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Is Lithium a Micronutrient? From Biological Activity and Epidemiological Observation to Food Fortification.
Szklarska, D, Rzymski, P
Biological trace element research. 2019;(1):18-27
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Abstract
Lithium compounds have been widely used in psychopharmacology, particularly in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Their normothymic and neuroprotective properties when used at high doses have been well established. However, a number of observations suggest that environmentally relevant lithium doses may also exert beneficial health effects, leading to a decrease in the rate of suicides and levels of violence. Despite the fact that this element is not officially considered to be a micronutrient, some authors have suggested provisional recommended intakes set at 1000 μg/day for a 70-kg adult (14.3 μg/kg body weight). The present paper reviews the biological action of lithium, its bioavailability and metabolism, and content in different foodstuffs and water. It also assesses epidemiological data on potential correlations between lithium intake and suicide rate as well as examines the concept of fortifying food with this element as a strategy in the primary prevention of mood disorders and pre-suicidal syndrome.
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Nutrigenomics: Opportunities & challenges for public health nutrition.
Reddy, VS, Palika, R, Ismail, A, Pullakhandam, R, Reddy, GB
The Indian journal of medical research. 2018;(5):632-641
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Abstract
The hierarchical information flow through DNA-RNA-protein-metabolite collectively referred to as 'molecular fingerprint' defines both health and disease. Environment and food (quality and quantity) are the key factors known to affect the health of an individual. The fundamental concepts are that the transition from a healthy condition to a disease phenotype must occur by concurrent alterations in the genome expression or by differences in protein synthesis, function and metabolites. In other words, the dietary components directly or indirectly modulate the molecular fingerprint and understanding of which is dealt with nutrigenomics. Although the fundamental principles of nutrigenomics remain similar to that of traditional research, a collection of comprehensive targeted/untargeted data sets in the context of nutrition offers the unique advantage of understanding complex metabolic networks to provide a mechanistic understanding of data from epidemiological and intervention studies. In this review the challenges and opportunities of nutrigenomic tools in addressing the nutritional problems of public health importance are discussed. The application of nutrigenomic tools provided numerous leads on biomarkers of nutrient intake, undernutrition, metabolic syndrome and its complications. Importantly, nutrigenomic studies also led to the discovery of the association of multiple genetic polymorphisms in relation to the variability of micronutrient absorption and metabolism, providing a potential opportunity for further research toward setting personalized dietary recommendations for individuals and population subgroups.
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Dietary intervention with a specific micronutrient combination for the treatment of patients with cardiac arrhythmias: the impact on insulin resistance and left ventricular function.
Parsi, E, Bitterlich, N, Winkelmann, A, Rösler, D, Metzner, C
BMC cardiovascular disorders. 2018;(1):220
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cardiac arrhythmias (CA) are very common and may occur with or without heart disease. Causes of these disturbances can be components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) or deficits of micronutrients especially magnesium, potassium, B vitamins and coenzyme Q10. Both causes may also influence each other. Insulin resistance (IR) is a risk factor for diastolic dysfunction. One exploratory outcome of the present pilot study was to assess the impact of a dietary intervention with specific micronutrients on the lowering of IR levels in patients with CA with the goal to improve the left ventricular (LV) function. METHODS This was a post hoc analysis of the randomized double blind, placebo-controlled pilot study in patients with CA (VPBs, SVPBs, SV tachycardia), which were recruited using data from patients who were 18-75 years of age in an Outpatient Practice of Cardiology. These arrhythmias were assessed by Holter ECG and LV function by standard echocardiography. Glucose metabolism was measured by fasting glucose, fasting insulin level and the Homeostasis Model Assessment of IR (HOMA-IR) at baseline and after 6 weeks of dietary supplementation. RESULTS A total of 54 randomized patients with CA received either a specific micronutrient combination or placebo. Dietary intervention led to a significant decrease in fasting insulin ≥58 pmol/l (p = 0.020), and HOMA-IR (p = 0.053) in the verum group after 6 weeks. At the same time, parameters of LV diastolic function were improved after intervention in the verum group: significant reduction of LV mass index (p = 0.003), and in tendency both a decrease of interventricular septal thickness (p = 0.053) as well as an increase of E/A ratio (p = 0.051). On the other hand, the premature beats (PBs) were unchanged under verum. CONCLUSIONS In this pilot study, dietary intervention with specific micronutrient combination as add-on to concomitant cardiovascular drug treatment seems to improve cardio metabolic health in patients with CA. Further studies are required. STUDY REGISTRATION The study was approved by the Freiburg Ethics Commission International and was retrospectively registered with the U.S. National Institutes of Health Clinical Trials gov ID NCT 02652338 on 16 December 2015.