Barriers to and facilitators of a healthy lifestyle for patients with gynecological cancer: a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative research with healthcare providers and patients.

The prevalence of an unhealthy lifestyle among patients with gynecological cancer is high and associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality. Although lifestyle changes have the potential to improve outcomes, lifestyle counseling is not routinely integrated into standard care. This review explores research on the barriers to and facilitators of both the promotion of healthy lifestyles by healthcare providers (HCPs) and healthy lifestyle changes by patients with gynecological cancer. The Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) was used to deductively code the identified factors for a comprehensive understanding of the barriers and facilitators. A search across five databases yielded a total of 12,687 unique studies, of which 43 were included in the review. Of these 43, 39 included gynecological cancer patients and only 6 included HCPs. Among the barriers identified for HCPs, most studies evaluated barriers regarding weight loss counseling. Limited knowledge, reluctance to address weight loss, skepticism about the benefits, and workload concerns were commonly reported barriers for HCPs. HCPs will benefit from education and training in lifestyle counseling, including effective communication skills like motivational interviewing. Gynecological cancer patients lacked tools, support, knowledge, and faced mental health issues, environmental constraints, and physical limitations. The review emphasizes the importance of addressing these barriers and utilizing identified facilitators, such as social support, to promote and support healthy lifestyle behaviors on the part of patients and their promotion by HCPs. Future research should focus not only on patients but also on supporting HCPs and implementing necessary changes in current practices.

Adherence to and Efficacy of the Nutritional Intervention in Multimodal Prehabilitation in Colorectal and Esophageal Cancer Patients.

Multimodal prehabilitation programs to improve physical fitness before surgery often include nutritional interventions. This study evaluates the efficacy of and adherence to a nutritional intervention among colorectal and esophageal cancer patients undergoing the multimodal Fit4Surgery prehabilitation program. The intervention aims to achieve an intake of ≥1.5 g of protein/kg body weight (BW) per day through dietary advice and daily nutritional supplementation (30 g whey protein). This study shows 56.3% of patients met this goal after prehabilitation. Mean daily protein intake significantly increased from 1.20 ± 0.39 g/kg BW at baseline to 1.61 ± 0.41 g/kg BW after prehabilitation (p < 0.001), with the main increase during the evening snack. BW, BMI, 5-CST, and protein intake at baseline were associated with adherence to the nutritional intervention. These outcomes suggest that dietary counseling and protein supplementation can significantly improve protein intake in different patient groups undergoing a multimodal prehabilitation program.

Multimodal Prehabilitation in Patients Undergoing Complex Colorectal Surgery, Liver Resection, and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC): A Pilot Study on Feasibility and Potential Efficacy.

BACKGROUND: Surgery for complex primary and metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), such as liver resection and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), in academic settings has led to improved survival but is associated with complications up to 75%. Prehabilitation has been shown to prevent complications in non-academic hospitals. This pilot study aimed to determine the feasibility and potential efficacy of a multimodal prehabilitation program in patients undergoing surgery in an academic hospital for complex primary and metastatic CRC. METHODS: All patients awaiting complex colorectal surgery, liver resection, or HIPEC from July 2019 until January 2020 were considered potentially eligible. Feasibility was measured by accrual rate, completion rate, adherence to the program, satisfaction, and safety. To determine potential efficacy, postoperative outcomes were compared with a historical control group. RESULTS: Sixteen out of twenty-five eligible patients (64%) commenced prehabilitation, and fourteen patients fully completed the intervention (88%). The adherence rate was 69%, as 11 patients completed >80% of prescribed supervised trainings. No adverse events occurred, and all patients expressed satisfaction with the program. The complication rate was significantly lower in the prehabilitation group (37.5%) than the control group (70.2%, p = 0.020). There was no difference in the type of complications. CONCLUSION: This pilot study illustrates that multimodal prehabilitation is feasible in the majority of patients undergoing complex colorectal cancer, liver resection, and HIPEC in an academic setting.

