Clinical impact of endogenous luteinizing hormone in frozen-thawed embryo transfer during hormone replacement cycle without gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog coadministration: Effects on pregnancy outcomes.

Purpose: To assess the correlation between serum luteinizing hormone (LH) levels preceding luteal replacement initiation and outcomes of frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles during hormone replacement therapy (HRT) without co-administration of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analog.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 490 FET cycles performed between March 2018 and May 2023. Patients were categorized into quartiles based on their serum LH levels preceding luteal replacement.

Low handgrip strength as a marker of severity in the diagnostic criteria for cancer cachexia.

Background & Aims: The diagnostic criteria for cachexia, as proposed by the Asian Working Group for Cachexia (AWGC), include weight loss, a low body mass index, and additional factors such as a low handgrip strength (HGS), anorexia, or elevated CRP levels. This study aimed to evaluate the significance of low HGS as a diagnostic criterion in patients with advanced cancer.

Methods: This single-centre, retrospective cohort study was conducted between April 2019 and March 2023.

Validity of the diagnostic criteria from the Asian Working Group for Cachexia in advanced cancer.

Background: Recently, the Asian Working Group for Cachexia (AWGC) published a consensus statement on diagnostic criteria for cachexia in Asians. We aimed to validate the criteria in adult patients in Japan with advanced cancer.

Methods: We conducted a single-institution retrospective cohort study between April 2021 and October 2022.

Factors associated with early discontinuation of anamorelin in patients with cancer-associated cachexia.

Purpose: Cancer-associated cachexia, a multifactorial syndrome involving loss of muscle mass and anorexia, is an unremitting problem for cancer patients. Anamorelin has become available for cancer-associated cachexia, but early discontinuation is common in clinical practice. This study aimed to explore factors related to the early discontinuation of anamorelin and its relationship to survival.

Nutrition provided during the final weeks to patients with non-gastrointestinal solid malignancies.

Background & Aims: Data regarding the delivery of nutrition and nutritional infusions to patients with terminal cancer remain limited; therefore, this real-world analysis investigated differences in nutrition delivery and infusion statuses for patients with terminal-stage cancers.

Methods: Patients who had died following hospitalization for more than seven days due to neoplasms between April 2014 and December 2018 were identified using the medical claims database of Japan. Data regarding oral diets, enteral feeding, infusion volumes, and infusion energies were extracted.

Regulation of 4-HNE via SMARCA4 Is Associated with Worse Clinical Outcomes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Accumulation of 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), a marker of lipid peroxidation, has various favorable and unfavorable effects on cancer cells; however, the clinicopathological significance of its accumulation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its metabolic pathway remain unknown. This study analyzed 4-HNE accumulation and its clinicopathological significance in HCC. Of the 221 cases, 160 showed relatively low accumulation of 4-HNE in HCC tissues, which was an independent prognostic predictor.

Successful in Vitro Fertilization Pregnancy and Delivery by an Infertile Woman with Ovotesticular Disorder of Sex Development: A Case Report.

On the basis of postoperative histopathological findings, a 29-year-old nulliparous woman was diagnosed as having ovotesticular disorder of sex development (DSD). She had undergone unilateral gonadectomy at age 6 years and vulvoplasty and vaginoplasty at age 8 years. Her karyotype was 46, XX.

High SARC-F score predicts poor survival of patients with cancer receiving palliative care.

Purpose: A high score determined by SARC-F, a simple screening questionnaire for sarcopenia, has been reportedly associated with worse medical outcomes. However, information regarding whether high SARC-F scores are associated with a poor prognosis in patients with advanced cancer remains limited. We clarified whether a SARC-F score ≥ 4 predicts poor prognosis in patients with cancer receiving palliative care.

Evaluation of skeletal muscle mass using prediction formulas at the level of the 12th thoracic vertebra.

Objectives: People with cancer have a high risk of cachexia and sarcopenia, which are associated with worse clinical outcomes. We evaluated the prediction accuracy of the Matsuyama et al. and Ishida et al.

Addendum: Ishida et al. Formula for the Cross-Sectional Area of the Muscles of the Third Lumbar Vertebra Level from the Twelfth Thoracic Vertebra Level Slice on Computed Tomography. 2020, 5, 47.

The authors would like to make an addendum to their published paper [...

Assessing skeletal muscle mass based on the cross-sectional area of muscles at the 12th thoracic vertebra level on computed tomography in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Objectives: This study aimed to create a formula to estimate the third lumbar vertebra (L3) level skeletal muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), known as a standard value to evaluate skeletal muscle mass on computed tomography (CT), using the twelfth thoracic vertebra (Th12) level skeletal muscle CSA on chest CT.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective observational study included patients aged 40 + years with a diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (n = 164). Skeletal muscle CSA on CT images was measured using the Th12 and the L3 levels of pretreatment CT scans.

