1.
Nutritional intervention for diabetes mellitus with Alzheimer's disease.
Li, Z, Li, S, Xiao, Y, Zhong, T, Yu, X, Wang, L
Frontiers in nutrition. 2022;9:1046726
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Diabetes Mellitus (DM) affects more than 463 million people worldwide. Similarly, the number of deaths related to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has increased by 145%. There are several common risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes and AD, including obesity, insulin resistance, and ageing, as well as common pathological mechanisms, including altered insulin signalling, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, formation of glycated proteins and metabolic syndrome. This review aims to summarize the therapeutic effects of different nutritional therapy strategies on the reduction of DM and AD risk. Controlling blood sugar levels and reducing calorie intake is crucial to preventing diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. The low-carbohydrate, ketogenic, and Mediterranean diets have been found to improve glucose control in people with Type 2 diabetes (T2D). In addition, MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) and a ketogenic diet may improve cognition in AD patients. Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium probiotics, and prebiotics, such as inulin, may inhibit the progression of T2D and AD diseases by suppressing inflammation and modulating gut microbes. In addition, vitamins A, C, D, E, B6, B12, folate, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, zinc, magnesium, and polyphenols may improve cognitive decline, homocysteine levels, and insulin resistance in AD and T2D patients. Healthcare professionals can use the results of this review to understand the beneficial effects of dietary strategies and multi-nutrient supplementation on DM and AD. However, further robust studies are required to investigate the risk factors and underlying mechanisms behind DM-combined AD progression.
Abstract
The combined disease burden of diabetes mellitus (DM) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) is increasing, and the two diseases share some common pathological changes. However, the pharmacotherapeutic approach to this clinical complexity is limited to symptomatic rather than disease-arresting, with the possible exception of metformin. Whether nutritional intervention might extend or synergize with these effects of metformin is of interest. In particular, dietary patterns with an emphasis on dietary diversity shown to affect cognitive function are of growing interest in a range of food cultural settings. This paper presents the association between diabetes and AD. In addition, the cross-cultural nutritional intervention programs with the potential to mitigate both insulin resistance (IR) and hyperglycemia, together with cognitive impairment are also reviewed. Both dietary patterns and nutritional supplementation showed the effects of improving glycemic control and reducing cognitive decline in diabetes associated with AD, but the intervention specificity remained controversial. Multi-nutrient supplements combined with diverse diets may have preventive and therapeutic potential for DM combined with AD, at least as related to the B vitamin group and folate-dependent homocysteine (Hcy). The nutritional intervention has promise in the prevention and management of DM and AD comorbidities, and more clinical studies would be of nutritional scientific merit.
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The effect of vitamin D and magnesium supplementation on the mental health status of attention-deficit hyperactive children: a randomized controlled trial.
Hemamy, M, Pahlavani, N, Amanollahi, A, Islam, SMS, McVicar, J, Askari, G, Malekahmadi, M
BMC pediatrics. 2021;21(1):178
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Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder and studies have found it to be associated with nutrient deficiencies, namely magnesium and vitamin D. The aim of this randomized, controlled study is to assess the effect of vitamin D and magnesium supplementation on mental health and behavioral outcomes in children with ADHD. Sixty-six children with ADHD were randomly allocated to receive both vitamin D plus magnesium or placebo for eight weeks, and a validated children’s mental health questionnaire was assessed. After eight weeks, serum vitamin D and magnesium, as well as various behavioural outcomes (emotional problem, peer problem, total difficulties and internalising), were all significantly improved among the treatment group compared to placebo. Based on these results, the authors conclude co-supplementing vitamin D and magnesium can improve the behavioral function and mental health of children with ADHD. They suggest larger, well-designed studies are needed to both validate these findings and further explore whether micronutrient deficiencies in ADHD are a cause or effect of the disorder.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by varying severity in attention deficit and hyperactivity. Studies have shown deficiencies in the serum level of magnesium and vitamin D in people with ADHD. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of vitamin D and magnesium supplementation on mental health in children with ADHD. METHODS We conducted a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 66 children with ADHD. Participants were randomly allocated to receive both vitamin D (50,000 IU/week) plus magnesium (6 mg/kg/day) supplements (n = 33) or placebos (n = 33) for 8-weeks. Strengths and difficulties questionnaire was used to evaluate children's mental health at baseline and the end of the study. RESULTS After eight weeks of intervention, the serum levels of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 and magnesium increased significantly in the intervention group compared with the control group. Also, children receiving vitamin D plus magnesium showed a significant reduction in emotional problems (p = 0.001), conduct problems (p = 0.002), peer problems (p = 0.001), prosocial score (p = 0.007), total difficulties (p = 0.001), externalizing score (p = 0.001), and internalizing score (p = 0.001) compared with children treated with the placebo. CONCLUSION Vitamin D (50,000 IU/week) and magnesium (6 mg/kg/day) co-supplementation for a duration of 8-weeks could improve the behavioral function and mental health of children with ADHD. However, further well-designed studies with a larger sample size are needed. TRIAL REGISTRATION IRCT2016030326886N1 .