Search Results (497)

Background/Objectives: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by deficits in social communication, restricted and repetitive behaviors, and sensory processing abnormalities, including food selectivity. Due to the lack of effective causal therapies, alternative approaches such as dietary interventions are increasingly being explored. This study aimed to assess the impact of dietary factors on the nutritional status of children with ASD. Methods: A total of 103 children (75 with ASD and 28 controls) were included. Nutritional status was assessed using biochemical markers and standardized anthropometric measurements. Associations between nutritional status and dietary factors, particularly elimination diets implemented either on medical indications or in the absence of clinical justification, were analyzed. Results: ASD diagnosis was independently associated with lower height SDS (Standard Deviation Score). Food selectivity was significantly associated with growth patterns: children with food selectivity showed a higher prevalence of short stature compared with the control group (15.2% vs. 0%, p = 0.033). Children following elimination diets had significantly lower BMI SDS compared with those without dietary restrictions (−0.35 [−1.29 to 0.05] vs. −0.22 [−0.78 to 1.14], p = 0.046), although only 11.1% had medical indications for such interventions. Among non-supplemented participants, vitamin D deficiency was significantly more prevalent in the ASD group (84.6% vs. 33.3%, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Elimination diets were the only dietary factor associated with a clinically relevant reduction in BMI SDS in children with ASD. Food selectivity alone was not associated with impaired nutritional status. Most elimination diets were implemented without confirmed medical indications. These findings highlight the importance of evidence-based dietary management and routine vitamin D supplementation in this population. Full article

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive condition characterized by persistent kidney abnormalities with systemic consequences. Beyond its metabolic and cardiovascular complications, CKD has been associated with structural and functional brain alterations that are particularly evident in advanced stages and in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD). Deficits across multiple cognitive domains are frequently observed and may compromise treatment adherence, clinical management, and quality of life, yet remain largely underrecognized in clinical practice. Older adults are particularly vulnerable. Age-related brain changes and comorbidities may increase susceptibility to CKD-related cerebral alterations, while reduced cognitive reserve may amplify clinical impact. The gut–kidney–brain axis has emerged as a relevant biological pathway, with CKD-related dysbiosis potentially influencing inflammation, metabolic homeostasis, and the generation of uremic metabolites linked to neurological dysfunction. This review examines the mechanisms contributing to brain vulnerability in older adults with CKD, with specific attention to patients undergoing HD, and discusses challenges in the recognition and assessment of cognitive impairment in this population. It further explores microbiota-targeted nutritional strategies as potentially modifiable approaches to modulate gut-derived metabolic and inflammatory processes relevant to brain health, although current evidence for direct effects on cognitive outcomes remains limited. Full article

Down syndrome (DS), caused by trisomy 21, is associated with a wide spectrum of endocrine and gastrointestinal disorders that often arise early in life and significantly impact long-term health. This narrative review examines the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these conditions, with a particular focus on their bidirectional interactions. Endocrine abnormalities in DS, including thyroid dysfunction, type 1 diabetes mellitus, growth impairment, and altered bone metabolism, occur at higher rates than in the general population and are largely driven by immune dysregulation, chronic inflammation, and gene dosage effects. Similarly, gastrointestinal disorders—ranging from congenital malformations to autoimmune conditions such as celiac disease—are highly prevalent and often present with atypical clinical features. Emerging evidence highlights the central role of gut dysbiosis, characterized by reduced microbial diversity and increased pro-inflammatory taxa, in modulating immune and metabolic pathways. This altered gut environment contributes to a chronic inflammatory state and may promote autoimmunity and endocrine dysfunction through the gut–endocrine–immune axis. Nutritional deficiencies and epigenetic factors, including microRNA dysregulation, further influence disease expression. Understanding this complex cross-talk is essential for improving clinical management. Integrated, multidisciplinary approaches and early screening strategies are crucial to optimize outcomes and guide future research in DS. Full article

