1,721,453 research outputs found
Nutraceuticals and dietary supplements to improve quality of life and outcomes in heart failure patients
No full textBACKGROUND:
Heart failure (HF) is a complex clinical syndrome that can result from any structural or functional cardiac disorder that impairs the ability of the ventricle to fill or eject blood. It represents a major public health issue, with a prevalence of over 23 million worldwide. The lifetime risk of developing HF is one in five and the most important risk factors identified are ischemic heart disease, hypertension, smoking, obesity and diabetes. Preventive approaches are based on improvements of lifestyle, associated with pharmacological therapy. Several nutraceuticals have shown interesting clinical results in prevention of HF as well as in the treatment of the early stages of the disease, alone or in association with pharmacological therapy.
AIM:
The aim of this review is to resume the available clinical evidence on phytochemicals effect on HF prevention and/or treatment.
METHODS:
A systematic search strategy was developed to identify trials in PubMed (January 1980 to April 2016). The terms 'nutraceuticals', 'dietary supplements', 'herbal drug' and 'heart failure' were incorporated into an electronic search strategy.
RESULTS:
Clinical trials reported that the intake of some nutraceuticals (hawthorn, coenzyme Q10, L-carnitine, Dribose, Carnosine, Vitamin D, Some probiotics, Omega-3 PUFAs, Beet nitrates) is associated with improvements in functional parameters such as ejection fraction, stroke volume and cardiac output in HF patients, with minimal side effects. These findings were sometimes reinforced by subsequent meta-analyses, which further concluded that benefits tended to be greater in earlier stage HF. The main mechanisms involved are antioxidant, antinflammatory, anti-ischemic and antiaggregant effects.
CONCLUSIONS:
Evidence suggests that the supplementation with nutraceuticals may be a useful option for effective management of HF, with the advantage of excellent clinical tolerance
Polyphenols Effect on Circulating Lipids and Lipoproteins: From Biochemistry to Clinical Evidence
No full textBACKGROUND:
Polyphenols are a family of natural antioxidants that in recent years have been studied and tested for their potential benefits towards cardiovascular diseases.
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this review is to focus the attention on the presumed lipid-lowering and atheroprotective effects of polyphenols, administered either as individual molecules (nutritional supplements) and as functional foods, on the basis of the evidence coming from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and their meta-analyses.
METHOD:
A search strategy was conducted to identify studies in PubMed (January 1980 to September 2016); in particular, we have included human clinical trials, reviews and meta-analyses when they offered suitable insights and elucidations regarding the action of polyphenols on lipid profile and cardiovascular disease risk.
RESULTS:
Literature data on polyphenols suggest that they potentially could exert an effect on lipid profile, especially by reducing the oxidation of LDL-C. Polyphenols from cocoa, grape, green tea, berries and soy are the ones that have shown more clinically relevant effect. However, quantitative data on cholesterol reduction are still unclear and often conflicting.
CONCLUSION:
Polyphenols, if taken in adequate dosages, can exert in some cases a positive effect on the prevention of cardiovascular risk and lipid oxidation, despite an unclear effect on lipid levels
Esteri etilici degli acidi grassi polinsaturi della serie omega 3: dalla biochimica alle crescenti potenzialità cliniche.
No full textLa prima nota osservazione della associazione tra livelli di assunzione di acidi grassi polinsaturi della serie omega 3 (da qui in avanti chiamati per semplicità "omega3") con la dieta e benefici per la salute la si fa usualmente risalire alla metà del secolo scorso, quando un ricercatore danese notò la bassissima frequenza di morti per infarto del miocardio tra gli abitanti del distretto di Umanack in Groenlandia
Association Between Consumption of Different Dosages of Bioactive Wheat Peptides and Blood Pressure (BP) Level and Other Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Healthy Subjects With High-normal BP: a Double-blind, Cross-over, RCT
No full textIn this study we will assess the effects of bioactive peptide rich wheat products on blood pressure and estimated cardiovascular disease risk. This will be a pilot, explorative, cross-over, randomized double-blind 2 groups x 2-arms controlled, clinical trial. The intervention will be based on commercially-packaged pasta, which will appear and taste the same; (i) low dose bioactive peptides vs. (ii) high dose bioactive peptides. Inclusion Criteria will be: Male and female non-diabetic adult volunteers at increased estimated CV risk (ESC/EAS SCORE) with SBP 130-139 mmHg and/or DBP 85-90 mmHg); Age included between 40 and 70 years old; Primary prevention for CVD but otherwise in good general health and have had no major illness in the previous 6-months; Volunteer providing their signed and dated informed consent form. Exclusion Criteria will be: Severe medical illness/chronic disease/gastrointestinal pathology (e.g. coeliac disease); Secondary prevention for CVD; Treatment with drugs potentially affecting BP (including antihypertensive drugs) or other related CV risk factors; Consumption of nutraceuticals, botanical extracts or other vitamin supplements; Volunteer diagnosed as being hypertensive A total of 60 participants will be recruited and following adherence to a standardized diet for a 4-week period, will be randomly assigned to complete one of 2 treatment sequences by consuming a prescribed quantity of pasta products for a 4-week period followed by a 4-week washout before random assignment to the 2nd treatment.
The Primary Outcome will be the modification of office blood pressure (assessed by systolic and diastolic BP, pulse and mean pressure (mean of 3 standing & sitting measures) and 24-hour blood pressure.
Additional outcomes include: Anthropometric parameters (Weight, WC, HC, WC/HC, ICO, BMI), Glucose and Lipid profile (TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, TG, non-HDL cholesterol, risk ratios), Estimated CVD risk changes (EAS/ESC SCORE Charts), Measures of vascular health (FMD, PWA, PWV, Aix), Liver and renal functionality biomarkers, 24-h urine collection at baseline of treatment phase 1 and endpoint of the final phase will be analysed to account for potential confounding of urinary sodium excretion (intake) As required by the GCPs and GLPs, all the SOPs have already been established and all the personnel to be involved in the study is continuously trained in trials with similar outcome
The year in nutrition medicine 2023
Full text linkAll over the world, dietary risk factors are associated with millions of deaths and hundred millions of disability-adjusted life-years each year. An energy-controlled Mediterranean diet is deemed to be the most scientifically tested eating pattern showing substantial health benefits for the general population. However, there is still a debate about what the best diet is for each person, especially with regard to the balance of macronutrient
Rice bran and its main components: potential role in the management of coronary risk factors
Full text linkImproving adherence with treatment-resistant hypertension.
No full textArterial hypertension is the most important risk factor for cardiovascular disease responsible for a large proportion of death and disability-adjusted life-year across the world [1]. Blood pressure control through the administration of first-line classes of antihypertensive drugs has been proven to significantly improve the clinical outcome of hypertension in the overall population and in the subgroups of patients with different degrees of severity of the disease. Suboptimal adherence to antihypertensive medication is one of the major contributors to poor blood pressure control, thus influencing cardiovascular outcomes and health-care costs. Adherence to treatment is a complex phenomenon involving socioeconomic factors, health-care system, the nature of medical conditions as well as therapy- and/or patient-related condition
What do herbalists suggest to diabetic patients in order to improve glycemic control? Evaluation of scientific evidence and potential risks
No full textIn the course of 12 continuing education seminars given in different regions of Italy in 2001, we distributed a questionnaire to all the attending herbalists asking information about the herbal remedy and dietary supplement they mainly recommended to subjects who required a "natural" treatment to control glycemia. We distributed 720 questionnaires and we received 685 completed ones. We have compiled a short review on the efficacy and safety of the 10 most frequently advised products for each category. The 10 more frequently suggested herbal remedies were gymnema, psyllium, fenugreek, bilberry, garlic, Chinese ginseng, dandelion, burdock, prickly pear cactus, and bitter melon. The 10 most frequently recommended dietary supplements were biotin, vanadium, chromium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, selenium, alpha-lipoic acid, and fructooligosaccharides. The majority of the products recommended by Italian herbalists may be efficacious in reducing glycemia. If a diabetic patient is already assuming products that even slightly reduce glycemia, we risk to underestimate the level of glucose intolerance, while if the patient stops the complementary treatment after initiating pharmaceutical therapy, in the subsequent visit we may underestimate the effect of our prescription. Therefore, if doctors are to have a role in gate-keeping or advising patients about complementary and alternative medicine, they need to be familiar with this type of medicine. If they choose otherwise, then the provision of complementary and alternative medicine will continue to be patchy and largely outside the conventional care framework, perhaps through a growing network of parallel care providers involving a large number of non-medically qualified practitioners, who patients will continue to access directly
Diets, Foods and Food Components' Effect on Dyslipidemia.
Full text linkHypercholesterolemia is a well-known independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and a recognized target of pharmacological therapeutic agents in both primary and secondary prevention [...]
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