Determining the optimal value of the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index to screen older patients with malnutrition risk: A study at a university hospital in Japan.

Aim: The Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) can predict nutritional risk. However, just a few studies have validated the optimal cut-off value of GNRI for nutrition screening in older patients. Hence, this study aimed to determine the optimal value of GNRI to screen the risk of malnutrition among older patients.

Formula for the Cross-Sectional Area of the Muscles of the Third Lumbar Vertebra Level from the Twelfth Thoracic Vertebra Level Slice on Computed Tomography.

The purpose of this study was to investigate a means by which to reflect muscle mass using chest computed tomography (CT). A cross-sectional study was conducted with patients aged ≥ 65 years having abdominal and chest CT scans. The formula to predict third lumbar vertebra (L3) cross-sectional area (CSA) of the muscles from the erector muscles of the spine at the twelfth thoracic vertebra (Th12) level slice on CT was created using the five-fold cross-validation method.

Distinguishing coagulase-negative Staphylococcus bacteremia from contamination using blood-culture positive bottle detection pattern and time to positivity.

Aim: Detection of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus in blood culture may be a result of either bacteremia or contamination. This often leads to diagnostic uncertainly. Our objective was to develop a method for differentiating whether a coagulase-negative Staphylococcus sp.

Malnutrition at Admission Predicts In-Hospital Falls in Hospitalized Older Adults.

Malnutrition leads to poor prognoses, including a predisposition to falls. Few studies have investigated the relationship between malnutrition and falls during hospitalization. This study aimed to determine malnutrition's association with falls during hospitalization.

Development and Predictors of Sarcopenic Dysphagia during Hospitalization of Older Adults.

The study aimed to investigate the impact of sarcopenia and sarcopenia-related conditions on the development of swallowing disorders during hospitalization. Older adult inpatients (n = 8768) without swallowing disorders in the premorbid period were studied. Sarcopenia-related conditions were evaluated in terms of nutritional status, physical status, and ambulatory conditions as well as hand-grip strength and muscle mass assessed by calf circumference.

Impact of edema on length of calf circumference in older adults.

Aim: Calf circumference, which is a known simple indicator of muscle mass, increases during edema. However, the extent to which edema increases calf circumference in older adults is unclear.

Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included patients aged ≥65 years whose nutritional status was assessed by nutrition support teams.

Plantar injection of formalin in rats reduces the expression of a potassium chroride cotransporter KCC2 in the spinal cord and a kinase inhibitor suppresses this reduction.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is released from activated microglia during neuropathic pain and is hypothesized to downregulate the expression of the potassium chloride cotransporter 2 (KCC2) via the TrkB receptor. Previous studies reported that KCC2 is downregulated 5 min after the plantar injection of formalin in rats; however, the mechanism behind this decrease in KCC2 expression during acute inflammatory pain remains unknown. In this study, we determined whether the TrkB receptor contributes to the expression of KCC2 during the acute pain.

Dexmedetomidine suppresses long-term potentiation in the hippocampal CA1 field of anesthetized rats.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dexmedetomidine (DEX) on hippocampal synaptic activity in vivo.

Methods: The adult rats used for this study received a intraperitoneal bolus injection of 3, 10, 30, or 100 μg/kg of DEX or an equivalent volume of saline. Electrophysiological recording of the hippocampal CA1 region was initiated 20 min after drug administration.

Novel inhibitor of bacterial sphingomyelinase, SMY-540, developed based on three-dimensional structure analysis.

Context: Bacterial sphingomyelinase (SMase) is thought to play a crucial role in bacterial evasion of the immune response during the early stages of infections.

Objective: The objective of this study was to predict the chemical structure required for competitive SMase inhibition, then synthesize and test the effect of potential inhibitors on the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin (SM) and protection against infection by Bacillus cereus.

Materials And Methods: We synthesized 10 potential SMase inhibitors, derivatives of RY221B-a analogues, based on predictions from three-dimensional structural analysis.

Role of sphingomyelinase in infectious diseases caused by Bacillus cereus.

Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) is a pathogen in opportunistic infections. Here we show that Bacillus cereus sphingomyelinase (Bc-SMase) is a virulence factor for septicemia.

Association of muscle hardness with muscle tension dynamics: a physiological property.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between muscle hardness and muscle tension in terms of length-tension relationship. A frog gastrocnemius muscle sample was horizontally mounted on the base plate inside a chamber and was stretched from 100 to 150% of the pre-length, in 5% increments. After each step of muscle lengthening, electrical field stimulation for induction of tetanus was applied using platinum-plate electrodes positioned on either side of the muscle submerged in Ringer's solution.

Relationship between muscle tension and hardness in isolated frog muscle with electrical stimulation.

Muscle hardness increases as the contractile level increases. This increase is caused by changes in structure of the muscle fiber and blood flow; however, the mechanism of increasing hardness has not been clearly demonstrated. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between isolated frog muscle tension and hardness.