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The aim of the present study was to investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms in the DNMT3A gene are associated with susceptibility to gastric cancer in the Japanese population. The present case-control study examined the associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs6733868 and rs13428812) in DNMT3A and cancer susceptibility in 343 patients with gastric cancer and 708 subjects without gastric malignancies on upper gastro-duodenal endoscopy. Of 708 controls, 409 were classified into two groups histologically: 99 cases with and 310 cases without gastric mucosal atrophy. Overall, homozygosity for the DNMT3A rs6733868 minor allele was significantly associated with a reduced risk of gastric cancer (odds ratio [OR], 0.621; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.402–0.958; P=0.031), especially of the intestinal type (OR, 0.494; 95% CI, 0.274–0.890; P=0.019). In subjects >60 years, rs6733868 minor allele homozygosity was significantly associated with gastric cancer susceptibility. Carriers of the rs6733868 minor allele had a reduced risk of severe gastric mucosal atrophy (OR, 0.495; 95% CI, 0.299–0.826; P=0.0069). In addition, the number of minor alleles of both rs6733868 and rs13428812 was significantly correlated with the risk of Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection (P=0.0070 and P=0.0050, respectively). However, rs13428812 was not associated with severe gastric mucosal atrophy or gastric carcinogenesis. The present results suggest that DNMT3A polymorphisms serve roles in the progression from HP infection to gastric mucosal atrophy and gastric carcinogenesis in terms of degree and manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elderly population has been increasing rapidly in recent years due to the improvement in medical care, fertility decline and economic development. In this paper, the trends of aging were discussed. We used Taiwan complete life tables to analyze the contribution of the increment of life expectancy of each age between two consecutive life tables. The results showed that ages 0 to 1 had the largest contribution, and more than 50% of the increment of mean life expectancy was contributed by ages 50 to 89. The aging trend is significant in Taiwan. Therefore, in this paper, we compared the mortality improvement trends between Taiwan and two supper-aged countries, Japan and Sweden. We also compared the differences in the contribution of improvement in mortality of different age groups on life expectancy at age 0 between two consecutive life tables. Finally, we used the estimated mortality improvement models to evaluate the annuity pricing under cohort life table consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The presence of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) may have predictive and diagnostic value for cerebrovascular diseases. The purpose of our study was to measure the phase values (PVs) of CMBs by phase maps., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 75 patients with hypertension who had CMBs using enhanced T2*-weighted angiography (ESWAN). The PVs of CMBs were measured and documented. The mean PVs of CMBs were correlated with demographic features and the grade of white matter lesions for seven brain regions., Results: A total of 275 CMBs were found. Their mean PV was - 1.39 ± 0.29 radians. The mean PV of CMBs in seven brain regions was significantly lower than that of red nucleus and substantia nigra of healthy controls (P <  .05). The mean PV of CMBs in the basal ganglia gray matter was significantly lower than that of the brainstem, subcortical white matter, and cerebellum (P < 0.05). In subcortical white matter, the PVs were significantly lower in patients with hypertension < 10 years than for those patients with hypertension ≥ 10 years (P < 0.05). In basal ganglia gray matter, the PVs were significantly lower in men than in women (P < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between the PVs of CMBs and the demographic features addressed or the grade of white matter lesions., Conclusions: Measurement of the PV of phase maps using ESWAN sequence provides quantitative information for detection of CMBs. The measurement data reported herein will provide a reference for a longitudinal study of CMBs in the future.