Andrew Prentice

....

....

..We suggest that low-cost point-of-care hepcidin assays would aid iron supplementation programs in the developing world...

..Changes in weight observed during this period were considered to be due to changes in hydration status...

..Here we report findings on the role of early life stressors as contributors to the onset of T cell immunological defects in later life...

..Variation in the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene has been reproducibly associated with body mass index (BMI) and obesity in populations of White European origin. Data from Asians and African-Americans is less conclusive...

..Better understanding of the dynamics of transmission and carriage will inform control strategies...

..We examined available evidence to determine whether an association exists between the two; and if one exists, in what direction...

..Examination of the evolutionary 'norm' for early growth, and the external environmental factors that influenced it, may provide clues towards identifying the current day optimum for growth...

....

....

..In this Personal Perspective, we highlight some of these gaps and make some proposals as to how improved research methods and technologies can be brought to bear on the problems of undernourished children in the developing world...

..However, interpretation of the possible links between these energy-sparing mechanisms and any association between CR and ageing is handicapped by an absence of data on the latter and will remain a matter of debate for many years to come...

....

....

..This paper will describe the key elements of the thrifty genotype and phenotype and review the evidence base relating these early effects to differences in ingestive behavior...

..However, diets of different macronutrient composition and energy density can have profound implications for innate appetite regulation and hence overall energy consumption...

....

..This paper explores the importance of the "developmental origins of health and disease" hypothesis in resource poor countries...

..These represent key targets for the design of public health initiatives...

..The effects of such low fat intakes, particularly in terms of immune function, require investigation...

..Benefits might include improved responses to enteric vaccines, which frequently perform poorly in low-income settings, and these questions merit randomized trials...

....

....

....

..As infancy progresses, leptin's power to discriminate both chronic and dynamic energy status increases, and this discrimination is achieved at much lower circulating peptide concentrations...

..To comprehensively assess iron status and determine whether elevated iron status, like anemia, predicts mortality...

..Hg intakes need to be monitored, especially in women of child-bearing age, to ensure that Food Standards Agency guidelines are met...

..Supplements are needed in the winter, to achieve satisfactory vitamin D status and minimise the risk of rickets and of poor bone health, especially in high-risk groups...

..However, poor nutrition during the neonatal period may result in higher bone formation rates during childhood...

..Optimisation of nutrition and lifestyle remains an attractive strategy for the reduction of fracture risk, but more research is required to fully define optimal dietary requirements...

..These findings indicate that participation of male adolescents in a range of high-impact activities for 1 h or more a day is associated with greater bone size and mineral content, especially at the hip...

..To review the evidence on diet and nutrition relating to osteoporosis and provide recommendations for preventing osteoporosis, in particular, osteopototic fracture...

..To examine the relationships between alcohol consumption and a range of nutrient intakes and blood status indices in older people...

..However, in animal studies in utero exposure to low levels of aflatoxin also results in growth faltering...

..There exists the potential for a global contraction and convergence in use of fossil-fuel energy for transport to benefit health and achieve sustainability...

..This result supports present conclusions from genetic studies in which all known causes of human obesity are related to defects in the regulation of appetite...

..Malaria induces an intense inflammatory reaction that stalls reticulo-endothelial macrophagal iron recycling from haemolysed red blood cells and inhibits oral iron absorption, but the magnitude and duration of these effects are unclear...

..No such association was observed in response to a polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccine indicating an early-life programming effect on the generation of antibodies during a B-cell-dependent immune response...

..The purpose was to investigate the long-term effect of ad libitum low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets with mainly simple or complex carbohydrates on body weight and blood lipids...

..The results suggest that low birthweight may increase later risk of impaired glucose tolerance in urban Pakistani adults. Further research in this area is warranted...

..To retest our previous finding that the haptoglobin (Hp) 22 genotype is associated with seasonal anaemia, and to investigate the role of malaria in this effect...

..The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding until age 6 mo. Studies relying on mothers' self-reported behaviors have shown that lactation counseling increases both the rate and duration of exclusive breastfeeding...

..The Hp2 allele is thought to have spread under strong selection pressure, but it is unclear whether this is due to protection from malaria or other diseases...

..Pregnancies conceived in September to November were significantly shorter than those from better-fed months (38.6 vs 39.0 weeks; log-rank chi 2 = 17.4, P < .0001)...

..Low birth weight (LBW) can result from prematurity or intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and result in small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants. Prematurity and IUGR may have different etiologies and consequences...

..To determine differential improvements in mortality rates according to age, and to discuss differences in neonatal and post-neonatal mortality rates, using longitudinal data from the past 50 years in three rural Gambian villages...

..CONCLUSION: These data show a plausible pathway linking external seasonal insults to mothers with thymic development in their infants, which suggests possible implications for long-term programming of immunity...

..Evidence is also emerging that some components of immune function may be programmed in early life. However, this evidence is limited and requires confirmation...

..The current paper uses data from a large demographic survey in the Matlab region of Bangladesh to retest the Gambian-derived hypothesis that early life exposures correlated with season of birth predict later patterns of mortality...

..Given the high burden of infection-related mortality in West Africa, further investigation of the immune effects of aflatoxin exposure in children is merited...

..Physical inactivity increases the risk of obesity, but the relations between reported levels of physical activity (PA) and measures of body fatness (BF) in children are remarkably inconsistent...

....

..In a rural Gambian setting, individuals born during periods of seasonal nutritional deprivation ("hungry seasons") are susceptible to mortality from infectious diseases in adult life...

..To explore the relationship between calendar month of administration and antibody (Ab) response to vaccination in subjects from The Gambia and Pakistan, two countries with distinct patterns of seasonality...

..Possible reasons are discussed...

..The present paper will review progress made to date within this field of research...

..Previous studies examined the importance of haptoglobin polymorphism in malaria and iron homeostasis, but it is unknown whether haptoglobin genotype might be a risk factor for anaemia in children in a malaria-endemic area...

....

..Overweight individuals with metabolic syndrome are at increased risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary vascular disease. Weight gain and features of the syndrome may be ameliorated by dietary intervention...

....

..Cell kinetics research is applicable in tropical settings, and can contribute to further understanding the regulation of adaptive immunity in response to infections and other insults...