Alternative Health Blog

In a study involving rats induced with "pain-depression" via reserpine (which led to a significant decrease in nociceptive threshold, decreases in biogenic amine levels (dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin), and increased substance P, nitrodative stress, inflammatory cytokines), administration of curcumin (100, 200 300 mg/kg; ip) was found to be associated with dose-dependent ameliorations in the behavioral deficits associated with pain and depression, by restoring behavioral, biochemical, neurochemical, and molecular alterations in the rats. These results suggest that curcumin may play a role in treating pain and depression - two conditions that are so commonly found in the same patients.

In a study involving 508 hemodialysis patients who were observed for 5 years, out of which 212 took vitamin D receptor activator at the start of the study, the incidence of hospitalization due to acute respiratory infections was significantly lower in patients treated with VDRA (HR=0.47) as compared to those who had not received VDRA. The authors state, "The findings of this study suggest that the administration of oral VDRA has a preventive effect on the incidence of ARIs in dialysis patients."

In a longitudinal controlled study involving 32 lactating mothers who delivered very preterm infants (less than or equal to 29 weeks gestation), results indicate that early maternal supplementation during lactation with DHA may increase plasma DHA status in the infants. Mothers were assigned to a DHA group (received DHA supplementation (1200 mg/day, until 36 weeks after conception)) or to a control group (did not receive DHA supplementation) during lactation. Plasma DHA concentrations in infants were found to be greater in the DHA-supplemented group, compared with the control group. Additionally, DHA in maternal milk was nearly 12 times in the DHA group, compared with the control group. Thus, the authors of this study conclude, "Early supplementation with DHA to lactating mothers with low dietary DHA intake successfully increased the plasma DHA status in very preterm infants."

In a cross-sectional study involving participants from the Veterans Health Administration - Multiple Sclerosis Surveillance Registry - among veterans with relapsing MS who resided in low-to-medium solar radiation areas (n=540), having low exposure to the sun in the fall and winter during the ages of 6 to 15 years was found to be significantly associated with earlier symptom onset by 2.1 years. Interestingly, intake of cod liver oil during this same age period was associated with later onset of symptoms of MS by 4 years. The authors conclude, "The current study provides evidence for an association between vitamin-D-related exposures during childhood and early adolescence and the timing of MS symptom onset, and supports vitamin D as a potential modulator of the clinical course of this disease."

In a controlled study involving 15 healthy subjects, results indicate that long-term supplementation with EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) may decrease the risk of calcium oxalate stone formation. After a control phase (subjects consumed a standardized diet for 5 days) the subjects consumed a free diet while receiving supplementation with 900 mg EPA and 600 mg DHA, for a period of 30 days. At intervention end, relative supersaturation with calcium oxalate decreased significantly (23%) due to significantly decreased urinary oxalate excretion. Thus, the authors of this study conclude, "Results show that 30-day n-3 fatty acid supplementation effectively decreases urinary oxalate excretion and the risk of calcium oxalate crystallization."

In this case report the authors discuss the successful treatment of anogenital wart presenting in an infant with topical application of a vitamin D(3) derivative. The authors conclude, "Topical application of a vitamin D(3) derivative may be an alternative therapy for anogenital warts in infants."

In an exploratory study involving 11 patients with schizophrenia, treatment with acupuncture over a period of 10 weeks was found to yield beneficial effects, including: improvements in symptoms of schizophrenia, reduction in side effects of medications, improvements in energy, motivation, sleep, addictions, and other associated physical problems, as reported by the subjects. The authors state, "The study indicates that patients diagnosed with schizophrenia would benefit from acupuncture treatment alongside conventional treatment. Triangulation of the data highlights some inconsistencies in reporting from participants, but also that this can be overcome through the use of mixed research methods."

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 60 patients with non-constipation functional bowel disorders (72% female, 84% white, mean age: 37 years), supplementation with probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis) twice a day (2 x 10 CFU/d) for a period of 8 weeks was found to significantly improve symptoms of abdominal bloating in the group as a whole and in a subgroup of subjects with irritable bowel syndrome. The authors state, "These data supports the role of intestinal bacteria in the pathophysiology of FBD and the role for probiotic bacteria in the management of these disorders."

