Studies on the effect of vitamin A and iron supplementation during pregnancy on maternal iron and vitamin A status postpartum are scarce. We investigated whether retinol and iron variables in breast ...milk and in serum postpartum were enhanced more with weekly vitamin A and iron supplementation during pregnancy than with weekly iron supplementation. During pregnancy, subjects were randomly allocated to two groups and received either (n = 88) a weekly supplement of iron (120 mg Fe as FeSO4) and folic acid (500 μg) or (n = 82) the same amount of iron and folic acid plus vitamin A 4800 retinol equivalents (RE). Transitional milk (4–7 d postpartum) had higher (P < 0.001) concentrations of retinol and iron than mature milk (3 mo postpartum). Compared with the weekly iron group, the weekly vitamin A and iron group had a greater (P < 0.05) concentration of retinol in transitional milk (as μmol/L) and in mature milk (as μmol/g fat). Although serum retinol concentrations ∼4 mo postpartum did not differ significantly, the weekly vitamin A and iron group had significantly fewer (P < 0.01) subjects with serum retinol concentrations ≤0.70 μmol/L than the weekly iron group. Iron status and concentrations of iron in transitional and mature milk did not differ between groups. We have shown that weekly vitamin A and iron supplementation during pregnancy enhanced concentrations of retinol in breast milk although not in serum by ∼4 mo postpartum. However, no positive effects were observed on iron status and iron concentration in breast milk.
Adult male workers on a rubber plantation in West Java were studied to determine (1) whether anemia in low income workers affected physical endurance, their actual productivity, and their resistance ...to infection, and (2) whether iron supplementation could diminish iron deficiency anemia and raise work output in this population. Treatment with 100 mg of elemental iron for 60 days resulted in a significant improvement in hematological status of anemic individuals and in their Harvard Step Test Performance, work output, and morbidity. The cost of the iron supplementation was small compared with the economic benefits of increased productivity and lowered morbidity.
The lipemic effect of dietary fish oil vs. corn oil may be affected by the background composition of the diet. To investigate this theory, rats were fed diets containing either fish oil or corn oil ...and differing in the amount of fat and cholesterol and in the type of carbohydrate (sucrose vs. glucose) or protein (casein vs. soy protein). The hypotriglyceridemic effect of fish oil vs. corn oil was not influenced by the background composition of the diet. The hypocholesterolemic effect of fish oil was diminished by increasing the amount of coconut fat in the background diet at the expense of an isoenergetic amount of sucrose. With the use of high-cholesterol diets, no cholesterol-lowering effect of fish oil vs. corn oil was observed. This study suggests that the composition of the background diet should be considered when comparing the cholesterolemic effects of fish oil with other oils in various experiments.
Abstract Purpose Cryptosporidium is an opportunistic parasite that manifests as chronic and severe diarrhea in the immune-compromised subject. We investigated the species of Cryptosporidium to ...understand the epidemiology, mode of transmission, response to treatment, and prevention. Methods Polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism of the 18 S rRNA gene and sequencing were performed on 41 Cryptosporidium -positive stools from 36 patients with HIV AIDS, which comprised 36 pretreatment stools and 5 stools after treatment with Paromomycin. Results C. hominis , C. meleagridis , C. felis , and C. parvum were detected; 28 of 36 (77.7%) patients were infected with C. hominis and two (5.5%) patients with multiple species of Cryptosporidium. Treatment with Paromomycin resulted in different outcomes, perhaps because patients harbored other intestinal parasitic infections. Conclusions Multiple infection with various Cryptosporidium species in the presence of other intestinal parasites occurs in patients with HIV AIDS suffering from chronic diarrhea who are severely immune-compromised. Common transmission of Cryptosporidium is anthroponotic.
In developing countries, both marginal vitamin A status and intestinal helminths are common among children. Indonesian children (n = 309, 0.6–6.6 y), known to be infected with Ascaris lumbricoides, ...were randomized into six different treatment groups (A-F). The treatments included 210 µmol vitamin A supplement and a dose of 400 mg albendazole (5-propylthio-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl carbamic acid methyl ester) administered orally either at the same health visit (Groups B and F) or at different contact times during a 1-mo period (groups A, C, D and E). Vitamin A status was assessed both before and 3–4 wk after the treatments by the modified relative dose response (MRDR) test. Vitamin A supplementation was most important in improving the vitamin A status (P < 0.0001) of these children, whereas treatment for ascariasis alone (P = 0.370) and the statistical interaction between treatment for ascariasis and vitamin A (P = 0.752) were not. Serum retinol concentrations marginally improved (P = 0.051) in two of the groups that received vitamin A and albendazole but not in the third group that received vitamin A only. The MRDR test proved a better discriminator of the effects of these treatments on vitamin A status than changes in serum retinol concentrations.
The modified-relative-dose-response (MRDR) test, which has been used extensively throughout the world for assessing vitamin A status, has been simplified. The major methodologic change resulting from ...the current studies in Indonesia is the use of graded standard doses of 3,4-didehydroretinyl acetate (DRA) based on the age range of the population of interest. Instead of a dose of 0.35 mumol/kg body wt, standard doses of 5.3 mumol for children younger than 6 y, 7.0 mumol for children between 6 and 12 y of age, and 8.8 mumol for adults and children > 12 y of age are suggested for field use. The acceptable time between administering the oral dose and obtaining a blood sample was validated as being 4–7 h in a group of children (n = 84) by taking two blood samples per child between 3 and 7 h after dosing with DRA. Furthermore, DRA in vitamin E-containing corn oil, with or without the addition of 4.6 mmol all-rac-alpha-tocopheryl acetate/L, was found to be stable for > or = 18 mo at 2 degrees C and at -20 degrees C, but not at 22 degrees C or at 37 degrees C. When DRA was stored in amber glass vials, stability was affected more by temperature than by exposure to room light. In keeping with earlier studies in adults, the ratio of 3,4-didehydro-retinol to retino tends to be independent of body weight. Indeed, slower growing children (ie, those with lower weight-for-age) may have a somewhat better vitamin A status than their heavier counterparts.
The vitamin A statuses of lactating Indonesian women (n = 23) starting at 1-3 mo after delivery were determined at three monthly intervals (times 1, 2, and 3) during lactation and then again (time 4) ...after they had ingested vitamin A capsules (8.4 mumol, 8000 IU) daily for 35 d. Vitamin A status was determined by using the modified-relative-dose-response (MRDR) test and serum retinol concentrations. The mean MRDR ratio in these women rose from 0.084 +/- 0.047 (time 1) to 0.099 +/- 0.045 (time 2) and then to 0.100 +/- 0.054 (time 3). After supplementation the mean MRDR ratio fell to 0.040 +/- 0.021 (time 4) (P < 0.0001). Mean serum retinol concentrations at the first three times were 0.94 +/- 0.23, 0.87 +/- 0.20, and 0.80 +/- 0.20 mumol/L, but then rose to 1.10 +/- 0.31 mumol/L at time 4 (P < 0.04). After supplementation mean MRDR values and mean serum retinol concentrations were 60% lower and 38% higher, respectively, than those just before supplementation, MRDR values better distinguished the vitamin A statuses of the women than did serum retinol concentrations. Mean hemoglobin values increased during the study from 118 +/- 9 g/L at time 1 to 122 +/- 6 g/L at time 4 (P = 0.0187). The mean hematocrit also rose from 0.35 +/- 0.03 at time 1 to 0.361 +/- 0.17 at time 4 (P = 0.0478). Thus, iron status may also have improved marginally from time 1 to time 4, but most of the increase appeared before the vitamin A intervention.
PDF
