The ASAN Easy Test H. pylori is a newly developed rapid test for Helicobacter pylori that uses a stool antigen immunochromatographic assay (S-ICT). The aim of this study was to evaluate this kit for the diagnosis of H. pylori under various histological conditions. We enrolled 266 consecutive patients undergoing a routine health checkup and endoscopy with biopsy. H. pylori infection was confirmed if at least 2 out of the 3 following tests were positive: histology, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the stool antigen test by enzyme immunoassay (S-EIA). Histological examination was performed using hematoxylin-eosin and silver staining. Real-time PCR was performed with a probe for the UreA gene as described previously. The S-EIA and the evaluated kit were used according to the manufacturers' instructions. Of the 266 patients, 209 were eligible for participation. The evaluation results were as follows: sensitivity, 84.5%; specificity, 96.2%; positive-predictive value, 95.6%; negative-predictive value, 86.4%; and accuracy, 90.4%. The performance of the kit was unaffected by histological findings such as atrophic gastritis, ulcers, and intestinal metaplasia. The newly developed S-ICT assay is a non-invasive rapid test for the diagnosis of H. pylori that exhibits good performance in routine health checkup patients.

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TTD of Bactec Fx Plus Aerobic/F was more than 2.5 hr faster among the tested media. As thus system and media are unaffected by added fluconazole, it could be used for the diagnosis of candidemia in the clinical settings including the patients who have been treated empirically with fluconazole at the time when blood cultures were drawn.

Cranberry powder (CR) is reported to be effective against lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and recurrent urinary tract infections. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men older than 50 years is a common cause of LUTS. Here, we attempted to evaluate if CR is also effective for treating BPH using a BPH-induced rat model, which was orally administered CR. Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 200-250 g were randomly divided into the following six groups (n = 9): noncastration group; castration group; BPH group; BPH and cranberry for 8-week (CR8W) group; BPH and cranberry for 4-week (CR4W) group; and BPH and saw palmetto group (saw palmetto). Compared with the BPH group, the CR8W group showed a significant decrease in prostate weight (by 33%), dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels (by 18% in serum and 28% in prostate), 5-alpha reductase levels (18% reduction of type 1 and 35% of type 2), and histological changes. These results indicate that CR could attenuate BPH by inhibiting 5-alpha reductase and by reducing other biomarkers such as prostate weight and DHT levels. Thus, CR may be an effective candidate for the development of a functional food for BPH treatment. IACUC (USW-IACUC-R-2015-004).