The Tohoku journal of experimental medicine
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Jun 2022
RECK Variants are Associated with Clinicopathological Features and Decreased Susceptibility in Mexican Patients with Colorectal Cancer.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of death worldwide. Down-regulation of the cysteine-rich reversion-inducing protein with Kazal motifs (RECK) has been confirmed in numerous human cancers and is clinically associated with metastasis. This study aims to explore, for the first time, the possible association of the RECK variants rs11788747 and rs10972727 with CRC susceptibility and clinicopathological features. ⋯ Patients older than 50 years who carry the G/G genotype have a lower risk of CRC (OR 0.26; 95% CI 0.09-0.73; P = 0.019) and of developing advanced tumor-nodule-metastasis (TNM) stages (OR 0.23; 95% CI 0.09-0.54; P = 0.001). Individuals carrying the A/A genotype of the rs10972727 variant also showed decreased risk of CRC (OR 0.38; 95% CI 0.19-0.77; P = 0.011), and were associated with age (over 50 years), sex, advanced TNM stages, and tumor location in the colon. Our results suggest that the RECK variants studied here (rs11788747 and rs10972727) are associated with decreased CRC risk, TNM stages and tumor location.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Jun 2022
Prognostic Value and Oncogenic Effects of Ubiquitin-Specific Protease 43 in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
Dysregulated expression of ubiquitin-specific protease 43 (USP43) has been recently discovered in malignancies. This study aimed to investigate the expression pattern of USP43 protein in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) and to explore its correlation with patients' clinicopathological characteristics as well as clinical outcomes. Expression of USP43 protein was determined by immunohistochemistry staining in a retrospective cohort containing 157 LUSC cases who underwent curative surgery in our hospital. ⋯ Patients with increased USP43 expression or positive lymph nodes exhibited a poorer overall survival. In addition, cellular assays elucidated that USP43 can promote LUSC growth and invasion. Taken together, our study demonstrated that USP43 may act as a proto-oncogene, which could be a promising biomarker and therapeutic target in the survival prediction and treatment of LUSC.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Jun 2022
Association between Sarcopenia and Depressive Symptoms in Community-Dwelling People Aged 40 Years and Older.
Several studies have reported an association between sarcopenia and depression. Their results, however, are inconsistent, partly due to small sample sizes and lack of consideration of important confounders. The present study aimed to cross-sectionally examine this association in community-dwelling people in Japan. ⋯ There was a significant dose-dependent association between SARC-F scores and depressive symptoms in sarcopenic individuals (adjusted P for trend = 0.0028). In conclusion, sarcopenia and depressive symptoms were robustly associated in community-dwelling, middle-aged and older people in Japan. However, the direction of this association is unclear, and a future cohort study will be needed to determine causality.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Jun 2022
Association between Prior and Later Occurrence of Shoulder Pain Episodes: A 5-Year Longitudinal Study after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Shoulder pain is more common among survivors of natural disasters than the general population. This study aimed to examine the occurrence of shoulder pain, especially the association between prior and later shoulder pain episodes, in survivors living in coastal areas severely damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) (n = 1,821) over a period of 5 years. The presence of shoulder pain was assessed at 2 (first period), 4 (second period), and 7 (third period) years after the disaster. ⋯ With the absence of shoulder pain in both the first and second periods used as the reference, adjusted ORs for the presence of shoulder pain during each period and both periods were 4.58 (95% CI 3.17-6.62) and 15.54 (95% CI 8.38-28.84), respectively (P for trend < 0.001). Thus, prior shoulder pain was significantly associated with shoulder pain after 5 years among GEJE survivors, and the association was stronger as the number of prior shoulder pain episodes increased. This expertise should be shared with other expert teams to address the affected people and prepare for future disasters.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Jun 2022
Response to Glucocorticoid Therapy in Patients with Mild to Moderate Coronavirus Disease 2019 at a Japanese Care Facility.
The fifth wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by delta variant infection depleted medical resources, and the Japanese government announced glucocorticoid use for outpatients. An appropriate outpatient-glucocorticoid treatment for COVID-19 has not been established; therefore, we created treatment manuals with indications for glucocorticoid administration in a care facility adequately equipped to manage patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. Thirty-eight patients (24 males, 14 females; mean age 40.5 ± 11.8 years) were treated with glucocorticoids from August 1 to October 1, 2021 [COVID-19 staging, mild (n = 1), moderate I (n = 19), and moderate II (n = 18)]. ⋯ The mean number of days from glucocorticoid administration to discharge from the care facility for non-hospitalized patients was 8.4 ± 3.3 days. The adverse reactions among non-hospitalized patients included insomnia (n = 1) and mild liver dysfunction (n = 3). The present method of glucocorticoid administration can be safely used for patients with COVID-19 in care facilities.