Alternative Health Blog

In a study involving 161 subjects with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and 162 healthy controls, vitamin D insufficiency was found to be more prevalent among cases (148 of 161) as compared to controls (102 of 162). Moreover, vitamin D insufficiency was found to be higher in subjects with overt hypothyroidism or subclinical hypothyroidism, as compared to those with euthryodism. The authors state, "Further studies are needed to determine whether vitamin D insufficiency is a casual factor in the pathogenesis of HT or rather a consequence of the disease."

In a prospective study involving 150 hypercholesterolemic patients (76 women, 74 men) unable to tolerate treatment with 1 or more statin drugs, with low vitamin D status (less than 32 ng/mL), treatment with vitamin D to correct vitamin D deficiency was found to have reverse the myositis-myalgia associated with statin drug treatment. Subjects were given 50,000 IU vitamin D, twice/week, for a period of 3 weeks, and then once/week for the duration of the intervention. After 3 weeks of vitamin D treatment, statin drugs were re-started. Results found that after a median 8.1 months, vitamin D supplementation (with the re-instituted statins) was found to be associated with reversal of myositis-myalgia in 87% of subjects (131 of 150). In addition, vitamin D status normalized in 78% of patients who were previously vitamin D deficient. Furthermore, medical LCL cholesterol decreased from 146 mg/dl to 95 mg/dl. The authors conclude, "Symptomatic myositis-myalgia in hypercholesterolemic statin-treated patients with concurrent serum 25 (OH) vitamin D deficiency may reflect a reversible interaction between vitamin D deficiency and statins on skeletal muscle causing myalgia."

In a study involving 40 children (20 with type 2 diabetes mellitus and the other 20 served as controls), supplementation with vitamin E was found to decrease MDA and significantly decrease MDA levels and increase GSH. The authors state, "Vitamin E ameliorates oxidative stress in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus patients and improves antioxidant defense system."

In a systematic review and meta-analysis of published and unpublished randomized controlled trials comparing the effects of acupuncture and acupressure versus placebo in the management of pain during labor, results from 13 trials which included data from 1986 women were analyzed, and results found acupuncture to be associated with a) less intense pain; b) greater satisfaction with pain relief (RR=2.38); c) reduced use of pharmacological analgesia (RR=0.72); and d) fewer instrumental deliveries (RR=0.67). Acupressure was associated with reductions in pain intensity. The authors conclude, "Acupuncture and acupressure may have a role with reducing pain, increasing satisfaction with pain management and reduced use of pharmacological management."

In this review, the authors analyzed data from 51 studies examining the relationships between intakes of retinol, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E on risk of breast cancer, and found that the risk of breast cancer was reduced by 17% in those with the highest vitamin A intake (compared to the lowest, pooled OR=0.83). Furthermore, dietary vitamin A, dietary vitamin E, and total vitamin E intakes all reduced the risk of breast cancer when results from all the studies were pooled, but became nonsignificant when data from the cohort studies was pooled. The authors conclude, "...the total intake of vitamin A and retinol could reduce breast cancer risk."

In a study involving mice, a diet supplemented by lutein was found to attenuate light-induced photodamage of the retina. After exposure to light, reductions in a-wave and b-wave amplitudes were found (according to electroretinogram), indicating visual impairment and thinning of the photoreceptor cell layer were found, and treatment with lutein attenuated these effects. Furthermore, lutein was found to induce the expression of eyes absent (EYE), which promotes DNA repair and cell survival, and therefore could suppress DNA damage and photoreceptor cell apoptosis. The authors conclude, "The lutein-supplemented diet attenuated light-induced visual impairment by protecting the photoreceptor cells' DNA."

In a nested, case-control study involving a cohort of 600 female Navy recruits subsequently diagnosed with stress fracture of the tibia or fibula and 600 matched controls, a monotonic inverse dose-response gradient was found between 25(OH)D level and risk of stress fracture. Comparing the highest to the lowest quintiles of serum 25(OH)D concentration, there was approximately half the risk of stress fracture (OR=0.51), with a range of serum 25(OH)D from 1.5-19.7 in the lowest quintile (mean: 13.9) ng/ml, to 39.9-112 (mean: 49.7) ng/ml in the highest quintile. The authors state, "There was double the risk of stress fractures of the tibia and fibula in women with serum 25(OH)D concentration < 20 ng/ml, compared to those with >= 40 ng/ml. A target for prevention of stress fractures would be a serum 25(OH)D concentration of > 40 ng/ml, achievable with 4000 IU/day vitamin D(3) supplementation."

