Background:Little is known about the relative contribution of comorbidities in predicting the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of people with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS).Objective: To determine the associations between the number of and individual comorbidities and HRQoL and estimate the relative contribution of different comorbidities on HRQoL.Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of data on self-reported presence of 30 comorbidities and HRQoL from the Australian MS Longitudinal Study (AMSLS) participants(n=902). HRQoL was measured using the Assessment of Quality of Life-8 Dimensions (AQoL-8D). Linear regression and general dominance analysis were used.Results: Higher number of comorbidities was associated with lower HRQoL (p-trend p<0.01).Comorbidities accounted for 18.1% of the variance in HRQoL. Mental health and musculoskeletal disorders were the strongest contributors to lower HRQoL. Of individual comorbidities, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (β=-0.16(-0.27,-0.05)) and depression (β=-0.15(-0.18,-0.13)) were most strongly associated with overall HRQoL, depression (β=-0.14(-0.16,-0.11)) and anxiety (β=-0.10(-0.13,-0.07)) with psychosocial HRQoL, and SLE (β=-0.18(-0.29,-0.07)), rheumatoid arthritis (β=-0.11(-0.19,-0.02)) and hyperthyroidism (β=-0.11(-0.19,-0.03)) with physical HRQoL. Conclusions:Comorbidities potentially make important contributions to HRQoL in PwMS.Our findings highlight groups of and individual comorbidities that could provide the largest benefits for the HRQoL of PwMS if they were targeted for prevention, early detection, and optimal treatment.

Background:Little is known about the change in prevalence of comorbidities during the disease course of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and whether the prevalences vary by MS onset-type.Objective: To calculate the change in prevalence of comorbidities between symptom onset and the time of study, to compare the prevalences of comorbidities with those in the Australian population at the time of study and to examine onset-type differences.Methods: Comorbidity data from 1,518 participants of the Australian MS Longitudinal Study and Australian population comparator data (2014-15 National Health Survey) were used. The change in prevalence between time points and prevalence ratios (PR) at the time of study (crude, age-and-sex adjusted, and stratified by onset-type) were calculated.Results: Comorbidities were common, and those with the largest increases in prevalence between MS symptom onset and the time of study were depression (+26.9%), anxiety (+23.1%), hypertension (+21.9%), elevated cholesterol (+16.3%), osteoarthritis (+17.1%), eye diseases (+11.6%), osteoporosis (+10.9%) and cancer (+10.3%). Compared to the general population and after age-and-sex adjustment, participants had a significantly higher prevalence for 14/19 comorbidities at the time of study. The associations were strongest for anaemia, cancer (both PR>4.00), anxiety, depression, migraine (all PR>3.00), psoriasis and epilepsy (both PR>2.00). No significant differences were seen by onset-type. Conclusion:Comorbidities are common at MS symptom onset and increase with MS duration.Having MS may thus contribute to accrual of comorbidities. This emphasises the importance of optimal screening for and management of comorbidities in early MS and throughout the disease course.

The effect of germination on the antioxidant capacity of pigmented and non-pigmented rice was investigated.The blackish purple Superjami, reddish-brown Superhongmi, and ordinary non-pigmented brown rice were germinated for 72 h. The germinated rice grains were extracted with 80% methanol and their antioxidant activities and compounds were analyzed. Germination substantially increased the free radical scavenging activity, reducing power, ferrous chelating ability, and superoxide dismutase activity in all the rice samples. The anthocyanin, tannin, phenolic, phytic acid, tocopherol, and tocotrienol contents were markedly higher in germinated rice compared to those of the non-germinated ones. The pigmented varieties exhibited greater antioxidant capacity and higher amounts of antioxidant compounds than the non-pigmented brown rice in both germinated and non-germinated forms. Superjami showed higher antioxidant activities and anthocyanin, phenolic, tocopherol, and tocotrienol contents than Superhongmi. These findings illustrate that germination could increase the antioxidant compounds and enhance the antioxidant capacity of pigmented rice which may be useful as functional foods.Keywords: pigmented rice, germination, antioxidant activity, antioxidant compounds IntroductionGermination has been shown to improve the nutritional value and increase the amount of bioactive compounds in various cereal grains including rice, oat, wheat, and barley (Hubner and Arendt, 2013). It has also been reported that germination could improve the texture and eating quality of brown rice (Wu et al., 2013b). This process involves soaking of the grains in water for a few days to induce slight germination. The rice is considered germinated when the primary root is already visible (Moongngarm and Khomphiphatkul, 2011). A number of studies have shown that germinated rice possesses various pharmacological properties, such antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemia, antioxidant, and anticancer (Mohd Esa et al., 2013;Patil and Khan, 2011;Wu et al., 2013b).Biochemical changes occur during germination of rice which causes softening of the endosperm and an increase in nutrient bioavailability (Islam and Becerra, 2012;Patil and Khan, 2011).Pigmented rice varieties are rice grains with colored pericarp and have been shown to have higher amounts of nutrients and greater antioxidant capacity than ordinary non-pigmented rice (Laokdiluk et al., 2011;Kang et al., 2013). A study conducted by Nam et al. (2005) revealed that extracts from pigmented rice brans have anticancer and antimutagenic properties. Moreover, consumption of pigmented rice has been associated with reduced risk of developing hyperlipidemia and cardiovascular disease (Ling et al., 2001). Due to the high antioxidant potential and functional properties of pigmented rice, new lines of this variety with enhanced biofunctional properties are continuously being developed and produced. In Korea, new pigmented rice varieties, Superjami and Superhongmi, have been recently developed through conventional breedin...

BackgroundIn the recent years, cases of elderly women suffering from metabolic diseases such as dyslipidemias brought about by hormonal imbalance after menopause are continuously increasing. In this regard, a continuous and escalating demand to develop a more functional and highly nutritional food product as an adjunct supplement that can help alleviate these diseases is still being sought.ObjectiveThis study investigated the effects of germinated blackish-purple rice cultivars Keunnunjami, Superjami, and reddish-brown cultivar Superhongmi in the lipid metabolism of ovariectomized Sprague–Dawley rats.MethodThe animals were randomly divided into nine groups (n=5) and were supplemented with either non-germinated or germinated rice for 9 weeks. Then the plasma, liver, and fat samples were collected for the lipid metabolism effects analyses.ResultsAnimals fed with germinated rice cultivars had improved lipid profile levels relative to the groups supplemented with non-germinated rice cultivars. The germinated rice groups, Keununjami and Superjami in particular, showed a low total cholesterol levels, high levels of high-density lipoproteins-cholesterol, high fecal lipid output, low hepatic lipid values, and low hepatic adipocyte accumulation. There was also an increase in the rate of lipolysis and decrease in lipogenesis based on the lipid-regulating enzyme activity profiles obtained for the groups that fed on germinated rice. Also, results revealed that pigmented rice cultivars had superior effects in improving the lipid metabolism relative to the non-pigmented normal brown rice variety.ConclusionBased on the results, this study suggests that germinated pigmented rice consumption can confer better lipid metabolism than ordinary white rice and constitutes as an effective functional food in alleviating the risk of having dyslipidemias like those suffering from menopausal co-morbidities.

The antioxidant capacity of giant embryo brown rice Seonong 17 and Keunnunjami, in comparison with that of the normal embryo brown rice, was investigated. The rice grains were extracted with 70% ethanol and their antioxidant activity and components were analyzed. Compared with the normal brown rice, the giant embryo rice samples showed higher free radical scavenging, reducing power, ferrous chelating, xanthine oxidase inhibitory, and superoxide dismutase-like activities. Between the two giant embryo rice samples, Keunnunjami rice exhibited greater antioxidant activity than Seonong 17 rice. The total phenolic and total flavonoid contents were highest in Keunnunjami and lowest in normal embryo rice, indicating that these functional components are related to the high antioxidant activity observed in Keunnunjami. These findings provide significant information on the antioxidant potential of Seonong 17 and Keunnunjammi giant embryo rice cultivars. Keunnunjami, in particular, could be a good source of natural antioxidants and may be beneficial as a functional biomaterial in the development of food products with strong antioxidant capacity. 