The latest edition of Galen's Watch just went out. Here is a sample of the studies in the Pediatrics section on alternative therapies for children. There are a few interesting studies.
Nutritional and Metabolic Status of Children with Autism
Yoga for Children with IBS or Functional Abdominal Pain
Introduction of Allergenic Foods in Infants Does Not Affect Wheezing or Eczema
Acupuncture Reduces Visceral Adipose Tissue in Obese Children
And from Previous Issues:
Probiotic Supplement VSL#3 Improves IBS Symptoms in Children (GW#9, 2010)
Lactobacillus rhamnosus for Children with IBS (GW#2, 2011)
The study abstracts:
Nutritional and Metabolic Status of Children with Autism
Fifty-five children (5-16 years) with Autism Spectrum Disorder were compared to control children for nutritional and metabolic biomarker differences. None of the subjects had taken vitamin/mineral supplements for 2 months prior to samples being taken. For most vitamins, children with autism had levels that lay within the neurotypical childrens’ reference range. More than 25% of the Austism group was lower in total carotenes and higher in vitamin C, free choline, total choline and Formiminoglutamic acid (FIGLU). There was also a lower level in whole blood lithium and a higher red blood cell iron (above the 90th percentile for 42%) in the autism group. SAM and reduced plasma glutathione were significantly lower in the autism group and uridine was significantly higher. Oxidized glutathione (the ratio of oxidized to reduced glutathione) and plasma nitrotyrosine were significantly higher in the autism group. Several of the biomarker groups were significantly associated with variations in the severity of autism.
Free open access article
Nutr Metab (Lond). 2011 Jun 8;8(1):34.
Nutritional and metabolic status of children with autism vs. neurotypical children, and the association with autism severity.
Yoga for Children with IBS or Functional Abdominal Pain
Twenty children with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or functional abdominal pain (FAP) were enrolled to receive 10 yoga classes. Each yoga class was 1.5 hours in length with a children's yoga teacher. The children began with an education about their condition and a high-fibre diet but with insufficient effect. The baseline period was one month which functioned as a control phase, followed by a 12 week treatment period and a 3 month follow-up. Pain frequency was significantly decreased by end of therapy compared to baseline in the 8-11 and 11-18 year olds. Pain intensity was significantly decreased in the 8-11 group at 12 weeks. After 3 months, there was still a significant reduction in pain frequency in the 8-11 group and a borderline significant decrease in pain frequency for the total group. Parents reported better quality of life after yoga treatment.
Complement Ther Med. 2011 Jun;19(3):109-14. Epub 2011 May 26.
A pilot study of yoga treatment in children with functional abdominal pain and irritable bowel syndrome.
From Previous Issues studies on alternative therapies for children
Probiotic Supplement VSL#3 Improves IBS Symptoms in Children (GW#9, 2010)
Fifty-nine children aged 4-18 years were randomly assigned to receive either VSL#3* or placebo for 6 weeks. After a 2-week wash-out period, the patients were switched to the opposite group for an additional 6 weeks. Both placebo and VSL#3 groups had improvement in some of the parameters. VSL#3 was significantly superior to placebo in the primary endpoint of subjective symptom relief. VSL#3 also improved abdominal pain/discomfort, abdominal bloating and family assessment of life disruption. No adverse effects were recorded.
* VSL#3® is the medical food probiotic with the highest available concentration of beneficial live bacteria. Each packet of VSL#3® contains 450 billion live lactic acid bacteria, which collectively act as a Living Shield™ in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2010 Jul;51(1):24-30.
VSL#3 improves symptoms in children with irritable bowel syndrome: a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover study.
Lactobacillus rhamnosus for Children with IBS (GW#2, 2011)
One hundred and forty-one children with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or functional abdominal pain were randomized to Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) or placebo for 8 weeks with 8 weeks of follow-up. There was a significant reduction in frequency and severity of abdominal pain in the LGG group compared to placebo. Treatment success was achieved in 48 children in the LGG group and 37 children in the placebo group, and this success was maintained at end of follow-up. Intestinal permeability tests were done and at study entry, 59% of children had abnormal results. There was a significant decrease in the number of patients with abnormal results in the LGG group , and these results were mainly seen in children with IBS.
Pediatrics. 2010 Dec;126(6):e1445-52. Epub 2010 Nov 15.
A randomized controlled trial of Lactobacillus GG in children with functional abdominal pain.
Introduction of Allergenic Foods in Infants Does Not Affect Wheezing or Eczema
A total of 6905 preschool children were included in this study. Using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood core questionnaire, information was gathered on the outcome of eczema and wheezing and the age of food introduction at 6 and 12 months. At the age of 2, wheezing was reported in 31% of children and in 14% of children at 3 and 4 years. Eczema at 2, 3 and 4 years was 38%, 20% and 18%. The introduction of cow's milk, hens’ eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy and gluten before the age of 6 months was not associated with eczema or wheezing at any age after including potential co-founders: birth weight, gender, daycare attendance, older siblings, and family history of atopy. The results did not change with the addition of child's cow milk allergy or parental history of atopy. A study weakness could be the potential for recall bias for food introduction timing.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2011 Jun 6. [Epub ahead of print]
The introduction of allergenic foods and the development of reported wheezing and eczema in childhood: the generation R study.