A Sense of Being Needed: A Phenomenological Analysis of Hospital-Based Rehabilitation Professionals' Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore lived experiences of rehabilitation professionals working in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the ethical issues and moral distress that these professionals might have encountered. METHODS: An interpretative phenomenological study was performed. First-person experiences of rehabilitation professionals (dieticians, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language therapists) were collected with semi-structured interviews and analyzed with interpretative phenomenological analysis. RESULTS: The data of 39 hospital-based rehabilitation professionals revealed 4 themes: a disease with great impact, personal health and safety, staying human in chaotic times, and solidarity and changing roles. Participant experiences show that the virus and COVID-19 measures had a significant impact on the in-hospital working environment due to the massive downscaling of regular care, due to infection prevention measures, and due to unknown risks to rehabilitation professionals' personal health. At the same time, participants experienced a certain freedom, which made room for authentic motives, connection, and solidarity. Participants felt welcomed and appreciated at the COVID-19 wards and intensive care units and were proud that they were able to fulfill their roles. The findings reflect a wide range of situations that were morally complex and led to moral distress. CONCLUSION: To diminish the long-lasting negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and moral distress, employers should empathize with the experiences of hospital-based rehabilitation professionals and create conditions for ethical reflection. Our data show that hospital-based rehabilitation professionals value professional autonomy. Creating room for professional autonomy helps them feel needed, connected, and energized. However, the needs of hospital-based rehabilitation professionals may conflict with organizational rules and structures. IMPACT: Hospital-based rehabilitation professionals were involved in situations they considered morally undesirable, and they inevitably faced moral distress during the COVID-19 crisis. This study offers rationale and guidance to employers regarding how to reduce the long-term negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rehabilitation professionals.

Patients with cancer experience high impact of emotional consequences of reduced ability to eat: A cross sectional survey study.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with cancer can experience emotional consequences of reduced ability to eat, their impact is unknown. This study assesses the impact of these emotional consequences, and patients' satisfaction with healthcare professionals' (HCPs) support. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among patients with head/neck, lung cancer and lymphoma, who experienced reduced ability to eat in the past year. Patients were recruited through patient organisations and hospitals. The questionnaire encompassed the impact of emotional consequences of reduced ability to eat (scale 1-10) and satisfaction with HCPs' support for reduced ability to eat (scale 1-10). The differences in patient characteristics between unsatisfied (Score < 6) and satisfied patients (score ≥6) were tested using independent t-tests and the chi-square or Fishers' exact tests. RESULTS: Overall, 116 patients (48%) responded and 98 were included in the analyses. The most impactful emotional consequences were as follows: disappointment (mean ± SD: 8.31 ± 1.49), grief/sadness (7.90 ± 1.91), and anger (7.87 ± 1.41). Patients were less satisfied when more time had passed since their diagnosis (p < 0.002) and when they expected no improvements regarding their eating problems (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The impact of emotional consequences of reduced ability to eat is high. Support for emotional consequences is needed, especially for patients with reduced ability to eat, which persists in recovery and remission.

How to account for hallucinations in the interpretation of the antidepressant effects of psychedelics: a translational framework.

RATIONALE: Recent trials with psychedelics in major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression showed remarkable improvements in depressive symptoms that can last for up to several months after even a single administration. The lack of an appropriate placebo control group-as patients are often able to discriminate the subjective effects of the drug-and an incomplete understanding of the role of the hallucinogenic and mystical experience, hampers the interpretation of these therapeutic effects. OBJECTIVES: To control for these factors, we developed a translational framework based on establishing pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) relationships in rodents and humans for hallucinogenic (i.e., discriminative stimulus effects in rodents and humans; head twitch responses in rodents; questionnaires in humans) and therapeutic effects. For the latter, we selected the pattern separation and attentional set-shifting tasks as measures for cognitive flexibility because of their high translational value. We predict that these PK/PD analyses will lead to a more objective evaluation of improvements in patients compared to relying only on the currently used self-reported questionnaires. We hypothesize that-if the role of the hallucinogenic experience is not central in the antidepressant effects of psychedelics-the ED50's for the therapeutic effects will be significantly lower than for the hallucinogenic and mystical effects. CONCLUSION: Our framework will help to inform future studies that aim at the elucidation of the mechanism(s) of action of psychedelics in depression, and the role of the acute subjective and/or hallucinogenic experience in their effects.

