[Nutrition Support as Team Medical Care].

Nutrition support is important to prevent complicating disorders such as infections and decubitus and to improve patient outcomes. The nutrition support team (NST), which is usually composed of a physician, nurse, nutritionist, clinical laboratory technician, pharmacist, and office worker, is effective for preventing complications and reducing costs for hospitalized patients. To screen for malnutrition in an early phase, biochemical markers are useful.

Light exposure at night is associated with subclinical carotid atherosclerosis in the general elderly population: the HEIJO-KYO cohort.

Epidemiological and cellular biological studies indicate the influence of impaired circadian biological rhythmicity on atherosclerosis. Increased exposure to light at night (LAN) is common in modern life, and LAN exposure is the most important environmental cue for circadian misalignment. However, the association between LAN exposure and atherosclerosis has never been explored in humans.

[A case of percutaneous BCG perfusion therapy for CIS of upper urinary tract CIS after radical cystectomy with ileal neobladder].

We report a case of percutaneous bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) perfusion therapy for carcinoma in situ (CIS) of upper urinary tract after radical cystectomy with ileal neobladder. A 42-year-old man underwent radical cystectomy and ileal neobladder diversion due to the recurrence of CIS in prostatic urethra after transurethral resection of bladder tumor 3 times and 2 courses of intravesical BCG therapy. Final pathological findings showed the presence of CIS in the right distal ureteral margin.

Risk for lung cancer in workers exposed to benzidine and/or beta-naphthylamine: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Risk for lung cancer in workers exposed to benzidine (BZ) and/or beta-naphthylamine (BNA), which are well-known bladder carcinogens, has been examined in many epidemiological studies, but individual epidemiological studies generally lack the power to examine the association between BZ/BNA exposure and lung cancer. We conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the risk for lung cancer among workers exposed to BZ/BNA occupationally.

Methods/design: Studies will be identified by a MEDLINE, EMBASE, CDSR, and CINAHL search and by the reference lists of articles/relevant reviews.

Amino-terminal extension of 146 residues of L-type GATA-6 is required for transcriptional activation but not for self-association.

Transcription factor GATA-6 plays essential roles in developmental processes and tissue specific functions through regulation of gene expression. GATA-6 mRNA utilizes two Met-codons in frame as translational initiation codons. Deletion of the nucleotide sequence encoding the PEST sequence (Glu(31)-Cys(46)) between the two initiation codons unusually reduced the protein molecular size on SDS-polyacrylamide gel-electrophoresis, and re-introduction of this sequence reversed this change.

Lower melatonin secretion in older females: gender differences independent of light exposure profiles.

Background: Melatonin is associated with a variety of diseases in advanced age, including insomnia, depression, and dementia, and its secretion is influenced by light exposure. Although studies in young and middle-aged subjects have shown that females tend to have higher melatonin levels than males, gender differences in melatonin levels among older people remain unclear.

Methods: To determine the gender differences in melatonin levels among older people in home settings, we conducted a cross-sectional study in 528 older people.

Amyloid deposits derived from transthyretin in the ligamentum flavum as related to lumbar spinal canal stenosis.

Amyloidosis is a protein conformational disorder with the distinctive feature of extracellular accumulation of amyloid fibrils that come from different proteins. In the ligamentum flavum of the lumbar spine, amyloid deposits were frequently found in elderly patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis and were at least partially formed by wild-type transthyretin. However, how amyloid deposits in the ligamentum flavum affect lumbar spinal canal stenosis has remained unclear.

Increased risk of lung cancer associated with occupational exposure to benzidine and/or beta-naphthylamine.

Purpose: To evaluate non-urological cancer risks associated with benzidine (BZ) and beta-naphthylamine (BNA), a historical cohort study was undertaken.

Methods: A total of 224 male workers exposed to BZ/BNA from a single factory were followed from 1953 to 2011. To estimate BZ/BNA exposure dose, duration of exposure (DOE) was defined as duration of employment between 1953 and 1972, the period when BZ and BNA were produced and used at this factory.

Relationship between asymmetric dimethylarginine and nocturia in the general elderly population: The HEIJO-KYO cohort.

Aims: To evaluate the relationship between asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and nocturia.

Methods: A total of 862 community-based elderly individuals were examined in this cross-sectional study (mean age, 72.1 years).

Association between light exposure at night and insomnia in the general elderly population: the HEIJO-KYO cohort.

Chronic circadian misalignment between the internal and environmental rhythms, which is typically related to night-shift work and clock-gene variants, is associated with disruption of suprachiasmatic nucleus function and increased risk of insomnia. Under controlled laboratory conditions, light at night (LAN) suppresses melatonin secretion, delays the internal biological rhythm, and reduces sleepiness. Therefore, LAN exposure may cause circadian misalignment and insomnia, though it remains unclear in real-life situations whether LAN exposure is associated with insomnia.

Stronger association of indoor temperature than outdoor temperature with blood pressure in colder months.

Background: Higher cardiovascular mortality in winter may be partly explained by increased blood pressure (BP) because of cold exposure. However, this winter excess mortality is higher in countries with moderate winter than those with severe winter climate.

Objectives: Although higher BP in low outdoor temperatures has been reported, the magnitude of association of indoor temperature with ambulatory BP remained unclear.

Association between urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion and arterial stiffness in the general elderly population: the HEIJO-KYO cohort.

Context: Melatonin may have a preventive effect on atherosclerosis by regulating sleep quality and circadian biological rhythmicity. However, whether endogenous melatonin is associated with arterial stiffness, a marker reflecting atherosclerosis, is unclear.

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the association between endogenous melatonin and arterial stiffness.

