Quality of life and functional outcomes in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer receiving total neoadjuvant therapy versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy: An analysis of the XXX trial.

Objective: To explore differences in the effects of total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) and preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) on quality of life and functional outcomes in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Methods: In the study, 591 patients with distal or middle-third, clinical primary tumor stage cT3-4 and/or regional lymph node-positive rectal cancer were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive short-term radiotherapy (25 Gy in five fractions) followed by 4 cycles of CAPOX (TNT group, n=297) or standard concurrent chemoradiotherapy (50 Gy in 25 fractions concurrently with oral capecitabine) (CRT group, n=294) before surgery. After a 6-year follow-up, the surviving patients were sent surveys, including the EORTC QLQ-C30, EORTC QLQ-CR29, and Wexner incontinence score questionnaires.

Gut microbiota dysbiosis: The potential mechanisms by which alcohol disrupts gut and brain functions.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a high-risk psychiatric disorder and a key cause of death and disability in individuals. In the development of AUD, there is a connection known as the microbiota-gut-brain axis, where alcohol use disrupts the gut barrier, resulting in changes in intestinal permeability as well as the gut microbiota composition, which in turn impairs brain function and worsens the patient's mental status and gut activity. Potential mechanisms are explored by which alcohol alters gut and brain function through the effects of the gut microbiota and their metabolites on immune and inflammatory pathways.

Carboxypeptidase E Regulates Activity-Dependent TrkB Neuronal Surface Insertion and Hippocampal Memory.

Activity-dependent insertion of the tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) receptor into the plasma membrane can explain, in part, the preferential effect of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) on active neurons and synapses; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain obscure. Here, we report a novel function for carboxypeptidase E (CPE) in controlling chemical long-term potentiation stimuli-induced TrkB surface delivery in hippocampal neurons. Total internal reflection fluorescence assays and line plot assays showed that CPE facilitates TrkB transport from dendritic shafts to the plasma membrane.