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Brown RB. Myopia, Sodium Chloride, and Vitreous Fluid Imbalance: A Nutritional Epidemiology Perspective. EPIDEMIOLOGIA 2024; 5:29-40. [PMID: 38390916 PMCID: PMC10885086 DOI: 10.3390/epidemiologia5010003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Theories of myopia etiology based on near work and lack of outdoor exposure have had inconsistent support and have not prevented the rising prevalence of global myopia. New scientific theories in the cause and prevention of myopia are needed. Myopia prevalence is low in native people consuming traditional diets lacking in sodium chloride, and nutritional epidemiological evidence supports the association of rising myopia prevalence with dietary sodium intake. East Asian populations have among the highest rates of myopia associated with high dietary sodium. Similar associations of sodium and rising myopia prevalence were observed in the United States in the late 20th century. The present perspective synthesizes nutritional epidemiology evidence with pathophysiological concepts and proposes that axial myopia occurs from increased fluid retention in the vitreous of the eye, induced by dietary sodium chloride intake. Salt disturbs ionic permeability of retinal membranes, increases the osmotic gradient flow of fluid into the vitreous, and stretches ocular tissue during axial elongation. Based on the present nutritional epidemiology evidence, experimental research should investigate the effect of sodium chloride as the cause of myopia, and clinical research should test a very low-salt diet in myopia correction and prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald B Brown
- School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
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Brown RB. Low dietary sodium potentially mediates COVID-19 prevention associated with whole-food plant-based diets. Br J Nutr 2022; 129:1-6. [PMID: 35912674 PMCID: PMC10011594 DOI: 10.1017/s0007114522002252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 06/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Compared with an omnivorous Western diet, plant-based diets containing mostly fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, with restricted amounts of foods of animal origin, are associated with reduced risk and severity of COVID-19. Additionally, inflammatory immune responses and severe acute respiratory symptoms of COVID-19, including pulmonary oedema, shortness of breath, fever and nasopharyngeal infections, are associated with Na toxicity from excessive dietary Na. High dietary Na is also associated with increased risks of diseases and conditions that are co-morbid with COVID-19, including chronic kidney disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes and obesity. This article presents evidence that low dietary Na potentially mediates the association of plant-based diets with COVID-19 prevention. Processed meats and poultry injected with sodium chloride contribute considerable amounts of dietary Na in the Western diet, and the avoidance or reduction of these and other processed foods in whole-food plant-based (WFPB) diets could help lower overall dietary Na intake. Moreover, high amounts of K in plant-based diets increase urinary Na excretion, and preagricultural diets high in plant-based foods were estimated to contain much lower ratios of dietary Na to K compared with modern diets. Further research should investigate low Na in WFPB diets for protection against COVID-19 and co-morbid conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald B. Brown
- School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ONN2L3G1, Canada
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Brown RB. Sodium Toxicity in the Nutritional Epidemiology and Nutritional Immunology of COVID-19. MEDICINA (KAUNAS, LITHUANIA) 2021; 57:739. [PMID: 34440945 PMCID: PMC8399536 DOI: 10.3390/medicina57080739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2021] [Revised: 07/17/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Dietary factors in the etiology of COVID-19 are understudied. High dietary sodium intake leading to sodium toxicity is associated with comorbid conditions of COVID-19 such as hypertension, kidney disease, stroke, pneumonia, obesity, diabetes, hepatic disease, cardiac arrhythmias, thrombosis, migraine, tinnitus, Bell's palsy, multiple sclerosis, systemic sclerosis, and polycystic ovary syndrome. This article synthesizes evidence from epidemiology, pathophysiology, immunology, and virology literature linking sodium toxicological mechanisms to COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Sodium toxicity is a modifiable disease determinant that impairs the mucociliary clearance of virion aggregates in nasal sinuses of the mucosal immune system, which may lead to SARS-CoV-2 infection and viral sepsis. In addition, sodium toxicity causes pulmonary edema associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome, as well as inflammatory immune responses and other symptoms of COVID-19 such as fever and nasal sinus congestion. Consequently, sodium toxicity potentially mediates the association of COVID-19 pathophysiology with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Sodium dietary intake also increases in the winter, when sodium losses through sweating are reduced, correlating with influenza-like illness outbreaks. Increased SARS-CoV-2 infections in lower socioeconomic classes and among people in government institutions are linked to the consumption of foods highly processed with sodium. Interventions to reduce COVID-19 morbidity and mortality through reduced-sodium diets should be explored further.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald B Brown
- School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
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Madoff DC, Cornman-Homonoff J, Fortune BE, Gaba RC, Lipnik AJ, Yarmohammadi H, Ray CE. Management of Refractory Ascites Due to Portal Hypertension: Current Status. Radiology 2021; 298:493-504. [PMID: 33497318 DOI: 10.1148/radiol.2021201960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Refractory ascites is a costly and debilitating condition that occurs most frequently in the setting of substantial cirrhotic portal hypertension, where it portends a poor prognosis. Many treatment options are available, among them medical management, serial large volume paracenteses, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts, and implanted drainage devices. Although the availability of multiple therapies ensures that most patients will achieve satisfactory results, it can be challenging for the provider to select the appropriate treatment for each specific patient. This article reviews the available therapeutic options for refractory ascites and incorporates available data and clinical experience to suggest a linear stepwise management approach to enhance patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C Madoff
- From the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Section of Interventional Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Cedar St, TE-2, New Haven, CT 06520-8055 (D.C.M., J.C.); Department of Medicine, Division of Hepatology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY (B.E.F.); Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill (R.C.G., A.J.L., C.E.R.); and Department of Radiology, Interventional Radiology Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (H.Y.)
