April 2025 Issue

Editor’s Spot: A Tour of Fascinating Conditions
By Heather Davis, MS, RDN, LDN
Today’s Dietitian
Vol. 27 No. 4 P. 4

April’s issue of Today’s Dietitian (TD) highlights several particularly interesting disease states and conditions RDs may or may not already be familiar with. In every instance, recent research has made strides in understanding how nutrition may be uniquely impactful in guiding successful treatment and management. One of the most common genetic disorders in the United States, polycystic kidney disease affects hundreds of thousands of individuals. New findings look at novel approaches and emphasize that nutrition intervention, among other lifestyle interventions, may significantly slow progression and improve quality of life in those diagnosed.

Over the past 20 years, rates of diagnosis of myasthenia gravis, a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease, have been on the rise. Where once it might have been unlikely for many RDs to encounter a case in their career, it’s now more probable. Advances in research understate the need for nutrition intervention to address multiple areas of concern, and as interprofessional teams engage with these cases, RDs are likely to become more involved.

Finally, we shine a spotlight on pediatric nutrition and another neurological condition drumming up conversation known as Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) and Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS). PANDAS and PANS still have a slight air of mystery surrounding them, as their discovery is relatively new. TD explores what the unfolding research says about diagnosis, nutrition implications, and targeted nutrition intervention.

Also in the issue, we consider emerging trends in global food labeling and what it might look like were the United States to adopt similar practices, share results from the 2024 Sustainability and Food Insights Survey, showcase the “sober curious” trend in nonalcoholic beverages, and bask in Caribbean culinary delights.

Please enjoy this month’s issue!

— Heather Davis, MS, RDN, LDN, editor
TDeditor@gvpub.com