Association between a malnutrition screening tool and mealtime observation checklist items in older people receiving oral intake support: A cross-sectional study of four long-term care facilities.

BACKGROUND: Multiple nutritional screening tools are available for older people; however, few screening tools include specific eating behaviours as risk factors that could lead to poor food intake. The 24-item mealtime observation checklist (MOCL), developed by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2015, comprises signs, symptoms and conditions during mealtime that reflect eating and swallowing functions and oral conditions. OBJECTIVES: To examine factors associated with malnutrition among the MOCL items in older people. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from a retrospective cohort study conducted at four long-term care facilities in Japan. Among the older people residing in the facilities, 198 who received oral intake support were included in the analyses. Nutritional status was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA®-SF), and comparisons were made between 'malnutrition' and 'at-risk or well-nourished'. The association between each MOCL item and malnutrition was assessed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the 198 participants, 98 (49.5%) were classified as 'malnutrition', 98 (49.5%) as 'at-risk' and 2 (1%) as 'well-nourished' by MNA®-SF. After adjusting for participant characteristics such as age and sex, significant associations with malnutrition were observed for four items from the 24-item MOCL: 'Has fatigue due to extended mealtime (odds ratio [OR] = 3.20, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.36-7.53)', 'Food residues in the oral cavity are conspicuous (OR = 2.77, 95% CI: 1.38-5.52)', 'Has difficulty swallowing food and takes time to swallow (OR = 3.78, 95% CI: 1.45-9.84)' and 'Assisted feeding is required (OR = 3.70, 95% CI: 1.73-7.91)'. CONCLUSIONS: The four signs, symptoms and conditions during mealtime identified in this study may be associated with malnutrition in older people. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: These may indicate the potential eating problems that can lead to malnutrition. By incorporating them into early intervention and prevention measures, health care providers may help prevent malnutrition and improve the nutritional status of older people.

Validation of the applicability of the mealtime observation checklist in predicting the risk of aspiration pneumonia in older adults receiving oral intake support: A retrospective cohort study of four long-term care facilities.

AIM: In Japan, a 24-item mealtime observation checklist (MOCL) was developed in 2015 to support oral intake and prevent aspiration in older adults. The MOCL consists of signs/symptoms/conditions that reflect eating and swallowing functions and oral conditions. This study aimed to examine the association between each MOCL item and the onset of aspiration pneumonia (AP). METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included 199 older adults with difficulties in oral intake residing in four long-term care facilities. The association between the time to the onset of AP (6 months follow-up) and each MOCL item was examined using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: The median (25th, 75th percentiles) age of the participants was 87 (82, 91.5) years; 131 (65.8%) were women; and 24 developed AP during the study period. After adjusting for the characteristics of participants, six items were significantly associated with the onset of AP: "Has difficulty maintaining a sitting position" (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.29, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.37-7.88), "Sleep while eating" (HR = 3.45, 95% CI: 1.12-10.59), "Has difficulty starting to eat, frequently interrupts eating even after starting to eat, and has difficulty concentrating on eating" (HR = 2.51, 95% CI: 1.10-5.72), "Has fatigue because additional time is needed to eat" (HR = 3.08, 95% CI: 1.32-7.20), "Dry mouth" (HR = 2.84, 95% CI: 1.21-6.67), and "Assisted feeding is required" (HR = 2.90, 95% CI: 1.21-6.93). CONCLUSIONS: Of the 24 items on the MOCL, we found six items that might contribute to screening older adults at a high risk of AP onset. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2023; 23: 376-382.

Dendrigraft polylysine coated-poly(glycolic acid) fibrous scaffolds for hippocampal neurons.

Poly(glycolic acid) (PGA) fibers are a good candidate material for nerve cell scaffolds, which is applicable to the treatment of peripheral nerve injuries. Polylysine is widely used as a coating material for cell substrates to promote nerve cell adhesion. In this study, linear and dendrigraft polylysines were used to coat PGA fibers. The association of large dendrigraft polylysines with PGA fibers was lower and unstable, compared with linear polylysine. However, more hippocampal neurons adhered to PGA fibers coated with large dendrigraft polylysine than linear polylysine. Enhanced cell adhesion was observed, even when the dendrigraft polylysine was coated on the PGA fibers at a low concentration (0.05 µg/mL) or when it was coated in water instead of alkaline buffer. Differences in cell adhesion properties were seen between the dendrigraft polylysine coating and a laminin coating. Thus, large dendrigraft polylysines are a useful coating material for nerve cell scaffolds. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 2744-2750, 2016.

Differential effects of laminin isoforms on axon and dendrite development in hippocampal neurons.

Laminins play an important role in neuronal development. However, the effects of each laminin isoform on neurite morphology remain unclear. Here, we examined the effects of particular laminin (LN) isoforms on hippocampal neuron morphology. We found that LN-511 remarkably promoted elongation of both axons and dendrites, but reduced the number of dendrites. LN-511 E8 fragment, which includes the integrin-binding region, promoted axon and dendrite outgrowth and increased the dendrite number, although its effect on axon and dendrite elongation was smaller than that of full-length LN-511. These results suggest that LN-511 regulates axon and dendrite development by integrin-dependent and -independent mechanisms.

Case of superficial mucocele of the lower lip.

Superficial mucocele is a relatively rare bullous disease that develops in the oral mucosa. Although the number of reported cases is limited, it seems that the superficial mucocele has been recognized as an independent disease belonging to a single entity. We report a 48-year-old woman who repeatedly developed superficial mucocele in the oral mucosa. When she was admitted to our hospital she had a tense vesicle on her lower lip. A skin biopsy was taken from the vesicle. A blister containing neutrophils and erythrocytes was present in the mucous epithelium. There was a dermal infiltrate comprising neutrophils, mononuclear lymphocytic cells and eosinophils. Dilated salivary gland excretory ducts were seen in the lamina propria mucosae. Eosinophilic and amorphous materials, which were periodic acid-Schiff positive after digestion with diastase, and alcian blue positive, were deposited in the blister. Direct immunofluorescence was negative for immunoglobulin (Ig)G, IgM, IgA, C1q, C3 and C4. These histological findings led us to make a diagnosis of superficial mucoceles.

Indispensable role of Bcl2 in the development of the melanocyte stem cell.

Bcl2 null mice display a characteristic loss of pigmentation demonstrating the importance of Bcl2 in the melanocyte (Mc) lineage. It was recently reported that this abnormal phenotype is due to the failure of melanocyte stem cell (MSC) maintenance and that Bcl2 is selectively important for the survival of MSCs. However, in our analysis of the same mouse, we observe a reduction in melanoblast (Mb) number in both epidermal and follicular populations. More importantly, there is a complete absence of MSCs. SCF downregulation in the epidermis is concomitant with the dramatic reduction in Mb numbers observed in the Bcl2 null, suggesting that Bcl2 is indispensable for the survival of Mbs in the absence of c-Kit signaling. Consistently, abrogation of c-Kit signaling in Bcl2 null mice depletes all Mbs and Mcs, whereas continuous expression of SCF in epidermal keratinocytes rescues the MSCs. Our results demonstrate that Bcl2 has a general role in Mb and Mc survival and is essential for the emergence of MSCs. Moreover, the results indicate that the first wave of Mcs that provide hair pigmentation is derived directly from epidermal Mbs bypassing MSCs. Furthermore, a Bcl2-independent mechanism of action of SCF in the Mc lineage is revealed as SCF c-Kit signaling is functional in the absence of Bcl2.

Porphyria cutanea tarda with menopausal exacerbation: the possible role of menstruation as natural phlebotomy.

We describe a 48-year-old woman with a 12-year history of porphyria cutanea tarda who showed a remarkable exacerbation of her eruptions accompanied by high serum levels of iron and ferritin at menopause. As iron storage is known to be a triggering factor of porphyria cutanea tarda, the possible role of menstruation as natural phlebotomy to prevent porphyria cutanea tarda exacerbation is discussed.

Mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 plays an unexpected role in the development of mouse guard hair.

The first wave of coat hair development is initiated around embryonic day 14 in the mouse. Whereas ectodysplasin and ectodermal dysplasia receptor, tumor necrosis factor and tumor necrosis factor receptor family molecules, respectively, were identified to be signals triggering this process, not much was known regarding their downstream molecular targets. In this report, we show that mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 are induced in the keratinocytes of the hair placode as a direct consequence of ectodermal dysplasia receptor signal, and tumor-necrosis-factor-receptor-associated factor 6 is involved in this mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 expression. Experiments using an in vitro culture of skin fragments demonstrated that ectodermal-dysplasia-receptor-induced mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 expression occurs at the initial phase of follicle development before involvement of Sonic hedgehog signal. Follicle development in this culture was also suppressed to some extent, though not completely, by addition of soluble mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1/IgG-Fc chimeric protein, whereas monoclonal antibody that can inhibit mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 interaction with integrin alpha4beta7 had no effect on this process. These results demonstrated for the first time that the structural proteins, mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 and intercellular adhesion molecule 1, are induced by ectodermal dysplasia receptor signal and suggested the potential involvement of mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 in the morphogenesis of follicular keratinocytes.

TRAF6-deficient mice display hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia.

Tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR)-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) is an adapter protein that links signals from members of the TNFR superfamily and Toll/IL-1 receptor family to activation of transcription factors NFkappaB and AP-1. Analysis of TRAF6-deficient mice revealed that TRAF6 is essential for normal bone formation and establishment of immune and inflammatory systems. Here we report that TRAF6 deficiency results in defective development of epidermal appendixes, including guard hair follicles, sweat glands, sebaceous glands of back skin, and modified sebaceous glands such as meibomian glands, anal glands, and preputial glands. Except the sebaceous gland impairment, these abnormal phenotypes are identical to those observed in Tabby (Ta), downless (dl), and crinkled (cr) mice, which are models of hypohidrotic (anhidrotic) ectodermal dysplasia in human. beta-catenin and mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1, an early marker of developing guard-hair follicles is absent in the skin of TRAF6-deficient embryos. Thus, TRAF6 is essential for development of epidermal appendixes. TRAF6 does not associate with the cytoplasmic tail of the dl protein (DL)/ectodysplasin receptor (EDAR) receptor, which, when mutated, results in hypohidrotic (anhidrotic) ectodermal dysplasia. However, TRAF6 associates with X-linked ectodysplasin-A2 receptor (XEDAR) and TNFR super family expressed on the mouse embryo (TROY/toxicity and JNK inducer (TAJ), which are EDAR-related members of the TNFR superfamily that are expressed at high level in epidermal appendixes. Furthermore, TRAF6 is essential for the XEDAR-mediated NFkappaB activation. Our results suggest that TRAF6 may transduce signals emanating from XEDAR or TROY/TAJ that are associated with development of epidermal appendixes.