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Balancing Altered Calcium Metabolism with Bone Health in Sarcoidosis.
Zhou, Y, Lower, EE
Seminars in respiratory and critical care medicine. 2020;(5):618-625
Abstract
Abnormal calcium metabolism in sarcoidosis patients can lead to hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, and kidney stones. Hypercalcemia in sarcoidosis is usually due to increased activity of 1α-hydroxylase in macrophages of pulmonary granulomata, resulting in low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and high levels of calcitriol. Vitamin D supplementation may be dangerous for some sarcoidosis patients and is recommended only for those with decreased 25-hydroxyvitamin D and reduced or normal calcitriol level. Diagnosis, treatment of osteoporosis, and maintenance of bone health are complex issues for sarcoidosis patients. An approach to diagnosis and treatment of bone fragility is presented.
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The Role of Nutraceuticals in the Optimization of Lipid-Lowering Therapy in High-Risk Patients with Dyslipidaemia.
Penson, PE, Banach, M
Current atherosclerosis reports. 2020;(11):67
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW We aimed to summarize recent guidelines, position papers, and high-quality clinical research relating the use of nutraceuticals in the management of individuals at high risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. RECENT FINDINGS It is essential that individuals at high risk of cardiovascular disease receive guideline-directed evidence-based therapies to reduce their risk of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular events. Compared with conventional therapeutics, nutraceuticals have undergone relatively little investigation in randomized controlled trials. Thus, recommendations for nutraceuticals in international guidelines are rare, and nutraceuticals should not be used preferentially in place of statins. Nevertheless, recent position papers from the International Lipid Expert Panel and clinical evidence from studies of triglyceride reduction by polyunsaturated fatty acid administration demonstrate that nutraceuticals do have an important role in optimizing therapy in individuals at high risk of cardiovascular disease. Roles for nutraceuticals include as follows: (1) managing residual risk associated with lipids other than low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C); (2) managing non-lipid-mediated residual risk; (3) optimizing LDL-C treatment in statin intolerance; (4) optimizing LCL-C treatment when add-on therapies for statins are not available; (5) as adjuncts to lifestyle for individuals at high lifetime risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The strength of evidence for each of these applications is variable. In addition to guideline-directed therapeutics, nutraceuticals may have roles in optimizing preventative therapy and targeting residual risk in individuals at high risk of ASCVD. Application of Good Manufacturing Practice and randomized controlled trials when producing and evaluating nutraceuticals will expand the armoury of evidence-based agents for the prevention of ASCVD.
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Probiotics: Versatile Bioactive Components in Promoting Human Health.
Sharifi-Rad, J, Rodrigues, CF, Stojanović-Radić, Z, Dimitrijević, M, Aleksić, A, Neffe-Skocińska, K, Zielińska, D, Kołożyn-Krajewska, D, Salehi, B, Milton Prabu, S, et al
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania). 2020;(9)
Abstract
The positive impact of probiotic strains on human health has become more evident than ever before. Often delivered through food, dietary products, supplements, and drugs, different legislations for safety and efficacy issues have been prepared. Furthermore, regulatory agencies have addressed various approaches toward these products, whether they authorize claims mentioning a disease's diagnosis, prevention, or treatment. Due to the diversity of bacteria and yeast strains, strict approaches have been designed to assess for side effects and post-market surveillance. One of the most essential delivery systems of probiotics is within food, due to the great beneficial health effects of this system compared to pharmaceutical products and also due to the increasing importance of food and nutrition. Modern lifestyle or various diseases lead to an imbalance of the intestinal flora. Nonetheless, as the amount of probiotic use needs accurate calculations, different factors should also be taken into consideration. One of the novelties of this review is the presentation of the beneficial effects of the administration of probiotics as a potential adjuvant therapy in COVID-19. Thus, this paper provides an integrative overview of different aspects of probiotics, from human health care applications to safety, quality, and control.
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Vitamin D Supplementation and All-Cause Mortality.
LeClair, BM, Si, C, Solomon, J
American family physician. 2020;(1):Online
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Fallacies of clinical studies on folic acid hazards in subjects with a low vitamin B12 status.
van Gool, JD, Hirche, H, Lax, H, Schaepdrijver, L
Critical reviews in toxicology. 2020;(2):177-187
Abstract
A 2016 plea for revision of the 1 mg/day upper level of folic acid intake prompted us to comprehensively review the 1945-2017 literature on folic acid hazards in subjects with low cyanocobalamin. The concept of folic acid treatment 'masking' the anemia in undiagnosed cyanocobalamin deficiency, thereby delaying the diagnosis of neuropathy, does not account for the dissociation between the deficiency's hematologic and neurologic manifestations. Possible risks of this concept were addressed by 1963-1971 FDA rulings, classifying all folic acid preparations as prescription-only drugs, delivering ≤1 mg daily. The neuropathy in folic acid trials for 'pernicious anemia' is due to the singular use of folic acid-neuropathy improved or disappeared with replacement of folic acid by liver extract or cyanocobalamin. The hypothesis that cognitive impairment in 'subclinical' cyanocobalamin deficiency is folate-mediated is untenable. Of 6 papers specifically investigating this, none could prove that increased cognitive impairment was related to high folate intake. This review fully supports the safety of the 1 mg/day upper level for folic acid intake.
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Nutraceuticals and Metastasis Development.
