Low Folate, Vitamin D Implicated in First-Episode Psychosis

 

Nutritional deficiencies, especially deficiencies in folate and vitamin D, are associated with first-episode psychosis (FEP), new research suggests.

Australian researchers found significantly lower levels of folate and vitamin D in patients with FEP, compared to healthy control persons. Limited evidence also suggested that serum levels of vitamin C were reduced in people with FEP.

Read the source article here 

Access the full study here.

PulmCrit- Phenobarbital monotherapy for alcohol withdrawal: Reloaded

It has been said that alcoholics exist to teach physicians humility. These patients are quite complicated, often suffering from several problems simultaneously (e.g., withdrawal, nutritional deficiencies, trauma, infection, psychiatric problems). Arguably the most important task when treating alcohol withdrawal is exclusion of alternative or superimposed problems. Phenobarbital obviously cannot be expected to solve every problem that may exist in an alcoholic patient.

Phenobarbital does, however, appear to be a uniquely effective and safe treatment for alcohol withdrawal (including withdrawal seizures and delirium tremens). Several reasons for the superiority of phenobarbital are listed above. Preliminary evidence suggests that these do indeed translate into meaningful clinical benefit (e.g. faster recovery, fewer complications).

Read the entire post here.

Keeping Little Folk Safe

According to the child accident prevention organisation Kidsafe, preventable injury is the leading cause of death and disability of children under five in Australia, and paediatric trauma as a disease is more deadly than asthma, cancer and infectious diseases combined. While the incidence is decreasing, around 150 children still die of preventable injury in Australia each year, the majority in or around the home. Common mechanisms include drowning, choking and driveway motor vehicle accidents.  Forgotten Baby Syndome”, where children are left in cars for prolongued periods due to parental forgetfulness, has also led to numerous deaths both in Australia and overseas. 

Read the entire post here.

Please.

The Battleground of Prime Time Media, Disease, and Death

I first noticed this phenomenon while watching the world news on a weekday after work. It was a commercial for a new diabetes medicine that showed overweight people dancing at a barbecue, cooking and enjoying life. How different this was from my day in the wound clinic, where I saw patient after patient with obesity, diabetes, and non-healing wounds, as well as other dire medical complications.

Read the full article here.

 

Consumption of antioxidant-rich foods is associated with a lower risk of DM2

A lower risk of type 2 diabetes has been observed among individuals consuming food rich in antioxidants. This effect is largely contributed by fruit, vegetables, tea and other hot beverages, as well as moderate consumption of alcohol, as shown in a recent study from an Inserm research group, published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).

Source article here.

Eating regular variety of nuts associated with lower risk of heart disease

People who regularly eat nuts, including peanuts, walnuts and tree nuts, have a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease or coronary heart disease compared to people who never or almost never eat nuts, according to a new study. The study is the largest to date looking at frequency of nut consumption in relation to incident cardiovascular disease.

The study found a consistent inverse association between total nut consumption and total cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease. Also, after looking at individual nut consumption, eating walnuts one or more times per week was associated with a 19 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease and 21 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease. Participants who ate peanuts or tree nuts two or more times per week had a 13 percent and 15 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease, respectively, and a 15 percent and 23 percent, lower risk of coronary heart disease, respectively, compared to those who never consumed nuts.

Participants who consumed five or more servings of nuts a week had a 14 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 20 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease than participants who never or almost never consumed nuts. The results were similar when accounting for consumption of tree nuts, peanuts and walnuts individually. Researchers found no evidence of an association between total nut consumption and risk of stroke, but eating peanuts and walnuts was inversely associated with the risk of stroke. Peanut butter and tree nuts were not associated with stroke risk.

So that bowl of nuts on the bar?  Yes, eat them.

Source article here.

Significant financial stress is associated with a 13-fold higher odds of having a heart attack

Both work stress and financial stress were associated with a higher risk of acute myocardial infarction. The odds of myocardial infarction was 5.6 times higher in patients with moderate or severe work stress compared to those with minimal or no stress. Patients with significant financial stress had a 13-fold higher odds of having a myocardial infarction.

Small study with interesting findings.