Emerging roles of lactic acid bacteria in protection against colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer(CRC)is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide and the fourth most common cancer diagnosed among men and women in the United States.Considering the risk factors of CRC,dietary therapy has become one of the most effective approaches in reducing CRC morbidity and mortality.The use of probiotics is increasing in popularity for both the prevention and treatment of a variety of diseases.As the most common types of microbes used as probiotics,lactic acid bacteria(LAB)are comprised of an ecologically diverse group of microorganisms united by formation of lactic acid as the primary metabolite of sugar metabolism.LAB have been successfully used in managing diarrhea,food allergies,and inflammatory bowel disease.LAB also demonstrated a host of properties in preventing colorectal cancer development by inhibiting initiation or progression through multiple pathways.In this review,we discuss recent insights into cellular and molecular mechanisms of LAB in CRC prevention including apoptosis,antioxidant DNA damages,immune responses,and epigenetics.The emerging experimental findings from clinical trials as well as the proposed mechanisms of gut microbiota in carcinogenesis will also be briefly discussed.

Use of technology and social media in dementia care:Current and future directions

As the population across the globe continues to dramatically increase,the prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia will inevitably increase as well,placing increasing burden on families and health care systems.Technological advancements over the past decade provide potential benefit in not only relieving caregiver burden of caring for a loved one with dementia,but also enables individuals with dementia to age in place.Technological devices have served to improve functioning,tracking and mobility.Similarly,smartphones,tablets and the ubiquitous world wide web have facilitated the dissemination of health information to previously hard to reach populations largely through use of various social media platforms.In this review,we discuss the current and future uses of technology via devices and social media to promote healthy aging in individuals with dementia,and also limitations and challenges to consider in the future.

Association between recognizing dementia as a mental illness and dementia knowledge among elderly Chinese Americans

AIM: To investigate whether older Chinese Americans perceive dementia as a mental illness and the relationship between such perception and their general understanding of dementia remains unclear. Our study aims to understand this relationship and its future implication on improving dementia literacy among ethnic minorities.METHODS: Elderly Chinese American participants from the Greater Los Angeles were asked to complete an 11-item dementia questionnaire, following a community health seminar. Cross-sectional survey data was analyzed using standard statistical methods.RESULTS: The questionnaire received an 88.3% response rate. Among 316 responders, only 28.8%(n = 91) of elderly Chinese Americans identified dementia as a mental illness, and 71.2%(n = 225) did not recognize its mental disease origin. Furthermore, in comparison between these two groups, the first group demonstrated significantly higher level of baseline knowledge of the disease.CONCLUSION: This study reveals that only approximately 1 out of 4 older Chinese Americans recognized dementia as a mental illness, consistent with previous studies on Asian Americans. Our study however showed that when dementia was being perceived as a mental illness, such perception was associated with a higher level of baseline dementia understanding. The current study suggested the potential of improving older Chinese Americans dementia literacy by increasing awareness of its mental illness origin.

Inhibitory activity of medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum on colorectal cancer by attenuating inflammation

The medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum(GL,Reishi or Lingzhi)exhibits an inhibitory effect on cancers.However,the underlying mechanism of the antitumor activity of GL is not fully understood.In this study,we characterized the gene networks regulated by a commercial product of GL containing a mixture of spores and fruiting bodies namely“GLSF”,in colorectal carcinoma.We found that in vitro co-administration of GLSF extract at non-toxic concentrations significantly potentiated growth inhibition and apoptosis induced by paclitaxel in CT26 and HCT-15 cells.GLSF inhibited NF-κB promoter activity in HEK-293 cells but did not affect the function of P-glycoprotein in K562/DOX cells.Furthermore,we found that when mice were fed a modified diet containing GLSF for 1 month prior to the CT26 tumor cell inoculation,GLSF alone or combined with Nab-paclitaxel markedly suppressed tumor growth and induced apoptosis.RNA-seq analysis of tumor tissues derived from GLSF-treated mice identified 53 differentially expressed genes compared to normal tissues.Many of the GLSFdown-regulated geneswere involved in NF-κB-regulated inflammation pathways,such as IL-1β,IL-11 and Cox-2.Pathway enrichment analysis suggested that several inflammatory pathways involving leukocytemigration and adhesion were most affected by the treatment.Upstream analysis predicted activation of multiple tumor suppressors such asα-catenin and TP53 and inhibition of critical inflammatory mediators.“Cancer”was the major significantly inhibited biological effect of GLSF treatment.These results demonstrate that GLSF can improve the therapeutic outcome for colorectal cancer through a mechanism involving suppression of NF-κB-regulated inflammation and carcinogenesis.

Multimodal management of giant cerebral aneurysms: review of literature and case presentation

The pathophysiology of giant cerebral aneurysms renders them difficult to treat.Advances in technology have attempted to address any shortcomings associated with open surgery or endovascular therapies.Since the introduction of the flow diversion technique,the endovascular approach with flow diversion has become the first-line modality chosen to treat giant aneurysms.A subset of these giant aneurysms may persistent despite any treatment modality.Perhaps the best option for these recurrent and/or persistent giant aneurysms is to employ a multimodal approach-both surgical and endovascular-rather than any single technique to provide a curative result with favourable patient outcomes.This paper provides a review of the histopathology and treatment options for giant cerebral aneurysms.Additionally,an illustrative case is presented to highlight the unique challenges of a curative solution for giant cerebral aneurysms that persist despite initial treatment.

Advances in endovascular aneurysm management: coiling and adjunctive devices

Endovascular coil embolisation continues to evolve and remains a valid modality in managing ruptured and unruptured cerebral aneurysms.Technological advances in coil properties,adjunctive devices and interventional techniques continue to improve long-term aneurysm occlusion rates.This review elaborates on the latest advances in next-generation endovascular coils and adjunctive coiling techniques for treating cerebral aneurysms.