Sarcopenia and its components suppress the improvement of depression symptoms in patients with stroke.

Background: Recent studies have reported an association between sarcopenia and depression symptoms. To date, no reports have investigated the association between sarcopenia and depression symptoms evaluated using the Geriatric Depression Screening Scale (GDS)-15 in patients with stroke. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between sarcopenia and its components and the improvement of depression symptoms in patients with stroke admitted to a convalescent rehabilitation ward. Methods: Patients with stroke aged ≥65 years admitted to a convalescent rehabilitation ward were included in the study. Participants were categorized into sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups based on the 2019 Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia. Here, depression symptoms were evaluated using the GDS-15, in addition to demographic characteristics. This study's primary outcome was the GDS change from admission to discharge. Multiple regression analysis was performed to investigate the association between GDS change and sarcopenia and its components. Results: Overall, 118 participants were included, with a mean age of 78.7±8.1, and 58 (49%) were classified in the sarcopenia group. Multiple regression analysis showed that sarcopenia (ß: -0.283, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -1.140 to -0.283, p < 0.001) and handgrip strength (ß: -0.317, 95% CI: -0.162 to -0.014, p = 0.021) were independently associated with GDS change. Conclusion: Sarcopenia and handgrip strength were significantly associated with improved depression symptoms in patients with stroke admitted to a convalescent rehabilitation ward. However, further prospective studies should investigate the association between sarcopenia and depression symptoms in patients with stroke.

[A case in which TS-1, an orally-administered 5-FU chemotherapeutic agent, showed marked effectiveness against scirrhous type gastric cancer with multiple organ metastases].

A 67-year-old woman with anorexia and weight loss was referred to our hospital with a diagnosis of type 4 gastric cancer. Since metastases to the liver, left adrenal gland, and Douglas' pouch were detected in addition to ascites and bilateral hydronephrosis, the tumor was judged unresectable and systemic chemotherapy with TS-1 was begun. Symptoms began to improve after the first course, and the patient was discharged and followed as an outpatient. An upper GI series showed improvement of the primary lesion, and cancer cells became undetectable under biopsy. At the end of the third course, computed tomography confirmed that metastases to the liver, the lymph nodes, and the adrenal gland had disappeared. The ascites diminished significantly, and hydronephrosis began to ameliorate. The effectiveness of the drug continued until the end of the eleventh course, and the patient is currently in her seventeenth month as an outpatient. This case shows the effectiveness of TS-1 against scirrhous type gastric cancer, a cancer generally considered resistant to chemotherapy. Furthermore, treatment on an outpatient basis has greatly improved her quality of life.

m-Diethynylbenzene macrocycles: syntheses and self-association behavior in solution.

m-Diethynylbenzene macrocycles (DBMs), buta-1,3-diyne-bridged [4(n)]metacyclophanes, have been synthesized and their self-association behaviors in solution were investigated. Cyclic tetramers, hexamers, and octamers of DBMs having exo-annular octyl, hexadecyl, and 3,6,9-trioxadecyl ester groups were prepared by intermolecular oxidative coupling of dimer units or intramolecular cyclization of the corresponding open-chain oligomers. The aggregation properties were investigated by two methods, the (1)H NMR spectra and the vapor pressure osmometry (VPO). Although some discrepancies were observed between the association constants obtained from the two methods, the qualitative view was consistent with each other. The analysis of self-aggregation by VPO revealed unique aggregation behavior of DBMs in acetone and toluene, which was not elucidated by the NMR method. Namely, the association constants for infinite association are several times larger than the dimerization constant, suggesting that the aggregation is enhanced by the formation of dimers (a nucleation mechanism). In polar solvents, DBMs aggregate more strongly than in chloroform due to the solvophobic interactions between the macrocyclic framework and the solvents. Moreover, DBMs self-associate in aromatic solvents such as toluene and o-xylene more readily than in chloroform. In particular, the hexameric DBM having a large macrocyclic cavity exhibits extremely large association constants in aromatic solvents. By comparing the aggregation properties of DBMs with the corresponding acyclic oligomers, the effect of the macrocyclic structure on the aggregation propensity was clarified. Finally, it turned out that DBMs tend to aggregate more readily than the corresponding phenylacetylene macrocycles, acetylene-bridged [2(n)]metacyclophanes, owing to the withdrawal of the electron density from the aromatic rings by the butadiyne linkages which facilitates pi-pi stacking interactions.