especial relevância à integração de outras modalidades de exercício (contínuo versus intervalado, aeróbico versus força, inclusão ou não de treino dos músculos respiratórios). Os autores revêem a actual literatura sobre treino de exercício na doença respiratória crónica, certos de que a dispneia e a inactividade condicionam um ciclo vicioso que pode ser revertido pelo treino de exercício, planeado individualmente e de forma exacta.

Exercise training has become a cornerstone of Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Since the nineties, the effectiveness in clinically relevant improvements in exercise capacity and health-related quality of life has been proved. Current guidelines (Evidence A) recommend high intensity continuous exercise for lower extremities as the most effective exercise modality, however, for some patients it is often difficult to initiate such an exercise programme due to the limitation of dyspnoea or leg fatigue. In recent years, special relevance has been given to the integration of other modalities of exercise (continuous versus interval, aerobic versus strength, inclusion or not of respiratory muscle training). The authors carry out a review of the current literature concerning exercise training in chronic pulmonary disease and this highlights the role of tailored exercise to break the vicious cycle of dyspnoea and inactivity.