20 January 2014
A new study from China has found that the blood vitamin D concentration may help to predict the risk of short-term disability and death in people who have suffered an acute ischemic stroke.
The case control study measured blood vitamin D concentrations and documented cases of disability and death in 220 patients who had suffered an acute ischemic stroke (AIS) (1). The study results showed that patients with lower vitamin D values had a significantly increased risk of death and disability for 90 days after the stroke event. The AIS patients had significantly lower vitamin D levels; 14.2 ng/ml compared to 17.0 ng/ml, which was measured in comparable participants who had not suffered a stroke.
The researchers concluded that blood vitamin D levels seem to be an independent prognostic marker for death and short-term functional handicaps (e.g., inability to move the limbs, talk or see) after AIS. Previous research has linked an insufficient supply of vitamin D with an elevated risk of a variety of cardiovascular events, such as a stroke, and mortality (2). Acute ischemic stroke – a situation in which the blood supply to the brain is cut off because of blockage in the arteries or blood vessels – is the most common type of stroke. In the United States, around 800,000 people suffer from strokes every year and 80% to 90% of those are ischemic.
28 February 2014
A new US study reports that men who regularly consume foods high in lycopene may be half as likely to develop lethal prostate cancer compared to those with low intakes.
27 December 2013
A review of data from national dietary surveys shows that in many countries more than 50% of the population have higher intakes of saturated fatty acids and lower intakes of polyunsaturated fatty acids than recommended for preventing coronary heart disease.
20 December 2013
A new study from China reports that higher intakes of calcium may reduce the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in older people with a low habitual calcium intake.
