Prevalence and determinants of micronutrient deficiencies in malnourished older hospitalized patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies represent significant concerns in geriatric care, leading to adverse health outcomes in older adults. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence and determinants of micronutrient deficiencies in malnourished older hospitalized patients. DESIGN AND SETTING: This prospective, observational study was conducted in a geriatric acute care unit. PARTICIPANTS: The study included 156 malnourished older adults. MEASUREMENTS: Malnutrition was identified using the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form. Micronutrient status was assessed through serum analysis of vitamins (A, B1, B6, B12, C, D, E, H, K, folic acid) and minerals (iron, zinc, copper, selenium) within 24 h post-admission. RESULTS: The average patient age was 82.3 ± 7.5 years, with 69% female. The results revealed a high prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies, with 90% of patients exhibiting deficiencies in three or more micronutrients. Notably, every patient presented at least one micronutrient deficiency. Common deficiencies were found in vitamins C (75%), D (65%), H (61%), and K (45%), as well as folic acid (37%), iron (31%), zinc (36%) and selenium (35%). In binary regression analysis, the amount of previous weight loss was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of multiple (>2) micronutrient deficiencies (P = 0.045). Other variables such age (P = 0.449), gender (P = 0.252), BMI (P = 0.265) and MNA-SF score (P = 0.200) did not show any significant association with the prevalence multiple micronutrient deficiencies. CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in malnourished older hospitalized patients underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions to address micronutrient deficiencies in this population, promoting their health status.

Determination of Chestnut Honey Consumption Characteristics as a Traditional Treatment Method and Its Effect on Protection from COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Chestnut honey plays a positive role in strengthening the immune system as it contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It, moreover, has both antibacterial and antiviral properties. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine how people consume chestnut honey as a form of traditional medicine and how it might protect them from COVID-19. METHODS: This study was carried out on 177 people (who had been snowball sampled) from a province in Turkey where chestnut honey is widely produced. The data was collected using a 20-open/closed-question online questionnaire form that asked the participants to report their sociodemographic details, how they consume chestnut honey, and about COVID-19. RESULTS: 41.8% of the participants reported that they used chestnut honey to protect themselves against COVID-19, 40.7% believed that chestnut honey helped to make them immune against COVID-19, and 37.3% felt that chestnut honey could treat COVID-19. However, there was no significant relationship between the participants consuming chestnut honey and their either being tested for COVID-19 (p > 0.05, χ2 = 1.080) or testing positive for COVID-19 (p > 0.05, χ2 = 0.793). CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that chestnut honey is a widely used remedy in Turkey for treating different health problems and for maintaining health. In contrast, it also demonstrated that consuming chestnut honey has no effect on protecting the participants from COVID-19.

Electrical status epilepticus in sleep: The role of thalamus in etiopathogenesis.

PURPOSE: In patients diagnosed with epilepsy, decreased ratio of N-acetyl aspartate to creatine (NAA/Cr) measured in magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has been accepted as a sign of neuronal cell loss or dysfunction. In this study, we aimed to determine whether a similar neuronal cell loss is present in a group of encephalopathy with electrical status epilepticus in sleep (ESES) patients METHODS: We performed this case-control study at a tertiary pediatric neurology center with patients with ESES. Inclusion criteria for the patient group were as follows: 1) a spike-wave index of at least 50%, 2) acquired neuropsychological regression, 3) normal cranial MRI. Eventually, a total of 21 patients with ESES and 17 control subjects were enrolled in the study. MRI of all control subjects was also within normal limits. 3D Slicer program was used for the analysis of thalamic and brain volumes. LCModel spectral fitting software was used to analyze single-voxel MRS data from the right and left thalamus of the subjects. RESULTS: The mean age was 8.0 ± 1.88 years and 8.3 ± 1.70 years in ESES patients and the control subjects. After correcting for the main potential confounders (age and gender) with a linear regression model, NAA/Creatine ratio of the right thalamus was significantly lower in the ESES patient group compared to the healthy control group (p = 0.026). Likewise, the left thalamus NAA/Cr ratio was significantly lower in the ESES patient group than the healthy control group (p = 0.007). After correcting for age and gender, right thalamic volume was not statistically significantly smaller in ESES patients than in healthy controls (p = 0.337), but left thalamic volume was smaller in ESES patients than in healthy controls (p = 0.024). CONCLUSION: In ESES patients, the NAA/Creatine ratio, which is an indicator of neuronal cell loss or dysfunction in the right and left thalamus, which appears regular on MRI, was found to be significantly lower than the healthy control group. This metabolic-induced thalamic dysfunction, which was reported for the first time up to date, may play a role in ESES epileptogenesis.