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Eastern European immigrants are one of the largest groups of immigrants in the United States. However, little is known about their health outcomes after arrival to the US. This study addresses the importance of differentiating Eastern European immigrants as a distinct category of immigrants with health outcomes that may differ from those born in the US, or other immigrants. This study examined the health of Eastern European immigrants in the United States, by focusing on three measures of disability – ambulatory, independent living, and self-care difficulties – and comparing them to US-born Whites and to other immigrants. The study uses the 2018 wave of the American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) of adults over the age of 40 (N = 1,440,928), to evaluate the odds of disability as a function of birthplace and race/ethnicity. The results of the study show that Eastern European (EE) immigrants have significantly higher odds of independent living difficulties and self-care difficulties when compared to their US-born peers, but there is no difference between the odds of ambulatory difficulties in EE immigrants compared to White US-born individuals. The differences were not explained by demographic variables, education, year of immigration of socioeconomic & work status of the EE immigrants. The findings of the study suggest that more attention needs to be given to the health outcomes of White immigrants to the United States, since there could be significant health disparities occurring within various White ethnic groups.

Alia Al-Saji discusses hesitation as a mechanism for resisting racializing habits. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/fp_photos/1002/thumbnail.jpg

International audience; Hypovitaminosis D is associated with cognitive decline in the elderly, but the issue of causality remains unresolved. Definitive evidence would include the visualization of brain lesions resulting from hypovitaminosis D. The aim of the present article is to determine, through a literature review, the location and nature of possible brain disorders in hypovitaminosis D. We found limited brain-imaging data, which reported ischemic infarcts and white matter hyperintensities in hypovitaminosis D, though did not provide their specific location or report any focal atrophy. Based on the finding of executive dysfunctions (i.e., mental shifting and information updating impairments) in the presence of hypovitaminosis D, we suggest that hypovitaminosis D is associated with a dysfunction of the frontal-subcortical neuronal circuits, particularly the dorsolateral circuit. Further imaging studies are required to corroborate this assumption and to determine whether hypovitaminosis D results in degenerative and / or vascular lesions.

ABSTRACT Perturbations to the vaginal microbiota can lead to dysbiosis, including bacterial vaginosis (BV), which affects a large portion of the female population. In a healthy state, the vaginal microbiota is characterized by low diversity and colonization by Lactobacillus spp., whereas in BV, these species are displaced by a highly diverse population of bacteria associated with adverse vaginal health outcomes. Since prebiotic ingestion has been a highly effective approach to invigorate lactobacilli for improved intestinal health, we hypothesized that these compounds could stimulate lactobacilli at the expense of BV organisms to maintain vaginal health. Monocultures of commensal Lactobacillus crispatus , Lactobacillus vaginalis , Lactobacillus gasseri , Lactobacillus johnsonii , Lactobacillus jensenii , and Lactobacillus iners , in addition to BV-associated organisms and Candida albicans , were tested for their ability to utilize a representative group of prebiotics consisting of lactitol, lactulose, raffinose, and oligofructose. The disaccharide lactulose was found to most broadly and specifically stimulate vaginal lactobacilli, including the strongly health-associated species L. crispatus , and importantly, not to stimulate BV organisms or C. albicans . Using freshly collected vaginal samples, we showed that exposure to lactulose promoted commensal Lactobacillus growth and dominance and resulted in healthy acidity partially through lactic acid production. This provides support for further testing of lactulose to prevent dysbiosis and potentially to reduce the need for antimicrobial agents in managing vaginal health. IMPORTANCE Bacterial vaginosis (BV) and other dysbioses of the vaginal microbiota significantly affect the quality of life of millions of women. Antimicrobial therapy is often poorly effective, causes side effects, and does not prevent recurrences. We report one of very few studies that have evaluated how prebiotics—compounds that are selectively fermented by beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus spp.—can modulate the vaginal microbiota. We also report use of a novel in vitro polymicrobial model to study the impact of prebiotics on the vaginal microbiota. The identification of prebiotic lactulose as enhancing Lactobacillus growth but not that of BV organisms or Candida albicans has direct application for retention of homeostasis and prevention of vaginal dysbiosis and infection.

Low serum concentrations of micronutrients, intestinal abnormalities, and an inflammatory state have been associated with HIV progression. These may be ameliorated by micronutrients, N-acetyl cysteine, probiotics, and prebiotics. This review aims to integrate the evidence from clinical trials of these interventions on the progression of HIV. Vitamin B, C, E, and folic acid have been shown to delay the progression of HIV. Supplementation with selenium, N-acetyl cysteine, probiotics, and prebiotics has considerable potential, but the evidence needs to be further substantiated. Vitamin A, iron, and zinc have been associated with adverse effects and caution is warranted for their use. © 2010 by the authors, licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

The formation and disposition of sulfamethoxazole hydroxylamine (SMX-HA), a metabolite of sulfamethoxazole (SMX), plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and can generate cellular oxidative and nitrosative stress by forming reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS). We investigated the potential attenuation of oxidative and nitrosative stress-mediated ADRs by baicalein, crocetin, resveratrol and schisanhenol alone and in combination using Jurkat £6.1 cells. These compounds are presented in herbs used as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Our results show that SMX-HA causes cell damage mediated by ROS/RNS. Low micromolar concentrations of these four chemicals attenuate SMX-HA-mediated LDH release, lipid hydroperoxide formation and carbonylated protein formation, as well as the formation of protein mixed disulfides, endpoints indicative of cytotoxicity. Treatment of cells with equimolar mixtures of these four phytochemical antioxidants was more protective of disulphide formation induced by SMX-HA., suggesting that defined mixtures of pure TCM constituents may better protect against oxidative and nitrosative stress than single chemicals in vivo.

Abstract This paper examines whether morbidity in early or later childhood is associated with health later in life. I investigate the relationship between five types of childhood morbidity and risk factors for cardiovascular disease among Guatemalan adults who experienced high levels of morbidity in childhood. The analysis is based on the Human Capital Study (2002–2004), a recent follow-up of the INCAP Longitudinal Study conducted between 1969 and 1977. I find that most types of childhood morbidity are associated with poorer adult health, independent of family background, adult socioeconomic status, and health behaviors. Higher levels of infections in childhood were associated with a low level of high density lipoprotein (HDL), and higher level of triglycerides, plasma glucose, waist circumference, and obesity (but not hypertension). These results are consistent with the literature that finds that childhood morbidity is associated with increased morbidity and mortality at older ages. However, diarrheal disease in later childhood was associated with lower levels of some risk factors, as measured by triglycerides and plasma glucose, suggesting that exposure to bacteria after infancy may be beneficial for some measures of adult health.