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with a high burden of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, while lipid disorders in renal failure differ substantially from the LDL-C-centered pattern observed in the general population. This narrative review aimed to synthesize recent evidence on the mechanisms, clinical implications, and therapeutic management of dyslipidemia in patients with renal failure, with emphasis on cardiovascular events and CKD progression. A structured literature search was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science for publications from January 2018 to April 2026. The review shows that CKD-related dyslipidemia is characterized by triglyceride-rich lipoprotein and remnant particle accumulation, small dense and modified LDL, and dysfunctional HDL within a uremic-inflammatory environment that promotes endothelial injury, vascular calcification, and residual cardiovascular risk. These abnormalities may also contribute to renal lipotoxicity, proteinuria, glomerulosclerosis, tubulointerstitial injury, and fibrosis, although direct causal and therapeutic implications remain incompletely established. Statin-based therapy remains central in non-dialysis CKD, whereas lipid management in dialysis, transplantation, frailty, and severe hypertriglyceridemia requires individualized interpretation. Future risk assessment should integrate lipid, inflammatory, vascular, nutritional, and renal-trajectory markers rather than relying on LDL-C alone. Full article

Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) is a suitable candidate for use as a biomass resource, recognized for its large-scale breeding and the high nutritional value of its protein content. Feeding obese Zucker rats the cuticle of T. molitor enhances fatty liver metabolism through the mediation of gut microorganisms. Cuticular proteins are demonstrated to be pivotal in the formation of the insect cuticle throughout the developmental stage. The endocuticle structural glycoprotein (Abd) belongs to the RR-1 subclass, a major group of structural cuticular proteins characterized by the conserved Rebers–Riddiford (RR) motif. Nevertheless, there remains a paucity of research into the molecular properties and functions of SgAbd (endocuticle structural glycoprotein) in Coleoptera. In this study, we successfully identified and described the gene TmAbd5 in T. molitor. The coding sequence of TmAbd5 is 306 bp, corresponding to a 101-aa protein. The functional domain predicted that TmAbd5 consists of a signal peptide and a chitin-binding domain 4 (ChtBD4). Motif prediction analysis indicated that TmAbd5 belongs to the CPR (cuticular proteins with Rebers–Riddiford consensus) family with the RR-1 motif. Expression analysis revealed that TmAbd5 is upregulated in the integument, particularly during the first three days of development in the 13th instar stage. Although the RNAi-mediated silencing of TmAbd5 did not cause apparent phenotypic abnormalities and the insects successfully molted into pupae, histological examination revealed a substantial thickening of the endocuticle at 72 h post-pupation, along with a notable increase in lamellar spacing and a disrupted pore canal. In summary, TmAbd5 contributes to the formation and structural organization of the endocuticle, which provides a theoretical basis for the screening of target genes for cuticle development and for the effective utilization of cuticle resources in T. molitor. Full article

Background/Objectives: Obesity is a chronic, multifactorial condition characterized by excessive adipose tissue that adversely affects health and continues to rise worldwide. It is strongly associated with cardiometabolic abnormalities that increase the risk of adverse outcomes, including type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. Methods: We conducted a multicenter, clinic-based cross-sectional analysis of electronic health records from 200,022 adults aged ≥20 years, who accessed nutritional and clinical laboratory services at Salud Digna between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2025. Nutritional status was classified as normal weight or overweight/obesity using body mass index criteria. Metabolic health was assessed using five components of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Individuals were defined as metabolically unhealthy if they met three or more metabolic syndrome criteria. Results: Among participants, 78.17% of males and 79.73% of females were classified as overweight or obese. Metabolic unhealthiness was observed in 50.74% of males and 55.42% of females. The prevalences of metabolically healthy normal weight, metabolically healthy overweight/obesity, metabolically unhealthy normal weight, and metabolically unhealthy overweight/obesity were 18.55%, 31.09%, 3.90%, and 44.20%, respectively. Conclusions: These findings highlight a high burden of overweight/obesity and metabolic abnormalities in a large clinic-based sample of Mexican adults. While not nationally representative, this study provides important insights into the distribution of nutritional and metabolic health profiles in individuals accessing healthcare services, supporting the need for targeted prevention, early detection, and management strategies in clinical settings. Full article

