Iuri A. Santana

Ten healthy volunteers were studied before, during, and after treatment with omeprazole 30 mg daily for two weeks. On the 14th night mean nocturnal (2100-0700) intragastric acidity was significantly decreased by 75% (p less than 0.001). At 0700, 22 hours after the last dose of omeprazole, there were significant increases in the bacterial count and the nitrite and N-nitrosamine concentrations in the gastric juice (p less than 0.001). Three days later these changes had resolved. Short term treatment of healthy volunteers with omeprazole is associated with a short lived increase in the gastric bacterial flora, with endogenous production of N-nitroso compounds.

In recent years, a number of new molecules - commonly known as biological therapies - have been approved or are in late stages of regulatory evaluation for the treatment of advanced breast cancer. These innovative compounds have improved treatment efficacy and have probably contributed to the increase in survival length observed in some breast cancer subtypes. However, these agents are not deprived of toxicity, which can impair quality of life and may occasionally be life-threatening. In this article, we reviewed the most common toxicities associated with these drugs and provided a number of practical recommendations on their optimal clinical management.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic quickly emerged in several countries, the first cases did not appear in Brazil until March 2020, when several clusters appeared in heavily populated areas, such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Based on international recommendations and examples, Brazil responded with a plan focused on social distancing and health-care prioritization.1 CONTEXT Key Objective Would changes in the public health system caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have an impact on cancer care? Knowledge Generated During the March to May period, we saw a decrease of biopsies (29%), colonoscopies (57%), mammograms (55%), and oncologic surgeries (9%). Analyzed data also showed a reduction of 21% in the number of hospitalizations. By contrast, there was an increase of 14% in the in-hospital mortality rate. Relevance These results can be used as a source of information to guide public health system plans to improve cancer care in Brazil in the post-pandemic period.

Omeprazole, an H+K+ATPase inhibitor, is a potent suppressor of gastric acid secretion. A dose of 30 mg/day caused a 97% decrease of mean 24-hour intragastric acidity in duodenal ulcer patients. Basal and postprandial plasma gastrin concentrations were increased during once daily omeprazole treatment, but were reversed after cessation of treatment. The object of this study was to investigate whether this omeprazole induced elevation of plasma gastrin has a trophic effect on the parietal cell mass in man.