A cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the effect of physical exercise in daily lives of healthy women on the aging process in terms of maximal aerobic capacity (VO₂max), body fat tissue mass (FTM), lean tissue mass (LTM), bone mineral density (BMD), serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C and LDL-C concentrations, and systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) . These parameters are considered as risk factors of cerebrovascular disease and/or osteoporosis, which are the main causes of becoming bedridden and demented in middle-aged and older women. One hundred sixty-five healthy female volunteers aged 20 to 76 years participated in the study, 82 of whom were postmenopausal with a mean age at menopause of 49.7±3.1 years. Eighty-two of the subjects had been exercising regularly by jogging, swimming, aerobic dancing, or playing tennis more than twice a week for 2 years (Ex group), whereas 83 individuals had not been engaging in regular exercise (Cont group) . Serum lipid concentrations, SBP and DBP measurements at rest and treadmill VO₂max and HRmax measurements were determined in the morning after an overnight fast. Whole-body BMD (TBMD), head, lumbar, arm and leg BMD, FTM and LTM were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry one to two hours after a light lunch. The mean and SD of each measurement were calculated for five-year age groups between 40 and 60 years and one group each under 40 and over 60 years.
The results were as follows:
1, VO₂max (r=-0.590) and HRmax (r=-0.632) decreased significantly with age. The VO₂max of the Ex group was significantly higher than that of the Cont group in all each age groups. However, no differences in the aging process in terms of HRmax were found between the two groups.
2, Resting SBP (r=-0.391) and DBP (r=0.315) increased significantly with age. However, no hypertensive individuals (160/95 mmHg-) were found among the 165 subjects.
3. Only serum TC (r=0.346) and LDL-C (r=0.339) among the blood constituents measured changed with age. No changes in serum HDL-C were detected with age. Lower TC (189.2±23.3 mg/dl) and higher HDL-C (72.2±10.9 mg/dl) were observed in eleven runners (49.7±7.7 years) among the subjects who participated frequently in official races than in subjects of the same ages in the Cont group. The highest serum HDL-C (75.8±15.8 mg/dl) and HDLC/TC ratios (0.362) were noticed among the subjects (n=26) who both regularly exercised and consumed alcoholic beverages.
4. A tendency for FTM to increase and LTM to decrease with age were observed in both groups, and a lower %FTM (percentage of FTM to body weight) and higher %LTM were evident in the Ex group. Differences in %FTM and %LTM between the Ex and Cont groups at 40-45 years were significant.
5. Partial and whole BMDs decreased significantly with age (TBMD-Age ; r=- 0.527) . Significantly higher leg BMDs in both the 20-39-year and 40-45-year groups, and spine and TBMD in the 20-39 years in the Ex group, who were premenopausal women, were shown. No significant differences in BMDs between the two groups were observed in postmenopausal women, but the Ex group tended to have higher partial and whole BMDs. The postmenopausal official race runners (n=5.52.6-1.5years) also had higher TBMD and leg BMD values than subjects of the same ages in the Cont group.
6. Investigation of correlations between VO₂max, LTM, FTM, BMDs and serum lipid concentrations, yielded a significantly higher correlation (r=0.669) between LTM (kg) and absolute VO₂max (1/mm) . Although VO₂max per LTM (VO₂max/LTM) decreased with age (r=-0.595), VO₂max/LTM in the Ex group was significantly higher than in the Cont group in each age group. The VO₂max per body weight (ml/kg/min) was negatively correlated with %FTM (r=-0.442) and positively correlated with

