Sarcopenia in patients with dementia: correlation of temporalis muscle thickness with appendicular muscle mass.

Cognitive decline is one of the most relevant signs of sarcopenia; however, it is challenging to perform tests for sarcopenia in patients with dementia. In a recent study, temporalis muscle thickness (TMT), an alternative to appendicular muscle mass (ASM), was found to be a valid index for screening sarcopenia. This study aimed to determine whether TMT correlates with ASM and evaluate the relationship between TMT and cognitive function in dementia patients. We recruited patients with a complaint of memory loss who visited the Memory Clinic of Konkuk University Medical Center between November 2014 and December 2020. Patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) without weakness were included. TMT was measured on axial T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images, perpendicular to the long axis of the temporal muscle, at the orbital roof level. ASM was measured using body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). It was calculated as the sum of lean soft tissue mass in the arms and legs, and the value by ASM divided by height squared was used. Inter-rater reliability and intra-rater reliability were good and excellent, respectively. We found a correlation between TMT and skeletal ASM, which was obtained from cranial MR images and DXA, respectively (r = 0.379, p = 0.001). TMT was negatively correlated with age (r = - 0.296, p = 0.014) and positively correlated with body mass index (BMI) (r = 0.303, p = 0.012). Additionally, TMT was correlated with MMSE (r = 0.350, p = 0.003). After adjusting for educational years, there was still a correlation between TMT and MMSE (r = 0.256, p = 0.038). This study demonstrated that TMT correlates with ASM and cognitive function in patients with dementia. Measuring TMT using cranial MR images could help diagnose sarcopenia accessibly and assess cognitive function in patients with dementia.

A retrospective feasibility study of biweekly docetaxel in patients with high-risk metastatic castration-naïve prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: Results from randomized phase III trials have shown that thrice-weekly docetaxel added to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) has a significant impact on the survival of patients with metastatic castration-naïve prostate cancer (mCNPC) and established early chemotherapy as part of the standard of care for high-risk disease. Controversy remains, however, because some patients experience critical toxicities related to docetaxel. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the feasibility and adverse events of biweekly-administered docetaxel in patients with previously-untreated, high-risk mCNPC. METHODS: The study included 35 consecutive patients with high-risk mCNPC who received ADT plus docetaxel 40 mg/m2. Oral prednisone 5 mg twice daily was also given. Treatment was repeated every two weeks for up to 12 cycles or until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity occurred. High-risk was defined as bone metastases beyond axial skeleton and/or visceral disease. RESULTS: The included patients' median age was 68 years (range: 31-86 years) and 17 (49%) had visceral metastases. Biweekly docetaxel was generally well-tolerated; the most commonly observed adverse events, considering those of all grades, included alopecia (74%), nail changes (42%), and constipation (31%). Hematologic adverse events were infrequent, and no patient received hematopoietic growth factors. One patient died after the fourth cycle due to respiratory failure, which occurred as a complication of pneumonia. Among the 35 patients, 28 completed the planned 12 cycles of biweekly docetaxel. Prostate-specific antigen response (> 50% decrease from baseline) was recorded in 33 patients (94%), and the radiologic response rate was 49%. Median progression-free survival was 13.6 months (95% confidence interval: 6.7-20.4). CONCLUSION: ADT plus biweekly-administered docetaxel appeared to be tolerated and effective in patients with high-risk mCNPC.

Clinical features and prognosis of breast cancer with gastric metastasis.

Breast cancer rarely metastasizes to the gastrointestinal tract, including the stomach. Due to the rarity of this metastasis, it is occasionally confused with a primary stomach malignancy. However, discriminating characteristic features with clinical implications may exist. The aim of the current study was to analyze the clinical features and prognosis of breast cancer with gastric metastasis. Between January 1994 and October 2016, 13 patients at Samsung Medical Center (Seoul, Korea) were clinically or pathologically determined to have breast cancer with gastric metastasis. The present study retrospectively collected clinicopathological data from the electronic medical records of these 13 female patients. At breast cancer diagnosis, the median patient age was 45 years. A total of 7 patients (53.8%) presented with invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) and 6 (46.2%) with invasive ductal carcinoma. Of the 13 patients, 11 were stage I-III at initial breast cancer diagnosis and underwent surgery. Positivity of breast cancer tissue samples for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) was 92.3, 76.9 and 0%, respectively. Positivity of gastric metastasis lesions, based on immunohistochemistry results, was 81.8, 50 and 0% for ER, PR and HER2, respectively. The stomach was the location of the first metastatic lesion in 6 out of the 11 patients (54.5%) with de novo stage I-III cancer. The median time interval from initial breast cancer diagnosis to stomach metastasis was 77.5 months. The 3-year survival rate was 79.1%, and the estimated mean survival time was 35.1 months. Breast cancer with gastric metastasis is rare, and due to this fact, a thorough pathological review and greater clinical suspicion are required in these cases.

A Study on H2SO4-Treated MxOy Catalysts for Styrenated Phenols by Alkylation of Phenol with Styrene.

Styrenated phenols (SPs) involving very small amount of unreacted phenol and high content of di-SP (DSP) were synthesized, which can be used to prepare SP alkoxylate. The solid catalyst was prepared by impregnation method. SO2-4 on SO2-4/MxOy catalyst was introduced from an aqueous 1M-H2SO4 solution. The catalysts were characterized by XRD patterns, and FT-IR spectra. The catalytic activity was examined by measuring conversion of phenol and styrene in a batch liquid-phase reactor. The concentration of phenol, styrene, and SPs were measured by GC with capillary column. The optimum synthesis conditions for concentration of sulfuric acid solution, catalyst amount of reactants, reaction temperature, and reaction time over SO2-4/ZrO2 catalyst were 15 wt%, 15 wt%, 100 °C, and 6 hr, respectively. At these conditions, conversion of both phenol and styrene were almost 100%, and the selectivity of DSP was 52.1%. On the other hand, the optimum synthesis conditions over SO2-4/TiO2 catalyst were 10 wt%, 5 wt%, 100 °C, and 1 hr, respectively, and conversion of both phenol and styrene were almost 100%, and the selectivity of DSP was 66.1%.