Evaluation of the Validity and Feasibility of the GLIM Criteria Compared with PG-SGA to Diagnose Malnutrition in Relation to One-Year Mortality in Hospitalized Patients.

BACKGROUND: The Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) approach to diagnose malnutrition was published in 2018. An important next step is to use the GLIM criteria in clinical investigations to assess their validity and feasibility. OBJECTIVE: To compare the validity and feasibility of the GLIM criteria with Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) in hospitalized patients and to assess the association between malnutrition and 1-year mortality. DESIGN: Post hoc analysis of a prospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: Hospitalized patients (n = 574) from the Departments of Gastroenterology, Gynecology, Urology, and Orthopedics at the Radboudumc academic facility in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, were enrolled from July 2015 through December 2016. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The GLIM criteria and PG-SGA were applied to identify malnourished patients. Mortality rates were collected from electronic patient records. Feasibility was assessed by evaluating the amount of and reasons for missing data. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Concurrent validity was evaluated by assessing the sensitivity, specificity, and Cohen's kappa coefficient for the GLIM criteria compared with PG-SGA. Cox regression analysis was used for the association between the GLIM criteria and PG-SGA and mortality. RESULTS: Of 574 patients, 160 (28%) were classified as malnourished according to the GLIM criteria and 172 (30.0%) according to PG-SGA (κ = 0.22, low agreement). When compared with PG-SGA, the GLIM criteria had a sensitivity of 43% and a specificity of 79%. Mortality of malnourished patients was more than two times higher than for non-malnourished patients according to the GLIM criteria (hazard ratio [HR], 2.68; confidence interval [CI], 1.33-5.41). Data on muscle mass was missing in 454 of 574 (79%) patients because of practical problems with the assessment using bioimpedance analysis (BIA). CONCLUSIONS: Agreement between GLIM criteria and PG-SGA was low when diagnosing malnutrition, indicating that the two methods do not identify the same patients. This is supported by the GLIM criteria showing predictive power for 1-year mortality in hospitalized patients in contrast to PG-SGA. The assessment of muscle mass using BIA was difficult to perform in this clinical population.

The effect of exercise and nutrition interventions on physical functioning in patients undergoing haematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is potentially lifesaving. However, it comes with negative consequences such as impaired physical functioning, fatigue and poor quality of life. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine the effect of exercise and nutrition interventions to counteract negative consequences of treatment and improve physical functioning in patients receiving HSCT. METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis included randomised controlled trials from three electronic databases between 2009 and 2020. The trials included adult patients receiving HSCT and an exercise or nutrition intervention. Study selection, bias assessment and data extraction were independently performed by two reviewers. Physical functioning outcomes were meta-analysed with a random-effects model. RESULTS: Thirteen studies were included using exercise interventions (n = 11) and nutrition interventions (n = 2); no study used a combined intervention. Meta-analysis of the trials using exercise intervention showed statistically significant effects on 6-min walking distance (standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.41, 95% CI: 0.14-0.68), lower extremity strength (SMD 0.37, 95% CI 0.12-0.62) and global quality of life (SMD 0.27, 95% CI: 0.08-0.46). CONCLUSION: Our physical functioning outcomes indicate positive effects of exercise interventions for patients receiving HSCT. Heterogeneity of the exercise interventions and absence of high-quality nutrition studies call for new studies comparing different types of exercise studies and high quality studies on nutrition in patients with HSCT.

Protein and energy intake: Comparison of two food services in patients during hemodialysis treatment.

