A Whey-Based Diet Can Ameliorate the Effects of LPS-Induced Growth Attenuation in Young Rats.

Chronic inflammation in childhood is associated with impaired growth. In the current study, a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) model of inflammation in young rats was used to study the efficacy of whey-based as compared to soy-based diets to ameliorate growth attenuation. Young rats were injected with LPS and fed normal chow or diets containing whey or soy as the sole protein source during treatment, or during the recovery period in a separate set of experiments. The body and spleen weight, food consumption, humerus length, and EGP height and structure were evaluated. Inflammatory markers in the spleen and markers of differentiation in the EGP were assessed using qPCR. The LPS led to a significant increase in the spleen weight and a decrease in the EGP height. Whey, but not soy, protected the animals from both effects. In the recovery model, whey led to increased EGP height at both 3 and 16 d post treatment. The most affected region in the EGP was the hypertrophic zone (HZ), which was significantly shortened by the LPS treatment but enlarged by whey. In conclusion, LPS affected the spleen weight and EGP height and had a specific effect on the HZ. Nutrition with whey protein appeared to protect the rats from the LPS-induced growth attenuation.

Effect of Botulinum Toxin on Equinus Foot Deformity in Cerebral Palsy Patients: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a brain disorder that affects the development, movement and posture leading to limitation of Range of Movement (ROM) in the growing children. CP leads to deformities such as equinus foot deformity. We aim to investigate the efficacy of different botulinum toxin (BTX) products with or without serial casting in reducing the muscle spasticity in equinus foot deformity in patients with CP. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was performed by searching different electronic databases. Pub- Med, Scopus, Web of Science (WOS), and GHL databases were used. We analyzed the extracted data by network meta-analysis method using the R software package (version 3.5.0). RESULTS: Regarding Modified Ashworth score (MAS), BTX-A was superior compared to placebo and BTX-A plus immediate casting (MD = -0.39, 95% CI [-0.60; -0.18]) and (MD = -0.50, 95% CI [-0.98; -0.02]), respectively. Concerning growth motor function movement Classification System (GMFM), Neuronox ranked above at 3 months (MD = -1.60, 95% CI [-2.87; -0.33]) and at six months (MD = -1.90, 95% CI [-3.48; -0.32]) compared to BTX-A. Regarding the Modified Tardieu scale (MTS) with knee flexion, BTX-A was superior to BTX-A plus immediate casting (MD = 8.60, 95% CI [1.76; 15.44]). Concerning passive range of movement (PROM) with Knee flexion or extension at 3 months, BTX-A showed a significant improvement compared to BTX-A plus immediate casting. CONCLUSION: BTX-A ranked best on a physician rating scale (PRS), MAS, MTS with knee flexion and PROM (Knee flexion and extension) compared to Neuronox and Botulax. BTX-A alone was also better than BTX-A plus immediate casting.