No abstract

Eating alone was a key risk factor for depressive symptoms in community-dwelling older adults. The living arrangement in which they eat alone is important in identifying those with the greatest risk. Mental health management for older adults requires comprehensive assessment of their social relations that takes into account their companionship during mealtimes. Social preventive measures need to involve early interventions in order to augment their effectiveness against mental frailty.

The effects of sarcopenic obesity, the co-existence of sarcopenia and obesity, on mood disorders have not been studies extensively. Our objective was to examine the association of depressive symptoms with sarcopenia and obesity status in older Japanese adults. We analyzed data from 1731 functionally-independent, community-dwelling Japanese adults aged 65 years or older (875 men, 856 women) randomly selected from the resident register of Kashiwa city, Chiba, Japan in 2012. Sarcopenia was defined based on appendicular skeletal muscle mass, grip strength and usual gait speed. Obesity was defined as the highest sex-specific quintile of the percentage body fat. Depressive symptoms were defined as a Geriatric Depression Scale 15-item score ≥ 6. Multiple logistic regression was employed to examine the association of depressive symptoms with four groups defined by the presence/absence of sarcopenia and obesity. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 10.1% and the proportions of sarcopenia/obesity, sarcopenia/non-obesity, non-sarcopenia/obesity, non-sarcopenia/non-obesity were 3.7%, 13.6%, 16.9% and 65.8%, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, sarcopenia/obesity was positively associated with depressive symptoms compared with non-sarcopenia/non-obesity, whereas either sarcopenia or obesity alone was not associated with depressive symptoms. The association was particularly pronounced in those aged 65 to 74 years in age-stratified analysis. We conclude that our findings suggest a synergistic impact exerted by sarcopenic obesity on the risk of depressive symptoms, particularly in those aged 65 to 74 years.

Bacterial colonization in infancy is considered crucial for the development of the immune system. Recently, there has been a drastic increase in childhood allergies in Japan. Therefore, we conducted a prospective study with 56 infants on the relationship between gut microbiota in the first year of life and the development of allergies during the first 3 years. In the lactation period, organic acid producers such as Leuconostoc, Weissella and Veillonella tended to be underrepresented in subjects who developed food allergies (FA, n = 14) within the first two years. In the weaning period, children in the FA group were highly colonized by unclassified Enterobacteriaceae and two Clostridium species closely related to Clostridium paraputrificum and C. tertium, and the whole tree phylogenetic diversity index was significantly lower in the FA group. All of these differences in the weaning period were statistically significant, even after adjusting for potential confounding factors. A higher abundance of unclassified Enterobacteriaceae was also found in the other allergic group (n = 15), whereas the two Clostridium species were highly specific to the FA group. The mode of action of these Clostridium species in childhood food allergies remains unknown, warranting further investigation.

No abstract

In six patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma, TIL and tumour-draining lymphocytes (TDL) were isolated from primary pancreatic tumour and regional lymph nodes. In comparison with TDL and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), TIL contained a comparatively higher percentage of TCR gamma delta+ cells, although they were still a small fraction. By 2 weeks culture with rIL-2 and immobilized OKT-3 antibody, the TCR gamma delta+ cells in TIL were preferentially expanded at the early culture periods, although it was temporary. In four cases, the TCR gamma delta+ and CD8+ TCR alpha beta+ TIL were separated by negative sorting using flowcytometry. All the TCR gamma delta+ TIL were CD4-, CD8- (double negative), and one of the TIL lines was mostly composed of delta TCS1+ cells, while the others were delta TCS1-. In comparison with CD8+ TCR alpha beta+ TIL, all the TCR gamma delta+ TIL exhibited much stronger lytic activity against freshly isolated autologous pancreatic cancer cells. However, all the gamma delta+ TIL also exhibited a strong non-MHC-restricted cytotoxicity, and there was no correlation between the lytic pattern and the percentage of delta TCS1+ cells. These data suggest that the TCR gamma delta+ T cells can proliferate vigorously in a certain condition, and if successfully expanded in vitro they might be helpful material for effective adoptive immunotherapy.

INTRODUCTIONIntestinal metastasis from gastric cancer is rare, although the most common cause of secondary neoplastic infiltration of the colon is gastric cancer. However, little data is available on recurrence or death in patients with gastric cancer surviving >5 years post-gastrectomy. Here we report two cases of lower intestinal metastasis from gastric cancer >5 years after primary resection and discuss with reference to the literature.PRESENTATION OF CASECase 1: A 61-year-old man with a history of total gastrectomy for gastric cancer 9 years earlier was referred to our hospital with constipation and abdominal distention. We diagnosed primary colon cancer and subsequently performed extended left hemicolectomy. Histological examination revealed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma resembling the gastric tumor he had 9 years earlier. The patient refused postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and remained alive with cancerous peritonitis and skin metastases as of 17 months later. Case 2: A 46-year-old woman with a history of total gastrectomy for gastric cancer 9 years earlier presented with constipation. She also had a history of Krukenberg tumor 3 years earlier. We diagnosed metastatic rectal cancer and subsequently performed low anterior resection and hysterectomy. Pathological examination revealed poorly differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma, resembling the gastric tumor. The patient remained alive without recurrence as of 17 months later.DISCUSSIONWe found 19 reported cases of patients with resection of colon metastases from gastric cancer. Median disease-free interval was 74 months.CONCLUSIONResection of late-onset colorectal recurrence from gastric cancer appears worthwhile for selected patients.

These results indicate that the NRST is a promising screening tool for the prediction of malnutrition and sarcopenia in community-dwelling older Japanese people. Further development of a full Japanese version of the SCREEN II is indicated.