OBJECTIVES: Radboud University Medical Center introduced a new food service (NFS) to the hemodialysis (HD) department, which contains several small protein-rich foods and adheres to the Dutch dietary HD guidelines. The objectives were to investigate whether the NFS improves protein and energy intake compared with the old food service (OFS), the number of symptomatic hypotensive events (SHEs), and patient satisfaction. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort (pilot) study of 25 adult patients with HD at the Radboud University Medical Center between August 2018 and February 2019. Differences in protein and energy intake over time by repeated measurements of the OFS and NFS were evaluated by linear mixed models with adjustments for confounders. SHEs, defined as a systolic drop >20 mmHg between two blood pressure measurements and 1) temporary or permanent stop ultrafiltration, 2) nausea, or 3) dizziness were collected. Patient satisfaction was determined by means of a self-developed questionnaire. RESULTS: Protein and energy intake for the OFS and NFS differed significantly. Mean ± standard deviation for protein intake was 26 ± 11 g and 31 ± 13 g, respectively, and for energy intake 603 ± 218 kcal and 724 ± 244 kcal, respectively. No increase in SHEs occurred between the food services (2 SHEs at OFS vs 1 SHE at NFS). OFS patient satisfaction was graded 6.7 ± 2.3 and NFS was graded 7.3 ± 1.7. CONCLUSIONS: NFS resulted in increased protein and energy intake and patient satisfaction, but no increase in SHEs was observed.

High Frequency Protein-Rich Meal Service to Promote Protein Distribution to Stimulate Muscle Function in Preoperative Patients.

Apart from meeting daily protein requirements, an even distribution of protein consumption is proposed instrumental to optimizing protein muscle synthesis and preserving muscle mass. We assessed whether a high frequency protein-rich meal service for three weeks contributes to an even daily protein distribution and a higher muscle function in pre-operative patients. This study was a post-hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in 102 patients. The intervention comprised six protein-rich dishes per day. Daily protein distribution was evaluated by a three-day food diary and muscle function by handgrip strength before and after the intervention. Protein intake was significantly higher in the intervention group at the in-between meals in the morning (7 ± 2 grams (g) vs. 2 ± 3 g, p < 0.05) and afternoon (8 ± 3 g vs. 2 ± 3 g, p < 0.05). Participants who consumed 20 g protein for at least two meals had a significantly higher handgrip strength compared to participants who did not. A high frequency protein-rich meal service is an effective strategy to optimize an even protein distribution across meals throughout the day. Home-delivered meal services can be optimized by offering more protein-rich options such as dairy or protein supplementation at breakfast, lunch and prior to sleep for a better protein distribution.

Experiences of patients with cancer with information and support for psychosocial consequences of reduced ability to eat: a qualitative interview study.

PURPOSE: Patients with cancer may experience emotions such as anger or sadness due to tumour- or treatment-related reduced ability to eat. These emotions can be provoked by patients' own struggle with eating, by misunderstanding of their struggle by others, or by less pleasure in social activities. Literature indicates that patients with cancer may experience a lack of information and support regarding psychosocial consequences of reduced ability to eat. The aim of this qualitative study is to gain insights into experiences with this information and support. METHOD: Transcripts of semi-structured interviews with 24 patients with cancer who experience(d) psychosocial consequences of reduced ability to eat were thematically analysed. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using Atlas.ti. RESULTS: Patients expressed positive experiences with information and support for psychosocial consequences of reduced ability to eat while receiving multidisciplinary recognition and personalised care. Patients expressed negative experiences when healthcare professionals only assessed topics within their own expertise, or when healthcare professionals mainly focused on their nutritional intake. Informal support for reduced ability to eat was positively evaluated when informal caregivers tried to understand their situation. Evaluation of informal practical support varied among patients. CONCLUSION: Patients with cancer who experience psychosocial consequences of reduced ability to eat both need professional and informal support. Recognition of these consequences from healthcare professionals is important, as well as understanding from informal caregivers.

