PMID: 

Indian J Pediatr. 2020 Feb 13. Epub 2020 Feb 13. PMID: 32056191

Abstract Title: 

Is Lower Vitamin D Level Associated with Increased Risk of Neonatal Sepsis? A Prospective Cohort Study.

Abstract: 

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of maternal/ neonatal vitamin D levels on culture positive neonatal sepsis.METHODS: This prospective cohort study was conducted in the NICU of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Odisha, Eastern India from January 2015 through December 2016. Forty (40) neonates with culture positive sepsis were included in the study group. Forty (40) healthy neonates admitted for evaluation of neonatal jaundice who are similar in gender, gestational age, postnatal age and without any clinical signs of sepsis were recruited as control group after informed consent. Vitamin D level (25 OH D) was assessed in the neonates and their mothers in both the groups.RESULTS: Neonatal 25 OH vitamin D level in the study group (12.71 ± 2.82 ng/ml) was significantly lower than in the control group (25.46 ± 7.02 ng/ml). The Odds ratio was 273 (95% CI 30.39-2451.6) for culture positive sepsis in neonates with vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency. Mothers of septic neonates had significantly lower 25 OH vitamin D level (20.92 ± 3.92 ng/ml) than the mothers of healthy neonates in control group (27.31 ± 6.83 ng/ml). The Odds ratio was 4.71 (95% CI 1.69-13.1) for culture positive sepsis in babies born to mothers with vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency.CONCLUSIONS: Neonates with vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency are at higher risk for developing sepsis than those with sufficient vitamin D levels. Lower vitamin D levels in mothers is also associated with increased risk of sepsis in the neonates.

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PMID: 

J Thorac Dis. 2020 Feb ;12(Suppl 1):S78-S83. PMID: 32148929

Abstract Title: 

Thiamine (vitamin B1) in septic shock: a targeted therapy.

Abstract: 

Thiamine (vitamin B1) is a water-soluble vitamin essential for human health. Thiamine deficiency is causal and/or contributory in a number of debilitating diseases including beri-beri, the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, optic neuropathy, and others. While thiamine deficiency is relatively rare in developed nations as a result of dietary supplementation, thiamine deficiency is more common in nutritionally compromised populations. Thiamine pyrophosphate, a thiamine derivative, is essential to the citric acid cycle and thiamine deficiency can result in impaired aerobic respiration and cellular energy production. Thiamine also plays an important role in the pentose phosphate pathway and other key metabolic processes. Although thiamine deficiency is a known cause of lactic acidosis, it has been recently evaluated as a potential contributor to refractory lactic acidosis and organ injury in septic shock and other shock states. In this article, we review the epidemiology of thiamine deficiency in septic shock and the existing evidence base supporting thiamine supplementation. We conclude that specific sepsis phenotypes may stand to benefit the most from thiamine supplementation, and efforts might be made to identify and supplement these patients early in their hospital course.

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PMID: 

Nurs Midwifery Stud. 2014 Jun ;3(2):e14180. Epub 2014 Jun 15. PMID: 25414900

Abstract Title: 

Shampoo-clay heals diaper rash faster than calendula officinalis.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND: Diaper rash is one of the most common skin disorders of infancy and childhood. Some studies have shown that Shampoo-clay was effective to treat chronic dermatitis. Then, it is supposed that it may be effective in diaper rash; however, no published studies were found in this regard.OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the effects of Shampoo-clay (S.C) and Calendula officinalis (C.O) to improve infantile diaper rash.PATIENTS AND METHODS: A randomized, double blind, parallel controlled, non-inferiority trial was conducted on 60 outpatient infants referred to health care centers or pediatric clinics in Khomein city and diagnosed with diaper rash. Patients were randomly assigned into two treatment groups including S.C group (n = 30) and C.O group (n = 30) by using one to one allocation ratio. The rate of complete recovery in three days was the primary outcome. Data was collected using a checklist and analyzed using t-test, Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests and risk ratio.RESULTS: Totally, 93.3% of lesions in the S.C group healed in the first 6 hours, while this rate was 40% in C.O group (P

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PMID: 

Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 2014 ;11(3):210-6. Epub 2014 Apr 3. PMID: 25371584

Abstract Title: 

Estimating the yin-yang nature of Western herbs: a potential tool based on antioxidation-oxidation theory.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND: One of the biggest obstacles to progress in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) development in Western countries is the difficulty of applying the traditional concepts to the Western medicinal plants, which are not traditionally described in ancient literature. During recent years, new advances in the field of understanding Yin/Yang aspects from a modern bioscientific point of view have led to the conclusion that antioxidationoxidation concepts might mirror a Yin-Yang relationship.METHODS: This study was intended to integrate the Yin-Yang theory of the traditional Chinese medicine with modern antioxidation-oxidation theory, and to propose a biochemical tool based on redox parameters (e.g. antioxidant capacity, chemiluminescence-CL signal inducing capacity), usable for the classification of Western medicinal plants from Yin/Yang perspective. Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) of six vegetal aqueous extracts (Symphitum officinalae (radix)-SYM, Inula helenium (radix)-INU, Calendula officinalis (flores)-CAL, Angelica arhanghelica (folium)ANG(F), Angelica arhanghelica (radix)-ANG(R), Ecbalium Elaterium (fruits)-ECB) and luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence of PMNL on addition of these vegetal extracts were measured. Percentages from the maximal or minimal values obtained were calculated for each extract (TEAC%, PMNL stimulation%, PMNL inhibition%, relative speed of action% (RSA%%)), specific Yin-Yang significance was assigned to each relative parameter. In the end, an integration of all the relative values was done, in order to find a global"Yin"or a"Yang"trait of each vegetal extract.RESULTS: TEAC decreased in the following order: SYM>INU>CAL>ANG(F)>ANG(R>ECB. Three vegetal extracts (SYM>INU>ECB) decreased the luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence of PMNL, two (ANG(R)>ANG(F)) increased it, while one (CAL) had a dual effect. After the integration of the percentages, CAL was found to have a global"Yang"trait, while the rest of the plants had a global"Yin"trait.CONCLUSIONS: TEAC% and PMNL inhibition% appears to correlate with the Yin properties of herbs, while PMNL stimulation% and RSA% might correlate with Yang aspects within the formal TCM classification system, and may be useful criteria in describing the Western herbs from a TCM point of view.

