Relevant Medical Foods Publications

Journal of Food Science Research Articles

Thomas SM, et al. Importance of sensory evaluation in the stability testing of a medical food. J Food Sci. 1981;46(2):435-439. Discusses sensory testing of medical foods to investigate product stability.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety

Granato D, et al. Probiotic dairy products as functional foods. Comp Rev Food Sci & Food Safety. 2010;9:455-470. Provides an overview of functional foods and strategies for their development and discusses probiotic dairy products.
Task Force of the ILSI International Food Biotechnology Committee. Comp Rev Food Sci & Food Safety. 2004;3:38-104. A Task Force Report by the International Life Sciences Institute mentions how medium chain triglyceride oil has been included in medical foods, erogogenic aids, and dietary supplements.

Food Technology Magazine Articles

Clemens R & Pressman P. Medical foods and irritable bowel syndrome. Food Tech. 2006;60(8). Mentions how the development of medical foods provides a form of dietary support for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In particular, the article focuses on cultured milk products enriched with proprietary strains of probiotic organisms, which are designed to help regulate disordered bowel function.
Luccahina LA. Improving the success of functional foods. Food Tech. 2003;57(7). Explains how the definition and regulation of functional foods complicates its commercial viability
Katz F. Active cultures add function to yogurt and other foods. Food Tech. 2001;55(3). Explains how certain microorganisms are being explored for use in medical foods.
Katz F. Research priorities move toward healthy and safe. Food Tech. 2000;54(12). Summarizes findings from a Food Technology questionnaire sent to the Chief Research Officers of 100 major food companies surveying participants about their areas of research they were actively involved in and discussed how participating research officers are increasingly interested in medical foods and acquiring some medical foods by acquisition.

