Effects of tuna fish oil on hyperlipidemia and proteinuria in childhood nephrotic syndrome.

This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study to determine whether tuna fish oil decreased hyperlipidemia and proteinuria in children with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome. Five boys were supplemented with both 4 grams of tuna fish oil and placebo in a randomized order for 8 weeks of each treatment separated by 6-week washout period. The results showed no statistically significant difference in serum creatinine, triglyceride, cholesterol, urine protein and creatinine clearance between fish oil supplemented group and placebo group. Small sample size, low dosage, short duration of supplementation and wash-out period are among the important limitations in this study. Further study should be performed to identify the effects of fish oil on this entity in nephrotic syndrome.

Reduction of rotavirus infection in children receiving bifidobacteria-supplemented formula.

This study was conducted at Pakkred Babies Home, Bangkok, Thailand; with the hypothesis that children receiving probiotic-supplemented milk-based formula may be protected from developing diarrheal diseases. Salivary rotavirus-specific IgA antibody was used as an indicator of rotavirus infection. One hundred and seventy-five children, aged 6-36 months, were enrolled in the study. They were divided into 3 groups according to the type of formula given. There were 81 episodes of diarrhea during an 8-month study period, most of which were caused by bacterial enteropathogens. Ninety-seven pairs of salivary samples were adequate for the analysis of rotavirus antibody. Among 23 children receiving milk-based follow-up formula and serving as control group, 30.4 per cent of them had > or = 4-fold increase in the antibody titre, indicating subclinical rotavirus infection. The majority of children in the other 2 study groups, receiving the same formula supplemented with either Bifidobacterium Bb12 alone or together with Streptococcus thermophilus, had no significant change in the antibody titres between the two time points. The results of this study support our hypothesis that children receiving bifidobacteria-supplemented milk-based formula may be protected against symptomatic rotavirus infection.