In this prospective, pilot study involving 16 patients with sickle cell disease, supplementation with the omega-3 fatty acids, EPA plus DHA, for a period of 6 months, was found to be associated with a significant reduction in plasma unconjugated bilirubin and the number of sickle cell crisis, but not inflammatory markers. The authors conclude that these results suggest that, "DHA and EPA supplements reduce the number of crisis and steady state haemolysis in SCD; but provide no evidence that these effects are mediated by reducing inflammation."

In a study involving subjects who underwent an oral fat load, supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (1 g, 3 times/d), during meals, for a period of 6 months was found to be associated with a decrease in triglycerides, resistin (r), and RBP-4 values, and an increase in ADN value. The authors conclude, "...treatment with n-3 PUFA resulted in a greater improvement of lipid profile and ADN compared to placebo in a baseline condition, and an improvement of all insulin resistance parameters after an oral fat load."

In a single-blinded, 12-week, observational study involving 53 patients with a stable level of heart failure within the past 3 months and stable NYHA class II or III for at least 6 months (mean age: 61.3 years in the treatment group and mean age: 62.1 years in the control group), all taking medication, with more than 75% of patients taking 3 or more drugs for heart failure, treatment with a combination of coenzyme Q10 and Pycnogenol (PycnoQ10) was found to be associated with improvement in NYHA class in 9 of the 32 patients with heart failure, as compared to placebo (in which 3 of 21 subjects experienced improvements). Furthermore, improvements in systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as heart rate and respiratory rate were seen as well. In addition, a 22.4% increase in heart ejection fraction was found in the treatment group, as compared to 4.0% in the control group. Moreover, walking distance on a treadmill increased 3.3-fold in the PycnoQ10 group and distal edem a decreased significantly. The authors conclude, "The association of Pycnogenol and CoQ10 may offer an important therapeutic option with a very good tolerability that improves heart failure management without side effects."

In a prospective, population-based, cohort study involving 51,963 men and 64,193 women free of type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and cancer at baseline, intakes of fish, shellfish, and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids were found to be inversely associated with type 2 diabetes in women. The RRs for type 2 diabetes across quintiles of fish intake in women were: 1.00, 0.96, 0.84, 0.80, and 0.89, and the RRs for shellfish intake were 1.00, 0.91, 0.79, 0.80, and 0.86. In men, only the association between shellfish intake and type 2 diabetes was significant. The authors conclude that in this Chinese population, "an inverse association between fish and shellfish intake and T2D in women was found."

In a nested, case-control study involving 2,167 subjects (55 years of age or older), out of which 517 subjects developed early age-related macular degeneration (AMD), high dietary intake of nutrients with antioxidant properties was found to reduce the risk of early AMD in subjects with a high genetic risk. Specifically, homozygotes of CFH Y402H who were in the highest tertile of zinc intake were found to have a reduced HR or early AMD (from 2.25 to 1.27), and those in the highest tertiles of beta-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin, and EPA/DHA were found to have reduced risks as well (from 2.54 to 1.47, 2.63 to 1.72, and 1.97 to 1.30, respectively). The authors conclude, "...clinicians should provide dietary advice to young susceptible individuals to postpone or prevent the vision-disabling consequences of AMD."

In a randomized, placebo-controlled study involving 54 healthy overweight men, results indicate that supplementation with vitamin D may increase testosterone levels. The men were randomized to 83 microg (3332 IU)/day vitamin D or placebo, for a period of 1 year. At intervention end, significant increases in total testosterone, bioactive testosterone and free testosterone levels were observed in the vitamin D group alone. Thus, the authors of this study conclude, "Our results suggest that vitamin D supplementation might increase testosterone levels. Further randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm this hypothesis."

In a prospective, multi-center, case-control study involving 194 cases with newly diagnosed prostate cancer and 317 controls, results indicate inverse associations between tomato/tomato products and garlic intake and risk of prostate cancer. After adjusting for potential confounders, the highest tertile of consumption of tomato/tomato products was associated with a 67% reduced risk of prostate cancer, compared with the lowest tertile. Similarly, garlic consumption was associated with a 42% reduced risk of prostate cancer. On the other hand, dietary fat and red meat intake were positively associated with prostate cancer risk. Thus, the authors conclude, "Our study supports the hypothesis that total fat may increase PC risk and tomatoes/tomato products and garlic may protect patients against PC."

