Impact of overweight and obesity on US renal cell carcinoma incidence trends (1995-2018)

In the United States, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) incidence and the prevalence of obesity, an established risk factor for RCC, have been increasing for several decades. RCC is more common among older individuals. We sought to quantify the contribution of excess adiposity to the rising incidence of RCC among individuals 60 years or older. National Institutes of Health-American Association of Retired Persons Diet and Health Study data (n = 453 859 participants, enrolled in 1995-1996, age at enrollment 50-71 years) were used to estimate multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for RCC across body mass index categories and HRs associated with smoking. Population attributable fractions (PAFs) were calculated using estimated HRs and annual overweight/obesity prevalence from the National Health Interview Survey (1985-2008). PAF estimates were combined with RCC incidence from Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-13 to calculate annual percent changes in RCC incidence attributable (and unrelated) to overweight/obesity. We found that between 1995 and 2018, among individuals aged 60 years and older, PAF for overweight/obesity increased from 18% to 29% for all RCCs. In comparison, the PAF for smoking declined from 12% to 9%. RCC incidence increased 1.8% per year (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5%-2.1%) overall, while RCC incidence attributable to overweight/obesity increased 3.8% per year (95%CI 3.5%-4.2%) and RCC incidence unrelated to overweight/obesity increased 1.2% per year (95% CI 0.9%-1.4%). In conclusion, overweight/obesity appears to have contributed importantly to the rising incidence of RCC in the United States since the mid-1990s. Public health interventions focused on reducing overweight and obesity could help substantially in curbing this trend.     

Combined administration of lauric acid and glucose improved cancer‐derived cardiac atrophy in a mouse cachexia model

Cancer‐derived myocardial damage is an important cause of death in cancer patients. However, the development of dietary interventions for treating such damage has not been advanced. Here, we investigated the effect of dietary intervention with lauric acid (LAA) and glucose, which was effective against skeletal muscle sarcopenia in a mouse cachexia model, on myocardial damage. Treatment of H9c2 rat cardiomyoblasts with lauric acid promoted mitochondrial respiration and increased ATP production by Seahorse flux analysis, but did not increase oxidative stress. Glycolysis was also promoted by LAA. In contrast, mitochondrial respiration and ATP production were suppressed, and oxidative stress was increased in an in vitro cachexia model in which cardiomyoblasts were treated with mouse cachexia ascites. Ascites‐treated H9c2 cells with concurrent treatment with LAA and high glucose showed that mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis were promoted more than that of the control, and ATP was restored to the level of the control. Oxidative stress was also reduced by the combined treatment. In the mouse cachexia model, myocardiac atrophy and decreased levels of a marker of muscle maturity, SDS‐soluble MYL1, were observed. When LAA in CE‐2 diet was orally administered alone, no significant rescue was observed in the cancer‐derived myocardial disorder. In contrast, combined oral administration of LAA and glucose recovered myocardial atrophy and MYL1 to levels observed in the control without increase in the cancer weight. Therefore, it is suggested that dietary intervention using a combination of LAA and glucose for cancer cachexia might improve cancer‐derived myocardial damage.     

A subcostal approach is favorable compared to sternotomy for left ventricular assist device exchange field of research: artificial heart (clinical)

Journal of Artificial Organs - This is a single-center retrospective study to summarize clinical outcomes of patients requiring surgical continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (HeartMate...     

A study on craniofacial morphology of Japanese subjects with normal occlusion and esthetic profile

This study was designed to properly characterize the cephalometric values of Japanese individuals with both normal occlusion and esthetic profiles. Multivariate statistics were applied to analyze the collected data. Cephalometric values identified are expected to help in the simplification of orthodontic diagnosis. Lateral cephalometric radiographs from 50 men and 50 women with normal occlusion were traced and the dimensions of hard and soft tissues recorded. The corresponding values were classified by cluster analysis, and selected representative values were subjected to principal component analysis. From these values, characteristics of hard and soft tissue morphology were extracted. The subjects were grouped by sex, and subdivided into esthetic and unesthetic profile groups. The principal component scores from each group were plotted on a scattergram and the characteristics of each group investigated. The hard tissue characteristics in men with esthetic profiles were primarily vertical factors, including a tendency for smaller lower facial heights, a smaller mandibular plane angle, and a larger Nasion-ANS/ANS-Menton (N-ANS/ANS-Me). Soft tissue features included a more posteriorly placed maxilla and a high nasal crest. These features yield a less marked maxillary prognathism and a greater nose prominence. In females, hard tissue characteristics associated with esthetic profiles primarily involved the cranial base and posterior facial area. These included a smaller saddle angle, larger articulare angle, and smaller Sella-Articulare/Articlare-Gonion (S-Ar/Ar-Go). Female soft tissue characteristics primarily included retracted upper and lower lips, a shallow inferior sulcus with a smaller lower lip-Frankfort plane angle, and a shorter mentolabial sulcus and subnasale perpendicular-upper lip.