The relationship of cause-result between low selenium (Se) and Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) was probed by the prospective study of epidemiological method with regarding low-Se as an exposure factor in this paper. 597 healthy children lived in KBD areas with low, middle and high prevalence were divided into the low-Se exposed group and the non-low-Se exposed group according to their Se content in hair. The low-Se exposed group was divided into three subgroups, such as Se content in hair≤110 ng/g, 110 ng/g＜Se content in hair≤150 ng/g and 150 ng/g＜Se content in hair≤200 ng/g, respectively. Six new cases of the total with KBD (incidence was 0.574% person-year) were found in the low-Se exposed group during three years period of the investigation. No new case was found in the non low-Se exposed group . KBD incidence was not significantly different between those two groups. Two new cases were found in children with Se content in hair kept below 110 ng/g during three years (incidence: 1.21% person-year). SMR in each group indicated that the new cases observed in the low-Se exposed group was remarkable lower than the new cases expected. It was not observed that the dose-response relationship between low-Se and KBD, and was not supported that the low-Se was a predominant factor to cause KBD.

Although lung transplantation (LTx) has been established as a therapeutic approach for end-stage respiratory failure, several problems remain to be solved. In addition to the serious problem of donor shortage, primary graft failure, which is mostly caused by ischemia-reperfusion injury, a serious problem, and represents one of the most frequent causes of early mortality. The development of a highly reliable organ preservation solution that reduces ischemia-reperfusion injury will improve the functioning of transplanted organs and alleviate the donor shortage. We first evaluated the importance of saccharides and electrolytes in the lung preservation solution. We proved the superiority of trehalose, a non-reducing disaccharide, and the efficiency of the extracellular-type (low potassium) ion composition, and we also developed an extracellular-type trehalose containing Kyoto (ET-Kyoto) solution. Furthermore, several agents for vascular endothelial protection were evaluated, and finally, a more effective solution named "new ET-Kyoto solution" was developed, by adding N-acetylcysteine, dibutyryl adenosine 3', 5'-cyclic monophosphate, and nitroglycerin to the "conventional" ET-Kyoto solution. The new ET-Kyoto solution enabled canine LTx to last up to 30 hours. ET-Kyoto solution has so far been used and produced good results in five clinical LTx throughout Japan and South Korea. Although it was initially developed for lung preservation, its effectiveness in the preservation of various organs/ tissues, such as the trachea, kidney, skin/muscle flap, amputated digits, liver, and pancreas, has also been experimentally and clinically shown. In this paper, clinical and experimental findings with ET-Kyoto solution have been accumulated to further analyze its effect, safety, and chemical stability. We hope to provide ET-Kyoto solution as the standard organ/tissue preserving solution throughout the world.
Animals ; Humans ; Japan ; *Organ Preservation Solutions ; *Technology, Pharmaceutical ; *Universities

Objective To investigate the effect of Berberine on insulin resistance and its mechanism in Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty(OLETF) rats with metabolic syndrome(MS).Methods LETO(Long-evans Tokushima Otsuka)rats(the control group receiving standard normal diet,n=10)and diabetic OLETF rats(the MS group receiving high-fat diet for 24 weeks,n=30).Rats in the MS group were randomly divided into 3 subgroups(n=10,each subgroup).Each subgroup was gavaged with normal saline,high-dose Berberine(100 mg · kg-1 · d-1)and low-dose Berberine (50 mg · kg-1 · d-1) respectively,and the high-fat diet remained unchanged.After 6 weeks of berberine treatment,body weight,blood glucose and lipid metabolism parameters were determined.The oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT) and insulin tolerance test(ITT) were used to detect insulin resistance.Expression levels of the protein and mRNA of 78 kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP7 8),Caspase-12 and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein(C/EBP) homologous protein(CHOP) in skeletal muscles were detected by Western blot and RT-PCR.Results After Berberine treatment,the body weight,fasting plasma glucose,fasting insulin[(28.9 ± 2.0) mU/L,(31.5± 2.4) mU/L vs.(36.9 ± 4.7) mU/L],total cholesterol,triglycerides,and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were decreased,while the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C) levels were increased in MS rats with high-dose berberine and low-dose berberine as compared with the control group (P ＜ 0.05) respectively.Berberine treatment could reduce the protein and mRNA expression levels of GRP78,Capase-12 and CHOP in the skeletal muscle of MS rats(P＜0.05).Conclusions Berberine may alleviate insulin resistance in rats with metabolic syndrome by reducing endoplasmic reticulum stress in skeletal muscle.