Search

Diet is currently recognized as a major modifiable agent of human health. In particular, dietary nitrate has been increasingly explored as a strategy to modulate different physiological mechanisms with demonstrated benefits in multiple organs, including gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, metabolic, and endocrine systems. An intriguing exception in this scenario has been the brain, for which the evidence of the nitrate benefits remains controversial. Upon consumption, nitrate can undergo sequential reduction reactions in vivo to produce nitric oxide (•NO), a ubiquitous paracrine messenger that supports multiple physiological events such as vasodilation and neuromodulation. In the brain, •NO plays a key role in neurovascular coupling, a fine process associated with the dynamic regulation of cerebral blood flow matching the metabolic needs of neurons and crucial for sustaining brain function. Neurovascular coupling dysregulation has been associated with neurodegeneration and cognitive dysfunction during different pathological conditions and aging. We discuss the potential biological action of nitrate on brain health, concerning the molecular mechanisms underpinning this association, particularly via modulation of •NO-dependent neurovascular coupling. The impact of nitrate supplementation on cognitive performance was scrutinized through preclinical and clinical data, suggesting that intervention length and the health condition of the participants are determinants of the outcome. Also, it stresses the need for multimodal quantitative studies relating cellular and mechanistic approaches to function coupled with behavior clinical outputs to understand whether a mechanistic relationship between dietary nitrate and cognitive health is operative in the brain. If proven, it supports the exciting hypothesis of cognitive enhancement via diet., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.)

Carbon monoxide and cyanide are toxins that induce cellular hypoxia; both can be produced in the context of domestic fires and may have a synergistic effect. We present the case of a man, victim of a house fire, who was initially diagnosed as having carbon monoxide poisoning, but that afterwards also presented signs and symptoms compatible with cyanide poisoning. He was successfully treated with an antidote. We want to highlight this relatively frequent association of poisonings and the need for urgent empirical treatment.

The objective of this study was to evaluate two classification criteria used to prioritize treatment of dental caries under the Brazilian Family Health Program. The study was held in Ipiguá, São Paulo State, and included 538 five-to-twelve-year-old children. The children underwent an oral examination and assessment of two classification criteria in order to prioritize restorative dental treatment. Based on caries activity, 236 children (75.4%) were prioritized for dental care, while the criterion based on amount and size of the cavity included 73 children (23.4%). Using the two criteria, 186 children (59.4%) were not classified with the same priority for restorative treatment. Determining the precedence for restorative dental treatment must be based on the caries activity, number of cavities, need for treatment, and type of dentition involved (deciduous or permanent). Subjective measures can also be used as a supplement for more rational planning.