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Background: Risk prediction for hospitalised heart failure (HF, HHF) patients remains suboptimal. We aimed to determine the prognostic value of hospital food intake (FI) immediately before discharge among HHF patients., Method: We analysed the data of 255 HHF patients extracted from the records of a single university hospital. The FI percentage of the three meals the day before hospital discharge was averaged. Patients were stratified into adequate FI (100% consumption) and inadequate FI (less than 100% consumption) groups. The primary outcome was the composite of all-cause mortality and/or HF readmission within 1 year., Results: Only 49.3% of HHF patients consumed 100% of their meals. Patients with inadequate FI were older; predominantly women; and had a lower body mass index, higher brain natriuretic peptide levels and Clinical Frailty Scale scores at discharge than those with adequate FI. Inadequate FI was significantly associated with adverse outcomes after adjustments (HR 2.00; 95% CI 1.09 to 3.67; p=0.026). The effect of interaction by ejection fraction (EF) was highly significant: HF with preserved EF (≥40%) was significantly associated with inadequate FI with adverse outcomes (HR 4.95; 95% CI 1.71 to 14.36; p=0.003) but HF with reduced EF (<40%) was not (HR 0.77; 95% CI 0.31 to 1.95; p=0.590)., Conclusions: The hospital FI assessment might be a simple, useful tool for predicting and stratifying risk for HHF patients., Competing Interests: Competing interests: SK reports investigator-initiated grant funding from Bayer and Daiichi Sankyo. The other authors declare no conflict of interest., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: While several studies have provided support for a positive association between meat intake and colorectal neoplasia, the role of heterocyclic amines (HCA), which is hypothesized to underline this relation, has been less consistent. We evaluated the association of HCA intake with colorectal adenoma risk in a case-control study in a middle-aged Japanese population., Methods: Study subjects were 738 patients with adenoma and 697 controls who underwent total colonoscopy between 2004 and 2005 and responded to self-administered lifestyle and dietary questionnaires. HCA exposure concentration was estimated from meat and fish intake based on an HCA database that was validated against 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) values measured in human hair. Logistic regression models were used to estimate ORs and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between HCA and colorectal adenoma risk after adjusting for potential confounders., Results: High intake of 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (MeIQ) and total HCA was associated with an increased risk of colorectal adenoma in women but not in men. The multivariate-adjusted OR for the highest versus lowest quartile in women was 2.10 (95% CI, 1.20-3.67; Ptrend = 0.01) for MeIQ and 1.73 (95% CI, 0.99-3.01; Ptrend = 0.03) for total HCA. No clear association with PhIP or 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx) estimates and no effect modification by NAT2 acetylation genotype was observed., Conclusions: This study suggests that high MeIQ and total HCA estimates are positively associated with colorectal adenoma risk., Impact: The findings add to evidence that HCA may play a role in colorectal carcinogenesis in humans. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 24(3); 613-20. ©2015 AACR., (©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Purpose: To compare the seroprevalence of Bartonella henselae, a pathogen of cat scratch disease, in patients with uveitis and in healthy individuals., Methods: Serum samples were collected from 197 consecutive patients with various entities of uveitis at Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital, and from 83 healthy age- and sex-matched volunteers. Anti-Bartonella IgG and IgM antibodies were examined by indirect immunofluorescent antibody., Results: Serum antibodies to B. henselae were positive in 39 of 197 (19.8%) patients with uveitis, and in 21 of 83 (25.3%) of the healthy volunteers. There was no statistical difference in the seroprevalence between the two groups. The overall seroprevalence of B. henselae was 60 of 280 (21.4%)., Conclusions: The seroprevalence of B. henselae was similar in both patients with uveitis and in healthy volunteers in Tokyo, Japan. These data indicate that a significant number of healthy individuals are asymptomatic carriers of B. henselae, which should be kept in mind when a diagnosis of cat scratch disease is made.

From February, 1988 to February, 1989, an epidemiological survey for feline cryptosporidiosis was carried out on domestic cats that had been committed to the Tokyo Metropolitan Animal Protection Center by owners residing in the Tokyo Metropolitan District. Of a total of 608 cats, 23 (3.8%) were found to have Cryptosporidium oocysts. The percentage of cats positive for the infection ranged from 0 to 13.6% by month. The infection was found to be more common in "baby" and "young" cats than in "middle" and "old" ones. No significant difference in incidence was shown between the sexes. In each positive cat, no apparent clinical symptom such as diarrhea was found, and the size of the oocysts measured from 4.3 to 4.7 microns in diameter (small type).