Differential bone calcium retention with the use of oral versus vaginal hormonal contraception: A randomized trial using calcium-41 radiotracer.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess if hormonal contraception administered orally (combined oral contraceptive pill, COC) or vaginally (contraceptive vaginal ring) differentially affected bone calcium retention in young females.

Study Design: Reproductive aged females (18-35 years) not using hormonal contraception were dosed with 50 nCi Ca as CaCl in 10 mL of sterile saline (0.9%).

Moderate consumption of freeze-dried blueberry powder increased net bone calcium retention compared with no treatment in healthy postmenopausal women: a randomized crossover trial.

Background: Preclinical studies suggest that blueberry consumption is associated with improved bone health.

Objectives: We conducted a blueberry dose-response study in ovariectomized (OVX)-rats that informed a study in postmenopausal women using the urinary appearance of calcium (Ca) tracers from prelabeled bone to reflect changes in bone balance. We hypothesized that blueberry consumption would reduce bone loss in a dose-dependent manner compared with no treatment.

Skeletal Protection and Promotion of Microbiome Diversity by Dietary Boosting of the Endogenous Antioxidant Response.

There is an unmet need for interventions with better compliance that prevent the adverse effects of sex steroid deficiency on the musculoskeletal system. We identified a blueberry cultivar (Montgomerym [Mont]) that added to the diet protects female mice from musculoskeletal loss and body weight changes induced by ovariectomy. Mont, but not other blueberries, increased the endogenous antioxidant response by bypassing the traditional antioxidant transcription factor Nrf2 and without activating estrogen receptor canonical signaling.

Mineral Intake Ratios Are a Weak but Significant Factor in Blood Pressure Variability in US Adults.

Background: Hypertension contributes substantially to chronic disease and mortality. Mineral intakes can modify blood pressure.

Objective: Individual minerals and their intake ratios in US adults and their association with blood pressure were examined.

Adiposity, Insulin Resistance, and Bone Mass in Children and Adolescents.

Context: Insulin resistance is an adverse health outcome that accompanies obesity. Fat mass is negatively associated with the bone mass after adjustment for confounders. Insulin resistance might be an intermediary in this relationship.

Twenty-Four-Hour Urine Phosphorus as a Biomarker of Dietary Phosphorus Intake and Absorption in CKD: A Secondary Analysis from a Controlled Diet Balance Study.

Background And Objectives: Twenty-four-hour urine phosphorus is commonly used as a surrogate measure for phosphorus intake and absorption in research studies, but its reliability and accuracy are unproven in health or CKD. This secondary analysis sought to determine the reliability and accuracy of 24-hour urine phosphorus as a biomarker of phosphorus intake and absorption in moderate CKD.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: Eight patients with stage 3-4 CKD participated in 2-week balance studies with tightly controlled phosphorus and calcium intakes.

Behavioral Intervention in Adolescents Improves Bone Mass, Yet Lactose Maldigestion Is a Barrier.

Calcium intake during adolescence is important for attainment of peak bone mass. Lactose maldigestion is an autosomal recessive trait, leading to lower calcium intake. The Adequate Calcium Today study aimed to determine if a school-based targeted behavioral intervention over one year could improve calcium intake and bone mass in early adolescent girls.

The effect of dairy intake on bone mass and body composition in early pubertal girls and boys: a randomized controlled trial.

Calcium retention increases with increasing body mass index (BMI) on recommended calcium intakes. Dairy foods are an excellent source of essential nutrients that are needed to increase bone mineral content (BMC) and potentially decrease fracture. We compared children who were overweight with children who were healthy weight for the accrual of bone mass in response to an extra 3 servings dairy/d compared with usual intake.

Associations among osteocalcin, leptin and metabolic health in children ages 9-13 years in the United States.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the relationships among osteocalcin, leptin and metabolic health outcomes in children ages 9-13 years.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 161 boys and 157 girls (ages 9-13 years) who previously participated in a double-blinded randomized placebo controlled trial of vitamin D supplementation. Relationships among fasting serum total osteocalcin (tOC), undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC), leptin, and metabolic health outcomes were analyzed.