| | - Joshua Cornman-Homonoff
- From the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Section of Interventional Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Cedar St, TE-2, New Haven, CT 06520-8055 (D.C.M., J.C.); Department of Medicine, Division of Hepatology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY (B.E.F.); Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill (R.C.G., A.J.L., C.E.R.); and Department of Radiology, Interventional Radiology Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (H.Y.)
| | - Brett E Fortune
- From the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Section of Interventional Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Cedar St, TE-2, New Haven, CT 06520-8055 (D.C.M., J.C.); Department of Medicine, Division of Hepatology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY (B.E.F.); Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill (R.C.G., A.J.L., C.E.R.); and Department of Radiology, Interventional Radiology Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (H.Y.)
| | - Ron C Gaba
- From the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Section of Interventional Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Cedar St, TE-2, New Haven, CT 06520-8055 (D.C.M., J.C.); Department of Medicine, Division of Hepatology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY (B.E.F.); Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill (R.C.G., A.J.L., C.E.R.); and Department of Radiology, Interventional Radiology Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (H.Y.)
| | - Andrew J Lipnik
- From the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Section of Interventional Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Cedar St, TE-2, New Haven, CT 06520-8055 (D.C.M., J.C.); Department of Medicine, Division of Hepatology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY (B.E.F.); Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill (R.C.G., A.J.L., C.E.R.); and Department of Radiology, Interventional Radiology Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (H.Y.)
| | - Hooman Yarmohammadi
- From the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Section of Interventional Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Cedar St, TE-2, New Haven, CT 06520-8055 (D.C.M., J.C.); Department of Medicine, Division of Hepatology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY (B.E.F.); Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill (R.C.G., A.J.L., C.E.R.); and Department of Radiology, Interventional Radiology Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (H.Y.)
| | - Charles E Ray
- From the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Section of Interventional Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Cedar St, TE-2, New Haven, CT 06520-8055 (D.C.M., J.C.); Department of Medicine, Division of Hepatology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY (B.E.F.); Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill (R.C.G., A.J.L., C.E.R.); and Department of Radiology, Interventional Radiology Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (H.Y.)
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Fortune B, Cardenas A. Ascites, refractory ascites and hyponatremia in cirrhosis. Gastroenterol Rep (Oxf) 2017; 5:104-112. [PMID: 28533908 PMCID: PMC5421465 DOI: 10.1093/gastro/gox010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2017] [Accepted: 03/09/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Ascites is the most common complication related to cirrhosis and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Ascites is a consequence of the loss of compensatory mechanisms to maintain the overall effective arterial blood volume due to worsening splanchnic arterial vasodilation as a result of clinically significant portal hypertension. In order to maintain effective arterial blood volume, vasoconstrictor and antinatriuretic pathways are activated, which increase overall sodium and fluid retention. As a result of progressive splanchnic arterial vasodilation, intestinal capillary pressure increases and results in the formation of protein-poor fluid within the abdominal cavity due to increased capillary permeability from the hepatic sinusoidal hypertension. In some patients, the fluid can translocate across diaphragmatic fenestrations into the pleural space, leading to hepatic hydrothorax. In addition, infectious complications such as spontaneous bacterial peritonitis can occur. Eventually, as the liver disease progresses related to higher portal pressures, loss of a compensatory cardiac output and further splanchnic vasodilation, kidney function becomes compromised from worsening renal vasoconstriction as well as the development of impaired solute-free water excretion and severe sodium retention. These mechanisms then translate into significant clinical complications, such as refractory ascites, hepatorenal syndrome and hyponatremia, and all are linked to increased short-term mortality. Currently, liver transplantation is the only curative option for this spectrum of clinical manifestations but ongoing research has led to further insight on alternative approaches. This review will further explore the current understanding on the pathophysiology and management of ascites as well as expand on two advanced clinical consequences of advanced liver disease, refractory ascites and hyponatremia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett Fortune
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Weill Cornell Medical College, NY, USA
| | - Andres Cardenas
- Institut de Malalties Digestives i Metabolique, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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