Copper as Dietary Supplement for Bone Metabolism: A Review.

While in vitro and animal studies of osteoblastic and osteoclastic activity as well as bone resistance for copper are numerous, and the results encouraging in terms of regulation, human studies are scarce. The aim of this narrative review was to investigate the correlation of blood copper, daily copper intake, and copper supplementation with bone mineral density. This review included 10 eligible studies: five studies concerned copper blood levels, one study concerned daily copper intake, and four studies concerned copper supplementation.

Effect of a Food for Special Medical Purposes for Muscle Recovery, Consisting of Arginine, Glutamine and Beta-Hydroxy-Beta-Methylbutyrate on Body Composition and Skin Health in Overweight and Obese Class I Sedentary Postmenopausal Women.

The consumption of dietary amino acids has been evaluated for therapeutic and safety intervention in obesity. In particular, three molecules have been shown to be effective: arginine, glutamine and leucine (and its metabolite beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate, HMB). This randomized, double-blinded pilot study in obese postmenopausal patients aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the administration of a specific food for special medical purposes (FSMP) consisting of arginine, glutamine and HMB on body composition, in particular, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), as the primary endpoint.

Improving rehabilitation in sarcopenia: a randomized-controlled trial utilizing a muscle-targeted food for special medical purposes.

Background: Sarcopenia is a disease associated with aging and a negative prognosis. Consensus-based treatment consists in targeting muscle mass and function through physical exercise, optimization of protein intake, and vitamin D supplementation, but evidence is lacking. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of a muscle-targeted nutritional support on the outcome of a physical exercise rehabilitation programme.

DXA-Derived Visceral Adipose Tissue (VAT) in Elderly: Percentiles of Reference for Gender and Association with Metabolic Outcomes.

This study aimed to establish the Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA)-derived Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) reference values for gender and assess the metabolic outcomes associated to the VAT in a cohort of elderly patients. The sample included 795 elderly patients (226/569: men/women) aged 65-100 years (mean age 80.9 ± 7.

Food Pyramid for Subjects with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases.

Nutritional problems are an important part of rehabilitation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. COPD patients often present with malnutrition, sarcopenia, and osteoporosis with possible onset of cachexia, with an inadequate dietary intake and a poor quality of life. Moreover, diet plays a pivotal role in patients with COPD through three mechanisms: regulation of carbon dioxide produced/oxygen consumed, inflammation, and oxidative stress.

A structural equation model to assess the pathways of body adiposity and inflammation status on dysmetabolic biomarkers via red cell distribution width and mean corpuscular volume: a cross-sectional study in overweight and obese subjects.

Background: A study has been performed in overweight and obese subjects to assess the effects of adiposity and inflammation indicators on dysmetabolic biomarkers via red cell distribution width (RDW) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV), taking into account pro-antioxidant balance.

Methods: Data from 166 overweight subjects were analyzed by a path analysis model using structural equation modelling (SEM) to evaluate the direct and indirect pathway effects of adiposity, measured by body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), and inflammation status, measured by pro-antioxidant balance [reactive oxygen species (ROS)], lag-time and slope and C-reactive protein (CRP) values on dysmetabolic biomarkers, via RDW and MCV.

Results: BMI was strongly linked to CRP and ROS levels.

Pivotal role of boron supplementation on bone health: A narrative review.

Background: Boron is a trace element that plays an important role in numerous biological functions, including calcium metabolism, growth and maintenance of bone tissue. However, there are still no precise indications regarding a possible role of boron supplementation, and its amount of supplementation, to maintain bone health. So the aim of this narrative review was to consider the state of the art on the effectiveness of boron supplementation (alone or with other micronutrients) on growth and maintenance of bone in humans through control of calcium, vitamin D and sex steroid hormone metabolism in order to suggest a daily dosage of boron supplementation.

A food pyramid, based on a review of the emerging literature, for subjects with inflammatory bowel disease.

Emerging literature suggests that diet plays an important modulatory role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) through the management of inflammation and oxidative stress. The aim of this narrative review is to evaluate the evidence collected up till now regarding optimum diet therapy for IBD and to design a food pyramid for these patients. The pyramid shows that carbohydrates should be consumed every day (3 portions), together with tolerated fruits and vegetables (5 portions), yogurt (125ml), and extra virgin olive oil; weekly, fish (4 portions), white meat (3 portions), eggs (3 portions), pureed legumes (2 portions), seasoned cheeses (2 portions), and red or processed meats (once a week).

Clinical trials on pain lowering effect of ginger: A narrative review.