Nrf2 regulates mass accrual and the antioxidant endogenous response in bone differently depending on the sex and age.

Accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is an important pathogenic mechanism underling the loss of bone mass and strength with aging and other conditions leading to osteoporosis. The transcription factor erythroid 2-related factor2 (Nrf2) plays a central role in activating the cellular response to ROS. Here, we examined the endogenous response of bone regulated by Nrf2, and its relationship with bone mass and architecture in the male and female murine skeleton.

Soluble corn fiber increases bone calcium retention in postmenopausal women in a dose-dependent manner: a randomized crossover trial.

Background: Dietary soluble corn fiber (SCF) significantly improves calcium absorption in adolescents and the bone strength and architecture in rodent models.

Objective: In this study, we aimed to determine the skeletal benefits of SCF in postmenopausal women.

Design: We used our novel technology of determining bone calcium retention by following the urinary appearance of (41)Ca, a rare long-lived radioisotope, from prelabeled bone to rapidly and sensitively evaluate the effectiveness of SCF in reducing bone loss.

Bioavailability of potassium from potatoes and potassium gluconate: a randomized dose response trial.

Background: The bioavailability of potassium should be considered in setting requirements, but to our knowledge, the bioavailability from individual foods has not been determined. Potatoes provide 19-20% of potassium in the American diet.

Objective: We compared the bioavailability and dose response of potassium from nonfried white potatoes with skin [targeted at 20, 40, and 60 milliequivalents (mEq) K] and French fries (40 mEq K) with potassium gluconate at the same doses when added to a basal diet that contained ∼60 mEq K.

Soluble Corn Fiber Increases Calcium Absorption Associated with Shifts in the Gut Microbiome: A Randomized Dose-Response Trial in Free-Living Pubertal Females.

Background: Soluble corn fiber (SCF; 12 g fiber/d) is shown to increase calcium absorption efficiency, associated with shifts in the gut microbiota in adolescent males and females who participated in a controlled feeding study.

Objective: We evaluated the dose response of 0, 10, and 20 g fiber/d delivered by PROMITOR SCF 85 (85% fiber) on calcium absorption, biochemical bone properties, and the fecal microbiome in free-living adolescents.

Methods: Healthy adolescent females (n = 28; aged 11-14 y) randomly assigned into a 3-phase, double-blind, crossover study consumed SCF for 4 wk at each dose (0, 10, and 20 g fiber/d from SCF) alongside their habitual diet and were followed by 3-d clinical visits and 3-wk washout periods.

Individual variation in urinary sodium excretion among adolescent girls on a fixed intake.

Background: According to traditional understanding of sodium homeostasis, nearly all of daily sodium intake is excreted in urine, with intraindividual variability attributed to variability in dietary sodium intake and urine collection errors.

Objective: To analyze the variability of urinary sodium in excretion from a balance study with fixed sodium intakes.

Methods: Daily 24-h urine collections were assessed for sodium, potassium, and creatinine in 22 black and 13 white adolescent girls (11-15 year, BMI 15-29 kg/m) in a randomized, crossover design with controlled diets containing either low (57 mmol/day) or high (167 mmol/day) sodium, each fed for 3 weeks.

Effect of Hesperidin With and Without a Calcium (Calcilock) Supplement on Bone Health in Postmenopausal Women.

Context: Citrus fruits contain unique flavanones. One of the most abundant of the flavanones, hesperidin, has been shown to prevent bone loss in ovariectomized rats.

Objective: The objective of the study was to measure the effect of hesperidin with or without calcium supplementation on bone calcium retention in postmenopausal women.

Impact of equol-producing capacity and soy-isoflavone profiles of supplements on bone calcium retention in postmenopausal women: a randomized crossover trial.

