Jl Fryer

Effects of calcium supplementation on bone density in healthy children: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Abstract Objectives To assess the effectiveness of calcium supplementation for improving bone mineral density in healthy children and to determine if any effect is modified by other factors and persists after supplementation stops. Design Meta-analysis. Data sources Electronic bibliographic databases, hand searching of conference proceedings, and contacting authors for unpublished data. Review methods We included randomised placebo controlled trials of calcium supplementation in healthy children that lasted at least three months and had bone outcomes measured after at least six months of follow-up. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed quality. Meta-analyses predominantly used fixed effects models with outcomes given as standardised mean differences. Results We included 19 studies involving 2859 children. Calcium supplementation had no effect on bone mineral density at the femoral neck or lumbar spine. There was a small effect on total body bone mineral content (standardised mean difference 0.14, 95% confidence interval 0.01 to 0.27) and upper limb bone mineral density (0.14, 0.04 to 0.24). This effect persisted after the end of supplementation only at the upper limb (0.14, 0.01 to 0.28). There was no evidence that sex, baseline calcium intake, pubertal stage, ethnicity, or level of physical activity modified the effect. Conclusions The small effect of calcium supplementation on bone mineral density in the upper limb is unlikely to reduce the risk of fracture, either in childhood or later life, to a degree of major public health importance.

Calcium Supplements in Healthy Children Do Not Affect Weight Gain, Height, or Body Composition

Objective: Calcium intake is a potential factor influencing weight gain and may reduce body weight, but the evidence for this in children is conflicting. The aim of this study was to use data from randomized controlled trials to determine whether calcium supplementation in healthy children affects weight or body composition.

Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry body composition and aging in a population-based older cohort

Objective:The aims of this cross-sectional study were (1) to examine the effect of age on body composition in older adults using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and (2) to evaluate the agreement of DXA with standard indirect anthropometric measures (body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR)).Research methods and procedures:A population-based sample of 731 adults aged between 50 and 79 years underwent measurement of BMI, waist circumference, WHR, DXA total body fat mass, DXA % total body fat, DXA % trunk fat and DXA lean body mass. Linear regression was used to test for trend in measures of body composition between age categories in men and women. Partial correlations and Bland–Altman analysis were used to examine the agreement of DXA measures with indirect measures.Results:DXA lean body mass decreased significantly with increasing age in both sexes (P<0.05). In males, BMI (P=0.01) and body weight (P<0.01) decreased with age, and in females, WHR (P=0.05), DXA % total fat (P=0.02) and DXA % trunk fat (P=0.05) increased with age. There was good agreement between DXA measures of fatness and indirect anthropometric measures, except for WHR, which showed greater variability in its comparisons with DXA.Conclusion:Using the highly sensitive and direct DXA method of measuring body composition, a decline in lean body mass and an increase in adiposity was observed with aging. Except for WHR, indirect anthropometric measures generally showed high levels of agreement with DXA fat measures in this older cohort.

Effect of MELANOTAN®, [Nle4, D-Phe7]-α-MSH, on melanin synthesis in humans with MC1R variant alleles

MELANOTAN (NDP-MSH) binds the MC1 receptor to significantly increase the eumelanin content of human skin cells. In this study of 77 Caucasian individuals, we investigated the effects of MELANOTAN in individuals with variant MC1R genotypes, as it has been suggested through in vitro studies that variant alleles decrease MELANOTAN binding efficacy, which would subsequently affect the synthesis of melanin. Administration of MELANOTAN produced a significant (p<0.001) increase in melanin density in treated, compared to placebo, individuals. Importantly, MELANOTAN increased the melanin density to a greater extent in individuals carrying the variant alleles Val60Leu, Asp84Glu, Val92Met, Arg142His, Arg151Cys, and Arg160Trp than in individuals with no variant alleles. This study demonstrates that MELANOTAN effectively increases the melanin content of skin in those individuals with MC1R variant alleles and therefore, those most in need of photoprotection.

The Tasmanian epilepsy register - a community-based cohort

Background/Aims: Centralized prescription databases may provide an efficient mechanism for recruitment of community-treated disease. Methods: The Australian federal government agency, the Health Insurance Commission (HIC), invited patients to participate in the Tasmanian Epilepsy Register (TER). Eligible patients included those who received at least one anticonvulsant above a ‘reportable’ price threshold between July 1, 2001 and June 30, 2002. Patients were asked to disclose their medical indication for anticonvulsant treatment with additional demographic and prescription information obtained from the HIC. Results: 7,541 were eligible for recruitment. After two mail invitations over 6 months, 3,375 (46.6%) had responded, but TER enrollment amongst those indicating treatment for epilepsy was 1,180 (78.3%). TER participants were more likely to obtain their prescriptions exclusively from their general practitioner (70.9%) or from combined sources (19.1%) rather than from pediatrician (4.2%), neurologist (1.4%) or general physician (1.0%) sources. Patients were more likely to respond with increasing age (linear trend p < 0.001), when from a higher socioeconomic area (linear trend p < 0.001), or if their prescription was obtained from a neurologist (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The national Australian prescription database represents community-treated epilepsy and provides an effective and efficient method for patient recruitment for clinical epidemiological research.

The prevalence and demographic distribution of treated epilepsy: a community-based study in Tasmania, Australia.

D’Souza WJ, Quinn SJ, Fryer JL, Taylor BV, Ficker DM, O’Brien TJ, Pearce N, Cook MJ. The prevalence and demographic distribution of treated epilepsy: a community‐based study in Tasmania, Australia. 
Acta Neurol Scand: 2012: 125: 96–104. 
© 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

The lack of effect of isoflavones on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations in adolescent boys: a 6-week randomised trial.

BACKGROUND A substantial fall in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) during puberty in boys, but not girls, has been reported in Western populations. The fall in boys is believed to be due to hormonal changes--androgens have been shown to be associated with lower HDL-C, whereas oestrogens are associated with higher HDL-C. The fall in HDL-C during puberty was not observed, however, in a study of Moslem boys in Israel, nor in a group of Japanese boys. A diet high in phyto-oestrogens may account for the lack of a fall in HDL-C in these populations. OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of dietary supplementation with phyto-oestrogens on the HDL-C concentration of adolescent boys from a Western population. We hypothesised that dietary supplementation of 50 mg of the isoflavones daidzein and genistein would produce a 12% higher HDL-C concentration than in controls at the end of a 6-week intervention period. DESIGN A randomised controlled trial. SETTING Hellyer College in Burnie (Tasmania, Australia). SUBJECTS Adolescent boys (aged 16-18 years) were recruited through a letter sent to parents. A total of 132 eligible participants enrolled and five subjects withdrew from the trial. RESULTS No significant increase in HDL-C was observed in the treatment group (-0.02 mmol l(-1), standard error (SE)=0.03, P = 0.53) or the placebo group (0.05 mmol l(-1), SE = 0.03, P = 0.11). CONCLUSIONS Factors other than isolated dietary isoflavones may be responsible for the lack of fall in HDL-C during puberty in Japanese and Moslem boys.