Alcohol drinking and risk of Parkinson's disease: a case-control study in Japan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although some epidemiologic studies found inverse associations between alcohol drinking and Parkinson's disease (PD), the majority of studies found no such significant associations. Additionally, there is only limited research into the possible interactions of alcohol intake with aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) 2 activity with respect to PD risk. We examined the relationship between alcohol intake and PD among Japanese subjects using data from a case-control study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>From 214 cases within 6 years of PD onset and 327 controls without neurodegenerative disease, we collected information on "peak", as opposed to average, alcohol drinking frequency and peak drinking amounts during a subject's lifetime. Alcohol flushing status was evaluated via questions, as a means of detecting inactive ALHD2. The multivariate model included adjustments for sex, age, region of residence, smoking, years of education, body mass index, alcohol flushing status, presence of selected medication histories, and several dietary factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Alcohol intake during peak drinking periods, regardless of frequency or amount, was not associated with PD. However, when we assessed daily ethanol intake separately for each type of alcohol, only Japanese sake (rice wine) was significantly associated with PD (adjusted odds ratio of ≥66.0 g ethanol per day: 3.39, 95% confidence interval: 1.10-11.0, <it>P </it>for trend = 0.001). There was no significant interaction of alcohol intake with flushing status in relation to PD risk.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We did not find significant associations between alcohol intake and PD, except for the daily amount of Japanese sake. Effect modifications by alcohol flushing status were not observed.</p

EGFR mutation and ALK fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer: a multicenter prospective cohort study in Nagano Prefecture, Japan

Introduction. We prospectively examined current clinical practices in patients with inoperable epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) fusion-positive (EGFR+ and ALK+, respectively) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.  Material and methods. The study population consisted of newly diagnosed patients with inoperable EGFR+ and ALK+ NSCLC in 14 hospitals in Nagano between May 2016 and March 2019. Both initial and subsequent treatment decisions were made at the discretion of the attending physician.  Results. A total of 281 patients with EGFR+ NSCLC (mean age, 74 years, 59.1% female) and 26 patients with ALK+ NSCLC (mean age, 66 years, 53.8% female) were included in the study. The study population consisted of 148/107/29/20/3 cases with performance status 0/1/2/3/4 and 6/2/31/194/75 cases with clinical stage I/II/III/IV/recurrence, respectively. First-line therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors was performed in 259 (92.2%) and 22 (84.6%) patients with EGFR+ and ALK+ NSCLC, respectively. The median overall survival rate was 41.2 months (95% CI 36.8–45.6 months) with EGFR+. It was not reached with ALK+ .  Conclusions. This observational analysis represents a valuable resource for evaluating the outcomes of treatment in patients with NSCLC

Occupational risk factors for Parkinson's disease: a case-control study in Japan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The evidence for associations between occupational factors and the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) is inconsistent. We assessed the risk of PD associated with various occupational factors in Japan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We examined 249 cases within 6 years of onset of PD. Control subjects were 369 inpatients and outpatients without neurodegenerative disease. Information on occupational factors was obtained from a self-administered questionnaire. Relative risks of PD were estimated using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) based on logistic regression. Adjustments were made for gender, age, region of residence, educational level, and pack-years of smoking.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Working in a professional or technical occupation tended to be inversely related to the risk of PD: adjusted OR was 0.59 (95% CI: 0.32-1.06, <it>P </it>= 0.08). According to a stratified analysis by gender, the decreased risk of PD for persons in professional or technical occupations was statistically significant only for men. Adjusted ORs for a professional or technical occupation among men and women were 0.22 (95% CI: 0.06-0.67) and 0.99 (0.47-2.07), respectively, and significant interaction was observed (<it>P </it>= 0.048 for homogeneity of OR). In contrast, risk estimates for protective service occupations and transport or communications were increased, although the results were not statistically significant: adjusted ORs were 2.73 (95% CI: 0.56-14.86) and 1.74 (95% CI: 0.65-4.74), respectively. No statistical significance was seen in data concerning exposure to occupational agents and the risk of PD, although roughly a 2-fold increase in OR was observed for workers exposed to stone or sand.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of our study suggest that occupational factors do not play a substantial etiologic role in this population. However, among men, professional or technical occupations may decrease the risk of PD.</p

Solubility and adsorption characteristics of Pb in leachate from MSW incinerator bottom ash.

The solubility and adsorption characteristics of Pb in leachate from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash was studied by batch experiments. The solubility of Pb in leachate was 1‐2 orders of magnitude lower than that of Pb in carbonate solutions. Adsorption experiments showed bottom ash have high adsorption capacity for lead. To evaluate a controlling component in bottom ash, quartz, Al and Fe powder as well as their ions were examined over wide ranges of pH at 25℃. The results showed that only Fe powder had high adsorption capacities for Pb, indicating that iron oxides in bottom ash would be one of major adsorbent for Pb. Adsorption diagram, constructed by using the data of adsorption experiments, fitted the experimental data of Pb in leachate very well. It suggests that the decrease of Pb solubility in leachate is mainly due to adsorption reaction

Evaluation of pre-treatment methods for landfill disposal of residues from municipal solid waste incineration.

This study was based on the investigation of Pb, Cd, Ca, and Cl in one individual batch of bottom ash and fly ash (mixture 5:1) resulting from a specific municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) in Japan. This mixture ash was stabilized as the following pretreatments: water washing, carbonation, and phosphate stabilization. After the optimum processing condition for each pretreatment was determined, the performance of each pretreatment was examined using pH stat leaching tests (pH 6, 9, 12) and availability tests. For the performance tests, fly ash alone was used, instead of a mixture of MSWI residues, to observe leaching differences among the pretreatments more distinctly. Water washing effectively removed the major elements from MSWI residues and also reduced the leachability of trace metals, such as Pb and Cd, from MSWI residues. A washing time of 15 min with an L/S ratio of 5 was reasonably effective. Carbonation had a significant effect on leachability in alkaline ranges (pH 9 and 12), due to carbonation only on the surface of MSWI residues, not in the center matrix. A moisture content of 10-16.7% appeared to be suitable for carbonation. Phosphate stabilization, even with small doses of phosphate (0.16 mol-PO4^3- kg^-1 sample), was very effective at reducing the leachability of heavy metals

Leaching behaviour of elements and evaluation of pre-treatment methods for municipal solid waste incinerator residues in column leaching tests.

Two new pre-treatment methods (water-washing/carbonation and carbonation/phosphate stabilisation) of municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerator residues were evaluated by column leaching tests under aerobic conditions and anaerobic conditions (which were changed to aerobic conditions after 10 months). A mixture of bottom ash and fly ash (5:1 ratio) was pre-treated using each method. Shredded incombustible residues (SIR) were added to each ash preparation in proportions similar to the ratios present in landfills. For comparison, landfill wastes typical of Japan, i.e., a mixture of bottom ash, chelating-pre-treated fly ash, and SIR, were also examined. Leachate samples were collected periodically and analysed over a 15-month period. When compared to chelating pre-treatment, both water-washing/carbonation and carbonation/phosphate stabilisation reduced the leaching of Pb, Al, and Cu by about 1-2 orders of magnitude. Moreover, the initial concentrations of Ca and Pb in leachates from column of water-washing/carbonation were 56-57% and 84-96% less than those from column of carbonation/phosphate stabilisation. Therefore, water-washing/carbonation was considered to be a promising approach to obtain early waste stabilisation and to reduce the release of heavy metals to near-negligible levels. The leaching behaviour of elements was also discussed