In a placebo-controlled, double-blind study involving 18 normal, healthy university students, divided into two groups: high propensity to anxiety and minimal propensity to anxiety group, supplementation with L-theanine (200 mg/100 ml water) was found to be associated with significantly enhanced activity of alpha bands, descending heart rate, elevated visual attentional performance, and improved reaction time response among subjects with a high propensity to anxiety, as compared to a placebo. No significant effects of L-theanine were found in subjects with a minimal propensity to anxiety. The authors state, "Results evidently demonstrated that l-theanine clearly has a pronounced effect on attention performance and reaction time response in normal healthy subjects prone to have high anxiety."

In this ancillary study to a randomized trial of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation and prevention of preterm birth in women with at least one previous spontaneous preterm delivery, intake of fish was found to be associated with a significant reduction in the probability of preterm birth. Women eating fish less than once/month had a 48.6% probability of preterm birth and those eating fish more often had a 35.9% probability of preterm birth. Women consuming 3 servings of fish per week were found to have a 0.60 adjusted odds ratio for preterm birth. No further reduction in risk was found with additional fish intake. Women with the lowest erythrocyte omega-3 fatty acid levels (lowest quartile) were more likely to report consuming less than 1 fish meal per month, compared to women in the highest three quartiles. The authors conclude, "Moderate fish intake (up to three meals per week) before 22 weeks of gestation was associated with a reduction in repeat preterm birth... . These results support the recommendations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for fish consumption during pregnancy."...I would add that the fish consumed MUST be cold water fish.

In a case-control study involving 24 children with pneumonia and 10 controls without pneumonia, vitamin D status was found to be lower in children with pneumonia (serum 25(OH)D as 104 nmol/L) as compared to controls (130 nmol/L). Among the children with pneumonia, 54% had serum levels of 25(OH)D less than 70 nmol/L and 46% had serum 25(OH)D levels greater than 70 nmol/L. Furthermore, hypocalcemia was found in 54% of children with pneumonia, of which 13% had serum 25(OH)D below 40 nmol/L, 67% had levels below 70 nmol/L, and 20% had levels above 70 nmol/l. A complication of pneumonia known as empyema thoracis, and subsequent death, were found in the 2 subjects whose 25(OH)D levels were between 27.5 and 40 nmol/L. Moreover, subjects with 25(OH)D below 70 nmol/L were more likely to be anemic. The authors conclude, "The study showed that Vitamin D insufficiency, and not solely its deficiency, may have an important role to play in the immune and haemopoetic system. It may therefore affect the response of a child to infections especially pneumonia."

In a study involving 80 post-menarchal adolescents (53 African-American and 27 Caucasian-American), which included a sub-group of vitamin D deficient subjects (n=14), 25(OH)D was found to be inversely associated with fasting glucose and positively associated with LDL cholesterol, independent of race and BMI. In Caucasian-Americans, 25(OH)D was inversely associated with fasting insulin, and in African-Americans, 25(OH)D was positively associated with ALT. In the subgroup of patients with vitamin D deficiency, supplementation with vitamin D was associated with improvements in fasting glucose. The authors conclude, "...serum 25(OH)D was inversely associated with fasting glucose, and vitamin D treatment had beneficial effects on fasting glucose."

In a study involving data collected from 23,119 men and 35,611 women between the ages of 40 and 79 years, without a history of cardiovascular disease or cancer at baseline, who were followed up with for 16.5 years, during a 859,962 person-year follow up period during which time 2,690 deaths from cardiovascular disease occurred (1227 from stroke, 557 from coronary heart disease), intake of vitamin C was found to be associated with a reduced risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease, particularly in men. More specifically, the multivariable hazard ratios associated with the highest versus the lowest quintiles of vitamin C intake were 0.70 for total stroke, 0.63 for coronary heart disease, and 0.79 for total cardiovascular disease in women, but those ratios were not statistically significant in men. The authors conclude, "Vitamin C intake is inversely associated with mortality from cardiovascular disease for Japanese women."

