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J Hum Nutr Diet 2020 May 18. Epub 2020 May 18.

Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia.

Background: Vitamin A plays an important role in vision, cellular differentiation, embryonic development, reproduction, growth and the immune system. Women who live in developing countries face a risk of undernutrition during pregnancy as a result of poverty, poor diet quality and quantity, and a high fertility rate. This poor dietary problem could reflect the high risk of vitamin A deficiency in women. Read More

Ecol Food Nutr 2020 May 14:1-24. Epub 2020 May 14.

International Potato Centre, Nairobi, Kenya.

The study assesses the psychosocial predictors of intention to integrate biofortified pro-vitamin A orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) in proper complementary feeding (PCF) among women who received either verbal or verbal and visual demonstrations on OFSP-based foods. A total of 764 randomly selected women grouped into four categories, namely pregnant women, women with infants, women with young children, and potential mothers, participated in this study. Using a structural equation model of predicted intentions based on an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) the study found goal-setting, perceived behavior control, subjective norms, and attitudes had a significant influence on intention to integrate OFSP in PCF. Read More

Evol Med Public Health 2019 11;2019(1):201-211. Epub 2019 Nov 11.

Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

Background: The maternal buffering hypothesis posits that human lactation biology can buffer milk against the mild-to-moderate malnutrition that occurred routinely in evolutionary history through the mobilization of maternal body reserves. This perspective may provide insights for understanding human milk immune content variation, such as milk sIgA, which protects infants' intestines from microbial colonization and prevents diarrheal disease.

Objective: To investigate how maternal delivery of sIgA to milk may vary in a way that can buffer milk against maternal malnutrition, while taking into consideration infants' varying needs for immune protection across age or by sex. Read More

BMC Pediatr 2020 May 13;20(1):214. Epub 2020 May 13.

School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background: Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) in the postpartum period improves the vitamin A concentration of breast milk and vitamin A status is an important predictor of childhood survival. It is also known that Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) is more prevalent in HIV-infected women. This study investigated the association between vitamin A supplements provided to HIV-positive women in the postpartum period and mortality and morbidity of their breastfed infants in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where the prevalence of VAD and HIV is high. Read More

Plant Cell Rep 2020 May 7. Epub 2020 May 7.

Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen, Nakaku, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan.

Key Message: Genetic engineering of eggplant using fruit-specific EEF48 promoter-driven bacterial PSY gene, crtB, confers β-carotene accumulation in fruit. Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is globally cultivated especially in Asia and is an important source of nutrients in the diets of low-income consumers in developing countries. Read More

Biotechnol Bioeng 2020 Apr 20. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile.

Apple (Malus domestica) fruits accumulate negligible levels of carotenoids, antioxidant pigments that are precursors for vitamin A in humans. As vitamin A deficiency is an important public health issue, we aimed at increasing carotenoids in apple by constitutively expressing the Arabidopsis thaliana DXR gene, one of the key regulatory steps in the plastidial isoprenoid pathway. For this purpose, we optimized an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method in the commercial Fuji Raku Raku variety. Read More

Iran J Public Health 2020 Jan;49(1):167-172

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

Background: Old world cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is known as a self-healing cutaneous parasitic infection. Host immunity has a fundamental role in the course of this infection. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between nutritional status and vitamin A intake with the clinical course of CL. Read More

Subcell Biochem 2020 ;95:197-225

Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Ein Kerem, POB 12271, 9112102, Jerusalem, Israel.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a complex set of developmental malformations, neurobehavioral anomalies and mental disabilities induced by exposing human embryos to alcohol during fetal development. Several experimental models and a series of developmental and biochemical approaches have established a strong link between FASD and reduced retinoic acid (RA) signaling. RA signaling is involved in the regulation of numerous developmental decisions from patterning of the anterior-posterior axis, starting at gastrulation, to the differentiation of specific cell types within developing organs, to adult tissue homeostasis. Read More

Subcell Biochem 2020 ;95:175-196

University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 39216, USA.

Explaining how the extensive diversity in form of vertebrate teeth arose in evolution and the mechanisms by which teeth are made during embryogenesis are intertwined questions that can merit from a better understanding of the roles of retinoic acid (RA) in tooth development. Pioneering studies in rodents showed that dietary vitamin A (VA), and eventually RA (one of the major active metabolites of VA), are required for proper tooth formation and that dentin-forming odontoblast cells seem to be especially sensitive to changes in RA levels. Later, rodent studies further indicated that RA signaling interactions with other cell-signaling pathways are an important part of RA's actions in odontogenesis. Read More

Subcell Biochem 2020 ;95:151-174

Pulmonary Center, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 East Concord Street, Boston, MA, R-30402118, USA.

Retinoic acid (RA), the bioactive metabolite of vitamin A (VA), has long been recognized as a critical regulator of the development of the respiratory system. During embryogenesis, RA signaling is involved in the development of the trachea, airways, lung, and diaphragm. During postnatal life, RA continues to impact respiratory health. Read More

Subcell Biochem 2020 ;95:27-55

Department of Food Science, Rutgers Center for Lipid Research, New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA.

The placenta, a hallmark of mammalian embryogenesis, allows nutrients to be exchanged between the mother and the fetus. Vitamin A (VA), an essential nutrient, cannot be synthesized by the embryo, and must be acquired from the maternal circulation through the placenta. Our understanding of how this transfer is accomplished is still in its infancy. Read More

Subcell Biochem 2020 ;95:1-26

Maine Medical Center Research Institute, 81 Research Drive, Scarborough, Maine, 04074, USA.

Vitamin A deficiency studies have been carried out since the early 1900s. Initially, these studies led to the identification of fat soluble A as a unique and essential component of the diet of rodents, birds, and humans. Continuing work established that vitamin A deficiency produces biochemical and physiological dysfunction in almost every vertebrate organ system from conception to death. Read More

J Immunol 2020 Jun 13;204(11):2984-2994. Epub 2020 Apr 13.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555;

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a major public health problem and is associated with increased host susceptibility to infection; however, how VAD influences viral infection remains unclear. Using a persistent lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection model, we showed in this study that although VAD did not alter innate type I IFN production, infected VAD mice had hyperactive, virus-specific T cell responses at both the acute and contraction stages, showing significantly decreased PD-1 but increased cytokine (IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2) expression by T cells. Compared with control mice, VAD mice displayed excessive inflammation and more severe liver pathology, with increased death during persistent infection. Read More

Nature 2020 04;580(7804):446-447

Biomed Res Int 2020 27;2020:8032894. Epub 2020 Feb 27.

Addis Ababa University, College of Health Science, School of Public Health, P.O. Box 27285 1000 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background: Vitamin A deficiency is a major nutritional concern in lower-income countries. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to show the magnitude of vitamin A deficiency among preschoolers in Ethiopia.

Objective: The present study was aimed at synthesizing qualitatively and quantitatively the existing literature on the prevalence of VAD in preschool children in Ethiopia. Read More

Clin Nutr 2020 Mar 24. Epub 2020 Mar 24.

Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Background & Aims: Treatment of children with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is based on ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) and aims for quick regain of lost body tissues while providing sufficient micronutrients to restore diminished body stores. Little evidence exists on the success of the treatment to establish normal micronutrient status. We aimed to assess the changes in vitamin A and iron status of children treated for SAM with RUTF, and explore the effect of a reduced RUTF dose. Read More

Brief Funct Genomics 2020 Apr 2. Epub 2020 Apr 2.

Department of Botany, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong 793022, India.

Carotenoids are mostly C40 terpenoids that participate in several important functions in plants including photosynthesis, responses to various forms of stress, signal transduction and photoprotection. While the antioxidant potential of carotenoids is of particular importance for human health, equally important is the role of β-carotene as the precursor for vitamin A in the human diet. Rice, which contributes upto 40% of dietary energy for mankind, contains very low level of β-carotene, thereby making it an important crop for enhancing β-carotene accumulation in its grains and consequently targeting vitamin A deficiency. Read More

Indian J Clin Biochem 2020 Apr 3;35(2):197-204. Epub 2019 Jan 3.

Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 160012 India.

Multiple intramuscular (IM) injections of vitamin A have been shown to decrease bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very low birth weight (VLBW) neonates. However, this regime is neither practical nor popular. Oral vitamin A has failed to achieve adequate plasma levels. Read More

Pediatr Res 2020 Mar 30. Epub 2020 Mar 30.

Children's Nutrition Research Center, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Child Nutrition and Health, Chongqing, China.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, and many individuals with ASD have gastrointestinal (GI) comorbidities. Vitamin A (VA) is an essential micronutrient that plays an important role in brain development and GI function.

Methods: A total of 323 children with ASD and 180 control children were enrolled in this study. Read More

Nutrients 2020 Mar 26;12(4). Epub 2020 Mar 26.

Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, Pietermaritzburg 3201, South Africa.

Ugandan children are vulnerable to vitamin A deficiency (VAD), iron deficiency (ID) and zinc deficiency (ZnD) because they are fed on complementary foods (CFs) low in vitamin A, iron and zinc. This study developed a novel provitamin A carotenoid (PVAC), iron and zinc rich common bean pumpkin blend (BPB) complementary food (CF) from locally available pumpkin and common bean in Uganda and aimed to determine its acceptance, compared to a control pumpkin blend (PB). Seventy caregivers participated in the study. Read More

J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus 2020 Mar 12;57:e12-e14. Epub 2020 Mar 12.

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays an important role in the development of the immune system, and a deficiency can cause blindness associated with xerophthalmia and premature mortality. Blindness from vitamin A deficiency is avoidable if supplements such as breast milk and other food fortification are provided to neonates at the time of weaning. The authors describe two infants who presented with keratomalacia and subsequent blindness. Read More

Ann Transl Med 2020 Feb;8(4):120

Department of Pediatrics, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China.

Background: Children with vitamin A, D, and E deficiency are susceptible to respiratory infections. However, the correlations between the levels with pneumonia (MPP) and patient MPP occurrence is still unclear. This study aims to measure and compare the serum levels in severe (sMPP) and non-severe MPP (nsMPP) and to investigate the correlations between their levels and the occurrence of MPP. Read More

Obes Surg 2020 Mar 6. Epub 2020 Mar 6.

Department of Ophthalmology, University of "Magna Graecia", Viale Europa, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy.

Background: To report the first two cases of sterile corneal perforation secondary to vitamin A deficiency after biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD/SW).

Methods: Observational case series.

Results: Two patients with a history of BPD/SW presented with corneal perforation associated with conjunctival xerosis and keratopathy. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 Mar 6;10(1):4214. Epub 2020 Mar 6.

Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.

Studies demonstrated that pneumonia can decrease vitamin A productions and vitamin A reduction/deficiency may promote asthma development. Our previous study showed that neonatal Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) infection promoted asthma development. Read More

Int J Biol Sci 2020 30;16(6):947-956. Epub 2020 Jan 30.

Department of Endocrinology, Zhongda Hospital, Institute of Diabetes, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.

Vitamin A (VA) plays an essential role in pancreatic homeostasis. Islet stellate cells (ISCs) are VA-storing cells in pancreatic islets. Herein, we have investigated the effect of VA on glucose homeostasis trough regulation of ISCs function in dietary VA deficiency model mice. Read More

Agric Syst 2020 Mar;179:102770

International Potato Center, CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas, C. Postal 1558, Lima 12, Peru.

The development and scaling of orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) during the past 25 years is a case study of a disruptive innovation to address a pressing need - the high levels of vitamin A deficiency among children under five years of age in sub-Saharan Africa. When the innovation was introduced consumers strongly preferred white or yellow-fleshed sweetpotato, so it was necessary to create a demand to respond to that need. This was at odds with the breeding strategy of responding to consumers' demands. Read More

Foods 2020 Feb 21;9(2). Epub 2020 Feb 21.

Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.

Provitamin A and pre-formed vitamin A compounds are essential micronutrients for humans. However, vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects the health status of nearly 50% of populations in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and is especially pronounced in preschool children and pregnant women. The objective of this research was to determine an acceptable flavor/ingredient combination to produce a palatable food product that incorporates sweet potatoes, peanut paste, and chickpeas. Read More

Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids 2020 Feb 15:158664. Epub 2020 Feb 15.

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, Center for Desert Agriculture, the BioActives Lab, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address:

Carotenoids are indispensable for human health, required as precursors of vitamin A and efficient antioxidants. However, these plant pigments that play a vital role in photosynthesis are represented at insufficient levels in edible parts of several crops, which creates a need for increasing their content or optimizing their composition through biofortification. In particular, vitamin A deficiency, a severe health problem affecting the lives of millions in developing countries, has triggered the development of a series of high-provitamin A crops, including Golden Rice as the best-known example. Read More

Eur J Ophthalmol 2020 Feb 16:1120672120907315. Epub 2020 Feb 16.

BCN Health Economics & Outcomes Research S.L., Barcelona, Spain.

Purpose: To analyse the occurrence and cost of dry eye disease in Spain in the recent years.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis based on anonymised data from an insurance claims database that includes data from 1997 to 2015 from public and private hospitals and healthcare centres; 36,081 patients were eligible for the study after duplicate elimination. Five ICD9 codes associated with dry eye were used for patient selection, including vitamin A deficiency with xerophthalmic scars of cornea, xerophthalmia due to vitamin A deficiency, keratoconjunctivitis sicca not specified as Sjögren's, dry eye syndrome and keratoconjunctivitis sicca Sjögren's disease. Read More

J Diabetes Res 2020 21;2020:2354108. Epub 2020 Jan 21.

Department of Endocrinology, Zhongda Hospital, Institute of Diabetes, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.

Aims: The underlying mechanisms involved in Vitamin A- (VA-) related changes in glucose metabolic disorders remain unclear. Recent evidence suggests that intestinal microbiota is closely linked to the metabolic syndrome. Here, we explored whether and how intestinal microbiota affects glucose homeostasis in VA-deficient diet-fed mice. Read More

Fish Shellfish Immunol 2020 Apr 11;99:243-256. Epub 2020 Feb 11.

Animal Nutrition Institute, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611130, China; Fish Nutrition and Safety in Production Sichuan University Key Laboratory, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611130, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Disease-resistant Nutrition, Sichuan Province, China. Electronic address:

To investigate effects of vitamin A (VA) on fish immune function and structural integrity in the head kidney and spleen of fish, total of 540 on-growing grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) were divided into six groups, feeding graded levels of VA (0, 600, 1200, 1800, 2800 and 3800 IU/kg diet) for 70 days. Results showed that dietary VA deficiency depressed antibacterial ability and aggravated inflammatory response partially linked to nuclear factor κB p65 (NF-κB p65) and target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling pathways in the head kidney and spleen of fish. Meanwhile, VA deficiency caused oxidative damage, apoptosis and disruption of tight junctions (TJs), which were partially attributed to the down-regulation of NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling mediated antioxidant ability, the up-regulation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) signaling mediated apoptosis and myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) signaling mediated disruption of tight junctions (TJs). Read More

Indian J Med Res 2019 12;150(6):620-629

Divisions of Lipid Biochemistry, ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

Background & Objectives: Stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) is a key lipogenic enzyme responsible for endogenous synthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and plays a key role in various pathophysiology, including fatty liver diseases. In this experimental study the impact of vitamin A deficiency was assessed on SCD1 regulation in relation to kidney biology, under high fructose (HFr) diet-fed condition in rats.

Methods: Forty male weanling (21 day old) Wistar rats were divided into four groups control, vitamin A-deficient (VAD), HFr, VAD with HFr consisting of eight rats each, except 16 for the VAD group. Read More

J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2020 May 7;206(3):389-399. Epub 2020 Feb 7.

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.

The recognition that a dietary factor is essential to maintain good and sensitive vision as well as overall health goes back over 3,000 years to the ancient Egyptians. With the discovery of the vitamins at the turn of the twentieth century, fat-soluble vitamin A was soon shown to be the essential factor. In the first half of the twentieth century, the role vitamin A plays in vision, as precursor to the light-sensitive visual pigment molecules in the photoreceptors was elegantly worked out, especially by George Wald and his colleagues. Read More

Matern Child Nutr 2020 Feb 5:e12955. Epub 2020 Feb 5.

Human Nutrition Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich, Switzerland.