Other Publications

Deutz Nicolass EP, et al. Muscle protein synthesis in cancer patients can be submitted with a specially formulated medical food. Clin Nutr. 2011;30(6):759-768. Found a specially formulated nutritional supplement may help cancer patients stimulate muscle protein synthesis.
Bentley S, et al. Comparative effectiveness of a prenatal medical food to prenatal vitamins on hemoglobin levels and adverse outcomes: A retrospective analysis. Clin Ther. 2011;33(2):204-210. Reported that supplementation with a prenatal medical food containing L-methylfolate and high-dose vitamin B12 may maintain hemoglobin levels and reduce the rates of anemia in pregnancy more effectively than standard prenatal vitamins.
Kamphuis PJ, et al. Efficacy of a medical food on cognition in Alzheimer’s disease: Results from secondary analyses of a randomized, controlled trial. J Nutr Health Aging. 2011;15(8):720-724. Determined that intake adherence of a medical food was significantly associated with higher Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale cognitive scores.
Shah RC. Medical foods for Alzheimer’s Disease. Drugs Aging. 2011;28(6);421-428. Discusses opportunities for medical foods in treating Alzheimer’s disease.
Jones JL, et al. A Mediterranean-style low-glycemic-load diet improves variables of metabolic syndrome in women, and addition of a phytochemical-rich medical food enhances benefits on lipoprotein metabolism. J Clin Lipidol. 2011;5(3):188-196. Found medical food in addition to a Mediterranean-style low-glycemic-load diet effectively reduces the variables of metabolic syndrome.
Vadillo-Ortega F, et al. Effect of supplementation during pregnancy with L-arginine and antioxidant vitamins in medical food on pre-eclampsia in high risk population: Randomized controlled trial. BMJ. 2011;342:d2901. Found supplementation during pregnancy with a medical food containing L-arginine and antioxidant vitamins reduced the incidence of pre-eclampsia in a high-risk population.
Kamphuis PJ, et al. Effect of a medical food on body mass index and activities of daily living in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: Secondary analyses from a randomized, controlled trial. J Nutr & Aging. 2011;15(8):672-676. Found that baseline BMI significantly influences the effect of Souvenaid on functional abilities.
Faber J, et al. Supplementation with a fish oil-enriched, high-protein medical food leads to rapid incorporation of EPA into white blood cells and modulates immune responses within one week in healthy men and women. J Nutr. 2011;141(5):Epub 2011. Examined the incorporation of EPA and DHA into white blood cells at different time points during 1 week supplementation with a medical food—high in protein and leucine and enriched with fish oil and specific oligosaccharides and found the production of proinflammatory cytokines was significantly increased within 1 week.
Weaver MA, et al. Medical foods: Inborn errors of metabolism and the reimbursement dilemma. Genet Med. 2010;12(6):364-369. Conducted a survey of states’ newborn screening representatives and reviewed state policies (as of 2008) to ascertain payment and insurance coverage of medical foods. Sixty-one percent of states provided or guaranteed medical foods for all or a subset of the population detected by the newborn screening. Private health insurance coverage existed in 33 of 50 states and states have various ways of defining what conditions qualify for medical foods.
Parachikova A, et al. Formulation of a medical food cocktail for Alzheimer’s Disease: Beneficial effects on cognition and neuropathology in a mouse model of the disease. PLOS ONE. 2010;11(5):e14015. Found that administering a medical food cocktail for 6 months improved cortical and hippocampal dependent learning in the transgenic mice.
Liu IM, et al. Abelmoschus moschatus (Malvaceae), an aromatic plant, suitable for medical or food uses to improve insulin sensitivity. Phytother Res. 2010;24(2):233-239. Determined that A. moschatus may have potential to improve insulin sensitivity among patients with insulin resistance.
Lindemann J, et al. Clinical study of the effects on asthma-related QOL and asthma management of a medical food in adult asthma patients. Curr Med Res Opin. 2009;25(12):2865-2875. Medical food may help improve patient perceived Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire Scores and improve asthma management through reduced symptoms.
Morgan SL, et al. The safety of flavocoxid, a medical food, in the dietary management of knee osteoarthritis. J Med Food. 2009;12(5):1143-1148. Evaluated the safety of a medical food, flavocoxid, a proprietary blend of free-B ring flavonoids and flavans from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis and the bark of Acacia catechu in the dietary management of knee osteoarthritis.
Haiying L, et al. Polyphenols contents and antioxidant capacity of 68 Chinese herbals suitable for medical or food uses. Food Res Intl. 2008;41(4):363-370. Found phenolic compounds could be used as an important indicator of its antioxidant capacity.
Surette ME, et al. The impact of a medical food containing gammalinolenic and eicosapentaenoic acids on asthma management and the quality of life of adult asthma patients. Curr Med Res Opin. 2008;24(2):559-567. Found self-reported asthma status and bronchodilator use improved in subjects following a regimen of medical food EFF1009.
Harding CO. Progress toward cell-directed therapy for phenylketonuria. Clin Genet. 2008;74(2):97-104. Explains the ongoing efforts to develop viable cell-directed therapies for treatment of phenylketonuria.
Surette ME, et al. The impact of a medical food containing gammalinolenic and eicosapentaenoic acids on asthma management and the quality of life of adult asthma patients. Curr Med Res Opin. 2008;24(2):559-567. Describes a randomized, prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel group trial in atopic subjects with mild-to-moderate asthma that consumed a low dose, high dose, or placebo emulsion daily and found participants consuming low and high dose emulsion had improved self-reported asthma status and bronchodilator.
Zaman S, et al. B 221, a medical food containing antisecretory factor reduces child diarrhoea: A placebo, controlled trial. Acta Paediatr. 2007;96(11):1655-1659. Found B 221 reduced the number of stools in the acute diarrhoea group compared to a placebo.
Singh RH. The enigma medical foods. Molecular Genetics & Metabolism. 2007;92(1-2):3-5. Explains the regulatory history of medical foods.
Vitaglione P, et al. Development of a tomato-based food for special medical purposes as therapy adjuvant for patients with HCV infection. European J Clin Nutr. 2007;61(7):906-915. Open randomized clinical trial with a tomato-based food for special medical purposes was used as an adjuvant treatment to the pharmacological therapy with pegilated interferon and ribavirin and found to be effective in improving carotenoid status in healthy subjects.
Cavender A. Folk medical uses of plant foods in southern Appalachia, United States. J Ethnopharmacology. 2006;108(1):74-84. Conducted interviews with 660 older native inhabitants of the southern Appalachian region and found that plant foods constituted the bulk of the folk meteria medica in the 1920s and 1930s.
Morgan SL & Baggott JE. Medical foods: Products for management of chronic diseases. Nutr Rev. 2006;64(11):495-501. Discusses medical foods, providing long-standing and emerging product examples.
Heacock PM, et al. Effects of a medical food containing an herbal alpha-glucosidase inhibitor on postprandial glycemia and insulinemia in healthy adults. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005;105(1):65-71. The presence of S oblonga extract tended to lower postprandial glycemia and significantly reduced the postprandial insulin response.
Ding Z, et al. State-of-the-art 2003 on PKU gene therapy. Mol Gene Metab. 2004;81(1):3-8. Summarized past present nonviral and viral gene transfer approaches to delivering the PAH gene into liver or other organs as potential alternatives to life-long phenylalanine-restricted dietary therapy.
Yannicelli S, et al. Improved growth and nutrition status in children with methylmalonic or propionic academia fed an elemental medical food. Molecular Genetics & Metabolism. 2003;80(1-2):181-188. Propimex-1 improved growth and nutrition status in 16 patients with MMA or PA in just 6 months when fed in sufficient amounts.
Abdelhamed A, et al. No effect of an L-arginine-enriched medical food (HeartBars) on endothelia function and platelet aggregation in subjects with hypercholesterolemia. Am Heart J. 2003;145(3). Two week study of HeartBar supplementation in subjects with hypercholesterolemia showed no favorable effects on endothelial or platelet function.
Maxwell AJ, et al. Randomized trial of a medical food for the dietary management of chronic, stable angina. J Am Coll Cardiology. 2002;39(1):37-45. Arginine-rich medical foods in conjunction to traditional therapy improved vascular function, exercise capacity, and quality of life in patients with stable angina.
Mueller C. The regulatory status of medical foods and dietary supplements in the United Sates. Nutrition. 1999;15(3):249-251. Explains the regulation of medical foods in the United States.
Morgan SL, et al. Supplementation with folic acid during methotrexate therapy of rheumatoid arthritis: Results from a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Ann Inter Med. 1994;121:833-841. Folic acid supplementation for patients with rheumatoid arthritis in a double-blind, placebo controlled trial was associated with lower toxicity scores.
Millner BN. Insurance coverage of special foods needed in the treatment of phenylketonuria. Public Health Rep. 1993;108(1):60-65. New York State Department of Health conducted a survey of metabolic disorders treatment centers to understand the challenges phenylketonuria patients have with obtaining and paying for special foods essential to their condition.
Morgan SL, et al. The effect of folic acid supplementation on the toxicity of low-dose methotrexate treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 1990;33:9-18. Placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of folic acids supplementation during low-dose methotrexate therapy in 32 patients with rheumatoid arthritis helped reduce toxicity without altering efficacy during the first 6 months of treatment.