Alternative Health Blog

In a study involving data collected from 2,524 adults in the United States, between the ages of 20 and 85 years, elevated depressive symptoms were found to be inversely associated with folate status, especially among women (fully adjusted odds ratio = 0.37), while no significant associations were found for vitamin B12 or tHcy. Among subjects aged 50 years or older, tHcy was positively associated with elevated depressive symptoms (fully adjusted odds ratio = 3.01). The authors conclude, "Future interventions to improve mental health outcomes among U.S. adults should take into account dietary and other factors that would increase levels of serum folate."

In a prospective study involving 41,504 subjects, results indicate that vitamin D deficiency may be associated with prevalent and incident cardiovascular risk factors and diseases. 63.6% of the subjects showed vitamin D deficiency (<= 30 ng/mL). After adjusting for confounders, vitamin D deficiency was significantly associated with increases in the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and peripheral vascular disease. Additionally, vitamin D levels were inversely associated with coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and stroke, as well as with incident death, heart failure, coronary artery disease/myocardial infarction, stroke, and their composite. Thus, the authors of this study conclude, "we have confirmed a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the general healthcare population and an association between vitamin D levels and prevalent and incident CV risk factors and outcomes. These observations lend strong support to the hypothesis that vitamin D might play a primary role in CV risk factors and disease. Given the ease of vitamin D measurement and replacement, prospective studies of vitamin D supplementation to prevent and treat CV disease are urgently needed."

In a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 271 subjects over 70 years of age with mild cognitive impairment, supplementation with folic acid (0.8 mg/d), vitamin B(12) (0.5 mg/d), and vitamin B(6) (20 mg/d), for a period of 24 months, was found to be associated with significantly lower mean rate of brain atrophy per year (0.76%), as compared to subjects receiving placebo (1.08%). The authors point out that the treatment response was related to baseline homocysteine levels; i.e., subjects with baseline homocysteine levels > 13 micromol/L, were found to have a 53% lower rate of brain atrophy in the active treatment group. The authors conclude, "The accelerated rate of brain atrophy in elderly with mild cognitive impairment can be slowed by treatment with homocysteine-lowering B vitamins." Given that fact that, "Sixteen percent of those over 70 y old have mild cognitive impairment and half of these develop Alzheimer' s disease," these results are significant. The authors add, "Since accelerated brain atrophy is a characteristic of subjects with mild cognitive impairment who convert to Alzheimer's disease, trials are needed to see if the same treatment will delay the development of Alzheimer's disease."

In a randomized, crossover study involving 20 Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes and mild hyperlipidemia, results indicate that eating almonds may improve adiposity, glycemic control, and lipid profile. After a two-week run-in period, patients were assigned to either a control National Cholesterol Education Program step II diet (control diet) or an almond diet ( replace 20% of total daily calorie intake; approx. 60 g/day) for 4 weeks. After a 2 week washout period the interventions were crossed over for another 4 weeks. Almond diet was associated with significant decreases in body fat, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, the ratio of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, plasma apolipoprotein (apo) B levels, apo B/apo A-1 ratio, nonesterified fatty acid, fasting insulin, fasting glucose, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index, compared with control diet. Thus, the authors of this study co nclude, "Our results suggested that incorporation of almonds into a healthy diet has beneficial effects on adiposity, glycemic control, and the lipid profile, thereby potentially decreasing the risk for cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus."

In a randomized, blinded, controlled clinical trial involving 49 normotensive black youth (boys and girls, mean age: 16.3 years), supplementation with vitamin D (2000 IU/d) was found to increase plasma 25(OH)D levels to 33.1, 70.9, and 85.7 nmol/L at 4, 8, and 16 weeks, respectively, significantly more than levels achieved in control subjects who received only 400 IU/d vitamin D (34.0, 44.9, and 59.8 nmol/L, at 4, 8, and 16 weeks, respectively). In addition, subjects who received 2000 IU/d vitamin D were found to have a decrease in carotid-femoral PWV (5.41 m/sec to 5.33 m/sec), a measure of arterial stiffness, as compared to an increase found among subjects in the control group (5.38 m/sec to 5.71 m/sec). The authors also found that the increase in plasma 25(OH)D level in response to vitamin D supplementation was negatively modulated by adiposity. The authors conclude, "Daily 2000 IU vitamin D supplementation may be effective in optimizing vitamin D status and counte racting the progression of aortic stiffness in black youth."

In a randomized, double-blind study involving 117 patients (mean age: 65 years, 74% male) undergoing elective coronary artery bypass graft and/or valve surgery, perioperative metabolic therapy for an average of 76 days (consisting of supplementation with coenzyme Q10, magnesium orotate, lipoic acid, omega-3 fatty acids, and selenium) was found to increase antioxidant levels pre-operatively, attenuating the adverse effects of surgery on redox status (cardiac surgery increased oxidative stress and decreased plasma levels of key antioxidants). Reductions in plasma troponin I 24 hours post-operatively were found. Moreover, post-operative hospital stay was shortened by 1.2 days (from 8.1 to 6.9 days), and hospital costs were reduced as well. The authors conclude, "Perioperative metabolic therapy for cardiac surgery is safe and inexpensive and is associated with improved redox status, reduced myocardial damage, and shortened length of postoperative hospital stay."

In a randomized, controlled, pilot trial involving 27 children aged 3 to 8 years, with autism spectrum disorder, experiencing hyperactivity, supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids (1.3 g/d) for a period of 12 weeks was found to reduce hyperactivity (2.7 point improvement on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist, as compared to a 0.3 point improvement in the placebo group). The researchers found correlations between reductions in the levels of 5 different fatty acids and reductions in hyperactivity. The treatment was well tolerated with no significant adverse effects reported. The authors conclude, "Although this pilot study did not find a statistically significant benefit from omega-3 fatty acids, the small sample size does not rule out small to moderate beneficial effects."

In a randomized, case-control study involving 30 patients who underwent a median sternotomy for coronary artery bypass graft, treatment with acupuncture (electroacupuncture) in addition to pharmacologic analgesia, was found to statistically significantly reduce pain and need for both opioid and non-opioid medication (pethidine hydrochloride and metamizole sodium) during the first 7 days post-surgery, as compared to subjects treated with pharmacologic analgesia alone. In addition, in the acupuncture group, post-operative forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity value was higher than pre-operative levels. One patient in each group experienced post-operative complications (atelectasia). These results add to the existing body of evidence demonstrating the beneficial effects of perioperative treatment with acupuncture.