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PMID: 

Nutrients. 2020 Mar 26 ;12(4). Epub 2020 Mar 26. PMID: 32224930

Abstract Title: 

A Cecal Slurry Mouse Model of Sepsis Leads to Acute Consumption of Vitamin C in the Brain.

Abstract: 

Vitamin C (ascorbate, ASC) is a critical antioxidant in the body with specific roles in the brain. Despite a recent interest in vitamin C therapies for critical care medicine, little is known about vitamin C regulation during acute inflammation and critical illnesses such as sepsis. Using a cecal slurry (CS) model of sepsis in mice, we determined ASC and inflammatory changes in the brain following the initial treatment. ASC levels in the brain were acutely decreased by approximately 10% at 4 and 24 h post CS treatment. Changes were accompanied by a robust increase in liver ASC levels of up to 50%, indicating upregulation of synthesis beginning at 4 h and persisting up to 7 days post CS treatment. Several key cytokines interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 (CXCL1, KC/Gro) were also significantly elevated in the cortex at 4 h post CS treatment, although these levels returned to normal by 48 h. These data strongly suggest that ASC reserves are directly challenged throughout illness and recovery from sepsis. Given the timescale of this response, decreases in cortical ASC are likely driven by hyper-acute neuroinflammatory processes. However, future studies are required to confirm this relationship and to investigate how this deficiency may subsequently impact neuroinflammation.

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PMID: 

Indian Pediatr. 2020 Mar 15 ;57(3):232-234. PMID: 32198863

Abstract Title: 

Association of Early-Onset Sepsis and Vitamin D Deficiency in Term Neonates.

Abstract: 

OBJECTIVE: To determine if vitamin D status is affected in term neonates with early onset sepsis and its association with outcome.METHODS: Study was done at a level 3 neonatal unit on 140 neonates. Term neonates with early onset sepsis (study group, 70 patients) and without sepsis (control group, 70 patients) were enrolled.RESULTS: Mean neonatal vitamin D level in the study group was 16.00 (10.49) ng/mL and in the control group, was 29.07(8.36) ng/mL (P =0.061). In the study group 80% (n=56) babies had low vitamin D levels (

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“Judy Mikovits is Among Her Generation’s Most Accomplished Scientists.” –Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

PMID: 

J Infect. 2011 Nov ;63(5):321-6. Epub 2011 Jul 13. PMID: 21777617

Abstract Title: 

The role of vitamin D deficiency in sepsis and potential therapeutic implications.

Abstract: 

Recent studies have shown that vitamin D has important functions besides bone and calcium homeostasis. Cells of the innate and adaptive immune system express vitamin D receptors and respond to stimulation by 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D. Patients with sepsis have a high mortality rate as well as a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. In addition, septic patients have decreased vitamin D binding protein levels which further exacerbates vitamin D deficiency. Therapy with vitamin D in animal models of sepsis improves blood coagulation parameters in disseminated intravascular coagulation and modulates levels of systemic inflammatory cytokines including TNF-α and IL-6. Vitamin D can enhance the induction of the antimicrobial peptides cathelicidin and β-defensin which are found on mucosal and epithelial surfaces and act as the body's first line of defense against viral and bacterial pathogens. Vitamin D is potentially an attractive therapeutic agent for sepsis given its low cost and low risk of toxicity and side effects. Further prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trials of adjunctive vitamin D therapy in patients who are deficient are needed in the management of human sepsis syndrome.

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PMID: 

Clin Calcium. 2017;27(11):1551-1559. PMID: 29074827

Abstract Title: 

[Update on recent progress in vitamin D research. The effects of vitamin D in autoinflammatory diseases.]

Abstract: 

Various kinds of immune cells -including dendritic cells, macrophages, T cells and B cells- express the vitamin D receptor and 1α-hydroxylase(CYP27B1).studies have shown the anti-inflammatory effect of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D:the active form of vitamin D. As vitamin D deficiency spread in our society, epidemiological studies have established the association between vitamin D deficiency and incidence or progression of several inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis(RA), systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE), and multiple sclerosis(MS). In addition, recently the property of vitamin D for treatment or prevention is debated. Here, we review the recent epidemiological evidence associated with vitamin D and inflammatory diseases, and describe the immunomodulatory effect of vitamin D underlying it.

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One of the most politically-connected yet scandal ridden vaccne companies in the United States is set to profit handsomely from the curren Coronavirus crisis