Pastoralist children in the Ethiopian Somali Regional State (ESRS) are at high risk for undernutrition and intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs). We assessed the nutritional status and its association with IPIs in 500 children <5 years of age in a clustered cross-sectional study in Adadle district, ESRS. Stool samples were microscopically examined for IPIs and biomarkers for iron and vitamin A status, anthropometry, and food variety score (FVS) were assessed. Read More

PLoS One 2020 30;15(1):e0228258. Epub 2020 Jan 30.

GroundWork, Fläsch, Switzerland.

Nationally representative data on the micronutrient status of Ghanaian women and children are very scarce. We aimed to document the current national prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies, anemia, malaria, inflammation, α-thalassemia, sickle cell disease and trait, and under- and over-nutrition in Ghana. In 2017, a two-stage cross-sectional design was applied to enroll pre-school children (6-59 months) and non-pregnant women (15-49 years) from three strata in Ghana: Northern, Middle and Southern Belt. Read More

Nutr Clin Pract 2020 Jan 29. Epub 2020 Jan 29.

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.

Background: Iron deficiency is common in cystic fibrosis (CF), but previous prevalence studies often reported results confounded by acute exacerbations. This single-center retrospective study aimed to identify the prevalence of iron deficiency in a stable adult CF population, identify the risk factors associated with iron deficiency, and compare common laboratory indicators of iron status.

Methods: Medical charts of 105 patients aged 18-67 were reviewed to determine the prevalence of anemia. Read More

Food Sci Nutr 2020 Jan 9;8(1):311-321. Epub 2019 Dec 9.

Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities Queensland University of Technology Brisbane QLD Australia.

Bananas and plantains ( spp.) are an important staple and food security crop in sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda, where the consumption of East African highland banana (EAHB) is the highest in the world, the population suffers from a high incidence of vitamin A deficiency (VAD). Read More

J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus 2020 Jan 24;57:e1-e3. Epub 2020 Jan 24.

Autistic children with selective diets have an elevated risk for vitamin A deficiency. The authors present the case of a 7-year-old boy with keratomalacia resulting from dietary vitamin A deficiency. Optical coherence tomography and ultrasound biomicroscopy can provide useful details of the cornea and underlying structures. Read More

Indian J Ophthalmol 2020 02;68(2):351-355

Indian Oil Centre for Rural Eye Care, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Bhubaneswar; Srimati Kanuri Shantamma Centre for Vitreoretinal Diseases, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

Purpose: To explore the possibility of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) detection through School Sight Program (SSP) in a tribal district of Odisha, India.

Methods: In a cross-sectional observational study, we tracked school children with ocular signs/symptoms of VAD to their villages. The ophthalmologist examined their under-5 siblings and other under-5 children in the village. Read More

Indian J Ophthalmol 2020 02;68(2):340-344

Consultant, Cornea and Anterior Segment Services MGM Eye Institute, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of various ocular morbidities in school children (5-15 years) utilizing a comprehensive mobile eye unit in Central India.

Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional, school-based observational study was carried out in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India between December 2017 and September 2018. A total of 1557 eligible school-going children in the age group 5-15 years were evaluated. Read More

Trends Plant Sci 2020 May 16;25(5):501-512. Epub 2020 Jan 16.

Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia. Electronic address:

Due to the ongoing prevalence of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in developing countries there has been a large effort towards increasing the carotenoid content of staple foods via biofortification. Common strategies used for carotenoid biofortification include altering flux through the biosynthesis pathway to direct synthesis to a specific product, generally β-carotene, or via increasing the expression of genes early in the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway. Recently, carotenoid biofortification strategies are turning towards increasing the retention of carotenoids in plant tissues either via altering sequestration within the cell or via downregulating enzymes known to cause degradation of carotenoids. Read More

Cad Saude Publica 2019;36(1):e00243418. Epub 2019 Dec 20.

Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

This study analyzed the association between food insecurity and hemoglobin and retinol levels in children 6 to 59 months of age. This was a cross-sectional study in 2014 with a representative sample of children in this age bracket treated at basic health units in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Analysis of food insecurity levels used the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale, and venipuncture was performed for measurement of serum hemoglobin and retinol levels. Read More

J Nutr 2020 Apr;150(4):938-944

Nutrition Branch, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Background: Micronutrient powders (MNP) can reduce iron deficiency and anemia in children.

