Publications by authors named "R J Playford"

Background: Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is the most life-threatening form of undernutrition, and children hospitalised with complications have unacceptably high mortality. Complicated SAM is a multisystem disease characterised pathophysiologically by muscle wasting, systemic inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, and malnutrition enteropathy including epithelial barrier dysfunction. There is a clear need for novel interventions to address the underlying pathogenic perturbations of complicated SAM.

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Natural-based products are of interest to the pharmaceutical industry as potential sources of novel medicinal compounds. They are also used by consumers/patients as standalone therapies or as an adjunct to Western medicines. Two natural-based products of interest are chicken egg and bovine colostrum (the milk produced in the first few days following calving).

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Article Synopsis
  • Malnutrition is a major cause of child deaths globally, with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) leading to high mortality rates, especially when compounded by infections or medical complications.
  • A clinical trial conducted in Zambia and Zimbabwe evaluated four potential treatments for malnutrition-related enteropathy in 125 hospitalized children aged 6-59 months with SAM, comparing bovine colostrum, N-acetyl glucosamine, teduglutide, budesonide, and standard care over 14 days.
  • Results indicated that teduglutide significantly reduced mucosal damage biomarkers, suggesting it may be a beneficial treatment for enteropathy in children with complicated malnutrition, with all interventions deemed safe.
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Bovine colostrum (BC) has anti-inflammatory, anti-infective, growth and intestinal repair factors that may be beneficial in Crohn's disease (CD). We assessed whether daily BC for up to 3 months was acceptable to children and young people (CYP) with CD in remission or of mild/moderate severity. CYP were randomised to receive either BC or matching placebo milk daily for 6 weeks (blinded phase); all received BC for the following 6 weeks (open phase).

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