[Cross-Sectional Study of Nutritional Status and Dietary Nutrient Intake in Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) in China].

Objective: To investigate the dietary nutrient intake and the nutritional status of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and to explore the correlation between them, so as to provide theoretical basis for the formulation of proper nutritional treatment for children with DMD. Methods: A total of 223 children aged 2 to 14 years who came to West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University from July 2017 to April 2021, and who were diagnosed with DMD by genetic testing were enrolled as the subjects of the study. Dietary assessment was conducted with a 3-day 24-hour dietary recall, and serum vitamin D level was measured by chemiluminescence method. Results: Only 33.2% of the children with DMD were found to be of normal nutritional status. The incidences of stunted growth, underweight, overweight and obesity were 13.5%, 14.4%, 14.3% and 8.1%, respectively. Among the children with DMD, those with serum vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency accounted for 9.0% and 89.7%, respectively. According to the dietary recall of the children with MDM, the daily energy ratio of carbohydrate, protein and fat were (47.40±6.64)%, (14.46±2.22)%, and (38.17±5.30)%, respectively. The daily intake of dietary calcium and vitamin D were (433.32±164.39) mg per day and (155.73±89.30) IU per day, respectively. The ratio of daily protein intake to the estimated average requirement for protein ( P=0.003) and ratio of daily energy intake to the estimated energy requirement ( P=0.007) were lower in children with stunted growth than those of DMD children of normal nutritional status. Conclusion: The dietary structure of children with DMD is obviously not suited to their condition and nutritional deficiency coexists with overnutrition among them. Further research needs to be done for developing appropriate nutritional guidance programs and standardized nutritional management measures for children with DMD.

Detection of serum anti-p53 antibodies from patients with ovarian cancer in China: correlation to clinical parameters.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer has been one of the most common malignant tumor among women in China. The aims of this research were to increase the detection efficiency of anti-p53 antibodies in the sera from patients with ovarian cancer and to assist the diagnosis for patients with ovarian cancer. METHODS: The hybrid phage displaying the immunodominant epitope SQAMDDLMLS in p53 N-terminal region was constructed and the fusion protein was prepared and purified. Ninety-two nonselected Chinese women with ovarian cancer were involved in this study. Tumor p53 overexpression was assessed by immunohistochemical analysis of tissue sections. Serum antibodies to p53 were also detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using recombinant human wild-type p53 protein and the hybrid phage as the coating antigen respectively. Furthermore, the correlations between the anti-p53 antibodies and clinicopathological parameters were analyzed. RESULTS: The positive rate of anti-p53 antibodies in the patients with ovarian cancer was increased (39.1%, 36/92) through the combination of the two ELISA methods compared with each method. The anti-p53 antibodies were not associated with the clinicopathologic parameters, while there was a significant correlation between the presence of p53 Abs and tissue overexpression of p53 in ovarian cancer. CONCLUSION: These preliminary results demonstrate that the combination of the two ELISA methods increased the positive rate of anti-p53 antibodies in patients with ovarian cancer and provided a useful marker to complement routine clinical diagnosis for patients with ovarian cancer.

Effects of coffee and caffeine on bladder dysfunction in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

AIM: To explore the effects and mechanisms of caffeine and coffee on bladder dysfunction in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided randomly into 4 groups: control, diabetes mellitus (DM), DM with coffee treatment, and DM with caffeine treatment. The diabetic rat was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg). After 7 weeks of treatment with coffee and caffeine, cystometrogram, contractile responses to electrical field stimulation (EFS) and acetylcholine (ACh), and cyclic AMP (cAMP) concentration of the bladder body and base were measured. RESULTS: The bladder weight, volume threshold for micturition and post-void residual volume (PVR) in the diabetic rats were significantly higher compared to those in the control animals. Coffee or caffeine treatment significantly reduced the bladder weight, bladder capacity and PVR in the diabetic rats. DM caused significant decreases in cAMP concentration of the bladder and coffee and caffeine caused upregulation of cAMP content in the diabetic bladder. In addition, coffee and caffeine tended to normalize the altered detrusor contractile responses to EFS and ACh in the diabetic rats. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that caffeine and coffee may have beneficial effects on bladder dysfunction in the early stage of diabetes by increasing cAMP content in the lower urinary tract, recovering the micturition reflex and improving the detrusor contractility.