Background: Postmenopausal estrogen depletion is a major contributing factor to bone loss. Soy isoflavones have variable effects on the prevention of postmenopausal bone loss, which is possibly related to the specific isoflavone content or the variable equol-producing capacity of individuals.

Objective: We aimed to determine the effects of the content of isoflavones in a soy supplement and the equol-producing ability of the individual on postmenopausal bone calcium retention.

Dietary calcium requirements do not differ between Mexican-American boys and girls.

Mexican Americans are an understudied ethnic group for determinants of bone health, although the risk of age-related osteoporosis is high in this rapidly growing sector of the U.S. population.

Soluble maize fibre affects short-term calcium absorption in adolescent boys and girls: a randomised controlled trial using dual stable isotopic tracers.

Soluble maize fibre (SCF) has been found to significantly improve bone mineral density and strength in growing rats compared with several other novel prebiotic fibres. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of SCF on Ca absorption and retention in pubertal children by studying the potential absorption mechanisms of the intestinal microbiota. A total of twenty-four adolescent boys and girls (12-15 years) participated in two 3-week metabolic balance studies testing 0 g/d SCF (control (CON) treatment) and 12 g/d SCF (SCF treatment) in a random order by inclusion in a low-Ca diet (600 mg/d).

Current estimate of Down Syndrome population prevalence in the United States.

Objective: To calculate a reliable estimate of the population prevalence of Down syndrome in the US.

Study Design: The annual number of births of infants with Down syndrome were estimated by applying published birth prevalence rates of Down syndrome by maternal age to US data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the years for which births by maternal age were available (1940-2008). Death certificate data for persons with Down syndrome were available for the years 1968-2007.

Magnesium retention from metabolic-balance studies in female adolescents: impact of race, dietary salt, and calcium.

Background: Previously, we showed that black girls retained more calcium than white girls did and that salt loading negatively affected calcium retention. Racial differences likely exist in other bone minerals also, such as magnesium, in response to salt loading during growth.

Objective: We studied racial differences in magnesium metabolism in response to dietary sodium and calcium during rapid bone growth.

Galacto-oligosaccharides increase calcium absorption and gut bifidobacteria in young girls: a double-blind cross-over trial.

Adolescence is a time for rapid growth that represents an opportunity to influence peak bone mass. Prebiotic agents, such as galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), increase Ca absorption in animal models and postmenopausal women. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the dose-response relationship of GOS supplementation on Ca absorption during growth and to assess changes in colonic microbiota to better understand the mechanism by which GOS is acting.

Down syndrome and personalized medicine: changing paradigms from genotype to phenotype to treatment.

Personalized Medicine represents a paradigm shift in the conceptual framework of research and clinical care. This shift argues that Down syndrome is a treatable condition, and therefore we must invest in research to improve outcomes. Individuals with Down syndrome have varying levels of increased risk for a number of co-morbidities, including infantile spasms and early onset Alzheimer's disease.

Call for change in prenatal counseling for Down syndrome.

The American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A is to be congratulated for taking a leadership role by publishing a number of papers challenging the status quo of prenatal counseling for Down syndrome and of care for children and adults with Down syndrome. Parents want to know about the future abilities and potential of their fetus with Down syndrome, not simply negative medical information that may be outdated. Those providing counseling and those providing medical care could benefit from contact with individuals with Down syndrome outside the medical context.

Down syndrome: national conference on patient registries, research databases, and biobanks.

A December 2010 meeting, "Down Syndrome: National Conference on Patient Registries, Research Databases, and Biobanks," was jointly sponsored by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD, and the Global Down Syndrome Foundation (GDSF)/Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome based in Denver, CO. Approximately 70 attendees and organizers from various advocacy groups, federal agencies (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and various NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices), members of industry, clinicians, and researchers from various academic institutions were greeted by Drs. Yvonne Maddox, Deputy Director of NICHD, and Edward McCabe, Executive Director of the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome.