In the News

Standard Process Now Available on Fullscript

In Alzheimer’s, Connection Between Bone, Brain, and Microbiome May Be Critical

Study: Smell, Taste Should Be Closely Monitored as First Signs of COVID-19 Infection

SFI® Health Introduces EQUAZEN® PRO: a Medical Food to Support Learning, Concentration, and Brain Development in Children and Adolescents with ADHD†

Standard Process Now Available on Fullscript

Fullscript is pleased to announce that Standard Process, one of healthcare's most beloved brands, is now available to recommend in the Fullscript catalog.

For over 90 years, Standard Process has earned an outstanding reputation for its quality ingredients and rigorous testing, while offering industry-leading products in everything from digestive health, to inflammation, immune support, and more. Fullscript is proud to be amongst a select few to carry Standard Process products, and by prescribing through the Fullscript platform, practitioners can also take advantage of automated adherence tools for better outcomes.

"Standard Process is a brand known for its many years of commitment to integrative medicine, and for its quality and nutrition innovation," said Fullscript Chief Executive Officer Fran Towey. "This is a brand that — quite literally — grows its own whole food ingredients. Their commitment to practicing organic and regenerative farming is impressive, and one not many companies are willing to make. Their extensive product line of high-quality whole food-based ingredient sources and herbs will be a welcomed addition to the Fullscript catalog for our integrative practitioners looking to help patients achieve their wellness goals."

Visit the Fullscript website to learn more about Standard Process and Fullscript.

Standard Process products are Rx-only, are only available to Fullscript users in the United States, and are subject to approved licenses.

In Alzheimer’s, Connection Between Bone, Brain, and Microbiome May Be Critical

An estimated 50 million people worldwide live with dementia, a syndrome that progressively affects a person’s cognitive function. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, but a full understanding of the mechanisms behind how and why it occurs remains elusive.

With the support of a new grant from the National Institutes of Health, a team from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will examine the interactions between the brain, bone, and the gut microbiota in relation to Alzheimer’s disease. What the researchers learn could lead to new biomarker and therapeutic discoveries for both diagnosis and treatment.

“We believe that we live in a very bone-centric world,” said Deepak Vashishth, the director of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) at Rensselaer. “Anything that goes on in the body is somehow stored in bone, so it has a memory.”

Vashishth, a foremost expert on osteoporosis, is leading this research with Blanca Barquera, a professor of biological sciences and member of CBIS. Their angle on Alzheimer’s is unique.

They are focusing their efforts on osteocalcin, a bone-specific protein that affects a number of physiological processes, including energy expenditure and glucose levels. Osteocalcin also has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, where it binds to neurons and affects the synthesis of neurotransmitters.

“Our theory is that the bone produces a protein, osteocalcin, which gets modified or not modified by the microbiome and then affects the brain function,” Vashishth said. “We are trying to determine if there is a correlation and a mechanistic link between the two, especially in the context of Alzheimer’s disease.”

In the microbiota — the collection of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses that live inside the human body — vitamin K, produced by some bacteria in the gut, regulates carboxylation, which in turn regulates the level of osteocalcin in the body. An altered composition of bacteria in the gut could affect vitamin K production, therefore affecting the level of osteocalcin in the body. Distorted levels of osteocalcin may affect glucose metabolism, leading to the formation of advanced glycation end-products, which are linked to Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes-related skeletal fragility.

“This project, a collaboration between an engineer who studies bones and a biochemist who studies bacterial physiology, is an example of how fruitful interdisciplinary cooperation can be,” Barquera said.

This collaboration embodies the New Polytechnic model that drives education and research at Rensselaer. Leaning on Vashishth’s expertise in bone health and Barquera’s expertise on the gut microbiota, the team will determine the bone and microbiome alterations that happen alongside Alzheimer’s progression. Vashishth and Barquera will evaluate the effects of altering vitamin K production by gut bacteria on carboxylated osteocalcin, which may affect the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Study: Smell, Taste Should Be Closely Monitored as First Signs of COVID-19 Infection

Almost two-thirds of the people admitted to an Italian hospital with COVID-19 in March experienced losing their senses of smell and taste, according to a study published in the December 9, 2020, online issue of Neurology^® Clinical Practice, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Additionally, about 22% of those with impaired sense of smell and taste said it was their first symptom of infection.

“Loss of smell and taste are common in people who have COVID-19 infections, and our study found that these symptoms often occur before other symptoms, like fever or shortness of breath,” said study author Francesco Bax, M.D., of Santa Maria della Misericordia University Hospital in Udine, Italy. “Because of that, clinicians should consider a patient’s loss of smell and taste an early indication of infection, one that is monitored closely while keeping that patient isolated, and possibly quarantined, until a definitive diagnosis can be made. While many people show evidence of COVID-19 infection in the lungs, we found there could be more at play than what a person’s lungs can tell us.”

The study involved 93 people with an average age of 63 who were admitted to the non-intensive COVID-19 unit of the hospital in March 2020. The participants either tested positive for the virus with a swab test, or they showed signs of lung problems with a chest X-ray or scan. They were also interviewed about their symptoms.

Loss of smell and taste were present in 58 people, or 63% of the group. For 13 of the 58, or 22%, the loss of smell and taste was their first symptom. Average duration of the loss of smell and taste was 25 to 30 days.

Researchers also looked at blood work to see if there were certain biomarkers of inflammation. Compared to coronavirus-infected patients who didn’t lose their sense of smell and taste, the people with compromised sense of smell had lower amounts of white blood cells, or leukocytes. In particular, a specific subset of white blood cells called neutrophils was reduced.  These cells also help the body fight infection.

The people who lost their sense of smell had an average of 4,695 leukocytes per microliter (μL), compared to 6,010/μL in those with a normal sense of smell, a decrease of 23%. The people who lost their sense of smell had an average of 3,250 neutrophils/μL, compared to an average of 3,960/μL in those with a normal sense of smell, a decrease of 29%.

“More research is needed to determine whether this decrease in white blood cells we observed can be used to help identify patients in the early stages of COVID-19 infection,” said Bax. “For people whose first symptoms were loss of taste and smell, we found very few had nasal congestion, so we think obstruction of the nasal passages is an unlikely cause of these symptoms. However, the association between a blood cell imbalance and losing your sense of smell may help in identifying patients at risk.”

A limitation of the study is that only the patients remaining in the hospital were interviewed in person, while people already discharged from the hospital were interviewed over the phone.  

Learn more about COVID-19 at BrainandLife.org, home of the American Academy of Neurology’s free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life^® on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

When posting to social media channels about this research, we encourage you to use the hashtags #Neurology and #AANscience.

The American Academy of Neurology is the world’s largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with over 36,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

SFI® Health Introduces EQUAZEN® PRO: a Medical Food to Support Learning, Concentration, and Brain Development in Children and Adolescents with ADHD†

Soho Flordis International (SFI^® Health)—a l and the home of Klaire Labs^®—announced the U.S. launch of EQUAZEN^® PRO, a medical food specifically designed to nutritionally support children and adolescents with ADHD whose polyunsaturated fatty acid deficiencies cannot be rebalanced through the modification of normal diet alone.^†  

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurobiological condition that affects nearly 6.1 million children in the U.S. alone. It is traditionally managed with pharmacotherapy, behavioral therapy, or a combination of the two. However, up to 30% of individuals do not respond to stimulant medications, and there are concerns and controversies surrounding the side effects and long-term safety of such drugs.

Within the context of these concerns, as well as the growing prevalence of ADHD, Equazen Pro—supported by over 15 years of ongoing clinical research—represents innovative nutritional support, both alone and in combination with traditional ADHD therapies.

“Parents and practitioners alike are seeking cognitive health solutions for children that are not only effective but also safe to use over the long term,” said Divya Ramakrishnan, GM, SFI Health Americas. “Equazen Pro has been studied in 19 clinical trials, including trials where it showed significant improvements in children’s attention control, vocabulary, memory, inattentive behavior, balanced mood, and academic performance, while also demonstrating a high safety profile.”

Both the development and the beneficial outcomes of Equazen Pro are directly tied to emerging research that demonstrates a connection between ADHD and long-chain omega fatty acid metabolism. Many individuals with ADHD have substantial deficiencies of essential fatty acids, as well as marked omega-3/omega-6 ratio imbalances. Such deficiencies, which are linked to genetic differences found in those with ADHD, are thought to negatively affect key brain functions and inflammatory pathways in the brain.

By combining higher amounts of EPA with DHA, and an optimal balance of GLA, Equazen Pro helps the body to overcome those unique genetic differences, supplying essential omega fatty acids in forms directly usable by the body to promote healthy fatty acid balance and, thus, healthy cognitive and neurological functions.^†

The Equazen Pro formulation originated in the UK over 20 years ago, with focused efforts to address lipid deficiencies linked to learning conditions. This innovative product was also subject to a robust clinical development program that validated its unique formulation. In 2015, the Equazen portfolio of products was purchased by SFI Health and is now distributed in 26 countries worldwide. With this new launch—which is defined by our commitment to supporting children and adolescents with ADHD around the globe—Equazen Pro is now available to U.S. healthcare practitioners and their patients as a medical food.

Equazen Pro is a medical food designed to address omega fatty acid metabolic differences in children and adolescents with ADHD, supplying the clinically tested ratio EPA:DHA:GLA=9:3:1 to promote healthy fatty acid metabolism and balanced omega fatty acid levels.^†

EQUAZEN® PRO is a medical food to support learning, concentration, and brain development in children/adolescents with ADHD who have been determined by medical evaluation to require nutritional management of polyunsaturated fatty acid deficiencies that cannot be achieved by modification of normal diet alone.

NOTICE: EQUAZEN^® PRO IS A MEDICAL FOOD TO BE USED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A PHYSICIAN OR OTHER LICENSED HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONER. IT IS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR ANY MEDICATION.

To learn more about Equazen Pro visit Klaire Labs.  (https://klaire.com/eqz-equazen-capsules)