Lessons learned from a randomized controlled trial on a home delivered meal service in advanced cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Performing a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in the field of nutrition is challenging and success highly depends on understanding the factors that influence recruitment and dropout of participants. Our aim was to assess the feasibility of a RCT that evaluated a home delivered meal service in advanced cancer patients while receiving chemotherapy. METHODS: This pilot RCT aimed to enroll 20 participants who were randomized into the home delivered meal service group or usual care group. Study procedures took place before chemotherapy (T0), 3 weeks after T0 (T1), 6 weeks after T0 (T2) and 3 months after T2 (T3). All information regarding recruitment, dropout and study procedures was recorded. Patient satisfaction was assessed by in-depth interviews. RESULTS: Over 7 months, 20 of 41 approached patients (49%) were included, followed by a dropout rate of 35%. At baseline, hand grip strength (n = 8/16), the Short Physical Performance Battery (n = 12/16) and nutritional intake (n = 8/16) had the highest rate of missing values. Study procedures were not experienced as burdensome and planning of these procedures in line with fixed hospital appointments contributed to this low burden. Keeping the symptom diary was mentioned as being burdensome. CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to conduct a RCT on a home delivered meal service in advanced cancer patients during chemotherapy, although recruitment is challenging. Close contact of patients with recruiting personnel is essential to sustain motivation. To increase compliance with the study protocol it is important to carefully instruct participants on how to complete questionnaires and to emphasize to use these in the communication with their practitioners. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03382171 .

Effect of a Preoperative Home-Delivered, Protein-Rich Meal Service to Improve Protein Intake in Surgical Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: The preoperative period likely provides an important opportunity to improve postoperative recovery, as suggested by the finding that low nutrition status is a predictor of increased postoperative complications and longer length of stay (LOS). It was investigated whether a home-delivered, protein-rich meal service improves protein intake relative to requirements within 3 weeks prior to surgery compared to usual care (UC). METHODS: This randomized controlled trial included adults (n = 126) with planned surgery performed at the orthopedics, urology, gynecology, or general surgery departments. The intervention group received 6 protein-rich dishes per day for 3 weeks, and the control group sustained their usual diet. Dietary intake, nutrition status, hand grip strength, physical performance, and quality of life were assessed at baseline and after 3 weeks. Patient satisfaction was reported after 3 weeks, and data on complications and LOS were reported 30 days after surgery. RESULTS: Protein intake relative to requirements significantly improved by 16%, and energy intake relative to requirements increased by 19% for the meal service, as compared with UC. The intervention group experienced significantly less stress with preparing meals and were more satisfied with the presentation of the meals than the control group. No significant effects of the intervention were detected on other secondary outcomes. CONCLUSION: The home-delivered, protein-rich meal service was successfully implemented before surgery and improved protein and energy intake relative to requirements within 3 weeks while patient satisfaction maintained. The preoperative period serves as a window of opportunity to prepare patients before hospitalization.

Protein Intake at the First Day of Full-Oral Intake During Hospitalization Is Associated With Complications and Hospital Length of Stay.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition at admission is associated with complication-related readmission and prolonged hospital stay. This underscores the importance of an adequate intake - more particular, protein intake - to prevent further deterioration and treat malnutrition during hospitalization. Our objective was to assess whether protein intake relative to requirements at the first day of full oral intake is associated with complications and hospital length of stay (LOS) in medical and surgical patients. METHODS: This was a post hoc analysis of a prospective cohort study in patients on the wards of gastroenterology, orthopedics, urology, and gynecology. Protein intake was measured by subtracting the weight of each dish at the end of each mealtime from the weight at serving time. Complications and LOS were reported using patients' medical records. RESULTS: In total, complications were observed in 92 of 637 (14.4%) patients, with a median LOS of 5 days (3.0-7.0). An absolute increase of 10% protein intake relative to requirements reduced the relative complication risk by 10% (odds ratio, 0.900; 95% CI, 0.83-0.97; P < .05). Also, LOS was shortened by 0.23 days for each increase of 10% in protein intake relative to requirements (95% CI, -0.3 to -0.2; P < .05). CONCLUSION: Protein intake relative to requirements at the first day of full-oral intake is associated with the risk of complications and hospital LOS. This analysis bolsters the evidence for the importance of any hospital meal service that increases protein intake.

