De Genietende Groene Tafel : een pilotonderzoek naar wat goed eten en drinken binnen de zorgsector kan opleveren

Het hier gepresenteerde pilot onderzoek heeft als doel het management in zorginstellingen te ondersteunen in wat goed eten en drinken kan opleveren voor de organisatie. Dit betekent dat resultaten in het pilot onderzoek enerzijds gericht zijn op verbetering van de kwaliteit van leven van de cliënt, diens gezondheid en welbevinden (vertaalt in absolute voedselconsumptie en belevingsmetingen), maar dat deze resultaten tevens in toekomst nadrukkelijk financieel vertaald moeten worden, ondermeer in het gebruik van dieetproducten, mate van hulpvraag en de consequenties op het gebied van medicijngebruik. Het onderzoek vond plaats op twee verpleeghuislocaties

Consumer insight and user-producer interaction : tussenrapportage

Binnen de groep Consumer Science van Food & Biobased Research doet men onderzoek aan het ontwikkelen van productconcepten en interventieconcepten om de keuze en inname van gezond en duurzaam geproduceerd voedsel te stimuleren. Bij dit onderzoek wordt gekozen voor een consumentgedreven benadering. De informatie uit dergelijke projecten – het zogenaamde consumer insight – is voor producenten zeer interessant. Daarnaast bieden de onderzoeksfaciliteiten (zoals het sensorisch lab en het Restaurant van de Toekomst) en de onderzoeksmethoden (zoals stage-gate procedures en motives and barriers studies) producenten de mogelijkheid om snel een productie-test-cylcus te doorlopen. Dergelijke user-producer interactie leidt tot een efficiënte productontwikkeling. In dit project richten we ons op het gestructureerd inventariseren en ontsluiten van de opgedane kennis en conclusies

Direct effects of doxorubicin on skeletal muscle contribute to fatigue

Chemotherapy-induced fatigue is a multidimensional symptom. Oxidative stress has been proposed as a working mechanism for anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity. In this study, doxorubicin (DOX) was tested on skeletal muscle function. Doxorubicin induced impaired ex vivo skeletal muscle relaxation followed in time by contraction impediment, which could be explained by DOX-induced changes in Ca2+ responses of myotubes in vitro. The Ca2+ responses in skeletal muscle, however, could not be explained by oxidative stress

Molecular, cellular and physiological characterization of the cancer cachexia-inducing C26 colon carcinoma in mouse

BACKGROUND: The majority of cancer patients experience dramatic weight loss, due to cachexia and consisting of skeletal muscle and fat tissue wasting. Cachexia is a negative prognostic factor, interferes with therapy and worsens the patients' quality of life by affecting muscle function. Mice bearing ectopically-implanted C26 colon carcinoma are widely used as an experimental model of cancer cachexia. As part of the search for novel clinical and basic research applications for this experimental model, we characterized novel cellular and molecular features of C26-bearing mice. METHODS: A fragment of C26 tumor was subcutaneously grafted in isogenic BALB/c mice. The mass growth and proliferation rate of the tumor were analyzed. Histological and cytofluorometric analyses were used to assess cell death, ploidy and differentiation of the tumor cells. The main features of skeletal muscle atrophy, which were highlighted by immunohistochemical and electron microscopy analyses, correlated with biochemical alterations. Muscle force and resistance to fatigue were measured and analyzed as major functional deficits of the cachectic musculature. RESULTS: We found that the C26 tumor, ectopically implanted in mice, is an undifferentiated carcinoma, which should be referred to as such and not as adenocarcinoma, a common misconception. The C26 tumor displays aneuploidy and histological features typical of transformed cells, incorporates BrdU and induces severe weight loss in the host, which is largely caused by muscle wasting. The latter appears to be due to proteasome-mediated protein degradation, which disrupts the sarcomeric structure and muscle fiber-extracellular matrix interactions. A pivotal functional deficit of cachectic muscle consists in increased fatigability, while the reported loss of tetanic force is not statistically significant following normalization for decreased muscle fiber size. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude, on the basis of the definition of cachexia, that ectopically-implanted C26 carcinoma represents a well standardized experimental model for research on cancer cachexia. We wish to point out that scientists using the C26 model to study cancer and those using the same model to study cachexia may be unaware of each other's works because they use different keywords; we present strategies to eliminate this gap and discuss the benefits of such an exchange of knowledge

Murine muscles deficient in creatine kinase tolerate repeated series of high-intensity contractions

Murine muscles lacking both mitochondrial (Mi-CK) and cytoplasmic (MM-CK) creatine kinase (CK-/-) show depressed mechanical performance in association with low muscle ATP and enhanced IMP content. The aims of the present study were to elucidate the possible role of low ATP and high IMP content in impairment of mechanical performance in CK-/- mice and to establish whether CK-/- muscles are able to sustain repeated series of high-intensity contractions. The dorsal flexors of CK-/- and control mice were subjected in situ to two series of 12 tetanic contractions using a custom-made mouse isometric dynamometer. The muscle content of high-energy phosphates was analysed by HPLC. ATP content declined from 20.6 +/-1.9 to 15.5 +/-2.4 mu mol g(-1) dry weight (d.w.); IMP content increased from 1.2 +/-0.4 to 2.4 +/-1.1 mu mol g(-1) d.w. during the first contraction series in CK-/- muscle. Despite these unfavourable changes, maximal torque developed during the first contraction of either series did not differ, indicating that the altered content of ATP and IMP does not play a decisive role in impaired mechanical performance in CK-/- mice. The relative decline in torque during the two series did not differ in CK-/- (-20.4 +/-6.6 vs. -23.8 +/-9.9%). In contrast. wild-type (WT) muscles showed a significantly more pronounced decline during the second series (-12.3 +/-7.4 vs. -20.1 +/-6.8%). Muscle ATP and IMP content did not change in CK-/-, whereas in WT IMP content increased significantly during the second contraction series. These findings indicate that CK-/- tolerate repeated series of high-intensity contractions better than WT, while in CK-/- muscle an additional source of energy is mobilised to regenerate ATP during the second series