Background/Objectives: Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is the most common congenital heart disease in children and is often associated with growth impairment and malnutrition. Increased metabolic demand, feeding difficulties, and recurrent infections contribute to poor nutritional status. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), a key mediator of growth hormone activity, reflects nutritional and metabolic conditions. Previous studies have evaluated endocrine and growth abnormalities in heterogeneous congenital heart disease populations. However, data specifically examining the relationship between serum IGF-1 levels and nutritional status in isolated pediatric ventricular septal defect remain limited, particularly in Southeast Asian populations. Methods: The single centre observational case–control study was conducted at Dr. Soetomo Hospital, Surabaya, involving 110 children (55 VSD patients and 55 healthy controls). VSD diagnosis was confirmed by echocardiography. Nutritional status was assessed using WHO anthropometric criteria. Serum IGF-1 levels were measured using ELISA. Statistical analyses compared IGF-1 levels between groups and across nutritional categories. Results: Moderate and severe wasting were more common in the VSD group. Median IGF-1 levels were significantly lower in VSD patients compared to controls (5.18 vs. 21.4 ng/mL; p < 0.001). A positive association between IGF-1 levels and nutritional status was observed. Conclusions: Children with VSD have poorer nutritional status and significantly lower IGF-1 levels compared to healthy controls. This association may be explained by the dysregulation of the growth hormone–IGF-1 axis. IGF-1 may complement nutritional assessment for identifying and monitoring growth impairment and guiding early nutritional interventions in pediatric VSD. Full article

Growing evidence suggests an important pathogenetic role of brain-specific gangliosides in the mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of dementia. Nutritional strategies targeting ganglioside sialylation—for example, through agglutinin-mediated modulation—have therefore attracted increasing research interest. In particular, wheat malt extract (WME), a food-derived source of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) with high affinity for gangliosides, may influence molecular pathways involved in AD pathogenesis. Twelve-month-old female APPswe/PS1E9 transgenic mice, a model of AD, and wild-type (WT) littermates received WME or tap water for three weeks. Behavioral performance was subsequently assessed. Amyloid plaque burden and astrocyte activation were evaluated using Congo red staining and GFAP immunoreactivity, respectively. Gene expression of selected AD markers in the brain was quantified by RT–qPCR. Aged WT mice exhibited robust, region-specific molecular responses to WME, including upregulation of activity-dependent and synaptic plasticity genes (Arc, Egr1, Bdnf, Syp), enhancement of metabolic and insulin-related signaling (Pgc1a, Sirt1, Igf1r, Irs2), increased Cldn5 expression, and reduced pro-inflammatory Il1β expression. APP/PS1 mice exhibited limited response to WME, suggesting more persistent transcriptional signatures of synaptic impairment, metabolic dysregulation, and neuroinflammation than in WT mice. We found no significant effects of WME treatment on amyloid plaque density and behavior in APP/PS1 mice. No effects on astrocyte activation were observed in either group. These findings demonstrate that dietary WME counteracts abnormal behaviors and molecular changes in neuron plasticity, metabolic, and vascular markers under conditions of normal aging but fails to improve the hallmarks of AD pathology. This highlights the potential of WGA-containing nutrients as a preventive nutritional approach targeting pathogenic mechanisms of aging and, potentially, AD pathology. Full article

Trypanosomiasis remains a major constraint to small ruminant production in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly among smallholder farmers. Although WAD goats are considered trypanotolerant because of their relatively low mortality during chronic infection, recent findings show that this survival is at the expense of reproductive efficiency. To back up this claim with scientific evidence, this review followed PRISMA guidelines and systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for important studies published between January 1980 and February 2026. Search terms included African animal trypanosomiasis, Trypanosoma spp., WAD goats, reproductive dysfunction, trypanotolerance, oxidative stress, and hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis. Of the 1245 retrieved articles, 14 met the inclusion criteria. Evidence from the included studies indicates that chronic trypanosome infection disrupts reproduction through interconnected mechanisms involving systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, endocrine imbalance, and impaired gonadal function. Available evidence suggests that T. brucei is frequently associated with ovarian dysfunction and embryonic loss, whereas T. congolense has been linked in some studies to uterine pathology and gestational reproductive disturbances. Female goats commonly exhibit irregular oestrous cycles, embryonic loss, and prolonged kidding intervals, while males develop impaired spermatogenesis, abnormal sperm morphology, and reduced testosterone levels. These reproductive impairments reduce kid output, milk yield, herd productivity, and household livelihood resilience. Integrated control strategies combining vector control, targeted chemotherapy, nutritional support, and selective breeding are essential for preserving both fertility and survival in trypanosome-endemic areas. Full article

Background/Objectives: Patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis (HD) commonly exhibit chronic low-grade inflammation, nutritional disturbances, altered body composition, and metabolic imbalance. Gut dysbiosis may contribute to these abnormalities through the gut–kidney axis; however, the relationship between the gut microbiota composition and host phenotype in HD patients remains incompletely characterized. This study aimed to characterize the gut microbiota composition in maintenance HD patients and assess its cross-sectional associations with demographic, inflammatory, nutritional, dialysis-related, and bioimpedance-derived body composition parameters. Methods: This single-center cross-sectional study included 96 patients with end-stage kidney disease undergoing maintenance HD. The primary objective was to characterize the gut microbiota composition in maintenance HD patients. Secondary objectives were to assess cross-sectional associations with demographic factors (sex, age) and bioimpedance-derived body composition (specifically VAT). Clinical and laboratory data, inflammatory markers, nutritional indicators, malnutrition–inflammation score (MIS), dialysis-related variables, and bioimpedance-derived body composition parameters were collected. Stool samples were analyzed using full-length 16S rRNA sequencing. The gut microbiota composition was assessed using taxonomic profiling, alpha-diversity and beta-diversity analyses, subgroup comparisons, and exploratory distance-based analyses. Associations were interpreted within a descriptive and hypothesis-generating framework. Results: The gut microbiota composition showed marked inter-individual heterogeneity at the genus level, with dominant taxa including Blautia, Faecalibacterium, Streptococcus, Gemmiger, Ruminococcus, Escherichia-Shigella, and Enterococcus. Chao1 richness was higher in men than in women. Shannon entropy and Chao1 richness were positively associated with age and visceral adipose tissue (VAT), while Faith’s phylogenetic diversity increased with age. In contrast, the Gini index was negatively associated with age and VAT, indicating a more even microbial community structure in older individuals and in those with higher visceral adiposity. Beta-diversity analyses suggested modest differences in microbial community structure according to sex and selected body composition-related categories, particularly in sex-stratified analyses. Exploratory distance-based analysis showed a modest association between overall microbiota dissimilarity and host phenotype dissimilarity, although this finding was limited by reduced sample overlap. Conclusions: The gut microbiota composition in maintenance HD patients was highly heterogeneous and showed cross-sectional associations, mainly with sex, age, visceral adiposity, and broader host phenotype. These findings suggest that microbiota variation in HD reflects multidimensional demographic, inflammatory, nutritional, metabolic, and body composition-related factors rather than a single clinical determinant. Larger longitudinal studies integrating standardized dietary, medication, metabolic, and clinical outcome data are needed to determine the prognostic relevance of these microbiota patterns. Full article