Sensitive and practical screening instrument for malnutrition in patients with chronic kidney disease.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to examine the diagnostic accuracy of the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) and the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment Short Form (PG-SGA-SF) for detecting malnutrition in chronic kidney disease (CKD), study individual contributions of MUST and PG-SGA screening items to the explained variance in nutritional status (NS), and examine whether the PG-SGA-SF score, in combination with one of the items of the clinician's part of the cPG-SGA, can be used as a valid and compact nutrition assessment tool in patients with CKD. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional observational study with 123 patients with CKD who were screened for malnutrition risk by MUST and PG-SGA-SF. NS was determined by complete PG-SGA. Overall accuracy was calculated by the receiver operating curve area under the curve (ROC-AUC). Explained variance of individual screening items was assessed by Nagelkerke's R2, total explained variance was assessed by the increase of R2 after addition of items in manual stepwise forward selection. RESULTS: Of the patients, 44% were malnourished, which was detected by MUST in 24% and by PG-SGA-SF in 78%. Items "body mass index (BMI)" and "no food intake" of the MUST together explained only 3.7% of the variance in NS, whereas the item "nutrition impact symptoms" (NIS) of the PG-SGA-SF explained 57%. Total explained variance in NS by MUST and PG-SGA-SF were 15% and 74%, respectively. The PG-SGA-SF combined with the "metabolic stress" item explained most (87%) and had a sensitivity of 94% to detect malnutrition. CONCLUSIONS: Most malnourished patients with CKD failed to be identified with the MUST, whereas the PG-SGA-SF detected the majority of them with the screening item "NIS" having the highest individual contribution to the explained variance in NS. Combination of PG-SGA-SF with the item "metabolic stress" had the highest overall accuracy to detect malnutrition.

Effective elements of home-delivered meal services to improve energy and protein intake: A systematic review.

Home-delivered meal services are an example of a nutritional intervention in the home setting developed to enhance dietary intake and contribute to the independence of especially older adults. There is a lack of evidence about the contribution of specific elements of any home-delivered meal service on the improved outcomes. Therefore, a systematic review was performed to evaluate which elements of home-delivered meal services are effective to improve energy and protein intake, nutritional status, functional outcomes and satisfaction in adults. Pubmed, Embase and Web of Science databases were searched for studies assessing energy and protein intake, nutritional or functional status, or satisfaction of these services. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Quality Criteria Checklist for Primary Research. Of 138 studies meeting the search criteria, 19 were included, none of which met the criteria to be rated as high quality. These studies show that various elements of home-delivered meal services such as Meals on Wheels providing protein-enriched bread or snacks in addition to meals or providing meals and snacks for whole days can improve outcomes such as energy and protein intake and satisfaction. A distinction can be made between services focusing on supporting homebound, essentially healthy, older adults and services aiming at the optimal, nutritional, transmural care for patients at risk for malnutrition. This review shows that various elements of these meal services can improve key outcomes. Following the rising interest and importance of these interventions, there is an urgent need to optimize such services to improve nutritional care at home regarding the increasingly limited time frame of admission in hospitals.

Synaptic and memory dysfunction induced by tau oligomers is rescued by up-regulation of the nitric oxide cascade.

