Lifestyle and health factors associated with stress urinary incontinence in Japanese women

Objectives

Studies focusing on lifestyle and health factors and stress urinary incontinence (SUI) are scarce in Japan. The aim of this study is to examine the association of lifestyle and health factors in SUI.

Methods

Study subjects were retrieved from Japanese women participating in a health checkup program provided by a general hospital between October 2003 and March 2006. The presence of SUI was confirmed by responses to a self-administered questionnaire assessing lower urinary tract symptoms. The questionnaire included other questions on lifestyle and health factors. Each subject underwent weight and height measurements.

Results

A total of 823 women completed the questionnaire and were included in the analyses (the response rate was 62.6%). Of them, 70 (8.5%) women had SUI. BMI and parity were significantly positively associated with SUI (OR = 3.47 and 7.17, 95% CI 1.65–7.33 and 1.71–30.04, respectively). Multiple logistic regression analysis controlling for age, parity, and BMI showed that first delivery at age >27 (OR = 1.82, 95% CI 0.97–3.41), past estrogen use (OR = 2.50, 95% CI 1.14–5.47), and unilateral ovariectomy (OR = 3.07, 95% CI 1.16–8.13) were also significantly associated with SUI.

Conclusions

The data suggested that lifestyle and health factors such as parity, BMI, age at first delivery, past estrogen use, and unilateral ovariectomy were associated with SUI in Japanese women.     

Dynamics of regulatory T cells and plasmacytoid dendritic cells as immune markers for virological response in pegylated interferon-α and ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C patients

Background

For the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, a combination of pegylated interferon-?? (PEG-IFN??) and ribavirin has been widely used as a standard of care. Enhancement of immune response against hepatitis C virus (HCV) is known to be involved in the efficacy of the combination therapy. Our aim was to elucidate whether or not the frequency or function of blood cells is related to the outcome of the therapy.

Methods

Sixty-seven chronic hepatitis C patients with high viral load of HCV genotype 1 infection who underwent 48?weeks of PEG-IFN??2b and ribavirin therapy were examined. During the treatment, frequencies of myeloid or plasmacytoid dendritic cells, Th1, Th2 cells, NK cells, and regulatory T cells were phenotypically determined.

Results

Among the patients enrolled, 29 showed a sustained virological response (SVR), 18 a transient response (TR) and 17 no response (NR). The clinical and immunological markers were compared between the SVR and non-SVR patients, including TR and NR. Based on clinical, histological, immunological parameters, and cumulative dosage of PEG-IFN??2b and ribavirin, multivariate analyses revealed that higher platelet counts and higher regulatory T cell frequency at week 12 are indicative of SVR. Even in patients who attained complete early virological response at week 12, multivariate analyses disclosed that higher platelet counts and higher plasmacytoid dendritic cell frequency are indicative of SVR.

Conclusions

In PEG-IFN?? and ribavirin combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C patients, the increments of regulatory T cells and plasmacytoid dendritic cell frequency are independently related to favorable virological response to the therapy.     

Psychosocial job characteristics and insomnia: A prospective cohort study using the Demand-Control-Support (DCS) and Effort–Reward Imbalance (ERI) job stress models

ObjectiveTo examine the prospective effects of psychosocial job characteristics evaluated with the Demand-Control-Support (DCS) and Effort–Reward Imbalance (ERI) models on insomnia.MethodsA prospective cohort study with a two-year observation was performed. The subjects were 1022 middle-aged (?39 years) Japanese workers. The following associations were analyzed: high job strain, low social support, effort–reward imbalance, and overcommitment to work at the baseline with self-reported persistence and future onset of insomnia.ResultsAmong those who were insomniacs at the baseline (N = 292), low social support [adjusted odds ratio (95% CI): 2.00 (1.18, 3.40)] and effort–reward imbalance [2.40 (1.13, 5.10)] at the baseline had a significant relationship to insomnia at the follow-up. Among those who were not insomniacs at the baseline (N = 730), overcommitment to work [1.75 (1.16, 2.66)] and high job strain [1.72 (1.06, 2.79)] at the baseline were associated with insomnia at follow-up.ConclusionsProspective effects of psychosocial job characteristics on insomnia differed between its persistence and future onset. Proportionate reward for work effort and sufficient support at work assist recovery from insomnia, while overcommitment to work and high job strain cause future onset of insomnia.     

