Postbiotic Supplementation for Children and Newborn’s Health

It is now well known how the microbiota can positively or negatively influence humans health, depending on its composition. The microbiota’s countless beneficial effects have allowed it to be defined as a genuine symbiont for our species. In an attempt to positively influence the microbiota, research has focused on probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotics are viable beneficial bacteria of various strains. Prebiotics are specific substances able to favor the development of advantageous bacteria strains. Postbiotics are a new category of compounds capable of affecting the microbiota. According to the different definitions, postbiotics include both nonviable bacteria and substances deriving from bacterial metabolism. Postbiotics are particularly promising in pediatric settings, as they offer some advantages over probiotics, including the absence of the risk of intestinal translocation or worsening of local inflammation. For these reasons, their use in fragile population categories such as newborns, and even more prematures, seems to be the best solution for improving microbiota’s health in this population. This narrative review aims to collect the research conducted so far on postbiotics’ potential in the first stages of life.     

Oral Health Conditions in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

BACKGROUND: Oral health conditions and related factors of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have not been well elucidated. The aim of the present study was to investigate oral health conditions and related factors which may influence oral health conditions among patients with PD.METHODS: We compared oral health conditions and related factors between 104 PD patients and 191 inhibitants (controls) who received dental health check-ups in Hokkiado, Japan. The unconditional logistic regression model was used for adjusting for sex and age. We also conducted stratified analysis by sex and age group using this model. The χ² test and the Cochran-Mantel-Haenzel test were used for simple and stratified analyses of knowledge of oral health among PD patients, respectively.RESULTS: In the present survey, we found the following results. (1) PD patients had more complaints of chewing difficulties and denture discomfort than controls. (2) Fewer PD patients had their own teeth than controls regardless of sex. (3) Fewer PD patients cleaned their dentures every day than controls, regardless of sex or age. (4) More than half of the PD patients had problems with swallowing.CONCLUSION: We found that PD patients had more complaints about their oral health and more problems in oral health behavior than the general population. These findings may provide useful information for the caregivers of PD patients to conduct oral health care as well as for making oral health plans for PD patients and for medical and welfare services.Key words: Oral Health, Parkinson Disease, Dental Care, Deglutition Disorders, Pneumonia, Aspiration

There is no established medical treatment to completely cure intractable diseases (i.e., Nanbyo in Japanese) because their etiologies remain unknown. Thus, patients with intractable diseases may suffer from disabilities even after treatment. As the clinical course is chronic, patients with intractable diseases need long-lasting medical treatment and care, which causes a heavy burden for the patients themselves as well as their family members, not only mentally but also financially.Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), which is one of the most common intractable diseases, suffer from disabilities of walking, eating, biting, swallowing, using the toilet, communicating, or respiration through muscle weakness, or disability of movement, in addition to abnormal eye symptoms and autonomic nervous system disorders.^1,2 Patients with dysphagia, dental diseases and/or poor oral hygiene have been shown to have a high incidence of aspiration pneumonia,^3-8 which may sometimes lead to death,^5,9-11 Therefore, it is important for patients with neurogenic disorders to maintain good oral hygiene.However, their oral health conditions and related factors, such as oral complains, tooth brushing, condition of swallowing, knowledge of oral health, frequency of having a checkup in a dental clinic, and so on, have not been clearly elucidated.To the best of our knowledge, only a few surveys of oral health conditions in PD patients have been reported, and only the small numbers of PD patients were surveyed in these studies.^12-14 Persson et al.¹² compared only 30 PD patients with controls, while Nilsson et al.¹³ compared 75 PD patients with controls. However, they did not investigate the oral health conditions, but only the swallowing situation.Patients with dyskinesia of the hands and/or face often suffer from poor oral hygiene. Patients with PD may be a high-risk group for caries and periodontal disease, and may have more complains of poor oral health and more health problems in the oral cavity than the general population.The aim of the present study was to investigate oral health conditions and related factors that may influence oral health among patients with PD.     

Creatine Supplementation in Women’s Health: A Lifespan Perspective

Despite extensive research on creatine, evidence for use among females is understudied. Creatine characteristics vary between males and females, with females exhibiting 70–80% lower endogenous creatine stores compared to males. Understanding creatine metabolism pre- and post-menopause yields important implications for creatine supplementation for performance and health among females. Due to the hormone-related changes to creatine kinetics and phosphocreatine resynthesis, supplementation may be particularly important during menses, pregnancy, post-partum, during and post-menopause. Creatine supplementation among pre-menopausal females appears to be effective for improving strength and exercise performance. Post-menopausal females may also experience benefits in skeletal muscle size and function when consuming high doses of creatine (0.3 g·kg⁻¹·d⁻¹); and favorable effects on bone when combined with resistance training. Pre-clinical and clinical evidence indicates positive effects from creatine supplementation on mood and cognition, possibly by restoring brain energy levels and homeostasis. Creatine supplementation may be even more effective for females by supporting a pro-energetic environment in the brain. The purpose of this review was to highlight the use of creatine in females across the lifespan with particular emphasis on performance, body composition, mood, and dosing strategies.