Objective: We evaluated the impact of an integrated infant and young child feeding (IYCF)-MNP intervention on anemia and micronutrient status among children aged 12-23 mo in Eastern Uganda. The intervention focused on MNP distribution, IYCF education, and caregiver behavior change. Read More

Nutrients 2019 Dec 27;12(1). Epub 2019 Dec 27.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology-INCLIVA Biomedical Research Institute, Universitat de València, 46010 Valencia, Spain.

Vitamin A (all--retinol), its active derivatives retinal and retinoic acid, and their synthetic analogues constitute the group of retinoids. It is obtained from diet either as preformed vitamin A or as carotenoids. Retinal plays a biological role in vision, but most of the effects of vitamin A are exerted by retinoic acid, which binds to nuclear receptors and regulates gene transcription. Read More

J Ophthalmol 2019 22;2019:5130904. Epub 2019 Nov 22.

University of Gondar, College of Medicine and Health Science, School of Medicine, Department of Optometry, P.O.Box 196, Gondar, Ethiopia.

Introduction: Xerophthalmia is a general term applied to all the ocular manifestations from night blindness through complete corneal destruction (keratomalacia) due to vitamin A deficiency. Xerophthalmia is the main contributing factors for childhood blindness in developing countries. However, there is limited evidence that can implicate the current situation. Read More

J Nutr 2020 Apr;150(4):929-937

Nutrition Branch, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NW, Atlanta, GA, 30341, USA.

Background: Anemia is a major concern for children in Nepal; however, little is known about context-specific causes of anemia.

Objective: We used cross-sectional data from the 2016 Nepal National Micronutrient Status Survey to evaluate factors associated with anemia in a nationally representative, population-based sample of children 6-59 mo (n = 1367).

Methods: Hemoglobin, biomarkers of iron status and other micronutrients, infection, inflammation, and blood disorders were assessed from venous blood samples. Read More

Adv Wound Care (New Rochelle) 2020 01 6;9(1):9-15. Epub 2019 Dec 6.

Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia.

To explore the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in patients with diabetic foot ulcers and correlate this with foot disease severity and other clinical factors. Prospective cohort study of diabetic patients with foot ulcers seen in multidisciplinary foot clinics across Adelaide or admitted to the Vascular Surgery Unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital between February 2017 and September 2018. A total of 131 patients were included in the study. Read More

S Afr Med J 2019 Nov 27;109(12):907-910. Epub 2019 Nov 27.

School of Clinical Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.

In accordance with World Health Organization guidelines, South Africa (SA) introduced routine periodic high-dose vitamin A supplementation (VAS) in 2002. These guidelines were developed after research in the 1980s and 1990s showed the efficacy of VAS in reducing childhood mortality. However, two recent studies in low- to middle-income countries (2013 and 2014) have shown no effect of high-dose VAS on mortality. Read More

Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids 2019 Dec 19:158591. Epub 2019 Dec 19.

Department of Foundations of Medicine, NYU Long Island School of Medicine, Mineola, NY, USA; Diabetes and Obesity Research Center, NYU Winthrop Hospital, Mineola, NY, USA; Department of Cell Biology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA.

Vitamin A is an essential nutrient, critical for proper embryonic development in mammals. Both embryonic vitamin A-deficiency or -excess lead to congenital malformations or lethality in mammals, including humans. This is due to the defective transcriptional action of retinoic acid, the active form of vitamin A, that regulates in a spatial- and temporal-dependent manner the expression of genes essential for organogenesis. Read More

J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A 2020 Jan 18;30(1):20-30. Epub 2019 Dec 18.

Department of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio.

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is an underreported micronutrient deficiency after bariatric surgery (BS). The goal of this study was to characterize VAD prevalence in patients undergoing malabsorptive and restrictive procedures up to 2 years postoperatively. Primary sleeve gastrectomy (SG;  = 322) and gastric bypass (GB;  = 249) patients were reviewed. Read More