The resulting name niacin was derived from nicotinic acid + vitamin.Carpenter found in 1951, that niacin in corn is biologically unavailable, and can be released only in very alkaline lime water of pH 11. This explains why a Latin-American culture that used alkali-treated cornmeal to make tortilla was not at risk for niacin deficiency.In 1955, Altschul and colleagues described large amounts of niacin as having a lipid-lowering property. As such, niacin is the oldest known lipid-lowering drug. Lovastatin, the first statin drug, was first marketed in 1987. Research
In animal models and in vitro, niacin produces marked anti-inflammatory effects in a variety of tissues – including the brain, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and vascular tissue – through the activation of hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 2 (HCA2), also known as niacin receptor 1 (NIACR1). Unlike niacin, nicotinamide does not activate NIACR1; however, both niacin and nicotinamide activate the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) in vitro. References
External links
"Niacin". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.
More white matter damage leads to more severe cerebral palsy; different subtypes are identified and diagnosed by a neurologist. Despite the varying grades of PVL and cerebral palsy, affected infants typically begin to exhibit signs of cerebral palsy in a predictable manner. Typically, some abnormal neurological signs (such as those previously mentioned) are visible by the third trimester of pregnancy (28 to 40 weeks after conception), and definitive signs of cerebral palsy are visible by six to nine months of age. Epilepsy
Another common but severe outcome of PVL patients is the development of epilepsy. The link between the two is not entirely clear; however, it appears that both genetic and early environmental factors are involved. One study estimated that 47% of children with PVL also have epilepsy, with 78% of those patients having a form of epilepsy not easily managed by medication. Many of these affected patients exhibit some seizures, as well as spastic diplegia or more severe forms of cerebral palsy, before a diagnosis of epilepsy is made. Frequency
Unfortunately, there are very few population-based studies on the frequency of PVL. As previously described, the highest frequency of PVL is seen in premature, very low birth weight infants. These infants are typically seen in the NICU in a hospital, with approximately 4-20% of patients in the NICU being affected by PVL. On a large autopsy material without selecting the most frequently detected PVL in male children with birth weight was 1500-2500 g., dying at 6–8 days of life.