In a study involving 94 female patients suffering from migraine headaches, treatment with ear acupuncture, on auricular acupuncture points determined according to the "needle contact test" was found to significantly reduce current migraine pain immediately, during the treatment itself. The study compared the use of ear acupuncture points determined to be most efficacious according to the Needle Contact Test on the same side as the pain (appropriate points), with the use of ear acupuncture points relating to the sciatic nerve (inappropriate points for migraine headache). VAS scores were significantly lower in the group that received the appropriate acupuncture treatment at 10, 30, 60, and 120 minutes after needle insertion. The authors state, "This study suggests that the therapeutic specificity of auricular points exists and is linked to the somatotopic representation of our body on the ear."

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 91 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MMSE-K scores between 21 and 26, in either stage 2 or 3 on the Global Deterioration Scale), supplementation with a combination of green tea extract and L-theanine (1,680 mg of this combined product LGNC-07) was found to be associated with improvements in memory, marginal increases in delayed recognition, improvements in selective attention, and significant increases in brain theta waves in temporal, frontal, parietal, and occipital areas of the brain - indicators of cognitive alertness. These results suggest that supplementation with a combination of green tea and L-theanine may improve cognitive impairment.

In a study involving healthy pregnant women from Spain, Germany, and Hungary, higher levels of DHA in the cord blood were found to be associated with better neurological outcome in offspring at 5.5 years of age. Subjects were randomized to 3 groups from week 20 of pregnancy until delivery: fish oil (500 mg/d DHA + 150 mg/d EPA), 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (400 microg/d), both, or placebo. Results found that with every unit increment increase in cord blood DHA level at delivery in plasma erythrocyte phospholipids, erythrocyte phosphatidylethanolamine, and erythrocyte phosphatidylcholine, the odds of children with maximal NOS (neurological optimality score) increased. These results suggest that, "higher DHA levels in cord blood may be related to a better neurological outcome at 5.5 y of age."

In a study involving 21 male rats divided into 3 groups [1) control group; 2) diazinon (a widely used pesticide in agriculture)-exposed group; 3) diazinon + vitamin C and vitamin E-treated group], exposure to diazinon was found to significantly increase serum malondialdehyde levels in the brain, while vitamins C and E were found to reduce lipid peroxidation in the brain. Rats in the group treated with vitamins C and E were found to have significantly higher superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels. The authors conclude, "Oxidative stress contributes to DI-induced brain toxicity. Our results suggested that vitamins E plus C combination may have a protective effect on DI-induced brain toxicity."

In a study involving 54 vegetarian Buddhist nuns, 31 non-vegetarian Catholic nuns, and 31 female college students in Korea, serum levels of ferritin and hematocrit did not differ between the Buddhist vegetarians and the non-vegetarian students (who had a high intake of animal foods and low intake of vitamin C), while the non-vegetarian Catholic nuns who had a modest consumption of animal products and a high consumption of vitamin C, were found to have higher levels of both serum ferritin and hematocrit. Amongst the vegetarians, positive associations were found between vitamin C intake and serum ferritin levels and between laver intake and serum vitamin B12 levels. The authors state, "Korean laver can be a good source of vitamin B-12 for vegetarians." These results suggest that one may maintain healthy nutritional status even if adhering to a vegetarian diet, so long as adequate sources of iron, folate, and vitamin B12 are included in the diet.

In a study involving 86 children who were assessed via the Bayley Scale of Infant Development at 12, 18, and 24 months, maternal serum free thyroxine (FT(4)) levels during the first trimester of pregnancy were found to be the major determinant of psychomotor development at 18 and 24 months. Children of mothers with serum free thyroxine levels less than the 25th percentile (<10 pg/mL) were found to have an OR of 2.1 for mild to severe delay, and alterations in behavior were observed at 12 months and related to subsequent changes in development. The authors conclude, "This study highlights the need to implement active measures of iodine supplementation periconceptionally and during pregnancy and lactation because the negative effects on development and behavior might be prevented through preemptive action."

In a study involving 5 patients with fibromyalgia, supplementation with coenzyme Q10 (300 mg/d) for a period of 9 months was found to be associated with a significant reduction in symptoms in patients who showed coenzyme Q10 deficiency prior to supplementation. The authors state, "Further analysis involving more scientifically rigorous methodology will be required to confirm this observation."