Is Vitamin D Important in Anxiety or Depression? What Is the Truth?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Depression and anxiety are mood disorders that affect health and therefore quality of life and increase the global burden of disease. One of the possible mechanisms in the pathophysiology of these mood disorders has been reported as oxidative stress and inflammation. In the light of this information, it is important to determine the relationship between antioxidant nutrients (such as vitamin D) and these diseases. There are points where the brain regions involved in the pathophysiology of depression and anxiety and vitamin D metabolism intersect. RECENT FINDINGS: Low vitamin D levels are associated with increased symptoms of depression and anxiety. For this reason, vitamin D screening should be performed in the prevention and treatment planning of these mood disorders. Vitamin D, which has antioxidant properties and activity in brain tissue, is important for mood disorders preventions or treatments but serum levels must be followed.

Effect of inositol and its derivatives on diabetes: a systematic review.

A growing body of research has investigated the association between inositol and diabetes. The purpose of this review is to report through a systematic way the current scientific evidence relating potential benefits of inositol isomers on diabetes/gestational diabetes. The screening of the studies published last decade was performed in 4 databases (Pubmed-Web of Science-The Cochrane Library-Lilacs). Among the 1640 studies identified in the search, only 26 studies had sufficient data to be included in the systematic review. The available literature suggests that inositol seems to be provide improvements in fasting blood glucose and other biochemical results, which are among the most important parameters in diabetic individuals. Although there are some studies demonstrating that inositol may be effective in prevention and treatment of diabetes/gestational diabetes, conduction of studies with larger sample and longer follow-up duration is required for it to be represented as an effective strategy in management of diabetes.

The relationship of serum endocan levels and anti-TNF-alpha therapy in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

OBJECTIVE: Endocan is a marker for vascular pathogenesis and important mediator of angiogenesis that strongly associates with inflammation and vascular diseases. Growing evidence suggest that inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) plays a role in its regulation and secretion, whereas TNF-alpha inhibitors may have the opposite influence. The aim of this research is to investigate the association between serum endocan and anti-TNF-alpha drug treatment in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). METHODS: Serum endocan levels were analyzed in 42 patients with AS under anti-TNF-alpha usage. Control group consisted of 37 patients with AS who are not receiving anti-TNF drugs. Endocan is analyzed using ESM-1 ELISA kits. The blood glucose and lipid measurements of patients were also assessed. RESULTS: There was no significant change in serum endocan levels among groups. The total cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL-C levels were higher in patients receiving anti-TNF-alpha; however, differences were not significant. There was no significant correlation between serum endocan levels and blood lipid measurements. CONCLUSION: Anti-TNF-alpha treatment does not affect serum endocan levels in patients with AS. This research has been first to evaluate the relationship between serum endocan and anti-TNF-alpha therapy in AS. Future studies are necessary to verify the exact role of anti-TNF-alpha therapy on serum endocan levels in patients with AS.

Metabolic syndrome (MS) in elderly: a cross sectional survey.

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in Turkish elderly. All data were collected in a cross-sectional based survey on 266 elderly aged above 65 years living in capital city of Turkey, Ankara. MS was defined according to National Cholesterol Education Program: Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) criteria. In the total sample of participants, the 61.7% (n=164) of the group has been diagnosed as MS. High blood pressure (BP) and waist circumference (WC) and low high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were the criteria of MS with highest prevalence in both gender. In addition female participants have higher systolic blood pressure (93.4%) and WC (79.1%) and lower HDL-C (69.2%) than the men (74.4%, 31.1% and 52.2% respectively). Weight correlated significantly with triglyceride (TG) and MS (p<0.001). WC was the anthropometric variable which had the highest correlation with the MS (r=0.338, p<0.001). Our study indicates that MS is highly prevalent in the elderly people particularly among women. Our findings may be helpful in formulating public health policies and prevention strategies focus on elderly population.