Background/Objectives: Accurate identification of neonatal malnutrition is essential for optimizing perinatal care and reducing adverse outcomes. Traditional birthweight-based methods fail to account for body proportionality, limiting their ability to distinguish constitutionally small or large neonates from those with true nutritional abnormalities. We previously developed a customized fetal body mass index (cFBMI) percentile model that incorporates both weight and length, adjusted for maternal and fetal characteristics. This study aims to perform a temporal external validation of the cFBMI model following the Riley et al. framework, comparing its performance against the GROW customized birthweight model and the INTERGROWTH-21st population-based standard. Methods: A temporal validation study was conducted using singleton deliveries from Hospital Universitario de Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain. The development cohort comprised 7864 deliveries (2002–2021); the validation cohort comprised 4441 deliveries (2022–2025). Inclusion criteria: singleton pregnancy, gestational age of 33–42 + 6 weeks, birthweight of 500–6000 g, known neonatal sex and length, and complete maternal data. The Ponderal Index (PI = weight/length³ × 100) stratified by sex and gestational age served as the gold standard (undernutrition: PI < p10; overnutrition: PI > p90). Discrimination was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) with bootstrap 95% confidence intervals (2000 iterations) and DeLong tests. Calibration was evaluated by comparing observed versus expected proportions across percentile categories. Clinical utility was assessed using decision curve analysis (DCA). Temporal stability was quantified by comparing AUCs and Brier scores between the development and validation cohorts. Results: In the validation cohort (n = 4441), cFBMI demonstrated superior discrimination for both undernutrition (AUC: 0.962) and overnutrition (AUC: 0.961) compared with GROW (AUC: 0.751 and 0.676, respectively) and INTERGROWTH-21st (AUC: 0.756 and 0.682, respectively); all DeLong comparisons p < 0.0001. The cFBMI exhibited excellent temporal stability (ΔAUC = −0.004 for undernutrition, +0.002 for overnutrition) and superior calibration (observed proportions: 9.6%/81.7%/8.8% vs. expected 10%/80%/10%; χ² = 9.22, p = 0.010). The decision curve analysis confirmed the superior net benefit of cFBMI across all threshold probabilities. Conclusions: The customized fetal BMI percentile model demonstrates excellent and temporally stable discriminative performance in this single-institution temporal validation study, with superior calibration and apparent advantages in clinical utility as determined by decision curve analysis compared with existing methods. Its integration of body proportionality provides conceptual alignment with the Ponderal Index gold standard. These findings are promising but require confirmation through external multicenter validation before clinical implementation can be recommended. Although the mathematical relationship between the index test (weight/length²) and the reference standard (weight/length³) should be considered when interpreting the magnitude of discrimination metrics, validation against independent clinical outcomes is an essential next step. The cFBMI thus provides a proportionality-aware nutritional metric whose primary discriminative advantage over weight-based methods is realized at and beyond the moment of birth, and which is forward-compatible with emerging modalities for independent prenatal fetal length estimation. Full article

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common age-related neurodegenerative disorder with extremely low drug development success rates, making nutritional intervention a promising strategy. Cerebral energy metabolism dysfunction is a core pathological feature of AD. Odd-chain fatty acids (OCFAs) can generate propionyl-CoA via β-oxidation to replenish the impaired tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. This study characterized the lipid composition of OCFAs-enriched algal oil by UPC²-Q-TOF-MS, evaluated its neuroprotective effects on Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) models with AD, Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Huntington’s disease (HD), and explored the metabolic mechanism of its key component pentadecanoic acid (C15:0) using untargeted metabolomics. Results showed that triglycerides (TAGs) represented the predominant lipid class, accounting for 97.3% of the total lipid content in the algal oil. Among all the identified TAG molecular species, TAGs containing C15:0/C17:0 accounted for more than 90%. OCFAs-enriched algal oil exhibited disease-selective neuroprotection. It significantly improved locomotor function in AD nematodes, moderately ameliorated PD-related deficits, whereas showed no efficacy in HD nematodes. Metabolomics revealed that C15:0 produced propionyl-CoA to rescue TCA cycle dysfunction and energy deficits, upregulated membrane phospholipids to repair membrane integrity, and reduced abnormal metabolites to restore metabolic homeostasis. KEGG analysis confirmed that C15:0 globally regulated core metabolic pathways including amino acid, cofactor, nucleotide, and carbon metabolism. OCFAs-enriched algal oil exerted selective anti-AD effects by repairing energy metabolism, remodeling membrane phospholipids, and restoring metabolic homeostasis, providing a novel nutritional candidate for AD intervention. Full article