Relationship between melatonin secretion and nighttime blood pressure in elderly individuals with and without antihypertensive treatment: a cross-sectional study of the HEIJO-KYO cohort.

Circadian blood pressure variability and melatonin secretion are both regulated by the biological clock. Several clinical trials have suggested that oral administration of exogenous melatonin lowers blood pressure at night, although it remains unclear whether melatonin secretion, which is considerably lower than pharmacological melatonin levels, is associated with nighttime blood pressure. In this cross-sectional study, we measured overnight urinary melatonin excretion, which is an index of melatonin secreted, along with ambulatory blood pressure.

Novel styrylbenzene derivatives for detecting amyloid deposits.

Background: Various styrylbenzene compounds were synthesized and evaluated as mainly Aβ amyloid sensors. These compounds, however, cannot be used for detecting amyloid deposition in peripheral nerves because of the inherent sensitivity of the compounds. These compounds often generate false positives especially in the basement membrane of blood vessels in histochemical studies.

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) decreases independently of chronic conditions and geriatric syndromes in older adults with diabetes: the Fujiwara-kyo Study.

Background: Very few studies have investigated the association between diabetes and impaired health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in older adults, independent of chronic conditions and geriatric syndromes.

Methods: We conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey and structured interviews with 3946 people aged 65 years or older to obtain medical histories of diabetes, chronic conditions, and geriatric syndromes. Blood tests were performed to measure glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and plasma glucose levels.

[Amyloid typing from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues using LMD-LC-MS/MS system].

Amyloidosis is one of the protein conformational disorders in which normally soluble proteins accumulate insoluble amyloid fibrils, leading to severe organ dysfunction. To date, 30 different amyloidogenic proteins have been reported. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is usually used to identify the amyloid precursor protein, but the results may be inconclusive owing to a loss of epitopes or small amounts of amyloid deposits, comprising unknown amyloidogenic protein.

Association between light exposure at night and nighttime blood pressure in the elderly independent of nocturnal urinary melatonin excretion.

Circadian misalignment between internal and environmental rhythms dysregulates blood pressure (BP) variability because of disruption of the biological clock, resulting in increased nighttime BP. Although exposure to light-at-night is associated with the circadian misalignment, it remains unclear whether exposure to light-at-night in home settings is associated with nighttime BP. In this cross-sectional analysis of 528 elderly individuals (mean age: 72.

Case report: dose adjustment of warfarin using genetic information and plasma concentration monitoring.

What Is Known And Objective: Carbamazepine is known to interact with warfarin. We report on a case of this interaction and on its management using the patient's genetic information.

Case Summary: The case concerns a 74-year-old Japanese woman with a mood disorder and a central retinal vein occlusion.

The relationship between indoor, outdoor and ambient temperatures and morning BP surges from inter-seasonally repeated measurements.

Higher morning blood pressure (BP) surge is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease independent of 24-h mean BP. Although low outdoor temperatures are associated with higher morning BP surges (MBPSs), the influence of indoor temperature and ambient temperatures (temperature while indoors or temperature while outdoors) on MBPS remains unclear. Such information may help prevent excess winter mortality.

Lung metastasectomy for postoperative colorectal cancer in patients with a history of hepatic metastasis.

Objectives: Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of pulmonary metastasectomy for postoperative colorectal cancer with hepatic metastasis, and to investigate the role of clinicopathological factors as predictors of outcome.

Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing pulmonary metastasectomy for colorectal cancer with (group PH, n = 27) or without (group P, n = 46) a history of hepatic metastasis were included in the study. Clinicopathological variables, including sex, age, site, carcinoembryonic antigen in the primary tumor, disease-free interval, prior hepatic resection, timing of pulmonary metastases, preoperative chemotherapy, type of pulmonary resection, and number, size, and location of pulmonary metastases were retrospectively collected and investigated for prognostic significance.

Association between melatonin secretion and nocturia in elderly individuals: a cross-sectional study of the HEIJO-KYO cohort.

Purpose: Nocturnal voids are regulated by circadian biological rhythms, including decreased urine production and increased bladder storage capacity at night. A previous experimental study suggested that exogenous melatonin decreases urine production and increases bladder capacity in rats. However, little is known about whether melatonin secretion, which is considerably lower than exogenous melatonin, is associated with nocturia in humans.

Independent associations of exposure to evening light and nocturnal urinary melatonin excretion with diabetes in the elderly.

Circadian misalignment between internal and environmental rhythms dysregulates glucose homeostasis because of disruption of the biological clock, and increases risk of diabetes. Although exposure to evening light and decreased melatonin secretion are both associated with the circadian misalignment, it remains unclear whether they are associated with diabetes. In this cross-sectional study on 513 elderly individuals (mean age, 72.

Solitary amyloidosis of the sigmoid colon featuring submucosal tumor caused hematochezia.

A previously a healthy 64-year-old woman complained of a two-week history of hemorrhaging upon defecation. The laboratory and urinalysis findings were normal, and no serum or urine M components were detectable on protein electrophoresis. An air contrast barium enema revealed an elevated lesion measuring -20 mm in diameter with a smooth surface and a depression in the sigmoid colon.

Essential roles of nucleotide-switch and metal-coordinating residues for chaperone function of diol dehydratase-reactivase.

Diol dehydratase-reactivase (DD-R) is a molecular chaperone that reactivates inactivated holodiol dehydratase (DD) by cofactor exchange. Its ADP-bound and ATP-bound forms are high-affinity and low-affinity forms for DD, respectively. Among DD-Rs mutated at the nucleotide-binding site, neither the Dα8N nor Dα413N mutant was effective as a reactivase.