Curcumin is an antioxidant agent with both radiosensitizing and radioprotective properties. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of curcumin supplementation on oxidative status of patients with prostate cancer who undergo radiotherapy. Forty patients treated with radiotherapy for prostate cancer were randomized to the curcumin (CG, n = 20) or placebo group (PG, n = 20). They received curcumin (total 3 g/day) or placebo during external-beam radiation therapy of up to 74 Gy. Plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were measured at baseline and 3 mo after radiotherapy completion. Analysis of covariance was used to compare the variables between groups following the intervention. Serum PSA levels and MRI/MRS images were investigated. In CG, TAC significantly increased (P < 0.001) and the activity of SOD decreased (P = 0.018) after radiotherapy compared with those at baseline. In CG, however, the activity of SOD had a significant reduction (P = 0.026) and TAC had a significant increase (P = 0.014) compared with those in PG. PSA levels were reduced to below 0.2 ng/ml in both groups, 3 mo after treatment, however, no significant differences were observed between the 2 groups regarding treatment outcomes.

Dysphagia is a symptom, commonly found in healthcare residents and the elderly, may lead to undernutrition and negative effects on quality of life. Providing special food products that cannot only be swallowed by patients but also meet nutritional requirements is a challenge for food rheologists and healthcare staff. The purpose of this paper was to review the literature on rheological aspects of dysphagia-oriented products. Also, some suggestions were proposed for better exploitation of rheological data in the field of dysphagia-rheology

Melatonin may play a causal role in the occurrence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Replicative capacity and response to injury in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is compromised during aging. Prevention of telomere shortening by antioxidants may be a useful approach for reducing the cumulative effects of oxidative stress in RPE cells. Melatonin, a well known antioxidant, which acts advantageously as an amphiphilic agent, may benefit AMD patients more than commonly used lipophilic or hydrophilic antioxidants. It also may act through mechanisms other than antioxidant mechanisms because melatonin has receptors localized in the RPE, which act locally as a neurohormone and/or neuromodulator. Results of a clinical trial showed that 3mg melatonin given orally each night at bedtime for 3 months to AMD patients reduced pathologic macular changes. I hypothesize that melatonin exerts additional benefit through down-regulating hTERT (catalytic subunit if telomerase) expression and stimulated telomerase activity in RPE, which subsequently helps to prevent or treat AMD. I suggest that melatonin therapy as pharmacologic agents and/or melatonin-rich foods, especially in AMD patients with measured low serum melatonin levels or high risk patients would be possibly an alternative approach to prevent and/or treat AMD. I suggest that melatonin has potential to prevent telomere shortening in RPE, while not precluding other mechanisms, namely antioxidative properties and/or restoration of inner blood-retina barrier (iBRB) integrity, reduced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and nitric oxide (NO) levels as well as leakage of horseradish peroxidase (HRP), inhibiting hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1 alpha) stabilization under hypoxia.