Acupuncture Reduces Visceral Adipose Tissue in Obese Children
Ten healthy obese children with a BMI of 29.03 ± 4.81 were assigned to 1 month of acupuncture sessions. The acupuncture sessions lasted 15 minutes twice a week. The children were diagnosed with either excessive 'heat' in the stomach and intestine (7 cases) or 'dampness' due to spleen and primary qi deficiency (3 cases). The excessive heat pattern was treated at acupoints: Tianshu (ST25), Liangqiu (ST34), Zusanli (ST36), Gongsun (SP4), Quchi (LI11), Hegun (LI4), Zhigou (SJ6), Shangjuxu (ST37), and Neiting (ST44). The dampness pattern was treated at acupoints: Tianshu (ST25), Liangqiu (ST34), Zusanli (ST36), Gongsun (SP4), Zhongwan (RN12), Yinlingquan (SP9), Fenglong (ST40), Qihai (RN6), and Shuifen (RN9). There was a decrease in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) but not subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). After 1 month of treatment, subjects’ BMI was reduced by 3.5%, VAT volume by 16.04%, abdominal total adipose tissue by 10.45%, and abdominal visceral to subcutaneous fat ratio by 10.59%. The reduction in VAT may be explained by VAT's increased sensitivity to lipolytic stimulation thanSAT. There were no significant changes in body weight but there was a reduction is VAT content.
J Altern Complement Med. 2011 May;17(5):413-20.
Effects of acupuncture therapy on abdominal fat and hepatic fat content in obese children: a magnetic resonance imaging and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.
Sabra
Fibromyalgia: Symptom Improvement with Diet and a Medical Food Supplement
This small pilot study looked at using an elimination diet in conjunction with a Phytonutrient-rich Medical Food in women with fibromyalgia and what effect it had on their symptoms. Medical food in this case is a rice protein based powder with added nutrients made my Metagenics called UltraClear. There are similar products made by other companies such as Thorne Research's MediClear and Douglas Labs Ultra Protein Plus Pea Protein.
There was an small improvement for the women in this study. The study itself was very small (8) and the only treatment was diet and the additional medical food. There was the addition of botanicals to program B as part of the UltraClear RENEW medical food. Additional interventions would be too difficult to measure within a study but what would be the outcome if they were utilized as well? Additional studies for fibromyalgia are listed at the bottom of the post.
Altern Ther Health Med. 2011 Mar-Apr;17(2):36-44.
A program consisting of a phytonutrient-rich medical food and an elimination diet ameliorated fibromyalgia symptoms and promoted toxic-element detoxification in a pilot trial.www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21717823
- The study was funded by a subsidiary of Metagenics and used two of their products UltraClear MACRO and UltraClear RENEW.
DETAILS
DESIGN
Program A 4 weeks of the standard Americam Diet exclusing seafood following food pyramid guidlines plus a Rice protein supplement twice a day- UltraClear MACRO with Calcium (60 mg), iron (2 mg), phosphorus (350 mg), magnesium (200 mg), manganese (1 mg), sodium (30 mg), potassium (730 mg)
Program B (immediately following program A with no washout period): 4 weeks of a hypoallergenic/elimination diet eliminating refined and added simple sugars, artificial colorings, flavorings, and sweeteners; caffeinated beverages; gluten-containing grains; eggs and dairy products; and allergenic foods or foods high in arachidonic acid and seafood.
plus UltraClear RENEW twice daily with Beta-carotene (4000 IU), vitamin A (1000 IU), vitamin C (300 mg), calcium (150 mg), vitamin D (35 IU), vitamin E (42 IU), thiamin (2 mg), riboflavin (2 mg), niacin (7 mg), vitamin B6 (3.4 mg), folate (80 μg), vitamin B12 http://www.metadocs.com/products/detail.asp?pid=219
(3.6 μg), biotin (135 mg), pantothenic acid (36 mg), sodium (220 mg), potassium (520 mg), iron (1 mg), phosphorus (230 mg), iodine (53 μg), magnesium (160 mg), zinc (10 mg), copper (1 mg), manganese (1 mg), chromium (50 μg), sulfate (20 mg), Spent hops (1 g), pomegranate rind extract (50 mg), prune skin extract (125 mg), watercress whole plant extract (67 mg), and decaffeinated green tea extract (15 mg) * http://www.metadocs.com/products/detail.asp?pid=653
*The botanical mixture was chosen because those herbs are thought to upregulate the expression of mRNAs for glutathione S-transferase, NADPH quinone reductase, and heme oxygenase-1, and spent hops upregulates expression of mRNA for metallothionein in vitro
RESULTS
ADDITIONAL STUDIES
J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Apr;15(4):399-405.
A new nonpharmacological method in fibromyalgia: the use of wool.
2002 Jun;22(2):56-9. Epub 2002 Mar 29.
The effects of balneotherapy on fibromyalgia patients.
J Altern Complement Med. 2010 Apr;16(4):397-409.
Traditional Chinese medicine for treatment of fibromyalgia: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Mar;15(3):247-57.
Intravenous micronutrient therapy (Myers' Cocktail) for fibromyalgia: a placebo-controlled pilot study.
Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2010 Oct;91(10):1551-7.
The effects of 12 weeks of resistance exercise training on disease severity and autonomic modulation at rest and after acute leg resistance exercise in women with fibromyalgia.
Pain. 2010 Nov;151(2):530-9.
A pilot randomized controlled trial of the Yoga of Awareness program in the management of fibromyalgia.
J Altern Complement Med. 2010 Nov;16(11):1191-200.
Efficacy of Biodanza for treating women with fibromyalgia.
N Engl J Med. 2010 Aug 19;363(8):743-54.
A randomized trial of Tai chi for fibromyalgia.
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