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Biomedical subjects

B Vellas

Publications and source records attributed to B Vellas.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

[Alzheimer's disease and nutrition].

Weight loss is a nutritional problem commonly associated with Alzheimer disease. Two types of weight loss have been described. A severe weight loss correlated with a decrease in daily caloric intake and with increased difficulties in performing the activities of daily living. A slowly progressive but clinically significant loss, not associated with either a decrease in caloric intake or an inflammatory syndrome. It is difficult to explain this type of weight loss as subjects have adequate caloric intakes. Several hypothesis are however considered as increased energy requirements (which can result from increased energy expenditure, from increased metabolic disorder, or from increased growth hormone secretion), or mesial temporal cortex atrophy. But, at the present time, no study can give a proper explanation. Vitamin deficiencies, specially vitamin B6, B12 and folates, high homocysteine level, antioxidants deficiencies (especially, vitamin E deficiency), iron, counter, and phenol derived could also influence the memory capacities and have an effect upon cognitive impairment, as reported in epidemiological studies. The prevention of nutritional deficiencies in patients with Alzheimer's disease, could be one of the strategies to improve the caregiver and the patients quality of life.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Caloric restriction and aging.

Caloric restriction in species with a short life span has shown it can increase median and maximum life expectancy and reduce or delay the onset of most age-related diseases. The remarkable reproducibility of the phenomenon irrefutably proves its validity and makes caloric restriction one of the most frequently studied paradigms in experimental research on aging.

Aging↗
PubMed1998

Low plasma vitamin C in Alzheimer patients despite an adequate diet.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the vitamin C and E plasma levels in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to assess the vitamin C intake and nutritional status. DESIGN: Case-control study. Four groups of sex- and age-matched subjects were compared: severe AD and moderate AD, in patients with moderate AD and controls. SETTING: Community and hospitalized patients in the region of Toulouse, France. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with dementia who fulfilled criteria for Alzheimer's disease: severe Alzheimer group (N = 20), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score range 0-9; moderate Alzheimer group (N = 24), MMSE 10-23; hospitalized Alzheimer group (N = 9), MMSE 10-23. Control group (N = 19), MMSE 24-30. MEASURES: Plasma vitamin E and C were quantified by HPLC-fluorescence. Consumption of raw and cooked fruit and vegetables was evaluated in order to determine the mean vitamin C intakes. Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and plasma albumin were used to measure nutritional status. RESULTS: Institutionalized and community subjects were analysed separately. MNA scores were normal in home-living Alzheimer subjects with moderate dementia and significantly lower in those with severe disease, despite normal plasma albumin levels. In the home-living Alzheimer subjects, vitamin C plasma levels decreased in proportion to the severity of the cognitive impairment despite similar vitamin C intakes, whereas vitamin E remained stable. The hospitalized Alzheimer subjects had lower MNA scores and albumin levels but normal vitamin C intakes, but their plasma vitamin C was lower than that of community-living subjects. Institutionalized Alzheimer subjects had significantly lower MNA scores but normal vitamin C and albumin levels and vitamin C intakes compared with community-dwelling subjects of similar degree of cognitive impairment. CONCLUSION: Plasma vitamin C is lower in AD in proportion to the degree of cognitive impairment and is not explained by lower vitamin C intake. These results support the hypothesis that oxygen-free radicals may cause damage.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Plasma protein glycation in Alzheimer's disease.

Recent studies have suggested that formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) in some brain proteins could be associated with Alzheimer's disease. These AGEs can be produced by various sugars (hexose, pentose, glyceraldehyde and oxidative products of vitamin C). In this study, we quantified plasma protein glycation specifically derived from glucose in patients with Alzheimer's disease with different grades of cognitive disorders. Two groups of Alzheimer patients were studied: a group with moderate Alzheimer's disease (n = 6, 9 23) and a group of subjects with diabetes (n = 31). Protein glycation was evaluated in plasma with a highly specific HPLC-UV technique, using furosine, which is the acid hydrolysis product of epsilon-deoxy-fructosyl-lysine Plasma furosine was almost two times higher in subjects with Alzheimer's disease (p<.005) than in controls, but still 50% lower than in diabetic patients (P<.02). Fasting plasma glucose levels were significantly correlated to the furosine concentration. To explain these results, an eventual impairment in glucose peripheral use or an increase in protein glycation rate associated with Alzheimer's disease should be explored.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

A prospective study of changes on nutritional patterns 6 months before and 18 months after retirement.

To present results from a two year prospective study on diet, 6 months before and 18 months after retirement. The studied population exhibited an increase in social and physical activities over time after retirement. A significant decrease in weight was found in men 18 months after retirement. Retired individuals reported taking more time for breakfast. 45.5% of retired individuals, compared to 25.5% before retirement, took more than 30 minutes for lunch than before retirement. The amount of dietary nutrients consumed remained the same before and after retirement. However, retired individuals ate out more often, and had guests more frequently. Nutrients' distribution is similar before and after retirement. Given a life expectancy of more than 20 years after retirement, it is necessary to initiate nutritional intervention.

Aging↗
PubMed1998

Assessment of the effectiveness of drug therapies on nutritional status in the elderly: "concerning a randomised, double-blind clinical study of the activity of pancreatic extracts and a placebo during the renutrition of elderly subjects suffering from protein caloric undernutrition".

AIMS: to study, versus placebo, the value of administering pancreatic extracts in elderly subjects suffering from denutrition. METHODS: 52 subjects over 70 years of age, living in the Toulouse region of France, were included in this study. Each subject was required to present with an impaired nutritional status of their food intake, anthropometric and laboratory markers. RESULTS: among the 52 patients included in the study, 26 received the placebo and 26 received a pancreatic extract (Créon 12,000). 88% of these patients were women and 12% were men, the mean age of patients was 87+/-6 years. The groups were comparable at entry into the study. Nutritional intake increased in the two groups. There was a non-significant increase in body weight in the treated group when compared with the placebo group. DISCUSSION: we think that in the future, it would be preferable to conduct studies in convalescent subjects, reducing the frequency of nutritional assessments (food intake on D0 and D90, to reduce interference with the patient's habits.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Changes in dietary intakes with age.

The aim of this study was to describe changes in dietary intakes with age in subjects aging normally within the Toulouse study. Daily caloric intakes were constant in both sexes and in the three age classes considered. Energy distributions among the meals were rather clearly modified in men: the contribution of breakfast and afternoon snacks increased while those of lunch and dinner decreased. Observations among women were less consistent but the contribution of dinner also decreased with age (from 33.3 to 30.7%). This decreased contribution from dinner was due to a change in its nutrient composition (fewer lipids and more carbohydrates) which change the nutrient constitution of the entire daily diet, and also from a change in structure (reduced contribution by the main dish and increased role of desserts). These results pose questions concerning the reasons behind this change (loss of appetite, more pronounced taste for sweets?) and requires additional study.

Age Factors↗