Effect of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota-fermented milk on metabolic abnormalities in obese prediabetic Japanese men: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

An obesity-related prediabetic state is characterised by metabolic abnormalities such as post-glucose load hyperglycaemia and dyslipidaemia and consequently increases the risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) on metabolic abnormalities in obese prediabetic subjects in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Herein, 100 obese subjects (body mass index ≥25), who had moderate post-load hyperglycaemia (1-hr post-load plasma glucose (PG) levels ≥180 mg/dl during the oral glucose tolerance test), consumed LcS-fermented milk or placebo milk daily for 8 weeks. The post-load PG and fasting blood markers were evaluated. Although post-load PG levels were not significantly different between the groups, 1-hr post-load PG, glycoalbumin, and HbA1c levels decreased at 8 weeks compared with the baseline levels only in the LcS group (p=0.036, p=0.002, and p=0.006, respectively). The reduction in glycoalbumin levels was statistically significantly greater in the LcS group than in the placebo group (p=0.030). Stratified analyses revealed significantly improved 1-hr post-load PG and glycoalbumin levels in the LcS group compared with the placebo group among subjects with severe glucose intolerance (2-hr post-load PG levels higher than the median at baseline; p=0.036 and p=0.034, respectively). In terms of lipidic outcomes, total, low-density lipoprotein, and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly lower in the LcS group than in the placebo group (p=0.023, p=0.022, and p=0.008, respectively). These findings suggest that LcS may favourably affect metabolic abnormalities in obese prediabetic subjects, though the effects on glycaemic control may be limited.

Impact of fall-related behaviors as risk factors for falls among the elderly patients with dementia in a geriatric facility in Japan.

The purpose of this study was to clarify potential fall-related behaviors as fall risk factors that may predict the potential for falls among the elderly patients with dementia at a geriatric facility in Japan. This study was conducted from April 2008 to May 2009. A baseline study was conducted in April 2008 to evaluate Mini-Mental State Examination, Physical Self-Maintenance Scale, fall-related behaviors, and other factors. For statistical analysis, paired t test and logistic analysis were used to compare each item between fallers and nonfallers. A total of 135 participants were followed up for 1 year; 50 participants (37.04%) fell during that period. Results of multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the total score for fall-related behaviors was significantly related to falls. It was suggested that 11 fall-related behaviors may be effective indicators to predict falls among the elderly patients with dementia.

Whole-genome sequencing of liver cancers identifies etiological influences on mutation patterns and recurrent mutations in chromatin regulators.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. We sequenced and analyzed the whole genomes of 27 HCCs, 25 of which were associated with hepatitis B or C virus infections, including two sets of multicentric tumors. Although no common somatic mutations were identified in the multicentric tumor pairs, their whole-genome substitution patterns were similar, suggesting that these tumors developed from independent mutations, although their shared etiological backgrounds may have strongly influenced their somatic mutation patterns. Statistical and functional analyses yielded a list of recurrently mutated genes. Multiple chromatin regulators, including ARID1A, ARID1B, ARID2, MLL and MLL3, were mutated in ∼50% of the tumors. Hepatitis B virus genome integration in the TERT locus was frequently observed in a high clonal proportion. Our whole-genome sequencing analysis of HCCs identified the influence of etiological background on somatic mutation patterns and subsequent carcinogenesis, as well as recurrent mutations in chromatin regulators in HCCs.

Anthocyanins from purple sweet potato Ipomoea batatas cultivar Ayamurasaki suppress the development of atherosclerotic lesions and both enhancements of oxidative stress and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

We evaluated the protective potential of anthocyanins from purple sweet potato Ipomoea batatas cultivar Ayamurasaki (APSP) against low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation in vitro and atherosclerotic lesion development in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice given a cholesterol- and fat-enriched diet with or without 1% APSP for 4 weeks. APSP protected LDL against oxidation more potently than other anthocyanins and l-ascorbic acid in vitro. In mice, APSP significantly lowered the atherosclerotic plaque area to about half of the control, the liver level of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances as an oxidative stress marker, and the plasma level of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1). However, APSP showed no effects on body weight and cholesterol and lipid levels in the plasma. The results suggest that APSP can suppress the development of atherosclerotic lesions and both enhancements of oxidative stress and sVCAM-1 independently of the changes in cholesterol and lipid levels in mice.

TP53 codon 72 polymorphism in 12 populations of insular Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Distribution of a single nucleotide polymorphism in the TP53 codon 72 (Arg/Pro) was studied in Southeast Asia and Oceania where information about this polymorphism was lacking. A polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism method was employed to genotype a total of 733 subjects from 12 populations in insular Southeast Asia and Oceania. These populations have been classified as either an Austronesian-speaking group or Papuan-speaking group. The p53Arg frequencies ranged from 0.06 in the Seramese to 0.62 in the Kahayan with an average frequency of 0.38. No significant correlation between the p53Arg frequency and latitude was observed in the 12 populations tested (P > 0.05), whereas a significant correlation was obtained for the relationship between frequency and longitude among 9 Austronesian or the whole 12 populations tested (P < 0.01). A longitudinal cline of the p53Arg frequencies may reflect the history of the Austronesian's migration and local admixture with indigenous Papuan speakers who had probably harbored low p53Arg frequencies.

Antioxidative activity of anthocyanins from purple sweet potato, Ipomoera batatas cultivar Ayamurasaki.

We evaluated the antioxidative activity of anthocyanins from an extract of the tuber of purple sweet potato (PSP) (Ipomoea batatas cultivar Ayamurasaki). Anthocyanins from PSP showed stronger 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity than anthocyanins from red cabbage, grape skin, elderberry, or purple corn, and eight major components of the anthocyanins from PSP showed higher levels of activity than ascorbic acid. In PSP anthocyanin-injected rats and PSP beverage-administered volunteers, DPPH radical-scavenging activity in the urine increased. The elevation of plasma transaminase activities induced by carbon tetrachloride was depressed in rats administered PSP anthocyanin solution. Two components, cyanidin 3-O-(2-O-(6-O-(E)-caffeoyl-beta-D-glucopyranocyl)-beta-D-glucopyranoide)-5-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside and peonidin 3-O-(2-O-(6-O-(E)-caffeoyl-beta-D-glucopyranocyl)-beta-D-glucopyranoide)-5-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, which were detected in the plasma, protected low density lipoprotein from oxidation at a physiological concentration. These results indicate that PSP anthocyanins have antioxidative activity in vivo as well as in vitro.