From the surgical stand point of view we have classified 129 patients with aortic dissections, of which anatomic variations were clearly identified. In addition to the DeBakey's nomenclature, we newly employed two groups, aortic arch type and abdominal aortic type. Futhermore, each type was divided into subgroups. This report provides practical and suitable operative approaches according to anatomic variations of the aortic dissecting aneurysms. 1. Twenty-one patients had type I dissections. Thirteen of 21 (62%) were combined with aortic valve regurgitations. 2. Ten patients had type II dissections. Eight of 10 (80%) showed aortic valve regurgitation. This type was further divided into three subgroups. 3. Eighty patients had type III dissections, consisting of 18 type III a and 62 type III b dissections. The type III a dissection included all the cases in which dissections did not involve major branches of the abdominal aorta. Retrograde dissections to the proximal ascending aorta were found in eight patients out of 80 (10%). 4. Twelve patients had aortic arch type dissections. This group was divided into two subgroups, according to the extent of the aortic dissection. 5. Six patients had abdominal aortic type dissections. This group was also subdivided into two. 6. On the basis of the types of dissections outlined above, the most suitable radical operative procedure was selectively proposed in each case.

The patient is a 47-year-old male who presented with abnormal shadows in his chest X-ray. On the third intercostal space, diastolic regurgitant murmur and systolic ejection murmur were heard. X-ray of the chest showed a projection of the right second costal arch in addition to the right atrium shadow. Cardiac catheterization showed no abnormalities except for a rise in the left ventricular end diastolic pressure which was 18mmHg. The patient was found to have Grade II aortic regurgitation. All there findings diagnosis of the case as extra-cardiac right Valsalva sinus aneurysm with aortic regurgitation. Incision of the aneurysm, showed a Valsalva sinus aneurysm having an opening of approximately 3cm just above the right aortic valve ring with the orifice of the right coronary artery occluded. Complete patch closure was performed with elevation of the aortic valve ring. No reconstruction for the right coronary artery was made.

We report a rare case of primary cardiac angiosarcoma in the right atrium. A 47-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with cardiac tamponade. Echocardiography and computed tomography revealed a tumor in the right atrial cavity. We performed tumor resection to confirm the histological diagnosis, to prevent tumor embolism, and to increase the possibility of improving the prognosis. The tumor was resected with the right atrial wall and right pericardium. The right atrium was then reconstructed with a bovine pericardial patch. The pathological diagnosis was angiosarcoma. The patient survived only about 6 months after surgical resection, but there was no local recurrence. This report presents a very rare case of cardiac angiosarcoma associated with cardiac tamponade.

Congenital quadricuspid aortic valve is a very rare malformation. We report two cases with severe aortic regurgitation due to isolated quadricuspid aortic valve. It consisted of three equal cusps and one smaller cusp, which was identified at the time of valve replacement surgery for severe aortic regurgitation.

The effects of exercise and dietary therapy on the prevention of diabetic nephropathy (DN) were compared. Thirty-two male OLETF rats were divided into four groups (Ex, Diet, Sed, Pre) . Fourteen LETO rats served as the normal controls. Therapy was conducted for 10 weeks from age 22 to 31 weeks. The Ex group was trained by voluntary exercise, and the Diet group had a restricted food intake resulting in the same BW as that of the Ex group. The Ex developed a significant increase in urinary albumin excretion compared to the Diet group, although significantly less than the Sed group. Blood pressure in the Ex group showed a tendency to be higher during therapy. BW and serum lipids were significantly reduced, and glucose intolerance was improved in both the Ex and Diet groups. There were no differences in the metabolic indices between the Ex and Diet groups. The Ex group showed a significantly heavier kidney weight and a tendency for enlargement of the glomerular area and volume. The protective effect of DN through improvement of the metabolic dis-order by exercise might be offset by exercise-induced renal loads. Control of exercise intensity and blood pressure appear to be important as well as the improvement of glucose intolerance and lipid metabolisms in exercise therapy to prevent an occurrence and development of DN.

Pulmonary stenosis is the most frequent problem after arterial switch operation for TGA. We experienced four cases of late severe pulmonary stenosis out of twelve patients. All four had supravalvular stenosis either at anastomotic site or at previously banded segment. One patient had associated valvular stenosis and another had bilateral branch stenosis. It is possible that valvular stenosis was due to retraction of equine pericardial patch and branch stenosis was due to overdistension. All four cases were successfully reoperated on 13∼39 months after switch operation. To prevent late pulmonary stenosis, we now alter technique of switch operation in two points. First, the great arteries are anastomosed with interrupted U-shaped sutures from outside of the vessels in whole circumference. Second, both coronary arteries are transferred with punched-out method to save tissue of Valsalva sinus, and the defects are closed with autologous pericardial patch.