Martinović, LS, Peršurić, Ž, Pavelić, K
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). 2020;(9)
Abstract
Nutrigenomics is a discipline that studies the effects of various dietary components on gene expression and molecular mechanisms via "omics" technologies. Many studies are focused on revealing the pathways of the anticancer properties of various nutraceuticals. However, it has been shown that metastasis, a multifactorial disease that develops from primary tumors in cascades, is responsible for almost 90% of cancer deaths. Regrettably, the effects of consumption of different nutraceuticals on metastasis development have not yet been sufficiently explored. A few studies on the subject have revealed the promotional effects of some nutraceuticals on metastasis development. Additionally, it has been shown that certain compounds can have beneficial effects on reduction of the primary tumor, but afterwards promote the spread of metastases. Therefore, in this review we discuss results published in the past five years focused on the effects of different nutraceuticals on metastasis development.
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Herbal supplements interactions with oral oestrogen-based contraceptive metabolism and transport.
Hlengwa, N, Muller, CJF, Basson, AK, Bowles, S, Louw, J, Awortwe, C
Phytotherapy research : PTR. 2020;(7):1519-1529
Abstract
The increased use of herbal supplements as complementary or alternative medicines has become a clinical conundrum due to the potential for herb-drug interactions. This is exacerbated by an increased supply of new herbal supplements in the market claiming various health advantages. These herbal supplements are available as over-the-counter self-medications. Herbal supplements are generally perceived as efficacious without side effects commonly associated with conventional drugs. However, despite regulations, claims related to their therapeutic effects are mostly unsupported by scientific evidence. These products often lack suitable product quality controls, labelled inadequately and with batch to batch variations, potentially compromising the safety of the consumer. Amongst health practitioners, the greatest concern is related to the lack of chemical characterization of the active compounds of the herbal supplements. The interaction between these different active components and their concomitant effects on other conventional drugs is generally not known. This review will focus on herbal supplements with the potential to effect pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of oestrogen-based oral contraceptives. The use of herbal supplements for weight management, depression, and immune boosting benefits were selected as likely herbal supplements to be used concomitantly by women on oral contraceptives.
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8.
Acne related to dietary supplements.
Zamil, DH, Perez-Sanchez, A, Katta, R
Dermatology online journal. 2020;(8)
Abstract
Multiple prescription medications may cause or aggravate acne. A number of dietary supplements have also been linked to acne, including those containing vitamins B6/B12, iodine, and whey, as well as "muscle building supplements" that may be contaminated with anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS). Acne linked to dietary supplements generally resolves following supplement discontinuation. Lesions associated with high-dose vitamin B6 and B12 supplements have been described as monomorphic and although pathogenesis is unknown, a number of hypotheses have been proposed. Iodine-related acne may be related to the use of kelp supplements and has been reported as monomorphic, inflammatory pustules on the face and upper trunk. Whey protein supplements, derived from milk and used for bodybuilding, are associated with papulonodular acne involving the trunk and sometimes the face. Finally, AAS-induced acne has been described as acne fulminans, acne conglobata, and acne papulopustulosa. With studies indicating that about half of US adults report using dietary supplements, it is important that dermatologists directly ask acne patients about their supplement use and educate them on the potential risks of even seemingly innocuous dietary supplements.
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Nutraceuticals in Neurological Disorders.
Makkar, R, Behl, T, Bungau, S, Zengin, G, Mehta, V, Kumar, A, Uddin, MS, Ashraf, GM, Abdel-Daim, MM, Arora, S, et al
International journal of molecular sciences. 2020;(12)
Abstract
Neurological diseases are one of the major healthcare issues worldwide. Posed lifestyle changes are associated with drastically increased risk of chronic illness and diseases, posing a substantial healthcare and financial burden to society globally. Researchers aim to provide fine treatment for ailing disorders with minimal exposed side effects. In recent decades, several studies on functional foods have been initiated to obtain foods that have fewer side effects and increased therapeutic activity. Hence, an attempt has been made to unravel several extraction techniques to acquire essential bioactive compounds or phytochemicals from therapeutically active food products. This has led to the conception of the term functional foods being meddled with other similar terms like "pharmafoods," "medifoods", "vitafoods", or "medicinal foods". With a dire need to adhere towards healthy options, the demand of nutraceuticals is widely increasing to combat neurological interventions. An association between food habits and the individual lifestyle with neurodegeneration has been manifested, thereby proposing the role of nutraceuticals as prophylactic treatment for neurological interventions. The current review covers some of the major neurological disorders and nutraceutical therapy in the prevention of disease.
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10.
Analysis of Scientific Research Driving Microalgae Market Opportunities in Europe.
Rumin, J, Nicolau, E, Junior, RGO, Fuentes-Grünewald, C, Picot, L
Marine drugs. 2020;(5)
Abstract
A bibliographic database of scientific papers published by authors affiliated to research institutions worldwide, especially focused in Europe and in the European Atlantic Area, and containing the keywords "microalga(e)" or "phytoplankton" was built. A corpus of 79,020 publications was obtained and analyzed using the Orbit Intellixir software to characterize the research trends related to microalgae markets, markets opportunities and technologies that could have important impacts on markets evolution. Six major markets opportunities, the production of biofuels, bioplastics, biofertilizers, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and two fast-evolving technological domains driving markets evolution, microalgae harvesting and extraction technologies and production of genetically modified (GM-)microalgae, were highlighted. We here present an advanced analysis of these research domains to give an updated overview of scientific concepts driving microalgae markets.