Scavenger Receptor Class B Type I Deficiency Induces Iron Overload and Ferroptosis in Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α/Transferrin Receptor 1 Signaling Pathway.

Scavenger receptor class B type I (SRBI) promotes cell cholesterol efflux and the clearance of plasma cholesterol. Thus, deficiency causes abnormal cholesterol metabolism and hyperlipidemia. Studies have suggested that ferroptosis is involved in lipotoxicity; however, whether deficiency could induce ferroptosis remains to be investigated.

Computed tomography-determined skeletal muscle density predicts 3-year mortality in initial-dialysis patients in China.

Background: Skeletal muscle mass and quality assessed by computed tomography (CT) images of the third lumbar vertebra (L3) level have been established as risk factors for poor clinical outcomes in several illnesses, but the relevance for dialysis patients is unclear. A few studies have suggested a correlation between CT-determined skeletal muscle mass and quality at the first lumbar vertebra (L1) level and adverse outcomes. Generally, chest CT does not reach beyond L1.

Muscle abnormalities in patients with liver cirrhosis and its effect on muscle function.

Objectives: The progression of chronic liver disease is associated with metabolic alterations that compromise the patient's body composition and physical function. Muscle wasting often occurs with pathologic fat accumulation in the muscle (myosteatosis). Unfavorable changes in body composition frequently arise in conjunction with a decrease in muscle strength.

Empagliflozin attenuates the renal tubular ferroptosis in diabetic kidney disease through AMPK/NRF2 pathway.

Renal tubular damage plays a key role in the pathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease (DKD), and one of the main pathological process associated with DKD in diabetic mice is the ferroptosis, a novel form of cell death caused by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. Several researches suggested that empagliflozin may treat renal injury, but its effects on diabetic-related ferroptosis and underlying mechanisms were not fully elucidated. In this study, the influence of empagliflozin on renal injury was evaluated in vivo and in vitro in a mouse model and in high-glucose (HG) or Erastin-stimulated renal HK-2 cell line, respectively.

Ultrasound-assessed diaphragm dysfunction predicts clinical outcomes in hemodialysis patients.

Skeletal muscle atrophy is prevalent and remarkably increases the risk of cardiovascular (CV) events and mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. However, whether diaphragm dysfunction predicts clinical outcomes in HD patients is unknown. This was a prospective cohort study of 103 HD patients.

Regulator of calcineurin 1 deletion attenuates mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis in acute kidney injury through JNK/Mff signaling pathway.

Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) induced acute kidney injury (AKI), characterized by excessive mitochondrial damage and cell apoptosis, remains a clinical challenge. Recent studies suggest that regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) regulates mitochondrial function in different cell types, but the underlying mechanisms require further investigation. Herein, we aim to explore whether RCAN1 involves in mitochondrial dysfunction in AKI and the exact mechanism.

Paraoxonase 1 Ameliorates Renal Lipotoxicity by Activating Lipophagy and Inhibiting Pyroptosis.

Several studies in recent years have shown that lipid overload causes lipotoxic damage to the kidney, and oxidative stress, inflammation, and autophagic arrest are all important mechanisms of renal lipotoxicity. However, effective measures with therapeutic effects on renal lipotoxicity are limited. The present study indicated the protective effect of the paraoxonase 1 (PON1) against renal lipotoxicity in high-fat diet-fed scavenger receptor class B type I-deficient (SR-BI) mice.

Palliative care stakeholders in Canada.

Background: Improving access to palliative care for Canadians requires a focused collective effort towards palliative and end-of-life care advocacy and policy. However, evolution of modern palliative care in Canada has resulted in stakeholders working in isolation. Identification of stakeholders is an important step to ensure that efforts to improve palliative care are coordinated.

Stakeholder perspectives towards implementing the national framework on palliative care in Canada.

Context: In 2018 Health Canada developed a national framework and subsequent action plan for palliative care. Collaboration and implementation by stakeholder organizations however continues to take place without coordination. Little is known about their attitudes toward national policy development and motivation to work together.

Advance care planning dashboard: quality indicators and usability testing.

Objective: Advance care planning (ACP) and goals of care designation (GCD) performance indicators were developed and implemented across Alberta, Canada, and have been used to populate an electronic ACP/GCD dashboard. The study objective was to investigate whether users found the indicators and dashboard usable and acceptable.

Methods: This study employed a survey among a convenience sample of ACP/GCD community of practice members.

Weight stability masks changes in body composition in colorectal cancer: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: There is an emerging viewpoint that change in body weight is not sufficiently sensitive to promptly identify clinically meaningful change in body composition, such as skeletal muscle depletion.

Objectives: We aimed to determine whether body weight stability is associated with skeletal muscle depletion and whether skeletal muscle depletion is prognostic of death independently of change in body weight.

Methods: This retrospective cohort included 1921 patients with stage I-III colorectal cancer.

Definitions of Palliative Care Terms: A Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making Process.

Lack of consistency in palliative care language can serve as barriers when designing, delivering, and accessing high-quality palliative care services. To develop a consensus-driven and evidence-based palliative care glossary for the Health Standards Organization Palliative Care Services National Standard of Canada (CAN/HSO 13001:2020). Content analysis of the Palliative Care Services standard was used to refine a list of terms.

Myokines in treatment-naïve patients with cancer-associated cachexia.

Cancer-associated cachexia is a complex metabolic syndrome characterized by weight loss and systemic inflammation. Muscle loss and fatty infiltration into muscle are associated with poor prognosis in cancer patients. Skeletal muscle secretes myokines, factors with autocrine, paracrine and/or endocrine action, which may be modified by or play a role in cachexia.

