Outbreak of Salmonella Braenderup Infection Originating in Boxed Lunches in Japan in 2008

There have been only 2 reports of a large-scale foodborne outbreak arising from Salmonella enterica serotype Braenderup infection worldwide. On August 9, 2008, an outbreak originating in boxed lunches occurred in Okayama, Japan. We conducted a cohort study of 786 people who received boxed lunches from a particular catering company and collected 644 questionnaires (response rate:82%). Cases were defined as those presenting with diarrhea (≧4 times in 24h) or fever (≧38℃) between 12 am on August 8 and 12 am on August 14. We identified 176 cases (women/men:39/137);younger children (aged＜10 years) appeared to more frequently suffer severe symptoms. Three food items were significantly associated with higher risk of illness;tamagotoji (soft egg with mixed vegetables and meat) (relative risk (RR):11.74, 95% confidence interval (CI):2.98-46.24), pork cooked in soy sauce (RR:3.17, 95% CI:1.24-8.10), and vinegared food (RR:4.13, 95% CI:1.60-10.63). Among them, only the RR of tamagotoji was higher when we employed a stricter case definition. Salmonella Braenderup was isolated from 5 of 9 sampled cases and 6 food handlers. It is likely that unpasteurized liquid eggs contaminated by Salmonella Braenderup and used in tamagotoji caused this outbreak

An Extract of Chinpi, the Dried Peel of the Citrus Fruit Unshiu, Enhances Axonal Remyelination via Promoting the Proliferation of Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells

The aging-induced decrease in axonal myelination/remyelination is due to impaired recruitment and differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). Our previous studies have shown that a monoclonal antibody to DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box polypeptide 54 (Ddx54), a member of the DEAD box family of RNA helicases, (1) specifically labels oligodendrocyte lineages, (2) binds to mRNA and protein isoforms of myelin basic proteins (MBP), and (3) regulates migration of OPCs from ventricular zone to corpus callosum in mice. It has also been demonstrated that specific loss of a 21.5 kDa MBP isoform (MBP21.5) reflects demyelination status, and oral administration of an extract of Chinpi, citrus unshiu peel, reversed the aging-induced demyelination. Here, we report that Chinpi treatment induced a specific increase in the MBP21.5, led to the reappearance of Ddx54-expressing cells in ventricular-subventricular zone and corpus callosum of aged mice, and promoted remyelination. Treatment of in vitro OPC cultures with Chinpi constituents, hesperidin plus narirutin, led to an increase in 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine incorporation in Ddx54-expressing OPCs, but not in NG2- or Olig2-expressing cell populations. The present study suggests that Ddx54 plays crucial role in remyelination. Furthermore, Chinpi and Chinpi-containing herbal medicines may be a therapeutic option for the aging-induced demyelination diseases

Life-threatening toxicity in a patient with UGT1A1*6 heterozygous polymorphism after irinotecan-based chemotherapy: a case report

Polymorphism of the UGT1A1 gene is known to play an important role in irinotecan pharmacokinetics and severe toxicity. A 71-year-old man with lung cancer (squamous cell carcinoma cT2aN3M0 stage IIIB) received irinotecan and cisplatin with concurrent thoracic radiotherapy. Although all treatments were discontinued after day 7, severe leukopenia, neutropenia, febrile neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and diarrhea developed. His life was at risk, and his ECOG performance status (PS) fell to 4. He had UGT1A1*6 heterozygous and UGT1A1*28 wild-type gene polymorphisms. Considering its frequency in Asians, we should take care when using irinotecan to treat patients with UGT1A1*6 heterozygous polymorphism

The efficacy of magnesium in preventing renal dysfunction due to high-dose cisplatin for treatment of thoracic tumor

Objective: Cisplatin is well known for producing severe adverse events, including renal dysfunction. To prevent renal dysfunctioncaused by cisplatin, routine magnesium supplementation is recommended. However, few reports exist about the efficacy ofmagnesium in preventing renal dysfunction. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to retrospectively survey the efficacy ofmagnesium in preventing renal dysfunction after administration of cisplatin.Methods: We evaluated patients who received first-line cisplatin-based chemotherapy from May 2008 to June 2013.Results: Data from 146 patients and a total of 394 treatments was analyzed. Elevation of serum creatinine was detected in 77 /394 treatments (19.5%). Statistical significance was found between prevention of elevation of serum creatinine and magnesiumsupplementation. The other significant parameters were serum creatinine and eGFR levels before treatment and patient age. Inmultivariate analysis, magnesium and eGFR before treatment were statistically significant.Conclusions: The study results suggest that magnesium supplementation might reduce nephrotoxicity caused by cisplatin. TheeGFR level before treatment might be an important factor associated with nephrotoxicity after cisplatin administration

Identification of cell cycle–arrested quiescent osteoclast precursors in vivo

Osteoclasts are multinucleated cells that resorb bone. Although osteoclasts originate from the monocyte/macrophage lineage, osteoclast precursors are not well characterized in vivo. The relationship between proliferation and differentiation of osteoclast precursors is examined in this study using murine macrophage cultures treated with macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK) ligand (RANKL). Cell cycle–arrested quiescent osteoclast precursors (QuOPs) were identified as the committed osteoclast precursors in vitro. In vivo experiments show that QuOPs survive for several weeks and differentiate into osteoclasts in response to M-CSF and RANKL. Administration of 5-fluorouracil to mice induces myelosuppression, but QuOPs survive and differentiate into osteoclasts in response to an active vitamin D3 analogue given to those mice. Mononuclear cells expressing c-Fms and RANK but not Ki67 are detected along bone surfaces in the vicinity of osteoblasts in RANKL-deficient mice. These results suggest that QuOPs preexist at the site of osteoclastogenesis and that osteoblasts are important for maintenance of QuOPs