In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, 3-period, crossover trial involving 23 men and 3 post-menopausal women with moderate hypertriglyceridemia (150-500 mg/dL), supplementation with a relatively high/pharmaceutical dose of EPA and DHA for a period of 8 weeks was found to reduce triglycerides by 27%, as compared to a lower dose (0.85 mg/d), which was not associated with any reduction in triglycerides. No significant beneficial effects on endothelial function or inflammatory status were found. These results suggest that a high dose of EPA + DHA may be associated with a reduction in triglycerides.

In a randomized, controlled study involving 84 apparently healthy young to middle-aged subjects, results indicate that daily consumption of soy milk may help improve lipid profile. The subjects were randomized to received 500 mL of soy milk daily or no soy milk (controls) for a period of 21 days. At intervention end, mean plasma total cholesterol (TC) reduced by 11%, plasma LDL cholesterol reduced by 25% and mean plasma HDL cholesterol increased by 20% in the soy milk group, compared with baseline. No significant differences were observed in the control group. Thus, the authors of this study conclude, "Daily consumption of soymilk significantly decreased atherogenic plasma cholesterol concentration. This suggests that soy drink could be an important non-pharmacological cholesterol-reducing agent."

In a study involving 80 patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) and 20 healthy subjects, low plasma lycopene concentrations were found to be quite prevalent in patients with CP. 85% of patients were found to have at least one carotenoid deficiency and 27.5% were found to have more than 4 carotenoid deficiencies. CP patients with vascular disease were found to have even lower concentrations of lycopene as compared to CP patients without vascular disease. All subjects with low lycopene concentrations were given 40 g/d tomato paste (containing approximately 24 mg lycopene), and after 8 (+/-2) months, lycopene concentrations increased from 67.5 to 121 microg/l. The authors point out that patients with CP may suffer from malabsorption of carotenoids, but despite this, "it is possible to increase lycopene plasma concentration by increasing heated tomato consumption."

In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study involving children and young adults with bone sarcoma undergoing chemotherapy, results indicate that supplementation with ginger powder in addition to ondensetron and dexamethasone (antiemetic drugs) may reduce severity of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting CINV. 60 chemotherapy cycles of cisplatin/doxorubicin in patients were randomized to ginger root powder or placebo capsules in addition to antiemetic drugs. Acute (within 1-4 days from start of chemotherapy) moderate to severe CINV was observed in 93.3% of cycles in the control group, versus 55.6% of cycles in the ginger root group. Additionally, delayed (days 5-10) moderate to severe CINV was observed in 73.3% of cycles in the control group, compared to 25.9% of cycles in the ginger root group. Thus, the authors of this study conclude, "Ginger root powder was effective in reducing severity of acute and delayed CINV as additional therapy to ondensetron and dexamethasone in patients receiving high emetogenic chemotherapy."

In a study involving 165 subjects examined for carotid atherosclerosis, results indicate that patients with carotid atherosclerosis exhibited significantly lower plasma levels of lycopene and beta-carotene, compared to subjects without carotid atherosclerosis. Of the 165 participants, 80 exhibited evidence of carotid atherosclerosis (carotid intima-media thickness greater than 0.8 mm), while 85 did not (carotid intima-media thickness greater than 0.8 mm). Subjects with ultrasound evidence of carotid atherosclerosis showed significantly lower plasma concentrations of lycopene and beta-carotene, compared to subjects who did not exhibit ultrasound evidence of carotid atherosclerosis. Additionally, subjects with ultrasonic evidence of carotid atherosclerosis exhibited significantly greater body mass index, significantly higher serum concentrations of total cholesterol, LDL-associated cholesterol and triglycerides, and significantly higher plasma concentrations of uric acid, C- reactive protein and fibrinogen. Thus, the authors of this study conclude, "These results suggest that lycopene and beta-carotene may play important roles in delaying the development of the early asymptomatic stage of carotid atherosclerosis. Encouraging adequate intakes of antioxidant carotenoids may provide an important public health service."

In a placebo-controlled study involving 6 aged beagles (>8 years) who were treated with 80 mg/d atorvastatin (a statin drug) for 14.5 months, serum coenzyme Q10 levels were found to be lower in statin-treated drugs, as compared to those treated with a placebo. Moreover poorer cognition was found to be associated with lower levels of coenzyme Q10 in the lower parietal cortex. The authors conclude, "CoQ10 levels in brain may [be] linked to impaired cognition in response to atorvastatin, in agreement with previous reports that statins may have a negative impact on cognition in the elderly."