Diet therapy is an effective method for treating obesity. However, its effectiveness varies from person to person. With that in mind and working towards the implementation of personalized nutrition education, we investigated the relationship between aspects of oriental medicine and genes related to obesity. We analyzed three genes associated with obesity (ADRB 3, UCP 1, and ADRB 2) and classified them as either wild type or mutant. The presence or absence of gene polymorphisms in the obesity-related genes was analyzed by using PCR-CTPP. We conducted a survey using questions that would be comprehensible to people unfamiliar with oriental medicine in order to assess their body constitution, by diagnosing two elements of body constitution according to oriental medical theory (stomach heat [wei re] and spleen vacuity [pi xu]). The study was conducted in 81 women and 28 men (mean age, 42.6 years ; mean BMI, 22.3 kg/m²). Among them, 7 participants were underweight, 83 were of normal weight, and 19 were overweight. The results of the analysis revealed that BMI was highest in those with stomach heat and lowest in subjects with spleen vacuity. Wild type ADRB 3 increased susceptibility to stomach heat, which led to higher body weight ; whereas, the presence of mutated ADRB 3 increased the likelihood of spleen vacuity, which led to lower body weight. These results suggest that by making comprehensive assessments of body characteristics, it is possible to identify individuals with a predisposition to obesity or low body weight.

This is the second report of the findings of the clinical and epidemiological studies on pathogen-carrying madani tick bites (ixodiasis) and the vector-borne diseases conducted by a study group of researchers specially organized by the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine. The report covers the period from January 1 through December 31, 2004.The same questionnaires that had been prepared in the previous survey were sentto 80 JARM-affiliated medical facilities and 11 non-member medical institutions to collect information about tick bites and resultant infections.It was found that during 2004 there were 134 cases (67 for men and 67 for women) of skin lesions caused by ixodid tick bites, 14 cases of Lyme disease (7 for men and the same for women), and none for Japanese spotted fever. These ixodiasis cases did not show any speciffic difference from those reported previously. All the Lyme disease patients developed erythema migrans which characterize stage 1 infection.As there is still plenty of catching up to do in terms of coping with the tick bite problems in Japan, we referred to some literature on the control of ixodid ticks, serologic testing techniques for Lyme disease, administration of prophylactic antibiotics and therapeutic methods.
Ticks ; Clinical ; Lyme Disease ; seconds ; Japanese language

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The administration of liquid nutrients to patients is often accompanied by complications such as gastroesophageal reflux. To prevent gastroesophageal reflux, high-viscosity liquid meals are used widely, however, it still remains controversial whether high-viscosity liquid meals have any effect on the rate of gastric emptying. The present study was conducted with the aim of determining whether high-viscosity liquid meals had any effect on the rate of gastric emptying and mosapride might accelerate the rate of gastric emptying of high-viscosity liquid meals. METHODS: Six healthy male volunteers underwent 3 tests at intervals of > 1 week. After fasting for > 8 hours, each subject received one of three test meals (liquid meal only, high-viscosity liquid meal [liquid meal plus pectin] only, or high-viscosity liquid meal 30 minutes after intake of mosapride). A 13C-acetic acid breath test was performed, which monitored the rate of gastric emptying for 4 hours. Using the Oridion Research Software (beta version), breath test parameters were calculated. The study parameters were examined for all the 3 test conditions and compared using the Freidman test. RESULTS: Gastric emptying was significantly delayed following intake of a high-viscosity liquid meal alone as compared with a liquid meal alone; however, intake of mosapride prior to a high-viscosity liquid meal was associated with a significantly accelerated rate of gastric emptying as compared with a high-viscosity liquid meal alone. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that high-viscosity liquid meals delayed gastric emptying: however, mosapride recovered the delayed rate of gastric emptying by high-viscosity liquid meals.
Benzamides ; Breath Tests ; Cross-Over Studies ; Fasting ; Gastric Emptying ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; Humans ; Male ; Meals ; Morpholines ; Pectins

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The gastrointestinal motility effects of endogenous incretin hormones enhanced by dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) inhibitors have not yet been sufficiently investigated. The aim of this study was to determine whether single pre-prandial sitagliptin, the DPP-IV inhibitor, administration might have an effect on the rate of liquid gastric emptying using the 13C-acetic acid breath test. METHODS: Ten healthy male volunteers participated in this randomized, two-way crossover study. The subjects fasted for overnight and were randomly assigned to receive 50 mg sitagliptin 2 hours before ingestion of the liquid test meal (200 kcal per 200 mL, containing 100 mg 13C-acetate) or the test meal alone. Under both conditions, breath samples were collected for 150 minutes following the meal. Liquid gastric emptying was estimated by the values of the following parameters: the time required for 50% emptying of the labeled meal (T1/2), the analog to the scintigraphy lag time for 10% emptying of the labeled meal (Tlag), the gastric emptying coefficient and the regression-estimated constants (beta and kappa), calculated by using the 13CO2 breath excretion curve using the conventional formulae. The parameters between the 2 test conditions were compared statistically. RESULTS: No significant differences in the calculated parameters, including T1/2, Tlag, gastric emptying coefficient or beta and kappa, were observed between the 2 test conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed that single-dose sitagliptin intake had no significant influence on the rate of liquid gastric emptying in asymptomatic volunteers.
Breath Tests ; Cross-Over Studies ; Eating ; Gastric Emptying ; Gastrointestinal Motility ; Humans ; Incretins ; Male ; Meals ; Pyrazines ; Triazoles ; Sitagliptin Phosphate

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case series. PURPOSE: To clarify the influence of cervical spinal canal stenosis (CSCS) on neurological functional recovery after traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) without major fracture or dislocation. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: The biomechanical etiology of traumatic CSCI remains under discussion and its relationship with CSCS is one of the most controversial issues in the clinical management of traumatic CSCI. METHODS: To obtain a relatively uniform background, patients non-surgically treated for an acute C3-4 level CSCI without major fracture or dislocation were selected. We analyzed 58 subjects with traumatic CSCI using T2-weighted mid-sagittal magnetic resonance imaging. The sagittal diameter of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) column, degree of canal stenosis, and neurologic outcomes in motor function, including improvement rate, were assessed. RESULTS: There were no significant relationships between sagittal diameter of the CSF column at the C3-4 segment and their American Spinal Injury Association motor scores at both admission and discharge. Moreover, no significant relationships were observed between the sagittal diameter of the CSF column at the C3-4 segment and their neurological recovery during the following period. CONCLUSIONS: No relationships between pre-existing CSCS and neurological outcomes were evident after traumatic CSCI. These results suggest that decompression surgery might not be recommended for traumatic CSCI without major fracture or dislocation despite pre-existing CSCS.
Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Cervical Cord* ; Constriction, Pathologic* ; Decompression ; Dislocations* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Canal* ; Spinal Injuries

OBJECTIVES: To assess the vitamin D status in postmenopausal women with osteoporotic fractures, determine its concentration by fracture site at the clinical setting, and compare the proportion of vitamin D deficiency with that reported in literature. METHODS: The prospective study included 317 postmenopausal women with osteoporotic fractures who were treated consecutively from 2016 to 2018. After obtaining informed consent for participation in the seamless treatment of osteoporosis against fractures study, which is our initiative to prevent secondary osteoporotic fractures, we registered the patients, examined bone mineral density (BMD) at the unfractured femoral neck and lumbar spine, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration, blood chemistry, and bone turnover markers. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 80.7 years. Moreover, 78% of patients of all fractures had 25(OH)D concentration < 20 ng/mL, whereas 12% of patients had 25(OH)D concentration ≥ 30 ng/mL 25(OH)D concentration in hip fractures was significantly lower than that in vertebral or distal radius fractures (P < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis revealed that 25(OH)D concentration is significantly associated with femoral neck BMD (β = 0.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78–12.17, P = 0.03) and serum albumin concentration (β = 0.21; 95% CI, 0.62–2.96, P < 0.001) in patients with 25(OH)D concentration < 30 ng/mL. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study show that the proportion of postmenopausal women with osteoporotic fractures who had vitamin D deficiency was higher than the proportion in previous reports that examined general postmenopausal women (35.2%–52.0%).

