Search

Abstract Inefficient arsenic methylation capacity has been associated with developmental delay in preschool children. Selenium has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that protect experimental animals from chemically induced neurotoxicity. The present study was designed to explore whether plasma selenium levels affects arsenic methylation capacity related to developmental delay in preschool children. A case-control study was conducted from August 2010 to March 2014. All participants were recruited from the Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Teaching Hospital. In total, 178 children with a developmental delay and 88 children without a delay were recruited. High-performance liquid chromatography-linked hydride generator and atomic absorption spectrometry were used to determine urinary arsenic species, including arsenite (AsIII), arsenate (AsV), monomethylarsonic acid (MMAV), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMAV). Plasma selenium levels were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. As results, plasma selenium concentration was significantly inversely associated with the odds ratio (OR) of developmental delay. Plasma selenium concentration was positively associated with arsenic methylation capacity [percentage of inorganic arsenic and percentage of MMAV (MMAV%) decreased, and percentage of DMAV (DMAV%) increased]. High plasma selenium concentration and high DMA% significantly and additively interacted to decrease the OR of developmental delay; the OR and 95% confidence interval were 0.40 (0.18–0.90). This is the first study to show a combined dose-response effect of plasma selenium concentration and that efficient arsenic methylation capacity decreased the OR of developmental delay in preschool children. Highlights • Plasma selenium concentration was significantly inversely associated with the odds ratio of developmental delay. • Increases in plasma selenium concentration increased the arsenic methylation capacity. • High plasma selenium concentration and high DMA% significantly and additively interacted to decrease the OR of developmental delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal exposure and lifestyle are important risk factors for osteoporosis. Our study aimed to investigate the association between red blood cell lead and cadmium, total urinary arsenic, and plasma selenium levels and bone mineral density (BMD). In addition, we explored whether alcohol and coffee consumption modified the association between BMD and metals and metalloids. In total, 437 participants who underwent adult or senile physical examinations were recruited. Bone loss was defined as a calcaneus BMD T-score of <-1. Blood cadmium and lead and plasma selenium levels were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Levels of urinary arsenic species were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography-hydride generator-atomic absorption spectrometry. The total urinary arsenic level was defined as the sum of the levels of urinary arsenic species. The BMD T-scores decreased significantly with increasing blood lead levels. The BMD T-scores also showed a downward trend with increasing total urinary arsenic levels. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for bone loss in patients with blood lead levels >57.58 versus 35.74 μg/dL were 1.98 and 1.17-3.34. In addition, the greater the lead or arsenic exposure and alcohol intake was the higher the OR for bone loss with multivariate ORs of 2.57 (95% CI 1.45-4.56) and 2.96 (95% CI 1.67-5.22), respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate that high total urinary arsenic or blood lead levels and frequent or occasional alcohol consumption had a significant multiplicative interaction for increasing the OR for bone loss., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Hsueh, Huang, Chen, Shiue, Lin and Hsieh.)

Unlabelled: This prospective, randomized controlled study investigated the effects of short-term interactive video game playing among children with developmental delays participating in traditional rehabilitation treatment at a rehabilitation clinic. One hundred and one boys and 46 girls with a mean age of 5.8 years (range: 3 to 12 years) were enrolled in this study. All patients were confirmed to suffer from developmental delays, and were participating in traditional rehabilitation treatment. Children participated in two periods of 4 weeks each, group A being offered intervention of eight 30-minute sessions of interactive video games in the first period, and group B in the second, in addition to the traditional rehabilitation treatment. The physical, psychosocial, and total health of the children was periodically assessed using the parent-reported Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory-Generic Core Scales (PedsQL); and the children's upper extremity and physical function, transfer and basic mobility, sports and physical functioning, and global functioning were assessed using the Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument. Parental impact was evaluated using the PedsQL-Family Impact Module for family function, PedsQL-Health Satisfaction questionnaire for parents' satisfaction with their children's care and World Health Organization-Quality of Life-Brief Version for quality of life. Compared with the baseline, significant improvements of physical function were observed in both groups (5.6 ± 19.5, p = 0.013; 4.7 ± 13.8, p = 0.009) during the intervention periods. No significant improvement of psychosocial health, functional performance, or family impact was observed in children with developmental delays. Short-term interactive video game play in conjunction with traditional rehabilitation treatment improved the physical health of children with developmental delays., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02184715.

Purpose: To study the long-term changes in physical functional performance and quality of life in hemodialysis patients living in the community in Taiwan., Methods: This prospective study monitored 27 ambulatory hemodialysis patients for 16 months living in the community in Taiwan. Physical capacity (6-minute walk test, grip strength, pinch strength and chair-rising time), maximal cardiovascular fitness test, functional performance (Functional Independence Measure) and quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) were evaluated., Results: There were 17 men and 7 women, with a mean age of 61.3 (+/- 9.0) years. The results showed significantly decreased pinch strength (right hand: from 6.4 kg to 4.5 kg, p=0.009; left hand: from 5.6 kg to 4.7 kg, p=0.017) and decreased quality of life (from 89.5 to 85.3 for WHOQOL-BREF total score, p=0.026), especially in the domain of physical health and subcategories of concentrating ability, satisfaction with working ability and sex life, and "eating foods whenever wanted," over the 16-month period. Maximal cardiovascular fitness and functional performance remained stationary during the 16-month period., Conclusion: Significantly declined pinch strength and quality of life, with maintained maximal cardiovascular fitness and functional performance, were noted in ambulatory hemodialysis patients over the 16-month period of follow-up. An intensive pinch strengthening program and overall improvement in quality of life for these patients is needed.