Exercise-induced changes in body composition are dependent on various external factors. The psychological factor seems to be an important determinant for reducing body mass. However, the effect of changes in mood on weight loss have not been thoroughly investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among mood status, body composition and anthropometric characteristics observed during an exercise training program. Thirty-four obese women, aged 46.5±7.7 years, participated in our 3-month weight loss program. Body mass and % fat significantly decreased from 66.3±7.1 kg to 59.8±6.5kg, and from 31.8±3.1% to 27.9±4.0% (P<0.05), respectively. Aerobic power, as represented by maximal oxygen uptake, significantly increased (from 29.1±5.0 mlin/kg to 34.6±5.2 mlin/kg), and oxygen uptake corresponding to lactate threshold increased as well (from 17.2±2.8mlin/kg to 20.0±3.0mlin/kg) after training (P<0.05) . Accord. ing to the degree of body mass change, the subjects were divided into the following two groups : good-responder group (Group G : -9.2±2.7 kg) and poor-responder group (Group P : -3.8±1.4 kg) . Analyses of variance revealed significant differences (P<0.05) in total mood disturbance between Group G (103.54±16.30) and Group P (115.20±21.17) . These results show the possibility of the effects of mood on the success of weight loss in obese middle-aged women.

This study was designed to assess the correlation of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels with cardiac function and to determine the usefulness of BNP as a prognostic marker in patients undergoing cardiac valvular surgery. We measured plasma levels of BNP in 53 patients who had undergone aortic valve replacement (AVR) or aortic and mitral valve replacement (DVR) more than 1 year earlier. These cases were divided into the aortic stenosis (AS) group and an aortic regurgitation (AR) group. Fifty-two patients were in NYHA class I, and 43 (82.7%) of them had plasma levels of BNP above the normal range. There were significant correlations between the plasma levels of BNP and ejection fraction (EF) in both the AS and AR groups (r=-0.460, p<0.05; r=-0.529, p<0.01). In the AR group, BNP showed significant correlations with LVMI and LVDd (r=-0.469, p<0.05; r=0.680, p<0.0001), whereas, in the AS group, BNP showed no significant correlation with these factors. The most remarkable finding was the development of heart failure in 3 patients whose plasma levels of BNP were over 80pg/ml, despite remaining in NYHA I during follow-up. We concluded that plasma levels of BNP in a late phase after AVR or DVR can be an excellent biochemical marker for predicting of heart failure and overall prognosis.

Objective: To clarify the profile of cognitive dysfunction and the effects of intensive exercise in spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD). Methods: We enrolled 60 healthy controls and 16 patients with purely cerebellar type SCD without gait disturbance or organic changes other than cerebellar changes. To assess cognitive function, we evaluated the participants using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), and Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Japanese (MoCA-J) at admission and after intensive exercise. Results: Compared to the controls, SCD patients showed significant cognitive decline. As a result of intensive exercise, significant improvements in motor and cognitive functions were observed: the MMSE score improved from 27.7±1.9 to 29.0±1.3 points (p<0.001); the FAB score improved from 14.8±2.2 to 15.8±2.0 points (p=0.002); and the MoCA-J score improved from 24.6±2.2 to 26.7±1.9 points (p<0.001). For sub-scores, significant improvements were noted in serial 7, lexical fluency, motor series, and delayed recall. Conclusion Our study indicates that intensive exercise can be effective not only for motor dysfunction but also for cognitive dysfunction (Clinical Trial Registration No. UMIN-CTR: UMIN000040079).