This study used in vivo microdialysis to examine the effects of intragingival application of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) derived from Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg-LPS) on gingival tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 levels in rats. A microdialysis probe with an injection needle attached to the surface of the dialysis membrane was implanted into the gingiva of the upper incisor. For comparison, the effects of LPS derived from Escherichia coli (Ec-LPS) on IL-6 and TNF-α levels were also analysed. Pg-LPS (1 μg/1 μL) or Ec-LPS (1 or 6 μg/1 μL) was applied by microsyringe, with gingival dialysates collected every hour. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) revealed that gingival dialysates contained approximately 389 pg·mL⁻¹ of IL-6 basally; basal TNF-α levels were lower than the detection limit of the ELISA. Pg-LPS failed to alter IL-6 levels but markedly increased TNF-α levels, which remained elevated for 2 h after treatment. Neither IL-6 nor TNF-α were affected by Ec-LPS. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis revealed that the gingiva expresses Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR4 mRNA. Immunohistochemical examination showed that TLR2 and TLR4 are expressed by gingival epithelial cells. The present study provides in vivo evidence that locally applied Pg-LPS, but not Ec-LPS, into the gingiva transiently increases gingival TNF-α without affecting IL-6. The present results suggest that TLR2 but not TLR4 expressed on gingival epithelial cells may mediate the Pg-LPS-induced increase in gingival TNF-α in rats.
Animals ; Gingiva ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Lipopolysaccharides ; administration & dosage ; Male ; Porphyromonas gingivalis ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Toll-Like Receptor 2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

The conventional crushing method for administration of drugs to patients with feeding tubes has been commonly used at the Hyogo College of Medicine College Hospital. Compared with this conventional method, the simple suspension method can reduce drug degradation due to light and moisture absorption as well as avoid drug loss and contamination. We conducted a workshop to introduce this method to pharmacists. We asked the participants to fill a questionnaire-based survey both before and after the workshop to determine the effects of the workshop on the change in the degree of awareness among participants about these methods. The awareness of participants about the simple suspension method was approximately 80% before the workshop. Approximately 60% of participants answered that they had questions about simple suspension method from individuals from other occupations, suggesting a high awareness of this method. After the workshop, approximately 98% of participants answered that they were “satisfied” or “slightly satisfied,” suggesting that they were in favor of introducing the suspension method. The results of text mining indicated a requirement for participants to consider incompatibilities and to educate the nursing department. Participants who actively considered the proposal of simple suspension method had an altered perception toward the introduction and utilization of this method. Therefore, this survey suggested that workshops could alter the perception and behavior of pharmacists about the methods of drug administration via feeding tube.

Methadone is a difficult medicine to assess the efficacy at an initial stage because the blood concentration of it varies greatly among individuals and it takes days to reach a steady state and cannot be increased for 7 days. Nevertheless, there are few reports of blood concentration together with effects after administration of methadone about Japanese cancer patients. In this study, we investigated changes in blood concentration and pain score (NRS), and factors that affect blood concentration. Dose per body weight was only correlated with blood concentration of methadone. In the effective cases, NRS decreased chronologically until the 7th day after treatment initiation, and significantly decreased from the 1st day compared to before treatment initiation, but in the ineffective cases, it tended to decrease until the 3rd day, but there was no change thereafter. The blood concentration increased to 110 ng/ml on the 7th day in the effective cases, and in the ineffective cases, it reached the concentration on the 3rd day. Thus there was no correlation between the blood concentration and the drug efficacy. The individual blood concentrations tended to increase slightly or decrease after the 3rd day, but in only one case, it continued to increase. From the above-mentioned, it was shown that the effect could be judged at an early stage, however, since there was a case in which the blood concentration continued to rise until the 7th day, it was considered that the early dose increase within 7 days after initiation should be performed carefully.