Alternative Health Blog

In a controlled prospective study involving 61 subjects without clinical AF (atrial fibrillation) or structural heart disease and who consumed fish at most once a week, results indicate that long term supplementation with fish oil may exert anti-fibrillatory effects. The subjects were assigned to a fish oil group (supplementation with 6 g/day for at least a month) or a control group (no supplementation) prior to an electrophysiology (EP) study. The EP study showed lengthening of right atrial and coronary sinus effective refractory periods (ERPs), significant attenuation of maximal conduction delay, less inducible AF, shorter duration of induced AF, and prolongation of induced AF cycle length. Thus, the authors of this study conclude, "Chronic fish oil supplementation in humans prolongs atrial refractoriness and reduces vulnerability to inducible AF. These electrophysiological changes may explain the anti-fibrillatory effect of chronic fish oil ingestion."

In a study involving 10 healthy, obese children (on average: 11.4 years; BMI: 29.03 kg/m(2)), treatment with acupuncture over a period of 1 month was found to be associated with significant reductions in BMI (3.5% reduction), abdominal visceral adipose tissue volume (16.04% reduction), abdominal total adipose tissue volume by 10.45%, and abdominal visceral to subcutaneous fat ratio (10.59% reduction), and observable, though not significant reductions in body weight (-2.13%), waist circumference (-1.44%), hip circumference (-0.33%), waist-to-hip ratio (-0.99%), abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue volume (-5.63%), and intrahepatic triglyceride content (-9.03%). A significant association was found between the level of abdominal fat and anthropometric parameters such as weight, BMI, waist circumference, and hip circumference. The authors conclude, "...the use of acupuncture therapy to selectively target a reduction in abdominal VAT content should become more important and more popular in the future."

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving children between the ages of 6 and 24 months, with diarrhea and moderate dehydration, supplementation with zinc alone was found to be effective in reducing the duration and volume of diarrhea and the consumption of oral rehydration solution, and supplementation with other micronutrients (such as vitamin A) in addition to zinc were not found to add to the effectiveness of zinc alone. The authors state, "Supplementation with a combination of micronutrients and vitamins was not superior to zinc alone, confirming the clinical benefit of zinc in children with diarrhea."

In a prospective study involving data collected from 3,088 older men and women (mean age: 75 years) who were followed up with for a medial of 10.6 years, during which time 204 new cases of diabetes occurred, results of multivariable analysis found that the relative risks for diabetes were 1.0 (reference), 0.96, 1.03, and 0.64 across consecutive quartiles of phospholipid EPA and DHA, and the corresponding relative risks for phospholipid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) were 1.0, 0.93, 0.99, and 0.57. The authors state, "Individuals with the highest concentrations of both types of FAs had lower risk of diabetes."

In a study involving 1,748 men and women between the ages of 45 and 80 years, with a history of myocardial infarction, unstable angina, or ischemic stroke, patients with prior stroke who received B vitamins (3 mg vitamin B6, 0.02 mg vitamin B12, 0.56 mg folate) plus omega-3 fatty acids (600 mg EPA+DHA) were significantly less likely to have a decreased score on the temporal orientation task, as compared to those receiving a placebo (OR=0.43). While no other significant effects on cognitive function in the group as a whole were found, some disease history-specif and age-specific beneficial effects were found. The authors state, "...dietary effects on cognition are likely group-specific. These results could be useful in interventions aimed at preventing cognitive decline in high-risk individuals."

In a study involving rats with brain ischemia-induced mitochondrial damage, administration of coenzyme Q10 for 30 days prior to the ischemic event and 30 days post-ischemia was found to improve oxygen consumption values and ATP production in the brain mitochondria, increase the concentrations of coenzyme Q9 and alpha-tocopherol in brain mitochondria, and increase concentrations of alpha and gamma tocopherol in the plasma. The authors state, "This suggests that coenzyme Q10 therapy involves resistance to oxidative stress and improved brain bioenergetics, when supplemented during reperfusion after ischemic brain injury."

