Nutrition
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Despite having disease-specific pathologic features and symptoms, neurodegenerative diseases share common mechanisms, such as excitotoxicity, neuroinflammation, and neurotransmitter dysregulation. Although the common underlying cause of these neurodegenerative processes has yet to be identified, accumulating evidence suggests that branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) could be involved. ⋯ Furthermore, emerging evidence indicates that BCAA metabolism may be dysregulated in major neurodegenerative diseases, namely Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In this review, we identified the neurodegenerative mechanisms of BCAAs and outlined their potential roles in neurodegenerative diseases, suggesting that targeting BCAA metabolism may represent a new approach to identifying new therapeutic targets for multifaceted neurodegenerative diseases.
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Gastrointestinal tract diseases are characterized by an imbalance in physiological functions, which may involve inflammatory and metabolic pathways and trigger chronic, multifactorial, and idiopathic inflammatory disorders. The association of probiotics with prebiotics has the potential to remedy these afflictive conditions, because they attenuate or even block the adhesion of pathogenic microorganisms in the enteric environment. ⋯ The importance of products containing probiotics and fibers from Psyllium as prebiotics becomes increasingly evident when there is a health bias. Emerging health challenges and advances in research will drive selective approaches in biotechnology to discover and evaluate new probiotics and prebiotics that can potentially contribute to human health.
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Historically, fat mass has been considered to have significant influence on human body energy homeostasis through its indirect relationship with appetite control. However, over the past decade, there has been a surge of evidence supporting the potential role of fat-free mass (FFM) in appetite control, and thus the regulatory involvement of FFM in appetite-related measures. Yet, the underlying biological mechanisms that explain the role of FFM in tonic/episodic appetite regulation remain unclear. ⋯ Overall, available evidence suggests the appetite stimulating hormone, ghrelin, has an inverse relationship with FFM. The relationship between FFM and the appetite suppression hormones, peptide tyrosine-tyrosine and glucagon-like peptide-1, has been relatively unexplored. The evidence presented in this review should encourage researchers, clinicians, and health professionals to consider investigating FFM maintenance as a suitable strategy during weight loss for improvements in appetite control.
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Multicenter Study
Prevalence and determinants of primary hypertension in urban and rural children from six Indian states: A multicenter study.
Among urban and rural Indian children ages 9 to 18 y, we aimed to assess the prevalence and determinants of primary hypertension (PH), and explore the relationship of fat indices and body composition with hypertension. ⋯ Our study highlights that rural children are also at risk of developing PH, especially those with a higher intake of junk food and carbohydrate. Another interesting finding was the negative association of PH with RMR/weight, increasing PA, as well as a micronutrient-rich diet with calcium and magnesium vital to prevent PH. Health care policies need to focus on the increasing prevalence of obesity and PH, not only in urban, but also rural children where different strategies may have to be applied.
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Studies on the psychological aspects of orthorexia nervosa are scarce. What has been studied to date is the correlation between orthorexia nervosa and self-esteem, perfectionism, and personality. The aim of this study is to verify whether patients suffering from orthorexia or those who have a tendency for orthorexia differ in terms of achievement motivation from a healthy control group. ⋯ Patients who suffer from orthorexia differ from those in the control group in terms of achievement motivation. In some respect, their results are parallel to those obtained from girls with anorexia readiness syndrome, which can lead to the conclusion that both orthorexia and anorexia belong to the spectrum of eating disorders.