The purpose of this study was to determine whether body composition alterations induced by aerobic exercise training show seasonal varition. Ninety-five middle-aged Japanese obese women volunteered as subjects. All subjects participated in our “exercise+diet” program for 3 months. The subjects were categorized into two groups (Summer group : S, and Winter group : W) based on the season when they participated in the program. Body composition, cardiorespiratory variables and dietary habituation were evaluated before and after the programs. More desirable changes in body composition were observed in Group W than in Group S. Group W showed a significant decrease in body mass from 62.2±8.7 kg to 60.3±8.6 kg, and in percentage body fat from 34.0±7.0% to 30.5±6.0%, while fat-free mass increased significantly from 41.0±3.9 kg 41.9±3.6 kg. However, alterations in cardiorespiratory variables were not associated with body composition alterations. It is concluded that season may have an effect on body composition alterations, but has no effect on cardiorespiratory variables, and that body composition may be improved by an exercise+diet program more effectively in winter than in summer.

The purpose of this study was to establish by way of trial reference interval of serum lipids (TC, HDL-C, TG and LDL-C) for old people aged 65 or over based on the document published by America's National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. For this purpose, we used the results of the mass health screening tests run on a total of 14, 738 residents in Shimane Prefecture. We selected reference sample groups by excluding those examinees who had been undergoing medical treatment, those who had taken their meal less than 12 hours before, habitual drinkers and smokers, and those whose systolic blood pressure was more than 160mmHg, diastolic blood pressure upwards of 95mmHg, obesity level downwards -20% or upwards of +20%.
T-C values peaked in the age group of 50s for men, while for women in the age group of 60s. Regarding HDL-C values, women were generally high compared withmen, but mean values for women in their 60s were significantly low (p<0.01) compared with those for women in their 50s. TG values were higher in men than in women. LDLC levels showed the same tendency as T-C levels.
We compared the mean values of adults aged 64 or below and elders aged 65 or above. In the elders, the mean values for T-C, TG and LDL-C were significantly higher (p<0.01) than in the adults, and the mean HDL-C values were significantly lower (p<0.01) than in the adults.
These results indicated that the reference interval of elders of T-C, HDL-C, TG and LDL-C could be from 147 to 289mg/dl, from 37 to 99mg/dl, from 40 to 209mg/dl and from 70 to 200mg/dl, respectively.

Cardiac operations involving cardiopulmonary bypass can cause a systemic inflammatory response such as elevation of inflammatory cytokines, which can cause organ failure. We investigated cytokine production and its inhibition by ulinastatine in patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting under cardiopulmonary bypass. Thirty-three patients received either ulinastatine (300, 000 units, intracoronary artery injection immediately after aortic closs-clamping, UTI group, n=16) or no ulinastatine (control group, n=17). Arterial blood samples were obtained at aortic closs-clamping, 5 minutes after aortic declamping, and 6, 12 and 18 hours after surgery and there were assayed for interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and polymorphonuclear leukocyte elastase (PMNE). In addition, we examined liver function (GOT, GPT, and total bilirubin), renal function (blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine), and oxygenatory function (PaO₂/FIO₂) postoperatively. IL-8 levels at 5 minutes after aortic declamping and maximum IL-8 levels were significantly lower in the UTI group than in the control group (25.5±12.8 vs. 47.8±38.9pg/dl, p<0.05, and 28.6±13.2 vs. 58.4±40.0pg/dl, p<0.05). Blood urea nitrogen on the second post operative day (POD) and three POD and creatinine on the second POD were also significantly lower in the UTI group than the control group. Furthermore, IL-8 and PMNE levels significantly correlated positively with blood urea nitrogen and creatinine. There was significant negative correlation between IL-8 and oxygenatory function. These results shows that the ulinastatine can inhibit IL-8 levels following cardiac surgery. To combat the increase of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-8 after cardiopulmonary bypass, the ulinastatine should be used for anticytokine therapy to protect the kidneys, lungs, and other organs, and thereby decrease the risk of complications.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of our devised hybrid physiotherapy regime using an anti-gravity treadmill and a low-frequency electrical stimulation device, as measured in patients with hip osteoarthritis after total hip arthroplasty (THA). METHODS: The outcomes of the postoperative rehabilitation in 44 patients who underwent THA for hip osteoarthritis were retrospectively examined. The conventional group (n=22) underwent the postoperative rehabilitation according to our protocol, while the hybrid group (n=22) underwent the same training, along with training on an anti-gravity treadmill and training using a low-frequency therapeutic device. The outcome measures were recorded and reviewed with the Numerical Rating Scale for pain, which rates pain on an 11-point scale from 0 to 10, surgical side knee joint extension force, 10-m walking test, Timed Up and Go test, and the 6-minute walking distance (6MD). The outcome measurement was taken 2 weeks after conducting pre-operation and antigravity treadmill training and electrical muscle stimulation, and compared the respective results. RESULTS: At the timeframe of 2 weeks from the surgery after conducting a devised hybrid physiotherapy, the values of knee extension muscle strength and 6MD were not worse in the hybrid group than conventional group. In the evaluation at 2 weeks after surgery, the knee extension muscle strength and 6MD values significantly decreased compared with the preoperative values only in the conventional group. CONCLUSION: Lower limb muscular strength and endurance were maintained in the hybrid group, which suggested that hybrid physiotherapy could maintain physical functions early after THA operation.
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; Electric Stimulation ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Knee ; Knee Joint ; Lower Extremity ; Muscle Strength ; Osteoarthritis, Hip ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Rehabilitation ; Retrospective Studies ; Walking

Objectives: Clinical prediction rules are used to discriminate patients with locomotive syndrome and may enable early detection. This study aimed to validate the clinical predictive rules for locomotive syndrome in communitydwelling older adults. Methods: We assessed the clinical prediction rules for locomotive syndrome in a cross-sectional setting. The age, sex, and body mass index of participants were recorded. Five physical function tests–grip strength, single-leg standing time, timed up-and-go test, and preferred and maximum walking speeds–were measured as predic tive factors. Three previously developed clinical prediction models for determining the severity of locomotive syndrome were assessed using a decision tree analysis. To assess validity, the sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio, and post-test probability of the clinical prediction rules were calculated using receiver operating charac teristic curve analysis for each model. Results: Overall, 280 older adults were included (240 women; mean age, 74.8 ± 5.2 years), and 232 (82.9%), 68 (24.3%), and 28 (10.0%) participants had locomotive syndrome stages ≥ 1, ≥ 2, and = 3, respectively. The areas under the receiver operating characteristics curves were 0.701, 0.709, and 0.603, in models 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The accuracies of models 1 and 2 were moderate. Conclusions These findings indicate that the models are reliable for community-dwelling older adults.