The HCV antibody positive rates of blood donors were studied in Yamaguchi Prefecture. C100-3 antibody was examined by the method of the 1st generation. The subjects were 146, 792 people who donated blood from Nov. 1989 to Dec. 1990. The average positive rate was 1.01% in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The positive rates of more than 3% were registered in four towns. In one town out of these four, the average positive rate was 22.0% It was extremely higher than the other three towns. Further study will be required to elucidate such regional differences in the HCV positive rate in the prefecture.

To find a link between lifestyle and arteriosclerosis, the serum lipid values were studied in those who had entered our hospital for a thorough physical examination. The subjects were 136 men and 31 women. They were divided into six groups. 1st: neither drinking nor smoking habits (24 cases). 2nd: 20 or 40 grams of ethyl alcohol daily and no smoking habit (45 cases). 3rd: more than 40 grams daily and more than 10 cigarettes (21 cases). 4th: 20 grams daily and more than 10 cigarettes (25 cases). 5th: no drinking habit and more than 10 cigarettes daily (21 cases). 6th: women who had neither drinking nor smoking habits (31 cases).
The 2nd group was a control group, and was compared with each group. It was found that only TG values were significantly high in the 3rd group. HDL-C values were significantly low in the 5th group. There were no significant differences in the 1st and 4th groups. T-CHO and LDL-C values were significantly high in the 6th group. These facts suggest that it is difficult to correlate both drinking and smoking habits with the incidence of arteriosclerosis. And perhaps it is the same in women, because LDL-C values were high in women, but at the same time HDL-C values were high.

The domestic production of moxa used in Japanese moxibustion therapy has decreased. Therefore, it is assumed that improved productivity of moxa and cultivation of Artemisa princeps Pamp. (Yomogi) is necessary for stable production of moxa. In this study, the production rate of moxa processed from green leaves, its chlorophyll content, maximum temperature of combustion, morphology, and yield of families collected from 127 domestic spots were investigated. They were evaluated to determine which family was suitable for use in moxibustion. As a result of principal component analysis on the morphological evaluation, 22 families were extracted as they were easily harvestable and were produced over a large area. They had a high productivity rate for moxa, and contained more than the standard weight in dry leaves among all the families. It was confirmed that these extracted families included families that have not been used so far in addition to families collected in conventional areas. These results suggest that production using extracted families can improve the domestic production of Artemisa princeps of moxa.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is prevalent in both economically developed and developing countries. Twenty percent of NASH progresses to cirrhosis with/without hepatocellular carcinoma, and there is an urgent need to find biomarkers for early diagnosis and monitoring progression of the disease. Using immunohistochemical and immunoelectron microscopic examination we previously reported that expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) increased in monocytes, Kupffer cells and hepatic stellate cells in early stage NASH. The present study investigated whether serum MMP-1 levels reflect disease activity and pharmaceutical effects in NASH patients. METHODS: We measured the serum levels of MMPs, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), and several cytokines/chemokines in patients with histologically proven early and advanced stages of NASH and compared them with those in healthy controls. RESULTS: Serum MMP-1 levels in stage 1 fibrosis, but not in the more advanced fibrosis stages, were significantly higher than in healthy controls (P=0.019). There was no correlation between serum MMP-1 level and fibrosis stage. Serum MMP- 1 levels in NASH patients represented disease activity estimated by serum aminotransferase values during the follow-up period. In contrast, MMP-2, MMP-9 and TIMPs did not change with disease activity. Consistent with the finding that MMP-1 is expressed predominantly in monocytes and Kupffer cells, serum levels of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor were significantly increased in NASH with stage 1 fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that serum MMP-1 levels represent disease activity and may serve as a potential biomarker for monitoring the progression of NASH.
Biomarkers ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Chemokine CCL2 ; Cytokines ; Developing Countries ; Early Diagnosis ; Fibrosis* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; Humans ; Kupffer Cells ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 1* ; Matrix Metalloproteinases ; Metalloproteases ; Monocytes ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease*