Risk Factors for Renal Cell Cancer in a Japanese Population

The incidence of renal cell cancer has been increasing worldwide. Although the incidence of renal cell cancer in Japan is lower than the rates in the other industrialized countries, there is no doubt that it is increasing. In this paper, we would like to introduce the result of our studies, which evaluate the risk factors for renal cell cancer in Japan. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, kidney diseases, fondness for fatty food and black tea showed an increased risk of renal cell carcinoma while an intake of starchy roots such as taro, sweet potato and potato reduced the risk of renal cell carcinoma. In Japan, however, drinking black tea may be a surrogate for westernized dietary habits while eating starchy roots may be a surrogate for traditional Japanese dietary habits. Further studies may be needed to evaluate risk factors for renal cell cancer because the number of renal cancer cases was small in our studies in spite of a large population-based cohort study

Chemo-enzymatic hybrid process for production of monatin, a high intensity sweetener

Monatin, 4-hydroxy-4-(3-indolylmethyl)-glutamic acid, is a naturally occurring sweet amino acid isolated from the plant Sclerochiton ilicifolius, found in South Africa [1]. Monatin has two asymmetric centers at C2 and C4, the (2R,4R)-monatin isomer has been found to be the sweetest among its four stereoisomers. It is 2700 times sweeter than sugar and has a clean taste like sugar. Because of these properties, (2R,4R)-monatin has been expected as an new high-intensity sweetener [2]. However, industrial production process of (2R,4R)-monatin using inexpensive raw materials has not been established owing to the difficulty for optically specific synthesis. Here, we report a chemo-enzymatic hybrid process for production of (2R,4R)-monatin from l-tryptophan. In the steps of enzymatic reaction from l-tryptophan, l-amino acid deaminase and aldolase were used for production of 4-(Indole-3-ylmethyl)-4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutaric acid (IHOG) with pyruvic acid as co-substrate. The keto-form of (2R,4R)-monatin, (R)-IHOG, was specifically synthesized by using R-specific aldolase from Shingomonas sp. in the second reaction. In the next chemical reaction steps, (R)-IHOG was converted to the oxime form, reduced to (2R,4R) and (2S,4R)-monatin, and (2R,4R)-monatin salt was obtained from optical resolution by crystallization. By the combination of epimerization and crystallization, (2R,4R)-monatin was obtained specifically from the mixture of diastereomers. In this study, we established an efficient production process for (2R,4R)-monatin using both chemical and enzymatic reactions, and a large amount of (2R,4R)-monatin was prepared by the bench-scale production. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Depression in Family Caregivers of the Frail Elderly in Sapporo, Japan : A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Depression affecting caregivers is a risk factor for discontinuing at-home care. Objective: The present cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate factors related to depression of family caregivers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in order to evaluate factors related to depression among family aregivers for the frail elderly with periodic nurse service in 2008, in 7 home-visiting nursing service stations in Sapporo, Japan. Caregivers were asked to answer a self-administered questionnaire about various factors that might affect their depression, and also to complete a Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Evaluation (CES-D). We analyzed 71 pairs in total. Results: Factors related to poor health (OR=3.40, 95%CI: 1.13, 10.18) and a longer time spent physically caregiving (OR=3.08, 95%CI: 1.02, 9.35) were associated with being depressed. On the other hand, factors related to a good or fair economic position (OR=0.30, 95%CI: 0.10, 0.91), having a sister or brother who could help from the outside (OR=0.21, 95%CI: 0.05, 0.91), being able to relieve irritation caused by caregiving (OR=0.10, 95%CI: 0.03, 0.36), using the care service at home well (OR=0.24, 95%CI: 0.06, 0.98), and being able to pay more than 10,000 Japanese Yen by themselves as part of the total care service costs (OR=0.15, 95%CI: 0.04, 0.57) were associated with not being depressed. Conclusion: Caregivers should be supported not only informally but also by a new government funded system