Background and Clinical Significance: Vitamin B12 deficiency in infancy is an uncommon but reversible cause of severe hematologic abnormalities and potential neurologic injury, particularly in exclusively breastfed infants whose vitamin B12 status depends on maternal stores. Because its clinical presentation may mimic bone marrow failure syndromes or hematologic malignancies, diagnosis can be challenging and delayed; Case Presentation: We report a case of early infantile pancytopenia ultimately attributed to profound vitamin B12 deficiency secondary to maternal celiac disease. Prompt recognition and treatment with cobalamin supplementation resulted in rapid hematologic recovery and a favorable clinical outcome; Conclusions: This case underscores the importance of considering vitamin B12 deficiency in the differential diagnosis of unexplained cytopenias in infants and highlights the critical role of maternal nutritional status in neonatal health. Improved awareness and targeted screening of at-risk mothers during pregnancy and lactation may prevent severe but readily treatable complications in affected infants. Full article

Background and Aims: Anemia is seen in nearly >70% of patients with cirrhosis and is often non-responsive to nutritional supplements; therefore, we assessed the erythropoiesis and associated alteration in bone marrow (BM). Methods: It is a cross-sectional study. Flow cytometry was performed to assess the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and erythroid population of 60 patients with cirrhosis compared with patients with 7 non-cirrhotic portal fibrosis (NCPF) and 3 controls. Proteomics were performed of the pure CD71 erythroid population taken from patients with cirrhosis to decipher the internal abnormalities supported by validation experiments. Real Time PCR, colony assay and heme quantification, cytokine array, and ELISA were performed to assess erythropoietic stimulating agents (ESA), inflammatory cytokines, and growth factors as an external factor affecting erythropoiesis. Results: We found a decrease in intermediate erythroid progenitors [IEPs; CD71+ CD235a+], conversely early erythroid precursors [EEP; CD71+ CD235a−] and late erythroid progenitors [LEP; CD71− CD235a+] were increased (p < 0.05) in cirrhotic and NCPF as compared to control. However, unlike NCPF, cirrhosis exhibited decreased CD71+ transferrin receptor (TfR1) expression over erythroid cells and increased immature erythrocytes (p < 0.05) in peripheral circulation. In vitro culture of erythroid precursors showed impaired differentiation and maturation that was confirmed by the reduced (p < 0.05) number of erythroid colonies (BFU-E). Proteomics analysis showed downregulated proteins associated with hemoglobin synthesis, ROS detoxification, translation, and mitochondrial activity. Furthermore, we found an altered expression of genes related to erythropoiesis and hemoglobin synthesis and increase (p < 0.05) in inflammatory cytokines such as IL-5, TRAIL-R2, TGF-α, and TGF-β in BM. Conclusions: This study suggests that the dysregulated erythropoiesis observed in patients with cirrhosis having anemia is maintained despite adequate nutrition. Full article

White Striping (WS) is a macroscopic defect of the pectoralis major muscle, characterized by distinct white striations that impair meat acceptability and commercial value. It is a phenotype with polygenic inheritance, controlled by several QTLs and genes associated with muscle repair and metabolism. Beyond genetic factors, phenotypic manifestation is strongly modulated by the environment. This review integrates research on genetic predispositions and modulating factors to provide a holistic overview of WS in broilers. The defect predominantly affects heavier birds with high breast yield and elevated ultimate breast pH. LRSAM1 gene, on chromosome GGA17, is identified as a putative candidate gene as its expression co-localizes with the phenotypic QTL. Chromosome GGA5 has recently been identified as the primary genomic region of interest hosting a cluster of specific markers. Research on dietary strategies has extensively explored the manipulation of feed formulations, especially of amino acids. While results for some nutrients like methionine remain conflicting, restricting lysine during the growth phase could be an effective dietary intervention for reducing WS severity. Management offers the most practical short-term solutions, whereas selective breeding enables meaningful and permanent progress across generations, given the moderate heritability of many quality-related traits. Effective mitigation requires an integrated approach combining welfare, environmental control, and precision feeding throughout the production cycle, while acknowledging trade-offs with productivity. To meet evolving consumer expectations, the industry must embrace practices that are simultaneously scientifically rigorous, ethically responsible, and environmentally sustainable. Full article