Features

Flu Forecasting !

Allergies Asthma !

Magnesium with Vitamin D !

 Rheumatoid Arthritis !

Childhood Obesity !

Children Muscle Disease !

New Products of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

EDITORIAL TEAM

OMAR AKRAMUR RAB

MBBS, FCGP, FIAGP,

P G Dip. Business Management

MAHFUZUR RAHMAN

MBBS, MBA

Md. Rubyeat Adnan

MBBS, MPH , CCD

EDITORIAL

Dear Doctor:

Welcome to online bulletin 'e-SQUARE' .

Our current issue focused on some interesting features like

"Flu Forecasting !", "Allergies & Asthma !", "Magnesium with Vitamin D !", "Rheumatoid Arthritis !", "Childhood Obesity !", "Children Muscle Disease !".

In our regular feature, we have some new products information of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd. as well.

We will appreciate your feedback !

Click on to reply mode.

Yours sincerely,

Editorial Team

Reply Mode      : e-square@squaregroup.com

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of its editor or SQUARE PHARMACEUTICALS LTD.

                                                                        Low magnesium levels make vitamin D ineffective

Vitamin D can't be metabolized without sufficient magnesium levels, meaning Vitamin D remains stored and inactive for as many as 50 percent of Americans. People are taking Vitamin D supplements but don't realize how it gets metabolized. Without magnesium, Vitamin D is not really useful or safe, said by lead researcher. Vitamin D supplements can increase a person's calcium and phosphate levels even if they remain Vitamin D deficient. The problem is people may suffer from vascular calcification if their magnesium levels aren't high enough to prevent the complication. Patients with optimum magnesium levels require less Vitamin D supplementation to achieve sufficient Vitamin D levels. Magnesium also reduces osteoporosis, helping to mitigate the risk of bone fracture that can be attributed to low levels of Vitamin D, said by lead researcher. Deficiency in either of these nutrients is reported to be associated with various disorders, including skeletal deformities, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic syndrome. While the recommended daily allowance for magnesium is 420 mg for males and 320 mg for females, the standard diet in the United States contains only about 50 percent of that amount. As much as half of the total population is estimated to be consuming a magnesium-deficient diet, the lead researcher said that, the magnesium consumption from natural foods has decreased in the past few decades, owing to industrialized agriculture and changes in dietary habits. Magnesium status is low in populations who consume processed foods that are high in refined grains, fat, phosphate, and sugar. By consuming an optimal amount of magnesium, one may be able to lower the risks of Vitamin D deficiency, and reduce the dependency on Vitamin D supplements. Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the human body after calcium, potassium, and sodium. Foods high in magnesium include almonds, bananas, beans, broccoli, brown rice, cashews, egg yolk, fish oil, flaxseed, green vegetables, milk, mushrooms, other nuts, oatmeal, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, soybeans, sunflower seeds, sweet corn, tofu, and whole grains.

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                                                                                          Childhood obesity continues to increase

Three decades of rising childhood obesity continued their upward trend in 2016. 35.1 percent of children in the U.S. were overweight in 2016, a 4.7-percent increase compared to 2014. About four years ago, there was evidence of a decline in obesity in preschoolers, said lead researcher. It appears any decline that may have been detected by looking at different snapshots in time or different data sets has reversed course. The long-term trend is clearly that obesity in children of all ages is increasing. The data are based on body-mass index (BMI) data for 3,340 children participating in the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) in 2015-16, a large database updated every two years. Researchers examined data back to 1999 that includes 33,543 children. The lead researcher identified notable spikes between 2014 and 2016 in obesity for preschool boys, which rose from 8.5 percent to 14.2 percent, and girls aged 16 to 19, whose rates of obesity jumped from 35.6 percent to 47.9 percent. Boys and girls aged 16 to 19 had the highest rates of any age group in 2016, with 41.5 percent considered overweight, defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as having a BMI at or above the 85th percentile for age and sex. Among these 16-to-19-year-olds, 4.5 percent have Class III obesity, the highest of three categories defined by the CDC. Both Class II and Class III are considered severe and are linked with greater risk of heart and metabolic health problems, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol. Across all age groups, African-American and Hispanic children had higher rates of overweight and all levels of obesity, while Asian-American children had markedly lower rates. The most prominent trend since 1999 is the increase in all levels of overweight for Hispanic girls, and overweight and Class II obesity (BMI that is at least 120 percent above the 95th percentile for age and sex) among Hispanic males. Despite some previous reports, the obesity epidemic has not abated, said lead researcher. This evidence is important in keeping the spotlight shined on programs to support healthy changes. Obesity is one of the most serious health challenges facing children and is a predictor for many other health problems. When we see that leveling off, we can become complacent we can't afford to do that. The lead researcher said the study has limitations, relying on two-year data that provides snapshots in time across a wide population. But NHANES database is a broader data source than sources for studies that have found declines in obesity rates among smaller or segmented populations. The NHANES 2015-16 data is also the first to include enough data to create a nationally representative sample in Asian-American children, the race or ethnic group in whom rates were actually lowest, at 23.2 percent. Families can avoid added sugar in beverages and food, get at least an hour of activity a day, and incorporate vegetables into every meal to improve their health. Even if child is a picky eater and wants to eat the same vegetable every day, that is still a good choice. To reduce obesity in children, including programs that offer at-risk children access to free medical care, partnerships with municipal recreation programs across North Carolina, and even studying children's gut bacteria to determine how the gut microbiome is related to weight.

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                                                          New advances in medication for muscle disease in children

The most severe form of spinal muscular atrophy, SMA type 1, which afflicts children before they are six months old. This time the study concerned SMA type 2, in which the illness occurs when children have learned to sit by themselves but have not yet begun to walk. The muscles gradually weaken, the children never stand upright on their legs and ultimately they need respirators to survive. Two out three children in the current study received Spinraza; one out of three received a placebo. And this time, too, it turned out that the drug with the active substance nusinersen, which partly compensates for an inherited genetic error, altered the children's condition. Their ability to sit up straight, raise their hands, move by rolling around, etc., was improved by an average of four points on the scale used to measure changes in spinal muscular atrophy. At the same time, children in the placebo group regressed an average of 1.9 points on the scale. The natural progression is for the children to lose points on this scale. Although there are variations within the group, they are never destined to get better. The fact that strength and mobility increased in those who received the drug is really quite amazing, the lead researcher said. People with spinal muscular atrophy lack a protein that is required for the motor nerve cells in the spinal cord to function. If both parents are carriers, the likelihood that the child will get the disease is 25 percent. Every year 10 or so children in Sweden are diagnosed with SMA. The two most difficult variations, type 1 and 2, are covered by a recently issued recommendation from the Swedish Council for Novel Therapies (NT-rådet) of Sweden's municipalities and county councils that under certain conditions and strict control, children should be offered treatment with Spinraza.

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Apremilast

10 mg