Clinical significance of the preoperative prognostic nutritional index on age/comorbidity burdens in patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Objective nutritional scoring systems using preoperative blood samples have shown the potential to predict the postoperative outcomes of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, it remains unclear whether the prognostic impact depends on age and comorbid burdens. We conducted this study to validate the impact of preoperative nutritional status, stratified with age and comorbidity.

Comparison of three nutritional scoring systems for outcomes after complete resection of non-small cell lung cancer.

Objectives: Mounting evidence suggests that preoperative nutritional status can predict postoperative outcomes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. However, a consensus on the optimal evaluation tool among the various nutritional assessment methods has not been reached. This study aimed at validating the predictive value of 3 nutritional scoring systems for clinical outcomes in patients with completely resected non-small cell lung cancer.

Efficacy of valproic acid for retinitis pigmentosa patients: a pilot study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy and safety of valproic acid (VPA) use in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

Patients And Methods: This was a prospective, interventional, noncomparative case study. In total, 29 eyes from 29 patients with RP whose best-corrected visual acuities (BCVAs) in logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) ranged from 1.

Porcine T-cell receptor beta-chain: a genomic sequence covering Dbeta1.1 to Cbeta2 gene segments and the diversity of cDNA expressed in piglets including novel alternative splicing products.

Porcine TCRbeta-chain cDNA clones were isolated from thymic and peripheral blood lymphocytes of piglets. Using these nucleotide sequences, a genomic 18kbp sequence stretch covering Dbeta1 to Cbeta2 gene segments was identified, which revealed that the porcine TCRbeta-chain locus consists of two sets of Dbeta-Jbeta-Cbeta gene groups with each set having a Dbeta gene segment, seven Jbeta gene segments and a down stream Cbeta gene segment composed of four exons. This structure is consistent with other known mammalian TCRbeta-chain loci.

Urinary PGDS levels are associated with vascular injury in type 2 diabetes patients.

Background: The presence of metabolic syndrome has been shown to be predictors of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. In a cross-sectional clinical study, we investigated the association of metabolic syndrome with asymptomatic lacunar strokes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and we compared its significance with urinary protein markers.

Methods: We studied Japanese type 2 diabetes patients (n=233, men=124, women=109).