Nutrition
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To determine the nutritional status of a cohort of children admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) and to assess the effect of malnutrition as an independent risk factor affecting outcome in this patient group. ⋯ Malnutrition is common among children admitted to an ICU. This factor was not a predictor of mortality but showed independent association with length of mechanical ventilation.
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This pilot study was designed to determine if metabolic effects in different brain regions (left and right parietal lobes, midbrain) caused by 3 d of food consumption without methionine or cysteine could be detected by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. ⋯ The data show that magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a non-invasive tool suitable for nutritional assessment and suggest that nutritional imbalance caused by 3 d of SAA-free food more selectively affects the midbrain than the parietal lobes.
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Comparative Study
Caffeoylquinic acid-rich extract from chicory seeds improves glycemia, atherogenic index, and antioxidant status in rats.
Comparison of the effects of a high-fructose diet supplemented with rutin, a phenolic compound with well-recognized bioavailability and bioactivity, and a chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) seed extract rich in caffeoylquinic acids (CQA) on gut physiology and the development of disorders related to metabolic syndrome. ⋯ The potential efficacy of the CQA-rich extract from chicory seeds in improving diet-induced metabolic disturbances proved to be better than that of rutin; thus, the extract might be considered as a dietary supplement for carrying out clinical trials.
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To examine the relation between the Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST) and the mortality of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). ⋯ The MST appears to be a reliable tool for the nutritional risk assessment of patients with pulmonary TB. This risk assessment tool can play a valuable role in quickly identifying patients at an increased risk of death and providing adequate nutritional support.
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Childhood obesity is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis, which can be mediated by an increase in angiogenesis and inflammation. The objective was to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and circulating biomarkers of angiogenesis, inflammation, and cardiac dysfunction in children and adolescents. ⋯ Increasing BMI was associated with plasma levels hs-CRP and VEGF, which are involved in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. The lack of association between BMI and markers of cardiac damage (hs-TnT) or ventricular volume overload (NT-proBNP) suggest that atherosclerotic risk may still at a preclinical stage in this population of obese but otherwise healthy young individuals. Collectively, this suite of biomarkers could provide mechanistic insights into the physiopathologic progression of cardiovascular risk associated with childhood obesity.