Effect of Whey-Derived Lactopeptide β-Lactolin on Memory in Healthy Adults: An Integrated Analysis of Data from Randomized Controlled Trials

CONTEXT

Epidemiological studies have shown that consumption of dairy products reduces the risk of dementia and cognitive decline in older individuals. Tryptophan-tyrosine-related β-lactopeptides and their representative β-lactolin of glycine-threonine-tryptophan-tyrosine tetra-peptide have been identified as agents in dairy products, which improve cognitive function as well as memory function via the activation of the dopaminergic system in a mouse model of amnesia. Previous clinical trials have shown that supplementation with β-lactolin improves memory retrieval in healthy older adults. Specifically, β-lactolin improved the scores in some neuropsychological tests. However, the effects of β-lactolin on memory function have not been clarified.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of β-lactolin on memory function using statistical methods.

DATA SOURCES

We searched the Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and JDream III until November 2021 to identify relevant randomized controlled trials for integrated analysis.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Three randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of β-lactolin on memory in healthy adults were selected for the integrated analysis. The results showed that the score of cued recall among the neuropsychological tests in the β-lactolin group was significantly higher than that in the placebo group (g=0.33; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.55). In addition, the total memory score was higher but this difference was not significant (g=0.17; 95% CI: -0.09, 0.43).

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, these results suggest that supplementation with β-lactolin improves cued recall in healthy older adults.

Polyunsaturated fatty acid deficiency during neurodevelopment in mice models the prodromal state of schizophrenia through epigenetic changes in nuclear receptor genes

The risk of schizophrenia is increased in offspring whose mothers experience malnutrition during pregnancy. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are dietary components that are crucial for the structural and functional integrity of neural cells, and PUFA deficiency has been shown to be a risk factor for schizophrenia. Here, we show that gestational and early postnatal dietary deprivation of two PUFAs-arachidonic acid (AA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-elicited schizophrenia-like phenotypes in mouse offspring at adulthood. In the PUFA-deprived mouse group, we observed lower motivation and higher sensitivity to a hallucinogenic drug resembling the prodromal symptoms in schizophrenia. Furthermore, a working-memory task-evoked hyper-neuronal activity in the medial prefrontal cortex was also observed, along with the downregulation of genes in the prefrontal cortex involved in oligodendrocyte integrity and the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic system. Regulation of these genes was mediated by the nuclear receptor genes Rxr and Ppar, whose promoters were hyper-methylated by the deprivation of dietary AA and DHA. In addition, the RXR agonist bexarotene upregulated oligodendrocyte- and GABA-related gene expression and suppressed the sensitivity of mice to the hallucinogenic drug. Notably, the expression of these nuclear receptor genes were also downregulated in hair-follicle cells from schizophrenia patients. These results suggest that PUFA deficiency during the early neurodevelopmental period in mice could model the prodromal state of schizophrenia through changes in the epigenetic regulation of nuclear receptor genes.

Serum levels of hepatocyte growth factor and epiregulin are associated with the prognosis on anti-EGFR antibody treatment in KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer

Background:

Ligands of transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases have important roles in cell proliferation, survival, migration and differentiation in solid tumours. We conducted this study to evaluate the relationship between concentration of serum ligands and prognosis of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) treated with anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibodies.

Methods:

Between August 2008 and August 2011, serum samples were obtained from KRAS wild-type patients who met the inclusion criteria and received an anti-EGFR antibody treatment. Serum concentration of ligands was measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and somatic mutations of KRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA and BRAF were analysed by direct sequencing.

Results:

A total of 103 patients were enrolled in the present study. At the pretreatment serum levels, patients with high levels of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) had shorter progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with those with low levels of HGF (median PFS: 6.4 months vs 4.4 months; P<0.001, median OS: 15.3 months vs 8.0 months; P<0.001, respectively). Patients with high levels of epiregulin (EREG) also had shorter PFS and OS compared with those with low levels of EREG (median PFS: 6.6 months vs 4.9 months; P=0.016, median OS: 13.8 months vs 7.4 months; P=0.048, respectively). In addition, patients whose serum levels of ligands were elevated at progressive disease had shorter PFS and OS compared with other patients.

Conclusions:

Our study indicated that high levels of HGF and EREG were associated with resistance to treatment with anti-EGFR antibodies in KRAS wild-type patients with mCRC. Our findings will contribute to the newly combination therapy on the treatment of anti-EGFR antibodies.

Impact of excision repair cross-complementing gene 1 (ERCC1) on the outcomes of patients with advanced gastric cancer: correlative study in Japan Clinical Oncology Group Trial JCOG9912

BACKGROUND

Since the best chemotherapy regimen for each patient with advanced gastric cancer is uncertain, we aimed to identify molecular prognostic or predictive biomarkers from biopsy specimens in JCOG9912, a randomized phase III trial for advanced gastric cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Endoscopic biopsy specimens from primary lesions were collected in 445 of 704 randomized patients in JCOG9912. We measured the mRNA expression of excision repair cross-complementing group 1 (ERCC1), thymidylate synthase, dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase, and five other genes, then, categorized them into low and high groups relative to the median, and examined whether gene expression was associated with efficacy end point.

RESULTS

Multivariate analyses showed that high ERCC1 expression [HR 1.37; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08-1.75; P = 0.010], performance status ≥ 1 (HR 1.45; 95% CI 1.13-1.86; P = 0.004), and number of metastatic sites ≥ 2 (HR 1.66; 95% CI 1.28-1.86; P < 0.001) were associated with a poor prognosis, and recurrent disease (versus unresectable; HR 0.75; 95% CI 0.56-1.00; P = 0.049) was associated with a favorable prognosis. None of these molecular factors were a predictive marker for choosing irinotecan plus cisplatin or 5-fluorouracil rather than S-1.

