Nutrition
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Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a complex disease that involves malnutrition and a profound depletion in muscle mass. The thickness of the adductor pollicis muscle (APM) has been proposed as a new anthropometric technique to estimate muscle mass, check early changes, and assess its evaluation. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy and validity of the APM thickness in a cohort of malnourished patients with AN when checking local mass gain. The Doppler ultrasound maybe an affordable and useful method to discriminate all tissues around the APM area. ⋯ APM thickness reflects the addition of two different muscles plus fat and skin; therefore, this tool is not reliable to assess APM mass.
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The role of probiotic yogurt in the prevention and treatment of hypercholesterolemia has attracted global attention. Mounting evidence has indicated that probiotics and prebiotics improve lipid metabolism by lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration in plasma of hypercholesterolemic patients. The present study aimed to develop synbiotic soy yogurt that had a greater cholesterol-lowering effect in hypercholesterolemic mice compared with control soy yogurt. ⋯ These results indicated that the synbiotic soy yogurts have beneficial effects against hypercholesteroemia and can be used as a therapeutic agent in hypercholesteremic patients.
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The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify the main dietary patterns of a Portuguese population of patients with gastrointestinal cancer and to analyze their association with sarcopenia. ⋯ The fat and fish dietary pattern was associated with lower odds of sarcopenia in this population of patients with gastrointestinal cancer.
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Observational Study
Unidentified cachexia patients in the oncologic setting: Cachexia UFOs do exist.
Cachexia is an important outcome-modulating parameter in patients with cancer. In the context of a randomized controlled trial on cachexia and nutritional therapy, the TiCaCONCO (Tight Caloric Control in the Cachectic Oncologic Patient) trial, the contacts between patients with cancer and health care practitioners and oncologists were screened. The aim of this retrospective study was to identify in the charts the input of data on body weight (necessary to identify cachexia stage), relevant nutritional data, and nutritional interventions triggered or implemented by oncologists and dietitians. ⋯ Patients newly diagnosed with cancer are not systematically identified as being cachectic and if they are, interventions in the field of nutrition therapy are largely lacking. Important barriers exist between oncologists and dietitians, the former being mandatory to the success of a nutrition trial in cancer.
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Studies in children and pregnant women consistently showed pandemic proportions of micronutrient deficiencies in the Indian subcontinent. However, vitamin deficiencies in apparently healthy adults are seldom recognized, hence the aim of this exploratory study was to assess their subclinical vitamin status and dietary intakes. ⋯ The study demonstrated a high prevalence of multiple subclinical vitamin deficiencies, dietary inadequacies, and HHcys, which are possible risk factors for disease burden among apparently healthy adults.