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AbstractAim: To assess the dietary iron intake and the iron status of Spanish junior athletes and its importance on performance, and to discuss abount the consequences of an iron deficiency. Material and methods: Forty six soccer and eleven basketball players aged 17-21 years (mean age 18.2 +1.1) who played in the Spanish national junior soccer and basketball league, respectively, who had neither drugs, medicines intake nor illness during the study which altered the appetite or some studies parameters, took part in the study. Dietary intake was assessed by means of a 7-day weighed food intake record. Iron status was evaluated by means of a complete hemogram, serum iron, ferritin, transferrin and TIBC.Results: Mean iron intake was 19.24±4.58 mg/day. Mean analytical data were all between reference ranges. Basketball players had higher intake levels compared with soccer ones (22.1+6.4 and 19.2+3.9 mg/day, respectively; p< 0.05 ). Nevertheless, basketball players had lower levels of mean red blood cells, haemoglobin, hematocrit and the mean corpuscular volumes comparing with soccer players.Conclusions: During adolescence, iron requirements are very high which could place adolescent athletes in a high risk group for iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia. In the current research, the population studied shows an acceptable iron status although there are 3% of iron deficiency anaemia cases.ResumenObjetivos: valorar la ingesta diaria y el estatus de hierro de los atletas junior españoles y su importancia sobre el rendimiento, así como lo que respecta a las consecuencias que tiene una deficiencia de hierro. Material y métodos: cuarenta y seis jugadores de fútbol y once de baloncesto con edades comprendidas entre los 17 y 21 años (la media de edad 18.2 + 1.1) que jugaban en la liga junior nacional de fútbol y baloncesto, respectivamente, y que no tomaban drogas, medicinas ni presentaban ninguna enfermedad durante el desarrollo del estudio que pudiera alterar el apetito o algunos de los parámetros objeto de estudio, tomaron parte en este estudio. La ingesta dietética se cuantificó mediante la técnica de "registro de consumo de alimentos" durante 7 días consecutivos. El estatus de hierro se evaluó por un completo hemograma, hierro sérico, ferritina, transferritina y TIBC. Resultados: La media de ingesta de hierro fue de 19.74±4.58 mg/día. Los datos analíticos significativos estaban todos entre los rangos de referencia. Los jugadores de baloncesto presentaron una ingesta significativamente superior que los de fútbol (22.1±6.4 y 19.2±3.9 mg/día). Sin embargo, los jugadores de baloncesto presentaron valores inferiores para los hematíes, hemoglobina, hematocrito y de los valores corpusculares medios al compararlos con los jugadores de fútbol. Conclusiones: durante la adolescencia están aumentadas las necesidades de hierro, por lo que los adolescentes deportistas podrían ser un grupo de riesgo de padecer deficiencia de hierro y anemia del deportista. En la presente investigación, la población objeto de estudio presenta unos valores aceptables de status en hierro pero habiendo un 3% de casos con anemia por deficiencia de hierro.

