Medical researchers has recently found out that vitamin C deficiency may impair the mental development of new-born babies.
According to the study made by LIFE Faculty of Life Sciences at University of Copenhagen they discovered that guinea pigs subjected to moderate vitamin C deficiency have 30 per cent
less hippocampal neurones and markedly worse spatial memory than guinea pigs given a normal diet.
The researchers revealed like guinea pigs, human beings are dependent on getting vitamin C through their diet, they speculate that vitamin C
deficiency in pregnant and breast-feeding women may also lead to impaired development in foetuses and new-born babies.
The researcher explained several factors indicate that the neonatal brain, in contrast to other tissue, is particularly vulnerable to even a slight lowering of the vitamin C level.
Studies have shown that vitamin C deficiency could be bad for early brain development of babies.
They revealed the highest concentration of vitamin C is found in the neurons of the brain and in case of a low intake of vitamin C, the remaining vitamin is retained in the brain to secure this organ.
The researchers said vitamin thus seems to be quite important to brain activity.
Based on their study it was shown that mouse foetuses that were not able to transport vitamin C develop severe brain damage.
Researchers said brain damage which resembles the ones found in premature babies and which are linked to learning and cognitive disabilities later in life.
In some areas in the world, vitamin C deficiency is very common population studies in Brazil and Mexico have shown that 30
to 40 per cent of the pregnant women have too low levels of vitamin C, and the low level is also found in their fetuses and new-born babies.
It is not yet known to what extent new-born babies in Denmark or the Western World suffer from
vitamin C deficiency but a conservative estimate would be 5 to 10 per cent based on the occurrence among adults.
Those children facing anorexia have higher chances of suffering from impaired bone development when they reach adolescent.
This was the result of a recent research which also uncovered that children and teenagers with even mild cases of anorexia exhibit abnormal bone structure.
Anorexia is an eating disorder characterized by emaciation, distorted body image and intense fear of gaining weight.
Miriam A. Bredella, M.D., musculoskeletal radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston said Adolescence is the most critical period for growth of bone mass, and the onset of anorexia interferes with that process, impairment of bone development may permanently alter bone structure and increase the risk of fractures and osteoporosis in adult life.
Bredella revealed people with the disorder are obsessed with weight control and often perceive themselves as overweight, even when they are dangerously thin.
Recent studies have shown that anorexia could affect adolescent bone development.
She said the disorder primarily occurs among young women and affects one in 100 adolescent girls.
The medical expert added among the many health problems associated with anorexia is bone loss.
To get the data, Bredella and her team used high-resolution, flat-panel volume computed tomography (CT) and DXA to study 10 adolescent girls, age 13 to 18, with mild anorexia and 10 age-matched girls without the disorder.
The new, high-resolution CT exam allowed the researchers to identify differences in bone structure between the patients with anorexia and the healthy controls, whereas bone mineral density measurements obtained using DXA did not.
The researchers said the results showed that while there was not a significant difference in bone mineral density between the anorexic patients and the healthy control group, there were significant structural differences, indicating that changes in bone structure begin to occur in anorexic patients well before decreases in bone density.
Moreover, the researchers claimed their data suggest that reassuring values of bone mineral density obtained using DXA may not reflect the true status of bone structure in this undernourished population.
Bredella said that in patients with anorexia, bone structure should be analyzed to detect abnormal bone health.