In an interventional study involving patients with acute myocardial infarction, daily supplementation with vitamins (25 mg vitamin B6, 2 mg vitamin B12, 2.5 mg folic acid) for a period of 2 months was found to be associated with significant reductions in serum total homocysteine and Lp(a). The authors state, "These results indicated that tHcy and Lp(a) levels were possibly atherogenic risk factors independent of conventional risk factors. Since both tHcy and Lp(a) levels responded in a similar fashion, a common point of the metabolic and pathogenetic pathways of tHcy and Lp(a) may be influenced by the vitamins supplementation."

In a study involving 25 breast cancer patients (on average: 53.5 years; 8 on tamoxifen, 9 on aromase inhibitors, 14 on anti-depressants) experiencing at least 14 hot flashes each week, supplementation with magnesium oxide (400 mg/d for 4 weeks, increasing to 800 mg/d if needed, which occurred in 17 patients) was found to be associated with a significant reduction in frequency/week of hot flashes (from 52.2 to 27.7, a 41.4% reduction) and hot flash score (from 109.8 to 47.8, a 50.4% reduction). 56% of patients were found to have greater than 50% reduction in hot flash score and 76% were found to have greater than 25% reduction. Reductions in fatigue, sweating, and distress were all significant. Of the study subjects, 2 women experienced headaches and nausea, and 2 experienced grade 1 diarrhea. The authors state, "Oral magnesium appears to have helped more than half of the patients and was well tolerated. Side effects and cost ($0.02/tablet) were minimal."

In a population-based birth cohort study involving data from 2441 children, maternal dietary intake of magnesium during pregnancy was found to be associated with protection against eczema (OR=0.78). No other associations were found between maternal intake of antioxidants and asthma, rhinitis, or eczema. The authors state, "This may be due to the variable amount of antioxidant intake across studies and also indicative of the hypothesis that there may be a critical time window in pregnancy during which antioxidants might modify the risk of allergies in the offspring."

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial involving 75 type 2 diabetics, daily supplementation for a period of 4 months with: (Group MV): zinc (20 mg), magnesium (250 mg), vitamin C (200 mg), vitamin E (100 mg), or (Group MVB) those vitamins and minerals plus vitamin B1 (10 mg), B2 (10 mg), B6 (10 mg), biotin (200 microg), and folic acid (1 mg) - was associated with significant improvements in neuropathic symptoms. Specifically, neuropathic symptoms improved from 3.54 to 0.64 in group MVB, from 3.96 to 1.0 in group MV, and from 2.54 to 1.95 in the placebo group. The authors state, "These studies suggest that micronutrients supplementation might ameliorate diabetic neuropathy symptoms."

In a single-blinded study involving 96 diabetic subjects, supplementation with oral zinc sulfate (22 mg/d) in addition to multivitamin/multimineral supplementation for a period of 4 months was found to be associated with a greater change in fasting blood sugar (mean change: -0.33 mmol/L), as compared to subjects who received multivitamin/mineral supplementation without additional zinc (+0.19), and those who received a placebo (+0.43). Furthermore, Hb(A1c) reduced significantly in the zinc + multivitamins/minerals group as well. Levels of serum lipid reduced significantly in both the zinc+multivitamins/minerals group and the multivitamins/multiminerals group. The authors state, "Zinc+MVM supplementation showed beneficial effects in the metabolic control of adult diabetics in addition to elevating their serum zinc level."

In a placebo-controlled, single-blinded, prospective study involving 40 newly onset type 2 diabetics, daily supplementation with chromium (9 g brewer's yeast containing 42 microg chromium) for a period of 3 months was found to be associated with significant reductions in fasting blood glucose levels (197.65 to 103.68 mg/dL) and improvements in HbA(1)c (from 9.51 to 6.86), suggesting improved glycemic control. In addition, improvements in total cholesterol (from 199 to 189 mg/dL), triglycerides (from 144.94 to 126.01), and LDL cholesterol levels (from 119.19 to 99.58) were found. The authors state, "These data demonstrate beneficial effect of chromium supplementation on glycaemic control and lipid variables in subjects with newly onset type-2 diabetes."

In a study involving 272 rheumatology outpatients (with a mean 25(OH)D of 21 microg/L), out of which 20 were found to have vitamin D deficiency, 215 were found to have vitamin D insufficiency, and 37 were found to have normal levels of vitamin D, among patients with osteoporosis, 31% had normal results and the mean 25(OH)D was 25 microg/L, in the group of patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases, 12% had normal results and the mean 25(OH)D was 20.5 microg/L, and in the small group of patients with degenerative diseases, 21% had normal results and the mean 25(OH)D was found to be 21.8 microg/L. Among patients taking supplementations, vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency were found in 38% of patients. The authors state, "These results confirm that hypovitaminosis D is highly prevalent in an outpatient population of rheumatology patients, affecting 86% of subjects."

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 29 subjects with active rheumatoid arthritis (having at least 4 swollen and 4 tender joints, and stable medications with no steroids for at least 1 month prior to and during the study), supplementation with probiotics was associated with a significant improvement in the score on the Health Assessment Questionnaire. No statistically significant differences between individual components of the ACR20 criteria were found. The authors state, "Although probiotics did not clinically improve RA as measured by the ACR20, it is interesting that there was functional improvement seen within the probiotic group compared to placebo."

In a study involving 17 human subjects with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), intake of vitamin B6 was found to be associated with IBS. Specifically, in this population, the median daily intake of vitamin B6 was 0.9 mg/d (recommended is 1.6 mg/d or more for men and 1.2 mg/d or more in women), and a high symptoms score was associated with low vitamin B6 intake. The authors state, "A significant inverse association between intake of vitamin B(6) and severity of IBS symptoms might have clinical implications."

In a randomized, placebo-controlled study carried out in a psychiatric outpatient clinic, involving 78 Chinese patients diagnosed with insomnia associated with major depressive disorder (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression of 18 or less, and on a fixed dose of anti-depressant medication), as compared to a placebo treatment (non-invasive placebo acupuncture), treatment with real acupuncture (electroacupuncture, 3 treatments per week for a period of 3 weeks) was found to be associated with improvements in scores on the Insomnia Severity Index and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index at 1 week and 4 weeks post-treatment. Patients who received acupuncture involving superficial needling at non-typical acupuncture points also experienced these improvements. The authors state, "Compared with placebo acupuncture, electroacupuncture and minimal acupuncture resulted in greater improvement in subjective sleep measures at 1 week and 4 week post-treatment."

In this review article, the authors discuss treatment of patients with anemia and iron deficiency. They discuss how erythropoiesis-stimulating agents have been researched extensively, and may benefit such patients, however, the safety of these drugs in patients with chronic kidney disease is yet unknown (current research is investigating this). The authors then discuss the role of iron supplementation, and how a number of recent studies show that intravenous treatment with iron is beneficial in such patients. The authors state, "...this treatment approach is likely to become an attractive option for patients with HF and iron deficiency, both with and without anemia."

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 40 patients with overt type 2 diabetic nephropathy, supplementation with turmeric (500 mg per capsule, each containing 22.1 mg curcumin, taken 3 times/day, with each meal), for a period of 2 months, was found to be associated with significant decreases in TGF-beta and IL-8 and urinary protein excretion, suggesting that, "Short-term turmeric supplementation can attenuate proteinuria, TGF-beta and IL-8 in patients with overt type 2 diabetic nephropathy and can be administered as a safe adjuvant therapy for these patients."

In a cross-sectional study involving 52 consenting geriatric rehabilitation patients with normal creatinine levels and no dementia, a high risk of B vitamin deficiencies was found. Thirty patients were found to be deficient in vitamin B6, 22 were found to be deficient in vitamin B12, and 5 were found to be deficient in folate. The authors state, "The study indicates a high risk of vitamin B deficiencies in the elderly and suggests that deficiencies of vitamins B6 and B12 are associated with length of stay. This is concerning as B vitamin status is rarely fully assessed."

In a study involving 448 young subjects with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) ages 8 to 22 years, vitamin D insufficiency was found in 14.8% of patients (serum 25(OH)D concentrations 20 ng/mL or less) and vitamin D deficiency was found in 5.8% of patients (15 ng/mL). Low serum 25(OH)D concentrations were associated with: winter and spring season, dark skin, higher BMI Z-score, lack of vitamin D supplementation, and higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The authors conclude, "Hypovitaminosis D is prevalent among children and youth, including patients with IBD. Risk factors for deficiency of this vitamin are similar to those in healthy children, with the addition of higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate."