Carotenoids and Vitamin a in Translational Medicine

Description

Vitamin A (retinol) is an essential dietary compound with myriad metabolic and regulatory functions. Deficiency can result in vision problems, compromised immune responses, and a host of other medical issues. More than 600 carotenoids have been identified in plants, algae, fungi, and bacteria, and around 50 carotenoids—including β-carotene—can be converted into vitamin A. Carotenoids and Vitamin A in Translational Medicine reviews the medical use of carotenoids and vitamin A in cancer; diseases of theskin, eye, ear, and lung; and inflammatory bowel and metabolic diseases. It also discusses the analytics of carotenoids and the supply of carotenoids and vitamin A in developing countries.

Serving a broad community of researchers and practitioners conducting basic and clinical analysis on carotenoids and vitamin A for medical purposes, the book evaluatesbasic research, epidemiological studies, and clinical trials in the field. It updates information on the worldwide problem of vitamin A deficiency and discusses extensively thepros and cons of carotenoid supplementation in cancer. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of the efforts made in the field of carotenoid research with respect to translational medicine and present the future outlook on carotenoids as new therapeutic agents.

It is the editors’ intent through the contributions in this volume to expand this important discussion on therapeutic approaches using carotenoids and retinoids. In doing so, theyhope to enhance the quality of research which brings safe, effective, and clinically proven medicines to patients.

Contents

Carotenoids and Vitamin A in Metabolic Diseases
Hepatic Retinoid Metabolism What Is Known and What Is Not; Jason J. Yuen, Jian Zhang Yang, and William S. Blaner
Metabolism of Vitamin A in White Adipose Tissue and Obesity; Shanmugam M. Jeyakumar, Rumana Yasmeen, Barbara Reichert, and Ouliana Ziouzenkova
Carotenoids and Vitamin A in Skin, Eye and Ear Diseases
Retinoids in the Treatment of Psoriasis; Neil Borkar and Alan Menter
Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Carotenoids; Nilesh Kalariya, Werner G. Siems, and Frederik J.G.M. van Kuijk
Lutein, Zeaxanthin, and Vision across the Life Span; Billy R. Hammond, Jr.
Assuring Vitamin A Adequacy to Prevent Eye and Ear Disorders; Tripper Sauer, Susan Emmett, and Keith P. West, Jr.
Disturbed Accumulation and Abnormal Distribution of Macular Pigment in Retinal Disorders; Tos T.J.M. Berendschot, Peter Charbel Issa, and Thomas Theelen
Retinol and Otitis Media; Akeem Olawale Lasisi
Carotenoids and Vitamin A in Cancer
Carotenoids and Mutagenesis; P.M. Eckl, A. Alija, N. Bresgen, E. Bojaxhi, C. Vogl,
G. Martano, H. Stutz, S. Knasmüller, F. Ferk, Werner G. Siems, C.D. Langhans, and Olaf Sommerburg
Carotenoids and Vitamin A in Lung Cancer Prevention; Anita Ratnasari Iskandar and Xiang-Dong Wang
Is the Effect of β-Carotene on Prostate Cancer Cells Dependent on Their Androgen Sensitivity? Joanna Dulinska-Litewka, Gerd Schmitz, Aldona Kiec-Dembinska, and Piotr Laidler
Carotenoid Intake and Supplementation in Cancer: Pro and Con; Werner G. Siems, Olaf Sommerburg, I. Wiswedel, P.M. Eckl, N. Bresgen, Frederik J.G.M. van Kuijk, C. Crifò, and C. Salerno
Carotenoids and Vitamin A in Other Diseases
Vitamin A in Lung Development and Function; Hans-Konrad Biesalski
Vitamin A and Carotenoids in Lung Diseases; Olaf Sommerburg and Werner G. Siems
Chemopreventive Effects of Astaxanthin on Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Inflammation-Related Colon
Carcinogenesis; Masashi Hosokawa and Yumiko Yasui
Meeting Dietary Supply of Vitamin A and Carotenoids
Carotenoids in Laboratory Medicine; Ingolf Schimke and Michael Vogeser
Supply of Vitamin A in Developing Countries; Grace Jui-Ting Tsai and Klaus Kraemer
Vitamin A Intakes Are Below Recommendations in a Significant Proportion of the Population in the Western World; Hans-Konrad Biesalski, Barbara Trösch, and Peter Weber
Critical Appraisal of Vitamin A Supplementation Program in India; Dechenla Tshering Bhutia and Saskia de Pee
Consequences of Common Genetic Variations on β-Carotene Cleavage for Vitamin A Supply; Georg Lietz, Anthony Oxley, and Christine Boesch-Saadatmandi
Index 

Editor(s) Bio

Olaf Sommerburg works as a senior physician in the Division of Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergology at the University Children’s Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany. He isalso a clinical researcher and involved as principal investigator in the Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (member of the German Lung Research Center, DZL). Dr. Sommerburg started his scientific career 20 years ago with research in the fields of oxidative stress and antioxidants. He has over 15 years of experience working withcarotenoids and carotenoid cleavage products. He connects basic research with clinical questions and is currently involved in different clinical and translational researchprojects. In the last decade, he has worked successfully on projects on ophthalmology, nephrology, and pulmonology. He has published more than 60 scientific articles and book chapters.

Werner Siems serves as director of KortexMed Institute of Medical Education in Bad Harzburg, Germany and of the Research Institute of Physiotherapy and Gerontology at KortexMed. Dr. Siems has over 30 years of experience in clinics, especially orthopedics, education, and applied biochemical research, as well as in managing educationalinstitutions. He is researcher on the fields of oxidative stress, aging, renal disease, and lymphoedema. He serves on several professional and scientific societies dedicated to lipid peroxidation and cardionephrology. He is a reviewer for a number of scientific journals, has published more than 300 scientific articles and book chapters, and has editedand co-edited nine books. Siems is also an active member of the Academy of Sciences, New York.

Klaus Kraemer is the director of Sight and Life, a humanitarian nutrition think tank that tries to improve the nutritional status of the world’s most vulnerable populations. Itguides original nutrition research, disseminates its findings, and facilitates dialogue to bring about positive change. Dr. Kraemer has over 25 years of experience in researchand advocacy in the field of health, bioavailability, and safety of vitamins, minerals, and carotenoids. He is editor of Sight and Life magazine, one of the most widely distributedscientific magazines on micronutrients and nutrition in the developing world. He also serves on several professional societies dedicated to nutrition, vitamins, and antioxidants. He is a reviewer for a number of scientific journals, has published many peer-reviewed scientific articles, and has co-edited nine books.