Autonomic function measurements for evaluating fatigue and quality of life in patients with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy: a prospective longitudinal study

Background: Fatigue during radiation therapy in women with breast cancer can decrease quality of life (QOL), yet it is often underestimated and needs to be evaluated objectively. This longitudinal study aimed to evaluate fatigue and QOL of women with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy with a simple autonomic function measurement. Methods: Women with breast cancer who underwent postoperative radiotherapy in eight cancer care hospitals in Chubu and Kinki regions in Japan were recruited between October 2021 and June 2022. The women underwent a self-administered questionnaire that included the Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS) and the Short Form-8 Health Survey (SF-8) and an autonomic nervous function measurement using a simple, non-invasive device before (T0, baseline), mid (T1), and at the end (T2) of treatment. Results: The 57 women showed similar trends, with CFS scores and log LF/HF ratio being the highest at T0 and significantly decreasing at T1 (both p < 0.05). The log LF/HF trends differed between those with high and low baseline log LF/HF values. Women with mental component summary (MCS) score improvement (T0 to T2) had the highest log LF/HF ratio at T0 and had significantly lower log LF/HF values at T1 and T2 than at T0 (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively). The change of (⊿) MCS from T0 to T1 was negatively correlated with ⊿log LF/HF from T0 to T1 (r = − 0.36, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Measurement of autonomic nerve function with a simple device is useful for objective fatigue assessment during radiotherapy. Psychological support is important as improvement in mental health helps improve autonomic nerve function and, in turn, fatigue.Aoki M., Kuratsune H., Yamamoto S., et al. Autonomic function measurements for evaluating fatigue and quality of life in patients with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy: a prospective longitudinal study. Radiation Oncology 18, 171 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1186/S13014-023-02362-W

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Ulfracytochemical Localization of the Erythrocyte/ HepG2-Type Glucose Transporter (GLUT1) in Cells of the Blood-Retinal Barrier in the Rat

The blood-retinal barrier is part of the blood-ocular barrier. Retinal pigment epithelial cells connected by tight junctions serve as an outer blood-retinal barrier, and the nonfenestrated endothelial cells of blood vessels sealed by tight junctions serve as an inner blood-retinal barrier. Using antibodies specific for the erythrocyte/HepG2-type glucose transporter (GLUTl), one isoform of facilitated-diffusion glucose transporters, it was found, by ultrastructural cytochemical examination, that GLUTl in the rat was localized at both the apical and basolateral plasma membranes of retinal pigment epithelial cells. The fenestrated endothelial cells of the underlying choriocapillaries were negative for GLUTl. In the inner retina, GLUTl was found at both the luminal and contraluminal plasma membranes of endothelial cells. These observations show that GLUTl is concentrated at the critical plasma membranes of the blood-retinal barrier and may serve as the machinery for glucose transport across the barrier

A Longitudinal Analysis of Dialogues in a Teacher Training Program Oriented to Multicultural Symbiosis: Shifting the Approach for Realizing Symbiosis

This study examines how the content of the dialogues during a teacher training program oriented to multicultural symbiosis, held at Ochanomizu University from 2000 to 2011, changed. The topics in the syllabi listed in the annual reports were qualitatively analyzed. The results show that the topics in the earlier period (2000 to 2006) highlighted the relationships between native and non-native Japanese speakers (hereafter NS and NNS) living in Japanese society. It is supposed that the topics impelled NNS to play a role in problem posing as minorities, whereas they encouraged NS to reflect on presumptions they had not been aware of as majorities. In the latter period (2008 to 2011), however, the topics focused more on issues regarding globalization and each individual as a member in a globalized society. It is speculated that the topics encouraged the participants to correlate those issues with themselves, thinking together so that everyone could pursue his or her own way of living sustainably. In short, the program in the earlier period regarded multicultural symbiosis between NS and NNS as its ‘goal’. In contrast, in the latter period, it regarded multicultural symbiosis as an inevitable ‘process’ to overcome issues in a globalized society