CONCLUSION

These correlative analyses suggest that ERCC1 is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival in the first-line treatment of gastric cancer.

CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER

C000000062, www.umin.ac.jp.

Anomalous enhancement in the infrared phonon intensity of a one-dimensional uneven peanut-shaped C60 polymer

A one-dimensional (1D) uneven peanut-shaped C(60) polymer formed from electron-beam (EB)-induced polymerization of C(60) molecules showed an anomalous increase in two characteristic infrared (IR) peak intensities, which are respectively due to the radial and tangential motion of the 1D polymer, when compared to the IR peaks of pristine C(60) films. This anomaly was analyzed on the basis of the vibrational van Hove singularity (VHS), using an extended thin-shell elastic model fully considering the effects of periodic radius modulation inherent to the 1D uneven peanut-shaped C(60) polymer. We succeeded in explaining the enhancement in the tangential peak intensity by VHS, whereas the origin to cause that in the radial peak intensity is still unclear.

Tau aggregation is a therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease

Based on the amyloid hypothesis, studies for AD therapy have been mostly focused on removing β-amyloid. Recent results of amyloid immunotherapy raised the question whether β-amyloid is sufficient target for AD therapy. Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), which contain hyperphosphorylated tau, are another pathological hallmark of AD. NFTs are observed in entorhinal cortex, limbic, and neocortex over the course of clinical progression. NFTs are associated with synapse and neuron loss, suggesting that the process of NFT formation is involved in brain dysfunction. During NFT formation, tau forms a variety of different aggregation species, including tau oligomers, granules, and fibrils. Analysis of different human tau-expressing mouse lines reveals that soluble hyperphosphorylated tau, which includes tau oligomer, is involved in synapse loss, whereas granular tau formation is involved in neuronal loss. Therefore, inhibition of tau aggregation and tau phosphorylation is expected to prevent synapse loss and neuron loss, and may slow or halt the progressive dementia in AD.

Structural evolution in the neutron-rich nuclei ¹⁰⁶Zr and ¹⁰⁸Zr

The low-lying states in ¹⁰⁶Zr and ¹⁰⁸Zr have been investigated by means of β-γ and isomer spectroscopy at the radioactive isotope beam factory (RIBF), respectively. A new isomer with a half-life of 620 ± 150 ns has been identified in ¹⁰⁸Zr. For the sequence of even-even Zr isotopes, the excitation energies of the first 2⁺ states reach a minimum at N = 64 and gradually increase as the neutron number increases up to N = 68, suggesting a deformed subshell closure at N = 64. The deformed ground state of ¹⁰⁸Zr indicates that a spherical subshell gap predicted at N = 70 is not large enough to change the ground state of ¹⁰⁸Zr to the spherical shape. The possibility of a tetrahedral shape isomer in ¹⁰⁸Zr is also discussed.

β-decay half-lives of very neutron-rich Kr to Tc isotopes on the boundary of the r-process path: an indication of fast r-matter flow

The β-decay half-lives of 38 neutron-rich isotopes from (36)Kr to (43)Tc have been measured; the half-lives of (100)Kr, (103-105)Sr, (106-108)Y, (108-110)Zr, (111,112)Nb, (112-115)Mo, and (116,117)Tc are reported here. The results when compared with previous standard models indicate an overestimation in the predicted half-lives by a factor of 2 or more in the A≈110 region. A revised model based on the second generation gross theory of β decay better predicts the measured half-lives and suggests a more rapid flow of the rapid neutron-capture process (r-matter flow) through this region than previously predicted.

Treatment-related deaths (TRD) in investigator-initiated cancer cooperative group trials: From the datasets of 44 studies (4,964 patients) by the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG)

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Background: The proportion of Serious Adverse Events (SAE) including TRDs has a critical impact on choosing a new standard therapy as well as the efficacy of treatment in clinical trials. The proportion of TRD (%TRD) has been reported in a single clinical trial, but an overall % TRD in plural clinical trials has merely been evaluated so far. Methods: The JCOG trials which met both of the following criteria were included in this analysis: i) started after 1995 by 2008, ii) primary analysis was completed. In JCOG, attribution of all reported SAE are classified by Data and Safety Monitoring Committee into 5 categories (definite, probable, possible, unlikely, not related) according to causality to protocol treatment, and the death with causality judged as definite, probable, or possible is defined as TRD. The total number of any deaths and TRD were counted in all included trials and the incidences (%) of TRD were calculated. The association between %TRD and the following trial profiles was evaluated: arm (standard vs. testing), phase, modality and median survival time of each arm. Results: In total, 44 JCOG trials (67 arms) with 4,964 patients were included in the analysis. The number of all deaths and TRD were 2,974 and 60. Thus, the overall %TRD for all enrolled patients was 1.2% (95%CI, 0.9–1.6%), and %TRD among all deaths was 2.0% (95%CI, 1.5–2.6%). Major results of the association between %TRD and trial profiles are shown in the table. The later phase trials showed the lower %TRD, and the trials with shorter MST tended to have higher %TRD. Conclusions: When the trial is in earlier phase and includes more advanced disease, the trial should be planned and performed more carefully about minimization of patient risk.

[Table: see text]

No significant financial relationships to disclose.