To examine the clinical features of male patients with eating disorders in Singapore; and determine the differences in clinical features between the patients across the diagnostic categories. Methods: This is a database analysis of all male cases presenting to the Eating Disorders Clinic at Singapore General Hospital between 2003 and 2012. Results: 72 cases were identified; 36.1% were diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, 33.3% had bulimia nervosa and 30.5% had the diagnosis of eating disorder not otherwise specified. The mean presenting age was 19.9 years. 63.9% were heterosexual, while 15.3% were homosexual/bisexual. 61.1% had comorbid psychiatric diagnoses, with depression being the most common. 59.7% recorded premorbid obesity, while 66.7% reported excessive exercise. The patients in the various diagnostic categories had more similarities than differences. Conclusion: With more male cases over the years, it is important to further understand this condition, to better refine prevention, detection and treatment strategies.
Eating Disorders ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Men

Actinomycosis is an uncommon disease, which is usually manifested as cervicofacial infection and related to poor oral hygiene or compromised immune function. Pulmonary actinomycosis is rare, but its diagnosis is changing due to its variable presentation and the similarity in appearance to other intrapulmonary diseases. Here we report an 80-year-old man with a solitary pulmonary nodule over the left upper lobe. Pulmonary neoplasm was highly suspected in this patient and thus resection of the mass was undertaken through video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Histopathological examination demonstrated this patient had an Actinomyeces infection. While the application of VATS in patients with pulmonary actinomycosis has rarely been reported in literature, we conclude that VATS is valuable for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with undetermined pulmonary nodule(s).
Actinomycosis ; pathology ; surgery ; Aged, 80 and over ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Surgery, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Treatment Outcome ; Video Recording ; methods

To evaluate the effects of adenovirus (Ad)-mediated transfer of p53 and p16 on human bladder cancer cells EJ, EJ were transfected with Ad-p53 and Ad-p16. Cell growth, morphological change, cell cycle, apoptosis were measured using MTT assay, flow cytometry, cloning formation, immunocytochemical assays. Ad-p16 or Ad-p53 alone could inhibit the proliferating activity of EJ cells in vitro. Ad-p53 could induce apoptosis of partial EJ cells. G1 arrest was observed 72 h after infection with Ad-p16, but apoptosis was not obvious. The transfer of Ad-p16 and Ad-p53 could significantly inhibit the growth of EJ cells, decrease the cloning formation rate and induce apoptosis of large number of EJ cells. The occurrence time of subcutaneous tumor was delayed and the tumor volume in 4 weeks was diminished by using Ad-p53 combined with Ad-p16 and the difference was significant compared with using Ad-p53 or Ad-p16 alone. It was suggested that the transfer of wild-type p53 and p16 could significantly inhibit the growth of human bladder cancer in vitro and in vivo.
Adenoviridae ; genetics ; Animals ; Cell Division ; Genes, p16 ; Genes, p53 ; genetics ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Transfection ; Tumor Cells, Cultured ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; therapy

INTRODUCTIONHealth-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important patient-centred outcome in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of the current study is to compare the discriminative capacity of the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnoea scale and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) spirometric classification of COPD on HRQoL, as well as determine other factors that are simple and determinative of HRQoL.

METHODSIn this cross-sectional observational study, a total of 328 patients with COPD were enrolled from the pulmonology outpatient clinic. HRQoL was measured using the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF). HRQoL scores were compared between the four GOLD stages and the five grades of the mMRC scale. Significant differences were determined using analysis of variance with Scheffe post-hoc test. Multiple linear regression was applied to explore the major determinants of HRQoL and exclude confounding factors.

RESULTSSignificant differences were found in many more domains of the two questionnaires between mMRC grades than between GOLD stages. In the multiple linear regression model, the mMRC scale was the only factor that remained determinative of all the domains of SGRQ and WHOQOL-BREF. Patients with chronic productive cough, sleep disorders and frequent exacerbations had poorer HRQoL, as reflected by higher scores in SGRQ or lower scores in WHOQOL-BREF.

