OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the use of probiotics as an additional therapy in the treatment of children and adolescents with asthma in Belo Horizonte, MG-Brazil. METHODS: A pilot longitudinal, experimental and nonrandomized study with 30 patients from six to 17 years old from Belo Horizonte. In the baseline appointment, all patients received beclomethasone, and one group also received a probiotic containing Lactobacillus reuteri (n=14). The patients were reassessed after at least 60 days with the Asthma Control Test, spirometry and self-report of the symptoms they experienced associated with asthma. RESULTS: A predominance of male patients (56.7%) and a mean age of 10.6 years were observed. The groups using probiotics did not differ in terms of sex, age or atopy. In the longitudinal evaluation, an increase in the Asthma Control Test scores and a reduction in the number of symptoms were observed in the probiotic group. There was an increase in the peak expiratory flow among those who used probiotics. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study supports the hypothesis that the administration of probiotics as a supplementary therapy for the treatment of children and adolescents with asthma improves the clinical condition of the patients. Further studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of probiotics in asthma treatment.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of the "omental band" as a bariatric surgical technique. METHODS: A sample of 35 dogs was studied. The Test Group was composed by 20 dogs. Of these, six were observed by 10 days, six were observed by 20 days and eight were observed by 30 days of post-operatory. The Control Group was composed by 15 dogs. Of these, five were observed by 10 days, five were observed by 20 days and five were observed by 30 days of post-operatory. The weight loose was the variable utilized to the evaluation of the efficacy of the surgical technique described in this study, once all of the dogs were weighted in precision balance before the surgical act and at the end of the post-operatory observation period. RESULTS: At the end of the study it was observed that the weight loose of the dogs submitted to the "omental band's" surgical technique was meaningfully higher in comparison with the dogs of the Control Group at the end of the post-operatory observation period. CONCLUSION: The surgical technique of the "omental band" showed effective in dogs, once has proposed a meaningfully weight loose.