Nutrition
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Multicenter Study
The Controlling Nutritional Status score as a functional prognostic marker in patients with acute stroke: A multicenter retrospective cohort study.
The aim of this study was to assess whether undernutrition on hospital admission, as evaluated by the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score, has an effect on the improvement in functional and cognitive activities of daily living (ADL) in adult patients with acute stroke. ⋯ Undernutrition as determined by the CONUT score on admission was an independent predictor of poor motor FIM gain in adult patients with acute stroke. It was not an independent predictor for poor cognitive FIM gain.
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Vitamin D3 is a fat-soluble essential nutrient that affects multiple biologic functions in the organism through calcitriol and the vitamin D3 receptor. This review article focuses on the results of studies on the relationship between the level of vitamin D3 and cancer incidence or mortality, but also on the anticancer properties of vitamin D3 that support its significant role in the prevention, clinical course, and overall survival rates of selected cancers (colorectal, prostate, breast, ovarian, endometrial, bladder, and malignant melanoma). The mechanisms of vitamin D3 action involve, among others, polymorphism of vitamin D3 receptor, cell cycle, caspases, and cancer stem cells. The level of vitamin D3 has been also demonstrated to serve as a biomarker in some cancers, and high levels of vitamin D3 can be conducive to successful cancer therapy.
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In a few months, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has become the main health problem worldwide. Epidemiologic studies revealed that populations have different vulnerabilities to SARS-CoV-2. Severe outcomes of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with an increased risk of death are observed in patients with metabolic syndrome, as well as diabetic and heart conditions (frail population). ⋯ Nutritional interventions aimed at restoring the gut microbial balance could represent preventive strategies to protect the frail population from COVID-19. This narrative review presents the possible molecular mechanisms by which intestinal dysbiosis that enhances the inflammatory state could promote the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Some nutritional strategies to counteract inflammation in frail patients are also analyzed.
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Limiting the consumption of milk and dairy products (DPs) constitutes a risk factor for osteoporosis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study was to evaluate bone mineral density (BMD) and the frequency of osteopenia and osteoporosis in patients with IBD. We also investigated the correlation between BMD and consumption of milk and DPs, as well as with calcium, phosphate, and parathyroid hormone (PTH) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] serum concentration levels. ⋯ Not only does IBD entail a high prevalence of osteoporosis, but BMD values are also indirectly affected by the fact that patient consumption of milk and other DPs decreases after diagnosis.
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Recent reports indicate that preoperative patients with gastrointestinal malignancies often have sarcopenia. The diagnosis of sarcopenia is generally done by evaluation of walking speed, grip strength, and skeletal muscle volume of the limbs on computed tomography (CT). However, these parameters are objective indices, and new indicators for diagnosis, such as molecular biomarkers, have been anticipated. The aim of this study was to investigate whether titin, a muscular contractile protein present in sarcomeres, is an indicator of sarcopenia. ⋯ UTF may be a new index for preoperative nutritional assessment in patients with gastrointestinal malignancies.