Retinoid-Induced Hyperlipidemia and the Risk of Atherosclerosis

Assessment of serum Vit A, D and zinc nutritional status and related dietary and exercise behaviors of children and adolescents in rural and urban area

Vitamin A and vitamin D deficiency in children and adolescents has a negative impact on their growth and development. This study aimed to learn the nutritional status of vitamin A and D among rural children and adolescents and to explore related dietary and exercise behaviors. A total of 10 counties (cities, districts) from 90 counties (cities, districts) in Zhejiang Province were selected by the method of random cluster sampling. Children and adolescents were investigated and their food and nutrient intake were calculated. The concentration of serum vitamin A in urban area was 0.38 ng/ml, which was higher than that in rural area (p < 0.05); while the concentration of serum vitamin D in urban area was 21.25 mg/L, which was lower than that in rural area (p < 0.05). The concentration of serum zinc was 101 μg/dl in urban area and 107 μg/dl in rural area (p < 0.05). The intake of dietary fiber, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and vitamin C was lower than the recommended value. In rural area, the intakes of cereals, tubers and beans, livestock, poultry and meat of children and adolescents were higher than the recommended values; while the intake of vegetables, fruits, eggs, milk, fish and shrimp, soybean and nuts was lower than the recommended value. The intake of edible oil and salt is higher than the recommended value. The time of medium and high intensity exercise time in rural area is more than that in urban area in the age group of 12-17 years, while the sitting time is less than that in urban area. Children and adolescents living in rural area should be guided to eat reasonably, and to choose foods with high nutrient density and with low oil, salt and sugar.

The impact of oral vitamin A derivatives on lipid metabolism - What recommendations can be derived for dealing with this issue in the daily dermatological practice?

Retinoids and vitamin A derivatives have been widely used topically and systemically in the treatment of hyper- and parakeratotic skin diseases, genodermatoses, severe acne, autoimmune diseases (i. e. lupus erythematosus) or cutaneous T-cell lymphoma for more than 30 years. In addition to the desired proliferation-inhibiting, differentiation-inducing and antiinflammatory or sebo-suppressive effects, vitamin A derivatives also affect lipid metabolism. This is shown primarily by an increase of transaminases, triglycerides or cholesterol levels which vary in intensity from patient to patient. The degree of impact on the different parameters of lipid metabolism depends on the nature of the vitamin A derivative on the one hand due to different receptor specific binding interactions (RAR/RXR), while on the other hand posttranslational processes also play a major role. This review paper gives a brief, concise overview of the vitamin A derivatives and possible effects on lipid metabolism that can be expected. Additionally it contains a recommendation for secure handling of abnormal laboratory values before, during and after oral therapy with vitamin A derivatives. The aim of this article is to provide practical help and confidence in dealing with vitamin A derivatives in daily clinical practice. The publication was created in cooperation with the Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft (DDG) and Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Bekämpfung von Fettstoffwechselstörungen und ihren Folgeerkrankungen (DGFF [Lipid-Liga] e. V.).