Exposure to estrogenic compounds may pose a developmental hazard to infants. Soy products, which contain the phytoestrogens, genistein and daidzein, are becoming increasingly popular as inf...

Our aims were to measure isoflavone intake from soy- and dairy-based infant formulas and breast milk and to assess the ability of infants to digest and absorb soy isoflavones by measuring daily urinary excretion rates. We recruited 29 infants: 4 received soy-based formula and 25 received dairy-based formula. We collected pooled urine samples from 3-5 disposable diapers worn during a 24-h period and developed and validated methods for extracting isoflavones from the diapers. Infants were studied every 1 or 2 wk, starting at 2-6 wk of age and continuing until 16 wk. Only soy-based formulas contained isoflavones in concentrations detectable by HPLC (limits: 0.05 mg/L for liquids and 0.1 mg/kg for solids). Soy-based formulas provided a mean (+/-SEM) daily dose of isoflavones (genistein plus daidzein) of 3.2 +/- 0.2 mg/kg body wt, which remained fairly constant (CV: 12%) regardless of age < or = 16 wk. Isoflavones were measurable in all samples from soy-fed infants, but not in urine from dairy-fed infants. Daily isoflavone excretion rates varied little among infants [range of mean individual values (mg x kg(-1) d(-1)): daidzein, 0.37 +/- 0.03 to 0.58 +/- 0.06; genistein, 0.15 +/- 0.03 to 0.32 +/- 0.04] and did not change with age < or = 16 wk. The mean percentage of the daily intake recovered in the urine of soy-fed infants was 38 +/- 4% for daidzein and 13 +/- 3% for genistein, and remained constant with age. These values are similar to those for adults and indicate that young infants are able to digest, absorb, and excrete genistein and daidzein from soy-based formulas as efficiently as do adults consuming soy products.

A 52-year-old female presented to Integrated Health Options Clinic in October 2014 with a history of relapsed acute myeloid leukaemia (AML, diagnosed in 2009 and relapsed in 2014). Intravenous(IV) vitamin C therapy was initiated (in 2014) following completion of chemotherapy as an alternative to haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. IV vitamin C was administered twice weekly at a dose of 70 g/infusion. Within 4 weeks of initiation of IV vitamin C therapy, there was a dramatic improvement in the patient’s blood indices with platelet cell counts increasing from 25 × 10⁹/L to 196 × 10⁹/L and white blood cell counts increasing from 0.29 × 10⁹/L to 4.0 × 10⁹/L, with further improvements observed over the next 18 months. Furthermore, there was a clear and sustained improvement in the patient’s health-related quality of life scores assessed using a validated questionnaire. She has remained healthy and in complete remission until the present day. This case study highlights the benefits of IV vitamin C as a supportive therapy for previously relapsed AML.

DNA analysis has enabled a much deeper interrogation of our surnames, Keesing and Fitzpatrick, than was possible via traditional genealogical research. This can inform us regarding the potential ‘hidden’ complexities of some surnames. Through juxtaposing the narratives of our family histories and DNA findings we demonstrate, using collaborative autoethnography, how surnames can be haunted by ghosts both real and imagined. The DNA-enabled critical exploration of the history of our surnames, in the context of the social and political factors that shaped them, generates a deeper and more complex understanding of how our surnames were taken/given. In this paper we investigate and deconstruct our Irish and Jewish ancestry. Fitzpatrick and Keesing are anglicised/normanised/colonised surnames that exemplify attempts to dis/member our identities. Here we re/member them, but with that comes a realisation that ‘everything has changed’ and with that come new dis/memberings and re/memberings.