Hypocholesteremic effectiveness of a yogurt containing plant stanol esters

This clinical trial was carried out with the objective of a preliminar evaluation of the hypocholesteremic effectiveness of a dietary dairy product currently marketed in Spain in the form of drinkable yogurt. Thirty-two adult male and female patients with LDL cholesterol higher than 120 mg/dl were recruited in a pilot, randomized as parallel groups, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trial. Patients consumed during 3 weeks (a bottle a day) Kaiku's Benecole® containing 2 g/bottle of plant stanol esters, or a placebo consisting of the same product without plant stanol. Furthermore, all participants carried out some dietary standards. At the beginning and the end of the treatment LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol were assessed; LDL/HDL index was also calculated. At the end of the treatment in the active group a significant decline (p < 0.01) with regard to the initial levels was observed in LDL cholesterol (157 ± 30 to 140 ± 34, mg/dl, mean ± SD) levels, total cholesterol (235 ± 34 to 219 ± 35) levels, and LDL/HDL index (3,2 ± 1,0 to 3,0 ± 1,2), without significant changes in HDL cholesterol (48 ± 15 to 53 ± 29); in the placebo group there were no significant changes (LDL cholesterol: 168 ± 25 to 164 ± 23; total cholesterol: 245 ± 31 to 237 ± 23; HDL cholesterol: 51 ± 12 to 51 ± 12; LDL/HDL index: 3,4 ± 0,6 to 3,3 ± 0,8). In short, consumption of a yogurt a day containing 2 g of stanol reduces significantly the cholesterol levels and this effect is not observed with the placebo.Peer reviewe

Child- and Family-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Pediatric Bipolar Disorder: Applications for Suicide Prevention

Despite high rates of suicide ideation (SI) and behavior in youth with pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD), little work has examined how psychosocial interventions impact suicidality among this high-risk group. The current study examined SI outcomes in a randomized clinical trial comparing Child- and Family-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CFF-CBT) for PBD versus psychotherapy treatment-as-usual (TAU). Although not designed for suicide prevention, CFF-CBT addresses child and family factors related to suicide risk and thus was hypothesized to generalize to the treatment of suicidality. Participants included 71 youth aged 7-13 years (M = 9.17, SD = 1.60) with DSM-IV-TR bipolar I, II, or not otherwise specified randomly assigned, with parent(s), to receive CFF-CBT or TAU. Both treatments consisted of 12 weekly and 6 monthly booster sessions. Suicide ideation was assessed via clinician interview at baseline, posttreatment, and 6-month follow-up. Results indicated that SI was prevalent pretreatment: 39% of youth reported current suicidal thoughts. All youth significantly improved in the likelihood and intensity of ideation across treatment, but group differences were not significant. Thus, findings suggest that early intervention for these high-risk youth may reduce SI, and at this stage of suicidality, youth may be responsive to even nonspecialized treatment