The potential role of lycopene for the prevention and therapy of prostate cancer : from molecular mechanisms to clinical evidence

Lycopene is a phytochemical that belongs to a group of pigments known as carotenoids. It is red, lipophilic and naturally occurring in many fruits and vegetables, with tomatoes and tomato-based products containing the highest concentrations of bioavailable lycopene. Several epidemiological studies have linked increased lycopene consumption with decreased prostate cancer risk. These findings are supported by in vitro and in vivo experiments showing that lycopene not only enhances the antioxidant response of prostate cells, but that it is even able to inhibit proliferation, induce apoptosis and decrease the metastatic capacity of prostate cancer cells. However, there is still no clearly proven clinical evidence supporting the use of lycopene in the prevention or treatment of prostate cancer, due to the only limited number of published randomized clinical trials and the varying quality of existing studies. The scope of this article is to discuss the potential impact of lycopene on prostate cancer by giving an overview about its molecular mechanisms and clinical effects. © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Denial predicts outcome in anxiety following group cognitive behavioral therapy

This study aimed to explore whether participants' pretherapy coping strategies predicted the outcome of group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety and depression. It was hypothesized that adaptive coping strategies such as the use of active planning and acceptance would be associated with higher reductions, whereas maladaptive coping strategies such as denial and disengagement would be associated with lower reductions in anxious and depressed symptoms following psychotherapy. There were 144 participants who completed group CBT for anxiety and depression. Measures of coping strategies were administered prior to therapy, whereas measures of depression and anxiety were completed both prior to and following therapy. The results showed that higher levels of denial were associated with a poorer outcome, in terms of change in anxiety but not depression, following therapy. These findings suggest the usefulness of using the Denial subscale from the revised Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) as a predictor of outcome in group CBT for anxiety.

Impact of cognitive behaviour therapy via mail for cessation of benzodiazepine use : a series of case reports

Benzodiazepines are widely prescribed to manage sleep disorders, anxiety and muscular tension. While providing short-term relief, continued use induces tolerance and withdrawal, and in older users, increases the risk of falls. However, long-term prescription remains common, and effective interventions are not widely available. This study developed a self-managed cognitive behaviour therapy package for cessation of benzodiazepine use delivered to participants via mail (M-CBT) and trialled its effectiveness as an adjunct to a general practitioner (GP)-managed dose reduction schedule. In the pilot trial, participants were randomly assigned to GP management with immediate or delayed M-CBT. Significant recruitment and engagement problems were experienced, and only three participants were allocated to each condition. After immediate M-CBT, two participants ceased use, while none receiving delayed treatment reduced daily intake by more than 50%. Across the sample, doses at 12 months remained significantly lower than baseline, and qualitative feedback from participants was positive. While M-CBT may have promise, improved engagement of GPs and participants is needed for this approach to substantially impact on community-wide benzodiazepine use.

The radiation therapy patient as a student assessor

Background Radiation Therapy students at Queensland University of Technology undertake clinical placement across a wide range of sites Interpersonal skills with clinical staff and patients are an essential component: – Lectures – Role playing – Expert patient input

A multicomponent multidisciplinary approach to obesity management

This thesis explored the potential of a multi-component and multi-disciplinary approach to obesity management using action research methodologies. A preliminary systems-based model for obesity management was developed based around four meta-components (client factors, practitioner factors, process factors and the environment) and two action theories (action research and action science).

Australasian nutrition research for prevention and management of child obesity : innovation and progress in the last decade

The Food and Nutrition stream of Australasian Child and Adolescent Obesity Research Network (ACAORN) aims to improve the quality of dietary methodologies and the reporting of dietary intake within Australasian child obesity research (http://www.acaorn.org.au/streams/nutrition/). With 2012 marking ACAORN’s 10th anniversary, this commentary profiles a selection of child obesity nutrition research published over the last decade by Food and Nutrition Stream members. In addition, stream activities have included the development of an online selection guide to assist researchers in their selection of appropriate dietary intake methodologies (http://www.acaorn.org.au/streams/nutrition/dietary-intake/index.php). The quantity and quality of research to guide effective child obesity prevention and treatment has increased substantially over the last decade. ACAORN provides a successful case study of how research networks can provide a collegial atmosphere to foster and co-ordinate research efforts in an otherwise competitive environment.

Autism : an introduction to behavioural therapy models used for autism and nursing the person with autism in the primary care setting

Childhood autism falls under the guise of autism spectrum disorders and is generally found in children over two years of age. There are of course variations in severity and clinical manifestations, however the most common features being disinterest in social interaction and engagement in ritualistic and repetitive behaviours. In Singapore the incidence of autism is on the rise as parents are becoming more aware of the early signs of autism and seek healthcare programmes to ensure the quality of life for their child is optimised. Two such programmes, Applied Behaiour Analysis and Floortime approach have proven successful in alleviating some of the behavioural and social skills problems associated with autism. Using positive behaviour reinforcement both Applied Behaviour Analysis and Floortime approach reward behaviour associated with positive social responses.

