Frequency of Consumption of Whole Fruit,Not Fruit Juice,Is Associated with Reduced Prevalence of Obesity in Korean Adults

BackgroundFruit consumption is known to be beneficial to health. However, the health benefits of fruit juice are controversial due to its high sugar content.ObjectivesTo examine the associations of frequency of consumption of whole fruit and fruit juice with obesity and metabolic syndrome.DesignThis cross-sectional study used data from the 2012-2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.ParticipantsA total of 10,460 adults (4,082 men and 6,378 women) aged 19 to 64 years were included in the study.Main outcome measuresFrequency of consumption of whole fruit and fruit juice was evaluated using a food frequency questionnaire, and dietary sugar intake was calculated using a 24-hour recall. Obesity and abdominal obesity were determined using body mass index and waist circumference, respectively. Metabolic syndrome was defined on the basis of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III.Statistical analyses performedMultiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the associations between frequency of whole fruit or fruit juice consumption and obesity and metabolic syndrome abnormalities.ResultsThe percentage of participants who consumed whole fruit daily was 32.6%, whereas 52.3% consumed fruit juice rarely. The average intake of total sugars was 14.9% of total energy, which was within the recommend range (<20% of total energy) for Koreans. Consuming whole fruit ≥1 time/day was associated with reduced prevalence of obesity, abdominal obesity, and elevated blood pressure compared with consuming whole fruit ≤1 time/wk. However, frequency of fruit juice consumption showed no association with obesity, abdominal obesity, and metabolic syndrome.ConclusionsFrequency of whole fruit consumption was associated with reduced prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome abnormalities among Korean adults with average total sugar intake within the recommended range.     

Prevalence and risk factors of restless legs syndrome in peritoneal dialysis patients

Objective To investigate the prevalence of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in peritoneal dialysis patients and analyze the related risk factors. Methods This study was a cross-sectional study. The patients receiving maintenance peritoneal dialysis from January 2017 to December 2017 in the Peritoneal Dialysis Center of the Second Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University were selected as the study subjects. RLS was screened for peritoneal dialysis patients by epidemiological field investigation based on the RLS diagnostic criteria of the International Restless Leg Syndrome Research Group in 2014. Clinical data and laboratory examinations of selected patients were collected and the differences of clinical indicators between RLS and non-RLS patients were compared. The risk factors related to RLS were analyzed by logistic regression. Results Seventy-six cases of RLS were screened out from 396 PD patients. The prevalence of RLS was 19.2%. Compared with non-RLS group, RLS group patients had longer dialysis age, less 24 hours urine volume, and elevated blood intact Parathormone (iPTH) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) (all P﹤0.05). There was no significant difference in primary disease ratio, sex, age, body mass index, blood pressure, hemoglobin, creatinine, urea nitrogen, uric acid, ferritin, serum iron, transferrin saturation, blood calcium, blood phosphorus, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein, eGFR, Kt/V, Ccr between RLS and non-RLS group patients (all P﹥0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that long dialysis age (OR=1.010, 95%CI 1.001-1.018, P=0.022) and high blood AKP (OR=1.005, 95%CI 1.001-1.010, P=0.021) were independent risk factors for RLS in peritoneal dialysis patients (both P﹤0.05). Conclusions The prevalence of RLS is high in peritoneal dialysis patients. Long dialysis age and high blood AKP are independent risk factors for RLS.     

Two-stage maxillary distraction osteogenesis using a modified external device: clinical outcome and complications

Rigid external distraction is currently used to correct severe maxillary hypoplasia. The purpose of this retrospective study was to present the clinical results and complications of a two-stage surgical approach using a modified external distraction system that consists of maxillary distraction and then maxillary fixation. We treated eight patients with cleft lip and palate in this way from 2016 to 2018. Lateral cephalograms taken before the first operation, after distraction, two weeks after the second operation, and one year after treatment were used to examine maxillofacial morphology. Velopharyngeal function was evaluated by a speech therapist. The mean movements of the maxilla forwards and downwards at Point A were 12.0 mm and 8.0 mm at the completion of distraction and those at Point B were 5.0 mm backwards and 9.7 mm downwards. Mouth opening was limited at this time, and was relieved after maxillary fixation. The mean relapse one year postoperatively was 24.3% horizontally and 52.5% vertically. Velopharyngeal function was unchanged by the operation. We conclude that the method has advantages that include the short duration of wearing distractors and increased acceptance by patients. The modified external device advanced the midface sufficiently.     

Discovery of structure-based small molecular inhibitor of αB-crystallin against basal-like/triple-negative breast cancer development in vitro and in vivo

αB-crystallin (CRYAB) is present at a high frequency in poor prognosis basal-like breast tumours, which are largely absent of oestrogen, progesterone receptors and HER2 known as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). CRYAB functions as a molecular chaperone to bind to and correct intracellular misfolded/unfolded proteins such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), preventing non-specific protein aggregations under the influence of the tumour microenvironment stress and/or anti-cancer treatments including bevacizumab therapy. Directly targeting CRYAB can sensitize tumour cells to chemotherapeutic agents and decrease tumour aggressiveness. However, growing evidence shows that CRYAB is a critical adaptive response element after ischemic heart disease and stroke, implying that directly targeting CRYAB might cause serious unwanted side effects. Here, we used structure-based molecular docking of CRYAB and identified a potent small molecular inhibitor, NCI-41356, which can strongly block the interaction between CRYAB and VEGF₁₆₅ without affecting CRYAB levels. The disruption of the interaction between CRYAB and VEGF₁₆₅ elicits in vitro anti-tumour cell proliferation and invasive effects through the down-regulation of VEGF signalling in the breast cancer cells. The observed in vitro anti-tumour angiogenesis of endothelial cells might be attributed to the down-regulation of paracrine VEGF signalling in the breast cancer cells after treatment with NCI-41356. Intraperitoneal injection of NCI-41356 greatly inhibits the tumour growth and vasculature development in in vivo human breast cancer xenograft models. Our findings provide ‘proof-of-concept’ for the development of highly specific structure-based alternative targeted therapy for the prevention and/or treatment of TNBC.