Active clinical trials for "Ascorbic Acid Deficiency"

Nausea and vomiting is a common complication of pregnancy and occurs in 70-80% of all pregnancies. The symptoms usually start 2-4 weeks after fertilization and peak between the 9th and 16th week of gestation. In the 22nd week of pregnancy, the symptoms usually resolve. In up to 10% of all pregnancies nausea and vomiting may persist until delivery, which is called emesis gravidarum. In 0.3-2% of all pregnancies, nausea and vomiting occur with a pathological intensity called hyperemesis gravidarum. The cause of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy is unknown, but it is believed that the stimulus is the placenta and not the fetus. Antihistamines have proven to be an effective therapy. Histamine is increasingly produced during pregnancy by mast cells in the endometrium and myometrium, but also by mast cells in the placenta and in the decidua. High expression of the histamine-producing enzyme histamine-decarboxylase (HDC) in the placenta and many histamine receptors at the feto-maternal transition in the decidua indicate a physiological role of the histamine during pregnancy. The antidote is diamine oxidase (DAO), which is produced in the decidua and trophoblast and breaks down histamine. DAO acts as a barrier to prevent excessive passage of histamine into the maternal and fetal circulation. DAO levels increase exponentially in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy to 1000 times the baseline before pregnancy. It has been shown that intravenous vitamin C significantly reduces blood histamine levels in both allergic and non-allergic disorders. Another study with the German Navy also proved that oral vitamin C administration can reduce nausea in seasickness. In an Australian study in 2016, it was shown that chewing gum was not inferior to ondansetron therapy in patients with postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). From the available literature, we conclude that high maternal histamine concentrations in early pregnancy may be a cause of nausea and vomiting, whereas DAO is not sufficiently expressed by the transfer of histamine from the decidua and trophoblast into the maternal circulation prevent. Vitamin C has been identified in controlled clinical trials as a way to lower blood histamine levels. Furthermore, chewing gum was already described as a treatment option for nausea and vomiting. The aim of this study is therefore to test whether chewing gum containing vitamin C in pregnant women with emesis gravidarum has the potential to reduce nausea and vomiting.

The clinical finding of skin rashes which appear after a vitamin C deficiency in Long Term Care Unit leads us to believe that the institutional diet could predispose to this kind of deficiency. Vitamin C has a key role into the struggle against oxidant stress and is involved into the connective tissue formation of the skin and the vascular endothelium. Vitamin C deficiency affects currently 15 to 25% of the elderly over 65 years old reaching 15% women and 20% men after 65 according to Johnston and Al. It concerns mainly the people in precarious situations (persons without fixed homes, ethyl-smoking persons) and elderly over 65 years. Hypovitaminosis C, defined by plasma level between 5 mg/L and 15 mg/L (28.41 to 85.23 µmol/L), is currently undiagnosed, especially with people with a risk of food deficiency and its prevalence increases with age. The treatment consists of a daily oral supplementation of 1 gram of vitamin C/d for 15 days. A minimum intake of 10 mg/D of vitamin C is required to prevent scurvy and maintain a total pool of 350 mg. A diet modification by a systematic intake of 2 glasses of fresh orange juice and/or the consumption of raw fruits and vegetables would prevent the appearance of scurvy.

Burn injury is marked by a large release of inflammatory mediators which disrupt the normal capillary barrier and cause a rapid shift of intravascular fluid into interstitial spaces, ultimately leading to shock and death. As such, adequate fluid management and resuscitation is critical for burn patients to prevent further cellular injury. Technologies and medical options such as cardiac output monitoring along with early tube feeding and vitamin C administration have developed slowly over the years. Effective management of the Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome response and metabolic derangement is crucial for the survival of burn patients. In particular, vitamin C administration has shown to significantly decreases early post-burn lipid peroxidation, reduce microvascular leak of fluid by preventing endothelial dysfunction, and decreases edema formation in burned tissue. Vitamin C is a cheap and widely available antioxidant which has been shown to significantly effective in positively impacting clinical outcomes in burn resuscitation. We aim to evaluate the efficacy of vitamin C in burns greater than 20% total body surface area on clinical outcomes such as length of hospital stay, total fluid requirements, and mortality.

This is a retrospective chart review that will measure the impact on outcomes in septic shock patients who were resuscitated with a novel combination of medicines called iHAT (intravenous hydrocortisone -ascorbic acid-thiamine). Septic shock patients treated with this combination of drugs over the past two years will be compared with similar, concurrent septic shock patients who were not treated with this drug given that adoption of this therapy has been variable.