Iso-α-acids, Bitter Components of Beer, Prevent Inflammation and Cognitive Decline Induced in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

Alongside the rapid growth in aging populations worldwide, prevention and therapy for age-related memory decline and dementia are in great demand to maintain a long, healthy life. Here we found that iso-α-acids, hop-derived bitter compounds in beer, enhance microglial phagocytosis and suppress inflammation via activation of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ. In normal mice, oral administration of iso-α-acids led to a significant increase both in CD11b and CD206 double-positive anti-inflammatory type microglia ( < 0.

Treatment of intermittent hypoxia increases phosphorylated tau in the hippocampus via biological processes common to aging.

Sleep-disordered breathing produces cognitive impairments, and is possibly associated with Alzheimer disease (AD). Intermittent hypoxia treatment (IHT), an experimental model for sleep-disordered breathing, results in cognitive impairments in animals via unknown mechanisms. Here, we exposed mice to IHT protocols, and performed biochemical analyses and microarray analyses regarding their hippocampal samples.

Ovarian teratoma development after anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis treatment.

Background: Anti-NMDA-R receptor encephalitis occurs predominantly in younger women and is often comorbid with ovarian teratoma, a feature that is often absent in children. Here, we report our experience with two pediatric patients, in whom no tumors were present during treatment for encephalitis, but in whom ovarian teratomas developed without encephalitis relapse after treatment was completed.

Cases: Patient 1 was a 14-year-old girl who was diagnosed due to characteristic symptoms and anti-NMDA-R antibody.

The dynamics of memory consolidation of landmarks.

Navigating through space is fundamental to human nature and requires the ability to retrieve relevant information from the remote past. With the passage of time, some memories become generic, capturing only a sense of familiarity. Yet, others maintain precision, even when acquired decades ago.

Irinotecan monotherapy as third-line treatment for advanced gastric cancer refractory to fluoropyrimidines, platinum, and taxanes.

Background: Because standard chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer consists of oral fluoropyrimidines plus platinum as first-line therapy, with paclitaxel plus ramucirumab as the second line, irinotecan is usually positioned as third-line chemotherapy in clinical practice in Japan.

Methods: A retrospective evaluation was conducted to determine the efficacy and safety of irinotecan as third-line chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer in patients refractory or intolerant to fluoropyrimidines, platinum, and taxanes.

Results: Between February 2008 and December 2013, 52 patients received third-line irinotecan monotherapy.

Genetic Counseling for a Prenatal Diagnosis of Structural Chromosomal Abnormality with High-Resolution Analysis Using a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Microarray.

A 41-year old pregnant woman underwent amniocentesis to conduct a conventional karyotyping analysis; the analysis reported an abnormal karyotype: 46, XY, add(9)(p24). Chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) is utilized in prenatal diagnoses. A single nucleotide polymorphism microarray revealed a male fetus with balanced chromosomal translocations on 9p and balanced chromosomal rearrangements, but another chromosomal abnormality was detected.

Combination of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids reduces atherogenesis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice by inhibiting macrophage activation.

Background And Aims: Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are major components of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) which inhibit atherogenesis, although few studies have examined the effects of the combination of EPA and DHA on atherogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether DHA has additional anti-atherosclerotic effects when combined with EPA.

Methods: Male 8-week-old apolipoprotein E-deficient (Apoe) mice were fed a western-type diet supplemented with different amounts of EPA and DHA; EPA (2.

Bexarotene targets autophagy and is protective against thromboembolic stroke in aged mice with tauopathy.

Stroke is a highly debilitating, often fatal disorder for which current therapies are suitable for only a minor fraction of patients. Discovery of novel, effective therapies is hampered by the fact that advanced age, primary age-related tauopathy or comorbidities typical to several types of dementing diseases are usually not taken into account in preclinical studies, which predominantly use young, healthy rodents. Here we investigated for the first time the neuroprotective potential of bexarotene, an FDA-approved agent, in a co-morbidity model of stroke that combines high age and tauopathy with thromboembolic cerebral ischemia.

Modification of Tau by 8-Nitroguanosine 3',5'-Cyclic Monophosphate (8-Nitro-cGMP): EFFECTS OF NITRIC OXIDE-LINKED CHEMICAL MODIFICATION ON TAU AGGREGATION.

Neurofibrillar tangles caused by intracellular hyperphosphorylated tau inclusion and extracellular amyloid β peptide deposition are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Tau contains one or two cysteine residues in three or four repeats of the microtubule binding region following alternative splicing of exon 10, and formation of intermolecular cysteine disulfide bonds accelerates tau aggregation. 8-Nitroguanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (8-nitro-cGMP) acts as a novel second messenger of nitric oxide (NO) by covalently binding cGMP to cysteine residues by electrophilic properties, a process termed protein S-guanylation.

Retrieved emotional context influences hippocampal involvement during recognition of neutral memories.

It is well documented that emotionally arousing experiences are better remembered than mundane events. This is thought to occur through hippocampus-amygdala crosstalk during encoding, consolidation, and retrieval. Here we investigated whether emotional events (context) also cause a memory benefit for simultaneously encoded non-arousing contents and whether this effect persists after a delay via recruitment of a similar hippocampus-amygdala network.

The Effect of Yokukansan, a Traditional Herbal Preparation Used for the Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia, on the Drug-Metabolizing Enzyme Activities in Healthy Male Volunteers.

The concomitant use of herb and prescription medications is increasing globally. Herb-drug interactions are therefore a clinically important problem. Yokukansan (YKS), a Japanese traditional herbal medicine, is one of the most frequently used herbal medicines.

A phase I study of the combination of panitumumab and bevacizumab in KRAS wild-type colorectal cancer patients previously treated with fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, irinotecan and bevacizumab.

Purpose: The clinical benefit of combination treatment with panitumumab and bevacizumab (PB) based on bevacizumab beyond progression (BBP) after the failure of second-line chemotherapy remains unclear. We assessed the tolerability and efficacy of PB as BBP in Japanese patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Methods: This phase I study comprised two parts: (1) PB part to estimate the recommended PB dose, (2) CPB part to investigate the safety of PB with irinotecan (CPB).

Intravital Imaging of Neutrophil Priming Using IL-1β Promoter-driven DsRed Reporter Mice.

Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocytes in human blood circulation and are quickly recruited to inflammatory sites. Priming is a critical event that enhances the phagocytic functionality of neutrophils. Although extensive studies have unveiled the existence and importance of neutrophil priming during infection and injury, means of visualizing this process in vivo have been unavailable.

Comparison of Panitumumab Plus Irinotecan and Cetuximab Plus Irinotecan for KRAS Wild-type Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

Background/aim: Panitumumab and cetuximab are known to be effective treatments for KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). However, it remains unclear which of these two biologic agents confers the greatest benefit when combined with irinotecan in patients with KRAS wild-type mCRC previously treated with fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin and irinotecan.

Patients And Methods: Data, from 139 patients who received panitumumab or cetuximab, in combination with irinotecan, for KRAS wild-type mCRC previously treated with fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin and irinotecan were analyzed.

Amrubicin in patients with platinum-refractory metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma and mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma of the gastrointestinal tract.

Although the same treatment strategy as used for small cell lung cancer, including second-line chemotherapy, is generally applied to metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) and mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma (MANEC) of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT; GIT-NEC/MANEC), the efficacy of amrubicin (AMR) for GIT-NEC/MANEC is not well known. We retrospectively analyzed platinum-refractory GIT-NEC/MANEC patients who received AMR between February 2004 and July 2012 at the National Cancer Center Hospital. The AMR dose administered was 30-45 mg/m on days 1-3 every 3-4 weeks.

Interaction between episodic and semantic memory networks in the acquisition and consolidation of novel spoken words.

When a novel word is learned, its memory representation is thought to undergo a process of consolidation and integration. In this study, we tested whether the neural representations of novel words change as a function of consolidation by observing brain activation patterns just after learning and again after a delay of one week. Words learned with meanings were remembered better than those learned without meanings.

Prognostic Impact of Palliative Primary Tumor Resection for Unresectable Stage 4 Colorectal Cancer: Using a Propensity Score Analysis.

Background: The benefits that palliative resection of the primary tumor offers patients with unresectable stage 4 colorectal cancer, specifically with regard to overall survival, are controversial, and the issue is complicated by marked differences in patient backgrounds and characteristics.

Methods: The study enrolled 770 consecutive patients with unresectable stage 4 colorectal cancer referred to the divisions of surgery or gastrointestinal oncology at the National Cancer Center Hospital from 1997 to 2013. Of these patients, 429 (56 %) underwent palliative resection of the primary tumor, whereas 341 (44 %) did not.

Serum levels of soluble programmed cell death ligand 1 as a prognostic factor on the first-line treatment of metastatic or recurrent gastric cancer.

Purpose: Immune checkpoint molecules are key targets for the treatment of various malignancies. Due to the heterogeneity of advanced gastric cancer (GC), the role of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression as a tumor biomarker remains controversial. In this study, the prognostic value of soluble PD-L1 (sPD-L1) levels in serum samples was assessed in patients with metastatic GC.