Protective Effects of Adiponectin against Cobalt Chloride-Induced Apoptosis of Smooth Muscle Cells via cAMP/PKA Pathway.

Adiponectin (APN) is an adipokine secreted from adipose tissue and exhibits biological functions such as microcirculation-regulating, hearing-protective, and antiapoptotic. However, the effect of APN on the apoptosis of spiral arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) under hypoxic conditions in vitro is not clear. We used cobalt chloride (CoCl) to simulate chemical hypoxia in vitro, and the SMCs were pretreated with APN and then stimulated with CoCl.

Regulators of calcineurin 1 deficiency attenuates tubulointerstitial fibrosis through improving mitochondrial fitness.

Renal fibrosis is the common pathological process of various chronic kidney diseases (CKD). Recent studies indicate that mitochondrial fragmentation is closely associated with renal fibrosis in CKD. However, the molecular mechanisms leading to mitochondrial fragmentation remain to be elucidated.

Association of Low Muscle Mass and Low Muscle Radiodensity With Morbidity and Mortality for Colon Cancer Surgery.

Importance: Given the risks of postoperative morbidity and its consequent economic burden and impairment to patients undergoing colon resection, evaluating risk factors associated with complications will allow risk stratification and the targeting of supportive interventions. Evaluation of muscle characteristics is an emerging area for improving preoperative risk stratification.

Objective: To examine the associations of muscle characteristics with postoperative complications, length of hospital stay (LOS), readmission, and mortality in patients with colon cancer.

Evaluation of automated computed tomography segmentation to assess body composition and mortality associations in cancer patients.

Background: Body composition from computed tomography (CT) scans is associated with cancer outcomes including surgical complications, chemotoxicity, and survival. Most studies manually segment CT scans, but Automatic Body composition Analyser using Computed tomography image Segmentation (ABACS) software automatically segments muscle and adipose tissues to speed analysis. Here, we externally evaluate ABACS in an independent dataset.

Angiotensin II induces RAW264.7 macrophage polarization to the M1‑type through the connexin 43/NF‑κB pathway.

Angiotensin II (AngII) serves an important inflammatory role in cardiovascular disease; it can induce macrophages to differentiate into the M1‑type, produce inflammatory cytokines and resist pathogen invasion, and can cause a certain degree of damage to the body. Previous studies have reported that connexin 43 (Cx43) and NF‑κB (p65) are involved in the AngII‑induced inflammatory pathways of macrophages; however, the mechanisms underlying the effects of Cx43 and NF‑κB (p65) on AngII‑induced macrophage polarization have not been determined. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of Cx43 and NF‑κB (p65) on the polarization process of AngII‑induced macrophages.

Diaphragmatic dysfunction associates with dyspnoea, fatigue, and hiccup in haemodialysis patients: a cross-sectional study.

Muscle wasting is associated with increased mortality and morbidity in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, especially in the haemodialysis (HD) population. Nevertheless, little is known regarding diaphragm dysfunction in HD patients. We conducted a cross-sectional study at the Institute of Nephrology, Southeast University, involving 103 HD patients and 103 healthy volunteers as normal control.

Body Composition, Adherence to Anthracycline and Taxane-Based Chemotherapy, and Survival After Nonmetastatic Breast Cancer.

Importance: Although most chemotherapies are dosed on body surface area or weight, body composition (ie, the amount and distribution of muscle and adipose tissues) is thought to be associated with chemotherapy tolerance and adherence.

Objectives: To evaluate whether body composition is associated with relative dose intensity (RDI) on anthracycline and taxane-based chemotherapy or hematologic toxic effects and whether lower RDI mediates the association of adiposity with mortality.

Design, Setting, And Participants: An observational cohort study with prospectively collected electronic medical record data was conducted at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, a multicenter, community oncology setting within an integrated health care delivery system.

A role of AMPK and connexin 43 in the suppression of CoCl-induced apoptosis of spiral modiolar artery smooth muscle cells by adiponectin.

Aims: Adiponectin (APN) is a protein hormone secreted mainly by adipose tissue that exhibits biological functions such as anti-inflammatory, anti-atherosclerotic, anti-apoptotic, hearing-protective and microcirculation-regulating functions. In this study, we explored whether APN could attenuate damage caused by CoCl-induced hypoxic conditions in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) of the spiral modiolar artery (SMA).

Main Methods: We first cultured and identified primary SMCs of the SMA.

The Association of Abdominal Adiposity With Mortality in Patients With Stage I-III Colorectal Cancer.

Background: The quantity and distribution of adipose tissue may be prognostic measures of mortality in colorectal cancer patients, and such associations may vary by patient sex.

Methods: This cohort included 3262 stage I-III colorectal cancer patients. Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues were quantified using computed tomography.

Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment and Computed Tomography in the assessment of malnutrition and sarcopenia in patients with cirrhosis: Is there any association?

Background & Aims: Chronic liver disease often occurs with malnutrition and its primary consequences, loss of strength and muscle mass (sarcopenia) have an impact on worsening quality of life and increased mortality. The objective of this study was to investigate the usefulness of computed tomography (CT) and Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) in the assessment of sarcopenia and malnutrition and to explore the association between these two conditions in these patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between July 2016 and July 2017 in outpatients with cirrhosis.

Body Composition and Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Colorectal Cancer: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study.

Importance: Patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) are up to 4-fold more likely than individuals without a history of cancer to develop cardiovascular disease. Clinical care guidelines recommend that physicians counsel patients with CRC regarding the association between obesity (defined using body mass index [BMI] calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) and cardiovascular disease risk; however, this recommendation is based on expert opinion.

Objective: To determine which measures of body composition are associated with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with CRC.