Synergistic Effect of Arsenic Trioxide and Flt3 Inhibition on Cells with Flt3 Internal Tandem Duplication

Flt3 internal tandem duplication (Flt3-ITD) is a prevalent mutation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Flt3-ITD constitutively activates various signaling pathways, including a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. Arsenic trioxide (ATO) and MEK inhibition were recently reported to interact synergistically to induce apoptosis in AML cells. In this study, we aimed to clarify whether ATO and Flt3 inhibition would be a more specific and efficient therapy for Flt3-ITD cells. We demonstrate that the combination of ATO and an Flt3 inhibitor, AG1296, profoundly inhibits the growth of Flt3-ITD cells and induces their apoptosis. We further revealed that this combined treatment potently inhibits the ERK activity that might be responsible for cell growth. Moreover, using the Chou-Talalay method, we observed a synergistic growth-inhibitory effect for ATO and AG1296 in Flt3-ITD cells (BaF3-Flt3-ITD, MV4-11, and PL-21 cells), but not in Flt3 wild-type cells (RS4-11 and NB4 cells), for almost all dose ranges tested. Our results provide an experimental basis for a specific and efficient therapy for Flt3-ITD cells that involves combined treatment with Flt3 inhibitors and ATO.     

Soy intake and urinary sex hormone levels in preschool Japanese children

The authors investigated whether soy intake is associated with sex steroid levels in Japanese children. This cross-sectional study was conducted in autumn 2006. Subjects were substantially healthy preschoolers, 230 boys and 198 girls, aged 3-6 years. Dietary data, including soy intake, were assessed using 3-day dietary records. Each child's dietary intake was controlled for total energy intake using the Willett method (Nutritional Epidemiology. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press; 1990:245-271). Urinary estrone, estradiol, testosterone, and 5-androstene-3β,17α diol levels measured using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry, and urinary dehydroepiandrosterone level measured with a radioimmunoassay, were adjusted for urinary creatinine levels. In the analysis of covariance for sex steroids after adjustments for age and body mass index, soy intake was significantly negatively related to estrone and estradiol in boys and positively related to testosterone and 5-androstene-3β,17α diol in girls. Isoflavone had a significant tendency to be negatively associated with estradiol in boys and to be positively associated with testosterone in girls. Total energy intake was not associated with any sex steroids in boys or girls. These results suggest that soy intake might affect the secretion or metabolism of sex steroids in childhood and that the effects might differ by sex.     

Associations of birth weight and physical activity with sex steroids in preschool Japanese children

Purpose  

We aimed to assess the association of body size at birth or physical activity with sex steroid levels, independent of body mass among young children.     

Clinical analysis of 35 cases of penile cancer

We retrospectively reviewed the records of 35 patients with penile cancer, who had been treated at Gifu University Hospital and its affiliated hospitals between July 1994 and January 2009. The mean values of follow-up periods, ages, serum squamous cell carcinoma levels and maximum diameters of the tumor were 23.7±28.0 months, 72.3±10.5 year-old, 4.5±4.3 ng/ml, and 4.0±2.6 cm, respectively. Systemic chemotherapy and local radiotherapy were performed in six, and three cases, respectively. Ten patients died of penile cancer. By univariate analyses, maximum tumor diameter (＜- 4.3 cmvs ＞4.3 cm), T factor (＜T3 vs ＞- T3) and N factor (＜N2 vs ＞- N2) were significantly associated with cancer-specific survival. The five-year survival of stage N2 cases (28.6%) were significantly lower than that of stage N0 and N1 cases (68.4%) (p＝0.0003). By multivariate analyses N factor (＜N2 vs ＞- N2) was significantly associated with cancer specific survival (p＝0.020). We concluded that the development of effective systemic chemotherapy might be crucial to improve the prognosis of patients with metastatic diseases.     

TUBB1 mutation disrupting microtubule assembly impairs proplatelet formation and results in congenital macrothrombocytopenia

This report describes a family with TUBB1‐associated macrothrombocytopenia diagnosed based on abnormal platelet β1‐tubulin distribution. A circumferential marginal microtubule band was undetectable, whereas microtubules were frayed and disorganized in every platelet from the affected individuals. Patients were heterozygous for novel TUBB1 p.F260S that locates at the α‐ and β‐tubulin intradimer interface. Mutant β1‐tubulin was not incorporated into microtubules with endogenous α‐tubulin, and α‐tubulin expression was decreased in transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells. Transduction of mutant β1‐tubulin into mouse fetal liver‐derived megakaryocytes demonstrated no incorporation of mutant β1‐tubulin into microtubules with endogenous α‐tubulin and diminished proplatelet formation, leading to the production of fewer, but larger, proplatelet tips. Furthermore, mutant β1‐tubulin was not associated with endogenous α‐tubulin in the proplatelets. Deficient functional microtubules might lead to defective proplatelet formation and abnormal protrusion‐like platelet release, resulting in congenital macrothrombocytopenia.