Nutrition
-
The aim of this study was to examine the structural changes in brain on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in severely malnourished children before and after treatment. ⋯ The present study revealed that malnutrition per se has a significant effect on the structure of the developing brain and also affects neurologic development. These changes are reversible after treatment so early stimulation and nutritional rehabilitation can help to prevent permanent neurologic derangements.
-
The prevalence of cardiometabolic disease has risen in Africa and parallels the obesity epidemic. To assess cardiometabolic risk, body composition measurements by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) are ideal. In communities with limited resources, alternative measures may be useful but have not been compared extensively in black Africans. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify alternative methods of body composition assessment, such as body adiposity index (BAI) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), for use in African-born blacks. ⋯ BIA with the Sun et al. predictive equation was the best alternative to DXA for body fat assessment in African-born blacks.
-
The aim of this study was to determine how diagnosing and coding of malnutrition in an internal medicine ward setting influences potential hospital reimbursement. ⋯ Identifying malnourished patients and including this highly prevalent diagnosis in medical records allows malnutrition coding and consequent increase of HC. This can improve the potential hospital reimbursement, which could contribute to the quality of patient care and economic sustainability of hospitals.
-
Although metabolic treatment of highly glycolytic cancers and metastases is becoming an important research field, the effects of such treatments are not fully quantified yet. In this article we attempt to quantify the effect of long-term glucose deprivation (similar to ketogenic diets) on cancer cells using in vitro tests. ⋯ This in vitro data could help to direct future human in vivo tests to find the most therapeutic time (cancer cells at their most vulnerable) for additional short-term adjuvant therapies. Partial recovery of proliferation occurred after 90 d. Therefore, as expected, the results also indicated that without an adjuvant treatment, full extinction cannot be reached with the proposed long-term metabolic treatment. The need for more clinical data on long-term glucose deprivation treatments for cancer is well described in the literature. This paper attempts to add to the available pool of knowledge.
-
Case Reports
Hypercalcemia, nephrolithiasis, and hypervitaminosis D precipitated by supplementation in a susceptible individual.
Vitamin D supplementation is common among the general public. Although generally considered safe, vitamin D supplement-induced toxicity has been reported, often in association with manufacturing or labeling errors. Additionally, selected patient populations may have a hypersensitivity to vitamin D supplementation, leading to consequences due to supraphysiologic serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. ⋯ This leads to the persistence of high levels of bioactive vitamin D metabolites, increasing the risk for development of intoxication with vitamin D supplementation. Vitamin D supplementation can precipitate hypercalcemia and nephrolithiasis in individuals with altered vitamin D catabolism. This highlights the importance of monitoring serum calcium levels in patients who are being supplemented with vitamin D.