The effects of vitamin C, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folic acid, riboflavin, and thiamin on the breast milk and maternal status of well-nourished women at 6 months postpartum.

The effects of vitamin supplements and/or diet on the vitamin levels in milk of women were determined at 6 months postpartum. Six subjects consumed a daily supplement (Natalins, Mead-Johnson) in addition to a well-balanced diet--supplemented group, and six subjects consumed only a well-balanced diet--nonsupplemented group. The subjects expressed milk for 3 days at 4-hr intervals, 0, 4, 8, and 12 hr after awakening or taking their vitamin supplement. A 4-day diet record, fasting blood sample, and 24-hr urine samples were collected on each subject at 6 months postpartum. Nutrient intake from diet alone did not differ significantly between the two groups except for riboflavin intake which was significantly higher in the supplemented group. The nutritional status of all women indicated excellent dietary intakes, which vitamin supplementation did not alter significantly. Milk concentration of vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folate, thiamin, riboflavin, and vitamin C, did not differ significntly between groups. Thiamin, vitamin B12, and vitamin B6 concentration in the milk did appear to plateau during the day. Vitamin supplementatin at 6 months postpartum did not affect the breast milk concentration or the nutritional status of well-nourished women.

Effect of sodium fluoride, inorganic phosphate, and oxymetholone therapies in osteoporosis: a six-year progress report.

Elderly osteoporotic males treated with sodium fluoride or inorganic phosphate for 4 years plus 2 years of follow-up observations exhibited a mean but not significant decrease in the rate of bone mass loss in comparison with those receiving oxymetholone or a placebo. No hip fractures occurred in the patients who received fluoride, while 11 hip fractures occurred in the patients in the phosphate, oxymetholone, and control groups. Because the densitometric trends and fracture incidence are impressive, the progress of all subjects will be followed for an additional 4 years.

Effect of postoperative hypoparathyroidism on bone density.

The mean radiographic vertebral density of permanently hypoparathyroid patients was elevated above the normal-for-age, while the vertebral density of transiently hypoparathyroid patients was normal. Of the patients who received desiccated thyroid, both the transient and permanent hypoparathyroid patients had significantly higher-than-normal vertebral densities (P less than 0.01 and P less than 0.02, respectively). The duration of thyroid treatment corresponded with the degree of hypermineralized vertebral density in the patients with permanent hypoparathyroidism and permanent hypothyroidism (r = .728, P less than 0.01). However, in the transient hypoparathyroid patients, no significant relationship was found between the duration of thyroid treatment and vertebral density. Visual assessment of spinal radiographs for incidence of vertebral compressions revealed no significant differences between hypoparathyroid patients and the controls. In the patients with transient and permanent hypoparathyroidism who received calcium and vitamin D, the initially depressed blood calcium levels were within normal limits at the follow-up observation, but the untreated permanent hypoparathyroid patients were still depressed.