Nutrition
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Guatemala has the highest prevalence of stunting (54% of children under age 5 years) in the Americas and the fifth highest in the world. The aim of this study was to describe the stunting prevalence and the association with early feeding practices, morbidity patterns, and socioeconomic status (SES) in a sample of infants and toddlers from urban Quetzaltenango. ⋯ The stunting prevalence exceeds the cut-off of 40% stunting, indicating a community with a high level of malnutrition.
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This study examined an electronic nutritional self-screening procedure for feasibility and for reliability, rapidity, and ease of use by hospital outpatients. ⋯ The study provides evidence that electronic nutritional self-screening can be rapid, easy, reliable, and feasible in a clinical setting. Equipment specifically designed for self-screening and use in other types of patients and settings could facilitate appropriate and routine implementation of self-screening.
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Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is implicated in stress-related gastrointestinal dysfunction, possibly causing gut dysfunction following trauma and surgery. We investigated plasma and intestinal tissue CRF levels and gut function in patients with traumatic shock or those undergoing elective abdominal surgery. ⋯ The novel finding is the presence of CRF in the small bowel of both elective and emergency gastrointestinal surgery patients with concomitant gastrointestinal dysfunction. Circulating CRF is associated with poor gastric emptying, which prolongs ICU stay, whereas shock significantly impairs gastric emptying and gut permeability.
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Polyphenols are chemicals derived from plants known to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. High intake of fruit and vegetables is believed to be beneficial to human health. Various studies have suggested that dietary polyphenols may protect against cancer and cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. Nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are neurotrophins that play key roles in brain cell development, growth, and survival. The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not administration of olive (Olea europaea L.) polyphenols could have an effect on NGF and BDNF content and the expression of their receptors, TrkA and TrkB, respectively, in the mouse brain. ⋯ Altogether, this study shows that olive polyphenols in the mouse may increase the levels of NGF and BDNF in crucial areas of the limbic system and olfactory bulbs, which play a key role in learning and memory processes and in the proliferation and migration of endogenous progenitor cells present in the rodent brain.
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Comparative Study
Quercetin reduces serum homocysteine level in rats fed a methionine-enriched diet.
The aim of this study was to determine the effects of quercetin on homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism and hepatic antioxidant status in high methionine (Met)-fed rats. ⋯ Quercetin is effective in decreasing serum Hcy level in high Met-fed rats and one of possible mechanisms is associated with increased transsulfuration of Hcy. Quercetin can acts as a prooxidant at high intake levels.