CONCLUSIONThe mMRC dyspnoea scale is a concise and practical tool to assess the HRQoL of patients with COPD in daily clinical practice.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cough ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dyspnea ; diagnosis ; psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; diagnosis ; psychology ; Quality of Life ; Regression Analysis ; Spirometry ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the antitumor efficacy of proliferating cell nuclear antigen antisense oligonucleotide (PCNA-ASO) in combination with recombinant adenovirus p53 (Ad-p53) against bladder cancer EJ and BIU-87 cells in vitro and in vivo.

METHODSCells were transfected with Ad-p53 (100 MOI), and PCNA-ASO (1.6 micro mol/L) was then introduced into the cells using a cationic lipid (lipofectamine, 20 micro l/ml). In vitro and in vivo antitumor effects of combining PCNA-ASO with Ad-p53 were measured using the MTT assay, flow cytometry, clone formation, and a nude mice model.

RESULTSThe combination of PCNA-ASO and Ad-p53 inhibited cell viability in both the EJ (89.3%) and BIU-87 (78.6%) cell lines. The ability of the cells to form foci was also reduced by 74.8% in EJ cells and by 67.5% in BIU-87 cells (P < 0.01). A significant decrease of cells in the S phase (11.4% in EJ cells, 14.6% in BIU-87 cells) and a significant increase of cells in G1 phase (62.2% in EJ, 56.8% in BIU-87) were noted. The mean tumor volume after 7 days of treatment with PCNA-ASO or Ad-p53 in combination decreased to 47.6% or 36.4% of the initial tumor size in the two cell lines respectively.

CONCLUSIONThese results indicate that combined PCNA-ASO and Ad-p53 in the treatment of bladder cancer with mutant p53 has important therapeutic potential, significantly suppressing the growth of human bladder cancer both in vitro and in vivo.

Adenoviridae ; Animals ; Genetic Therapy ; methods ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Oligonucleotides, Antisense ; administration & dosage ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; administration & dosage ; Recombinant Proteins ; Transfection ; Tumor Cells, Cultured ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; administration & dosage ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; therapy

This study investigated the regulatory role of nerve growth factor (NGF) in sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) expression in cholestatic livers. We evaluated the expression of NGF and its cognate receptors in human livers with hepatolithiasis and the effects of NGF therapy on liver injury and hepatic SIRT1 expression in a bile duct ligation (BDL) mouse model. Histopathological and molecular analyses showed that the hepatocytes of human diseased livers expressed NGF, proNGF (a precursor of NGF), TrkA and p75NTR, whereas only p75NTR was upregulated in hepatolithiasis, compared with non-hepatolithiasis livers. In the BDL model without NGF therapy, p75NTR, but not TrkA antagonism, significantly deteriorated BDL-induced liver injury. By contrast, the hepatoprotective effect of NGF was abrogated only by TrkA and not by p75NTR antagonism in animals receiving NGF therapy. Intriguingly, a positive correlation between hepatic SIRT1 and NGF expression was found in human livers. In vitro studies demonstrated that NGF upregulated SIRT1 expression in mouse livers and human Huh-7 and rodent hepatocytes. Both NGF and proNGF induced protective effects against hydrogen peroxide-induced cytotoxicity in Huh-7 cells, whereas inhibition of TrkA and p75NTR activity prevented oxidative cell death. Mechanistically, NGF, but not proNGF, upregulated SIRT1 expression in human Huh-7 and rodent hepatocytes via nuclear factor (NF)-κB activity, whereas NGF-induced phosphoinositide-3 kinase/Akt, extracellular signal–regulated kinase and NF-κB signaling and SIRT1 activity were involved in its hepatoprotective effects against oxidative injury. These findings suggest that pharmacological manipulation of the NGF/SIRT1 axis might serve as a novel approach for the treatment of cholestatic disease.
Animals ; Bile Ducts ; Cell Death ; Cholestasis ; Hepatocytes ; Humans ; Hydrogen ; In Vitro Techniques ; Ligation ; Liver ; Mice ; Nerve Growth Factor ; Phosphotransferases ; Rodentia ; Sirtuin 1