Ginger has a pain-reducing effect and it can modulate pain through various mechanisms: inhibition of prostaglandins via the COX and LOX-pathways, antioxidant activity, inibition of the transcription factor nf-kB, or acting as agonist of vanilloid nociceptor. This narrative review summarizes the last 10-year of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), in which ginger was traditionally used as a pain reliever for dysmenorrhea, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), osteoarthritis (AO), chronic low back pain (CLBP), and migraine. Regarding dysmenorrhea, six eligible studies suggest a promising effect of oral ginger.

The Use of a New Food-Grade Lecithin Formulation of Highly Standardized Ginger () and Extracts for the Treatment of Pain and Inflammation in a Group of Subjects with Moderate Knee Osteoarthritis.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of a new food-grade lecithin formulation of standardized extracts of and  on pain and inflammation.

Patients And Methods: Pilot study with one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design in which 50 subjects with moderate knee osteoarthritis (OA) (mean age: 62.46±8.

Association between des-acyl ghrelin at fasting and predictive index of muscle derangement, metabolic markers and eating disorders: a cross-sectional study in overweight and obese adults.

This study aimed to analyse the impact of des-acyl and acyl ghrelin (AG) on a wide range of muscular and metabolic markers and in order to discover the possible relationships and interactions of des-acylated ghrelin (DAG) on eating disorders. A total of 88 subjects (64 women and 24 men, with a mean age of 43 years and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 30.20 ± 3.

Novel Insights on Intake of Fish and Prevention of Sarcopenia: All Reasons for an Adequate Consumption.

Sarcopenia is defined as a syndrome characterized by progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength and it is diagnosed by measurements of muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance. Sarcopenia affects quality of life and is associated with several adverse health effects. Muscle decline is aggravated by a sedentary lifestyle and can be prevented through proper nutrition, together with adequate physical activity.

Acmella oleracea for pain management.

Despite advances in medicine and numerous agents that counteract pain, millions of patients continue to suffer. Attention has been given to identify novel botanical interventions that produce analgesia by interacting with nociceptive-transducing channels. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the actual knowledge of Acmella oleracea (L.

Fatty Acid Profile and Antioxidant Status Fingerprint in Sarcopenic Elderly Patients: Role of Diet and Exercise.

Plasma fatty acids (FAs) and oxidant status contribute to the etiology of sarcopenia in the elderly concurring to age-related muscle loss and elderly frailty through several mechanisms including changes in FA composition within the sarcolemma, promotion of chronic low-grade inflammation, and insulin resistance. The aim of this study was to determine the FA profile and pro-antioxidant status in sarcopenic frail elderly patients enrolled in a nutritional and physical activity program and to evaluate their correlation with clinical markers. Moreover, the possible changes, produced after a short-term clinical protocol, were evaluated.

Volatile Organic Compounds as Biomarkers of Gastrointestinal Diseases and Nutritional Status.

Purpose: The purpose of this review was to identify the best solution for rapid and noninvasive diagnosis and long-term monitoring of patients affected by inflammatory gastrointestinal diseases, colon and gastric cancer, obesity in correlation to diet, and breast milk to evaluate exposure to VOCs in women and infants.

Methods: This review included 20 previously published eligible studies. VOC analysis has allowed us to highlight differences in lifestyles, intestinal microbiota, and metabolism.

Effectiveness of Non-Animal Chondroitin Sulfate Supplementation in the Treatment of Moderate Knee Osteoarthritis in a Group of Overweight Subjects: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis in the world and is characterized by pain, various disabilities and loss of quality of life. Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is recommended as first-line therapy. CS of non-animal origin is of great interest for safety and sustainability reasons.

Chronic excessive alcohol consumption diagnosis: comparison between traditional biomarkers and ethyl glucuronide in hair, a study on a real population.

Background: The study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic sensitivity (SE) and specificity (SP) of chronic alcohol misuse diagnosis by comparing traditional biomarkers with ethyl glucuronide (EtG), an ethanol direct metabolite, detected in the keratinic matrix.

Methods: Seventy-six subjects tested for chronic alcohol abuse for different purposes were recruited. EtG was detected in hair, whereas the analyses of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT), alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, mean corpuscular volume, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin were performed in serum samples.

Prevalence estimates of alcohol related problems in an area of northern Italy using the capture-recapture method.

Background: The alcohol-related problems (ARPs) are a relevant issue in public health and contribute to premature deaths and avoidable disease burden. The capture-recapture (C-R) method can be a useful tool to provide reliable estimates for populations with hidden nature such as subjects with ARP.

Methods: C-R method was used to estimate the 'true count' of individuals with ARP using three independent health-related current databases in an area of northern Italy during 2007.