Background: The elderly population is particularly at risk for developing vitamin B12-deficiency. Serum cobalamin does not necessarily reflect a normal B12 status. The determination of methylmalonic acid is not available in all laboratories. Issues of sensitivity for holotranscobalamin and the low specificity of total homocysteine limit their utility. The aim of the present study is to establish a diagnostic algorithm by using a combination of these markers in place of a single measurement. Methods: We compared the diagnostic efficiency of these markers for detection of vitamin B12 deficiency in a population (n = 218) of institutionalized elderly (median age 80 years). Biochemical, haematological and morphological data were used to categorize people with or without vitamin B12 deficiency. Results: In receiver operating curves characteristics for detection on vitamin B12 deficiency using single measurements, serum folate has the greatest area under the curve (0.87) and homocysteine the lowest (0.67). The best specificity was observed for erythrocyte folate and methylmalonic acid (100% for both) but their sensitivity was very low (17% and 53%, respectively). The highest sensitivity was observed for homocysteine (81%) and serum folate (74%). When we combined these markers, starting with serum and erythrocyte folate, followed by holotranscobalamin and ending by methylmalonic acid measurements, the overall sensitivity and specificity of the algorithm were 100% and 90%, respectively. Conclusion: The proposed algorithm, which combines erythrocyte folate, serum folate, holotranscobalamin and methylmalonic acid, but eliminate B12 and tHcy measurements, is a useful alternative for vitamin B12 deficiency screening in an elderly institutionalized cohort [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hyperhomocysteinemia is an accepted risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and possibly also for cognitive impairment and dementia. It has also been proposed as a marker for the status of the B vitamins, which participate in the metabolism of homocysteine. Therefore, especially in the elderly, it is important to know the prevalence of high homocysteine (tHcy) levels and the influence that B vitamins have on them., Material and Methods: 218 elderly of both sexes, aged 60-105, living in an elderly home in Granada (Spain), were screened for serum folate, red blood cell (RBC) folate, serum cobalamin (B12) (Abbott, IMx), holotranscobalamin II (Holo-TC II) (HoloTC RIA, Axis-Shield), methylmalonic acid (MMA) (MS-GC), total pyridoxine (B6) (HPLC), and total homocysteine (tHcy) (Abbott, IMx)., Results: Hyperhomocysteinemia (tHcy >12 pmol/L) was detected in 80.7%. Serum folate deficiency was severe (< or =4 ng/mL) in 19.3% and moderate (4-7 ng/mL) in 43.1%. In 14.2% of the elderly RBC folate was < or =175 ng/mL, and in 61.0% it was between 175-400 ng/mL. Vitamin B12, measured in serum (< or =200 pg/mL), was deficient in 15.8%, but if measured as Holo-TC II (< or =45 pmol/L), deficiency ranged up to 39.1%. MMA was high (> or =300 nmol/L) in 45.6%. Vitamin B6 (< 20 nmol/L) was low only in one person. In order to identify the factors that could predict tHcy levels, a multiple regression analysis was performed. Best results corresponded to the combination of log serum folate and log Holo-TC II, which gave values of R > 0.5. If analyzed independently, the highest correlation was with log serum folate (r = -0.290), followed by RBC folate (r = -0.263), Holo-TC II (r = -0.228), log B12 (r = -0.175), and log B6 (r = -0.078)., Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of vitamin B deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia in the studied population. Our data confirm the influence of these vitamins, especially folate, on tHcy levels, but hyperhomocysteinemia cannot be used as the only diagnostic criterion to detect subclinical vitamin deficiency in elderly people, especially to detect vitamin B12 deficiency.

In the present study plasma samples from 15 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and 16 healthy controls of initially unknown haptoglobin (Hp) phenotype were separated by 2-DE, and tryptic digests of the excised Hpalpha polypeptide chain spots were analyzed by MALDI-TOF-MS. Selected tryptic peptides were sequenced by nano-(n)ESI-IT MS/MS. The six major Hp phenotypes were present, although with distinct frequencies in controls and SLE patients. Thus, there were an increased proportion of SLE patients with Hp 2-2, or Hp 2-1S phenotypes. The Hp phenotype distribution resulted in allele frequencies of 0 625 (Hp(2)), 0.281 (Hp(1S)), and 0.093 (Hp(1F)) in healthy controls, correlating fairly well with the allele frequencies of European populations. In contrast, the Hp allele frequencies of the SLE patients were 0.733 (Hp(2)), 0.233 (Hp(1S)), and 0.033 (Hp1(1F)), which clearly indicated an increased frequency of Hp(2), a similar proportion of Hp(1S) and a diminished proportion of Hp(1F) in SLE patients compared with that in healthy controls. Preferential Hpalpha2 expression in SLE patients may contribute to some of the clinical manifestations of the disease such as hypergammaglobulinemia, systemic vasculitis, and cardiovascular disorders.