BACKGROUND: Soluble aggregates of oligomeric forms of tau protein (oTau) have been associated with impairment of synaptic plasticity and memory in Alzheimer's disease. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the synaptic and memory dysfunction induced by elevation of oTau are still unknown. METHODS: This work used a combination of biochemical, electrophysiological and behavioral techniques. Biochemical methods included analysis of phosphorylation of the cAMP-responsive element binding (CREB) protein, a transcriptional factor involved in memory, histone acetylation, and expression immediate early genes c-Fos and Arc. Electrophysiological methods included assessment of long-term potentiation (LTP), a type of synaptic plasticity thought to underlie memory formation. Behavioral studies investigated both short-term spatial memory and associative memory. These phenomena were examined following oTau elevation. RESULTS: Levels of phospho-CREB, histone 3 acetylation at lysine 27, and immediate early genes c-Fos and Arc, were found to be reduced after oTau elevation during memory formation. These findings led us to explore whether up-regulation of various components of the nitric oxide (NO) signaling pathway impinging onto CREB is capable of rescuing oTau-induced impairment of plasticity, memory, and CREB phosphorylation. The increase of NO levels protected against oTau-induced impairment of LTP through activation of soluble guanylyl cyclase. Similarly, the elevation of cGMP levels and stimulation of the cGMP-dependent protein kinases (PKG) re-established normal LTP after exposure to oTau. Pharmacological inhibition of cGMP degradation through inhibition of phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5), rescued oTau-induced LTP reduction. These findings could be extrapolated to memory because PKG activation and PDE5 inhibition rescued oTau-induced memory impairment. Finally, PDE5 inhibition re-established normal elevation of CREB phosphorylation and cGMP levels after memory induction in the presence of oTau. CONCLUSIONS: Up-regulation of CREB activation through agents acting on the NO cascade might be beneficial against tau-induced synaptic and memory dysfunctions.

The Currently Available Literature on Inpatient Foodservices: Systematic Review and Critical Appraisal.

BACKGROUND: An adequate hospital foodservice is important to optimize protein and energy intake and to maintain or improve a patient's nutritional status. Key elements that define an optimal foodservice have yet to be identified. OBJECTIVES: To systematically describe the effects of published foodservice interventions on nutrition and clinical outcomes and determine which elements should be considered essential. Secondly, to describe the outcome measures used in these studies and evaluate their relevance and validity to guide future research. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and the Web of Science databases were searched. Studies that included assessment of nutrition and/or clinical outcomes of hospital foodservice up to December 2017 were eligible. The details of the subject population, the type of intervention, and the effects on reported outcomes were extracted from each study. RESULTS: In total, 33 studies that met inclusion criteria were identified, but only nine (27%) were rated as having sufficient methodologic quality. These nine studies concluded that various elements of a foodservice can be considered essential, including using volunteers to provide mealtime assistance, encouraging patients to choose protein-rich foods, adding protein-enriched items to the menu, replacing existing items with protein-enriched items, giving patients the ability to order food by telephone from a printed menu (room service concept), or a combination of these interventions. The interstudy heterogeneity was high for both outcome measures and methods. CONCLUSIONS: Various foodservice interventions have the potential to improve outcome measures. Recommendations are made to facilitate future research.

Strategies to increase protein intake at mealtimes through a novel high-frequency food service in hospitalized patients.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Additional strategies should be applied to optimize hospital food services, in order to increase the number of patients with adequate protein intake at mealtimes. Therefore, we aim to specify the differences in protein intake per mealtime between the traditional three meals a day food service (TMS) and a novel six times a day food service containing protein-rich food items, FoodforCare (FfC). SUBJECTS/METHODS: This was a post-hoc analysis of a prospective cohort study comparing the TMS (July 2015 - May 2016; n = 326) to FfC (January 2016 - December 2016; n = 311) in adult hospitalized patients. RESULTS: Protein intake (g) was higher with FfC at all mealtimes (p < 0.05) except for dinner (median [IQR] at breakfast: 17 [6.5-25.7] vs. 10 [3.8-17]; 10:00 a.m.: 3.3 [0.3-5.3] vs. 1 [0-2.2]; lunch: 17.6 [8.4-25.8] vs. 13 [7-19.4]; 2:30 p.m.: 5.4 [0.8-7.5] vs. 0 [0-1.8]; 7:00 p.m.: 1 [0-3.5] vs. 0 [0-1.7]; 9:00 p.m.: 0 [0-0.1] vs. 0 [0-0]). At dinner, protein intake was highest for both food services (20.9 g [8.4-24.1] vs. 20.5 g [10.5-27.8]). CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a high-frequency food service can improve protein intake at mealtimes during the day and might be a strategy to increase the number of patients with adequate protein intake.