Ghrelin and the brain-gut axis as a pharmacological target for appetite control

Appetite regulation is highly complex and involves a large number of orexigenic and anorexigenic peptide hormones. These are small, processed, secreted peptides derived from larger prepropeptide precursors. These peptides are important targets for the development of therapeutics for obesity, a global health epidemic. As a case study, we consider the ghrelin axis. The ghrelin axis is likely to be a particularly useful drug target, as it also plays a role in energy homeostasis, adipogenesis, insulin regulation and reward associated with food intake. Ghrelin is the only known circulating gut orexigenic peptide hormone. As it appears to play a role in diet-induced obesity, blocking the action of ghrelin is likely to be effective for treating and preventing obesity. The ghrelin peptide has been targeted using a number of approaches, with ghrelin mirror-image oligonucleotides (Spiegelmers) and immunotherapy showing some promise. The ghrelin receptor, the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, may also provide a useful target and a number of antagonists and inverse agonists have been developed. A particularly promising new target is the enzyme which octanoylates ghrelin, ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT), and drugs that inhibit GOAT are likely to circumvent pharmacological issues associated with approaches that directly target ghrelin or its receptor.

Evidence of effectiveness : high level synthesis of research to prevent obesity and increase physical activity in children

Background Prevention of childhood obesity is a public health priority for Malaysia and many other countries. Physical activity for children is also decreasing at an alarming rate. Both conditions are associated with non-communicable diseases and with significant morbidity and mortality in later life. Systematic reviews of public health interventions provide a useful summary to inform public health practice by combining the results of a range of research studies on a specific intervention into a single report. Systematic reviews are deemed most valuable for health program development and evidence based practice. Unfortunately, many policy makers and practitioners are simply unaware of the evidence: which strategies which are most likely to provide benefit; and which strategies are known to be harmful or useless. This presentation provides a “birds eye” overview based upon recent (since 2007 to present) high quality systematic reviews of public health interventions. Method HealthEvidece.org and the Cochrane Library were searched for systematic reviews which evaluated interventions targeting obesity prevention and increasing physical activity for children. The findings of the included reviews were themed and summarized. Results Seven reviews were identified addressing obesity in the early years, and fifteen reviews addressing obesity more broadly in childhood. Additional reviews were identified aimed at increasing physical activity. The synthesis shows several strategies to be effective, however many popular strategies clearly are not. Several of the reviews were inconclusive due to an absence of robust primary studies. Amongst the findings, interventions undertaken in the school setting appear very promising. Conclusions There is significant evidence from systematic reviews to guide public health practice and policy, and to inform future research.

The effect of exercise on the skeletal muscle phospholipidome of rats fed a high-fat diet

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of endurance training on skeletal muscle phospholipid molecular species from high-fat fed rats. Twelve female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a high-fat diet (78.1% energy). The rats were randomly divided into two groups, a sedentary control group and a trained group (125 min of treadmill running at 8 m/min, 4 days/wk for 4 weeks). Forty-eight hours after their last training bout phospholipids were extracted from the red and white vastus lateralis and analyzed by electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry. Exercise training was associated with significant alterations in the relative abundance of a number of phospholipid molecular species. These changes were more prominent in red vastus lateralis than white vastus lateralis. The largest observed change was an increase of similar to 30% in the abundance of 1-palmitoyl-2-linoleoyl phosphatidylcholine ions in oxidative fibers. Reductions in the relative abundance of a number of phospholipids containing long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids were also observed. These data suggest a possible reduction in phospholipid remodeling in the trained animals. This results in a decrease in the phospholipid n-3 to n-6 ratio that may in turn influence endurance capacity.

Phospholipid composition of the rat lens is independent of diet

Dietary fatty acids are known to influence the phospholipid composition of many tissues in the body, with lipid turnover occurring rapidly. The aim of this study was to investigate whether changes in the fatty acid composition of the diet can affect the phospholipid composition of the lens. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed three diets with distinct profiles in both essential and non-essential fatty acids. After 8 weeks, lenses and skeletal muscle were removed, and the lenses sectioned into nuclear and cortical regions. In these experiments, the lens cortex was synthesised during the course of the variable lipid diet. Phospholipids were then identified by electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry, and quantified via the use of internal standards. The phospholipid compositions of the nuclear and cortical regions of the lens differed slightly between the two regions, but comparison of the equivalent regions across the diet groups showed remarkable similarity. In contrast, the phospholipid composition of skeletal muscle (medial gastrocnemius) in these rats varied significantly. This study provides the first direct evidence to show that the phospholipid composition of the lens is tightly regulated and thus appears to be independent of diet. As phospholipids determine membrane fluidity and influence the activity and function of integral membrane proteins, regulation of their composition may be important for the function of the lens. Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.