A Natural Approach to Bell's Palsy: An Osteopathic Treatment Option.

Bell's palsy (BP) is a rapid-onset neurological disorder causing unilateral facial paralysis, affecting approximately 40,000 people annually in the United States. Suggested treatments for BP include corticosteroids, facial therapy, and osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) in order to improve symptoms; however, some people with BP have spontaneous resolution. A 52-year-old female with left-sided facial paralysis and drooping for the past four months due to BP presented to the osteopathic treatment center. For the first three weeks after developing BP, the patient had soreness when attempting to move her facial features, but on later treatments, she only experienced weakness on the left side of her face. The patient's facial sensation was intact bilaterally, but she was unable to move her left eyebrow, eyelid, cheek, and lip. OMT focused on the intraoral musculature, the cervical spine, and cranial treatment utilizing osteopathic techniques such as osteopathic cranial manipulative medicine (OCMM), direct myofascial release, soft tissue, balanced ligamentous tension, and muscle energy. Utilizing the Facial Disability Index (FDI) questionnaire and the Sunnybrook facial grading system (SFGS), an improvement in facial paralysis was seen due to both OMT and physical therapy (PT) treatments. It is difficult to discern which treatments helped the patient the most (OMT, PT, or at-home exercises); however, the patient's improvement was notable. This case study demonstrates that OMT, PT, and at-home exercises may positively contribute toward the improvement of BP symptoms by addressing cranial and muscular somatic dysfunctions of the head and neck. The treatment, which included techniques such as muscle energy and intraoral myofascial release, resulted in significant improvements in facial function and grading scores. One limitation of the study is that, however unlikely, chronic BP may resolve spontaneously, which may have contributed to the patient's progress. While OMT, PT, and at-home exercises contributed to the patient's recovery, further research is needed to substantiate the effectiveness of OMT, PT, and at-home exercises in treating BP.

The Effect of Doulas on Maternal and Birth Outcomes: A Scoping Review.

A source of support during birth could be the solution to negative outcomes for the mother and her baby. To improve the birthing experience and increase positive birthing outcomes, sources of support during pregnancy should be evaluated and understood. The goal of this review was to synthesize the existing literature on how doulas might improve birth outcomes. This scoping review also aimed to shed light on the positive impact emotional support during childbirth can have on the health and well-being of mother and child. PubMed and EBSCOhost were used to identify articles using the search words with Boolean operators "doulas" AND "labor support" AND "birth outcomes" AND "pregnancy" AND "effects during labor." The eligibility criteria for article selection included primary studies investigating how doulas contributed to birth outcomes. The studies in this review indicated that doula guidance in perinatal care was associated with positive delivery outcomes including reduced cesarean sections, premature deliveries, and length of labor. Moreover, the emotional support provided by doulas was seen to reduce anxiety and stress. Doula support, specifically in low-income women, was shown to improve breastfeeding success, with quicker lactogenesis and continued breastfeeding weeks after childbirth. Doulas can be a great resource for birthing mothers, and consideration should be given to using them more, as they may have a positive impact on the well-being of the mother and child. This study raised questions about the accessibility of doulas and how they may help mitigate health disparities among women from different socioeconomic levels.

Biofortified orange corn increases xanthophyll density and yolk pigmentation in egg yolks from laying hens.

Plant breeding has developed corn genotypes with grain higher in levels of carotenoids. Dietary consumption of specific carotenoids by humans has been associated with improved eye health, notably with some protection against age-related macular degeneration. Increasing dietary sources of macular carotenoids in the standard American diet might be accomplished by using high carotenoid Orange Corn in poultry diets to increase macular carotenoid concentrations in egg yolks. Three hundred sixty laying hens (Novogen White) were fed three different diets over 31 days. Each diet had six replicates of 20 hens housed in enrichable colony cages. The only difference was the type of corn included - white, yellow, and orange, in order to assess the impact of each type of corn on egg production, yolk pigmentation, and carotenoid deposition. This study assessed yolk color and carotenoid densities using a portable colorimeter and the DSM YolkFan, and by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on eggs from the feeding study and on 43 cartons of 12 eggs commercially available and produced in various production settings: conventional cage, cage-free, cage-free organic, free-range/pasture, and free-range/pasture organic. Yolks from hens fed with the Orange Corn diet produced eggs with higher (P < 0.01) DSM yolk color (6 to 10) and total xanthophylls (23.5 to 35.3 µg/g of egg yolk) compared to the yellow diet (5 to 6 DSM and 12.3 to 17.7 µg/g xanthophylls) and white diet (1 to 2 DSM and 2.5 to 3.0 µg/g xanthophylls). Egg yolks reached a maximum xanthophyll accumulation with the Orange Corn diet (35.3 µg/g of egg yolk) after twelve days of treatment and maintained steady levels at subsequent time points. In general, xanthophyll levels in yolks from the Orange Corn diet were superior (30-61% higher) to any of the commercial egg brands, suggesting that feeding high carotenoid Orange Corn increases xanthophyll density in eggs.

The Golden Hour: care of the LBW infant during the first hour of life one unit's experience.

Care practices during the first hour of life, the Golden Hour, can have a significant impact on outcomes of low birth weight infants. Although the latest edition of the Neonatal Resuscitation Program added guidelines for preterm infants, additional care is often indicated. Complications that could potentially be impacted by care in the first hour of life include thermoregulation, intraventricular hemorrhage, chronic lung disease, and retinopathy of prematurity. Our unit has implemented and revised a Golden Hour evidence-based care process that includes the use of realistic videotaped simulations, followed by team debriefing sessions. Early results of the revised process show reductions in the targeted complications.