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The effects of Histamine-2 receptor antagonists and proton pump inhibitors on the gastrointestinal motility have not yet been sufficiently investigated. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of intravenous bolus administration of famotidine and omeprazole on the rate of gastric emptying using the continuous 13C breath test (BreathID system, Exalenz Bioscience Ltd, Israel). METHODS: Twelve healthy male volunteers participated in this randomized, 3-way crossover study. After fasting overnight, the subjects were randomly assigned to receive 20 mg of famotidine, 20 mg of omeprazole or 20 mL of saline alone by intravenous bolus injection before a test meal (200 kcal per 200 mL, containing 100 mg of 13C-acetate). Gastric emptying was monitored for 4 hours after the ingestion of test meal by the 13C-acetic acid breath test performed using the BreathID system. RESULTS: No significant differences in the calculated parameters, namely, the T1/2, Tlag, GEC, beta and kappa, were observed among the 3 test conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed that intravenous administration of gastric acid suppressant drugs had no significant influence on the rate of gastric emptying in comparison with that of saline alone as a placebo. Our results indicating the absence of any effect of either famotidine or omeprazole on accelerating the rate of gastric emptying suggest that both medications can be administered safely to patients suffering from hemorrhagic peptic ulcers who need to be kept nil by mouth from the viewpoint of possible acceleration of gastrointestinal motility in the clinical setting.
Acceleration ; Administration, Intravenous ; Breath Tests ; Cross-Over Studies ; Eating ; Famotidine ; Fasting ; Gastric Acid ; Gastric Emptying ; Gastrointestinal Motility ; Humans ; Male ; Meals ; Mouth ; Omeprazole ; Peptic Ulcer ; Proton Pump Inhibitors ; Proton Pumps ; Protons ; Stress, Psychological

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Left-sided diverticulitis is increasing in Japan, and many studies report that left-sided diverticulitis is more likely to be severe. Therefore, it is important to identify the features and risk factors for left-sided diverticulitis. We hypothesized that left-sided diverticulitis in Japan is related to obesity and conducted a study of the features and risk factors for this disorder in Japan. METHODS: Right-sided diverticulitis and left-sided diverticulitis patients (total of 215) were compared with respect to background, particularly obesity-related factors to identify risk factors for diverticulitis. RESULTS: There were 166 (77.2%) right-sided diverticulitis patients and 49 (22.8%) left-sided diverticulitis patients. The proportions of obese patients (body mass index > or =25 kg/m2, p=0.0349), viscerally obese patients (visceral fat area > or =100 cm2, p=0.0019), patients of mean age (p=0.0003), and elderly patients (age > or =65 years, p=0.0177) were significantly higher in the left-sided-diverticulitis group than in the right-sided-diverticulitis group. The proportion of viscerally obese patients was significantly higher in the left-sided-diverticulitis group than in the left-sided-diverticulosis group (p=0.0390). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that obesity, particularly visceral obesity, was a risk factor for left-sided diverticulitis in Japan.
Aged ; Diverticulitis ; Humans ; Japan ; Obesity ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There are few reports on the correlation between chewing gum and the gastrointestinal functions. But previous report showed use of chewing gum to be an effective method for controlling gastrointestinal symptoms. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between chewing gum and gastric emptying using the continuous real time 13C breath test (BreathID system). METHODS: Ten healthy male volunteers participated in this randomized, 2-way crossover study. The subjects fasted overnight and were randomly assigned to chewing gum (Xylish, 2-3/1 tablet) for an hour following intake of a test meal (200 kcal/200 mL) or intake of the test meal alone. Gastric emptying was monitored for 4 hours after administration of the test meal by the 13C-acetic acid breath test performed continually using the BreathID system. RESULTS: No significant differences in the calculated parameters, namely, T1/2 (median, 111.82 vs 109.26 minutes; P = 0.575), Tlag (median, 53.28 vs 56.53 minutes; P = 0.333), gastric emptying coefficient (median, 3.58 vs 3.65; P = 0.285), regression-estimated constant beta (median, 1.85 vs 1.80; P = 0.575) and regression-estimated constant kappa (median, 0.61 vs 0.62; P = 0.959) were observed between the test meal alone group and the test meal and chewing gum group. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that chewing gum had no effect on the rate of gastric emptying. Therefore, since chewing gum did not enhance the speed of gastric emptying, it may ameliorate gastrointestinal symptoms through other mechanisms, such as saliva and autonomic nervous system.
Autonomic Nervous System ; Breath Tests ; Chewing Gum ; Cross-Over Studies ; Gastric Emptying ; Humans ; Male ; Mastication ; Meals ; Saliva