Nutrition and Endocrine and Immune Systems: Effect on Child’s Autoimmune Diseases
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2024 | Viewed by 118
Special Issue Editor
2. Meyer Children’s Hospital IRCCS, Viale Pieraccini 24, 50139 Florence, Italy
Interests: endocrinology; auxology; genetic syndromes; autoimmune diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Diet plays an essential role in health and food constituents, and food metabolites directly or indirectly affect endocrine and immune systems. In endocrine systems, nutrition plays a significative action in the regulation of optimal immunological response and there is a high number of micronutrients, as well as some macronutrients potentially having an effect on appropriate immune activity, despite the current knowledge available failing to sufficiently demonstrate the impact of specific dietary patterns on immune-mediated clinical disease endpoints. Much of the immune system is located within the GI tract, since it must deal with the huge antigenic load introduced with food. Finally, nutrients may directly or indirectly impact on immune cells causing changes in their function or may exert effects via changes in the gut microbiome. Furthermore, food supplements or nutrients have been investigated for their role in targeting/preventing or modulating immune diseases.
Diet is also important for hormones because energy and nutrients represent the raw materials for hormone production and fuelling the body. Hormonal changes influence everyone at every stage of life, and many clinical studies have associated a plant-based diet intake with various beneficial health, reducing the risk of chronic diseases, such as vascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, obesity, neurodegenerative disorders and some types of cancers. A well-balanced diet has an enormous impact on many hormonal systems and aspects of our health, and a consensus about how and what to eat remains elusive.
Autoimmune diseases are characterized by abnormal immune response against normal tissues of the body. There are about 100 autoimmune diseases, and they are estimated to affect at least 3–5% of the population. While the aetiology is still unclear, both genetic and environmental factors are recognised to play key roles in disease development. Diet as a modifiable factor has the potential to improve clinical outcomes for several major autoimmune diseases.
Topics that are relevant to this Special Issue include research on the relationship between diet and hormonal synthesis, release, metabolism and action, as well as immune cells and function. Topics also include the role of diet in the changes of the gut microbiome and the genesis of autoimmune diseases. Finally, the role of diet and the consequent hormonal and immune alterations in the genesis and course of autoimmune diseases, as well as the potential role of diet in the therapeutic management of autoimmune problems is of interest.
Dr. Stefano Stagi
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- nutrition
- nutrients
- microbiome
- health
- immunity
- hormones
- immune system
- nutritional immunology
- autoimmune diseases
- genetic syndromes
- cancer
- diabetes
- obesity
- stress
- well-being
