Lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with prostate cancer under and after intensity-modulated radiation therapy.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to collect data on the characteristics, degree, and natural course of urinary complications, as well as self-care for such complications, in patients during and after prostate intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). METHODS: Quality of life data were collected retrospectively for all eligible patients who underwent IMRT. In all eligible patients, urinary symptoms were evaluated using questionnaires and face-to-face interview. Participants were asked to respond to a self-administered questionnaire concerning the core lower urinary tract symptom score during the course of IMRT and up to 12 months after the completion of IMRT. RESULTS: In all, 29 eligible patients were included in the study. The frequency of urinary symptoms increased over of the course of IMRT, decreased at ≥3 months after completion of IMRT, and disappeared 6 months after IMRT. Responses to the questionnaire revealed a variety of approaches to self-care and adaptations by patients to manage urinary symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: During and after IMRT for localized prostate cancer, patients often developed more frequent urination and urgency than at the start of IMRT, and recovered 3-6 months after the completion of IMRT. Based on the present study, clinicians and nurses could help convey this information to patients and thus offer better support.

Mechanism of Suppression of Blood Glucose Level by Calcium Alginate in Rats.

Calcium alginate (Ca-Alg) is known to suppress the postprandial increase of blood glucose, and therefore may be helpful for preventing lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes. In this work, we examined the mechanism of this effect. As α-amylase activity and α-glucosidase activity are involved in the digestion of starch, we examined the in vitro inhibitory effect of Ca-Alg on these enzymes. Ca-Alg showed little inhibition of α-amylase, but markedly inhibited α-glucosidase activity. The direct binding affinity of glucose for Ca-Alg was low. Also, Ca-Alg had essentially no effect on the membrane permeability of glucose. Therefore, we considered that the suppression of blood glucose by Ca-Alg is predominantly due to a decrease in the efficiency of starch digestion as a result of inhibition of α-glucosidase, possibly due to increased viscosity of the gastrointestinal contents. Next, we investigated the optimum amount in the diet and the optimum particle size of Ca-Alg for suppressing postprandial blood glucose level in rats orally administered a diet containing starch with various amounts and particle sizes of Ca-Alg. We found that 5% by weight of 270-mesh-pass Ca-Alg was most effective.

Randomized, Double-Blind, Crossover Clinical Trial of the Effect of Calcium Alginate in Noodles on Postprandial Blood Glucose Level.

We conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blind, 3-group, 3-phase crossover study to evaluate the effect of calcium alginate (Ca-Alg) on the postprandial increase of blood glucose in 15 healthy adult subjects who were given udon noodles containing or not containing Ca-Alg (5 or 8%). The value of ΔCmax (difference between the maximum (Cmax) and pre-feeding (C0) blood glucose levels) was significantly reduced in both Ca-Alg groups, and the area under the blood glucose level-time curve over 120 min (ΔAUC, with C0 as the baseline) was also significantly reduced. Thus, supplementation of noodles with Ca-Alg significantly suppressed both the peak postprandial blood glucose level and the total amount of glucose absorption. Blood calcium (Ca) concentration was significantly increased at 120 min after ingestion, but there was no marked change of other parameter values. A questionnaire indicated that addition of Ca-Alg did not affect the acceptability of the noodles. These results indicate that Ca-Alg might a useful food additive for helping to prevent lifestyle-related diseases without adversely affecting individual eating habits.

Effects of mechanical strain on proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow stromal cell line ST2.

Differentiation of mesenchymal stromal cells into osteoblasts is regulated by many factors including growth factors, cytokines, and hormones. Mechanical stress has been considered to be an important factor in bone modeling and remodeling. However, biological responses of stromal cells to mechanical stimuli are still unknown. To show the correlation between magnitude of mechanical strain and differentiation of stromal cells into osteoblasts, we investigated the proliferation and the expression of osteoblast-related genes in stromal cell line ST2 that is in the process of osteoblastic differentiation by treatment with ascorbic acid and beta-glycerophosphate, under 0.8%-15% elongation using the Flexercell Strain system. The expression of osteoblast-related genes was analyzed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Cell proliferation significantly increased at 5%, 10%, and 15% elongation compared to that of unloaded controls. Alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) activity significantly increased at 0.8% and 5% elongation but decreased at 10% and 15% elongation. At 1 h and 6 h, mRNA level of Cbfa1/Runx2 increased at lower magnitudes of strain (0.8% and 5% elongation) but decreased at higher magnitude of strain (15% elongation). At 24 and 48 h, Cbfa1/Runx2 and osteocalcin mRNAs decreased at 5%, 10%, and 15% elongation, whereas cell proliferation and expression of type I collagen mRNA increased at the same elongation. These results indicate that mechanical strain stimulates osteoblastic differentiation of stromal cells at low magnitudes of strain.