Leukocytosis and low serum IgA in workers exposed to the epoxy compound,t-methyl-3-phenylglycidate

Summary Forty-nine out of 54 male workers engaged in the production of an epoxy compound, t-methyl-3-phenylglycidate, showed skin symptoms in varing degrees that may be due to the skin-irritative effect of the compound. The exposed workers were also shown to have subjective symptoms which may be related to the irritative property of the compound on surface tissue. Laboratory examinations on the blood obtained from the exposed workers showed significantly higher values of leukocyte concentration as compared with the non-exposed controls. This was chiefly caused by the increase of neutrophilic granulocytes and T-cell lymphocytes. Serum IgA levels of the exposed workers were shown to be significantly lower than those of the control group. Hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit value and red cell count of the exposed workers remained at the same level as those of the control subjects. Liver or kidney damage was not found in biochemical analyses on the sera of exposed workers.     

Serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase levels and hypertension in non-drinkers: a possible role of fatty liver in the pathogenesis of obesity related hypertension

The relationships between increases in body mass index (BMI) and increases in hypertension were compared between non-drinkers with elevated serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (gamma-GTP) levels (> or = 50 U/l) and those with normal levels, who comprised 10,952 men and 22,107 women aged 40-59 years recruited from an occupational health clinic. Hypertension was found in 16.1% and 13.5% of the men and women, and elevated serum g-GTP was found in 10.8% and 2.8% of the men and women, respectively. The prevalences of hypertension and elevated serum gamma-GTP levels were both increased with increased BMI. Hypertension was, however, shown to be 1.5 times more prevalent in the persons with elevated serum gamma-GTP levels than in those with normal levels in both sexes, even after adjusting for BMI by a multiple logistic analysis. It can be concluded that elevations of serum gamma-GTP, which are probably a reflection of fatty liver in the non-drinkers, are closely related to the development of hypertension associated with increased obesity.     

Low fasting serum insulin in Japanese alcohol consumers does not imply improved coronary risk factors

Objective The effects of alcohol consumption on coronary risk factors (CRFs) and insulin resistance (IR) have seemed equivocal in previous studies. This study aimed to clarify the implications of low fasting blood insulin observed in alcohol consumers as related to CRFs and IR. Methods A cross-sectional observation in 2133 middle-aged healthy Japanese men for associations of increases in alcohol consumption, fasting serum insulin concentration and serum gammaglutamyltransferase (GGT) activity with the major CRFs of high systolic blood pressure (SBP), fasting serum glucose, triglycerides (TG), total- and LDL-cholesterol (tCh&LDLc) and low serum HDL-cholesterol (HDLc). Results Increased alcohol consumption was related to higher SBP, serum GGT, glucose and HDLc, and lower serum LDLc and insulin. Although high serum insulin was significantly related to all of the CRFs in all nondrinkers, moderate drinkers consuming up to 59 ml of alcohol per day and excessive drinkers consuming more, the means of SBP, serum glucose and HDLc were significantly higher and serum LDLc was lower in drinkers than in nondrinkers at any level of serum insulin, indicating that the good and bad profiles of CRFs in alcohol consumers are independent of their low fasting serum insulin. High serum GGT related to increased alcohol consumption and/or body weight was significantly associated with high serum insulin and all of the CRFs in all categories of alcohol consumption. Conclusions Low fasting serum insulin observed in drinkers does not imply improved CRFs, and thus may not imply improved IR. High serum GGT may reflect increased IR in both drinkers and nondrinkers.     

The effects on bone of environmental cadmium exposure--summary of recent epidemiological studies

In Itai-itai disease, which is the most severe manifestation of environmental cadmium exposure, the bone features are characteristic of osteomalacia induced by renal tubular dysfunction and osteoporosis. Lower bone mass and higher bone turnover have been observed in inhabitants of cadmium-exposed areas, compared with people in nonexposed areas in Japan. Decreased bone mass and increased bone fracture have been reported recently in large-scale epidemiological studies, conducted in Belgium and Sweden. An association between higher urinary cadmium and lower bone mass was also found in female Japanese. These studies suggest that environmental cadmium exposure could be a risk factor of osteoporosis even in the general population in Japan. The effect on bone could be caused indirectly through renal damage induced by cadmium exposure, or directly via an effect of cadmium on bone itself.     

Bilateral volume reduction of the insular cortex in patients with schizophrenia: a volumetric MRI study

The morphologic changes of the insular cortex have been described in schizophrenia, but with inconsistencies between reports. We investigated the insular cortex volume by magnetic resonance imaging in 59 schizophrenia patients (31 males, 28 females) and 62 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (31 males, 31 females). The insular cortex volume was measured on consecutive coronal 1-mm slices. Volumes of the left and right insular cortex were significantly reduced in schizophrenia patients compared with control subjects. There were no effects of gender on the insular cortex volume in the patient group or control subjects. Bilateral insular cortex volumes were correlated negatively with illness duration in the patient group. The findings of this study suggest that there is a possible progressive loss of the gray matter volume of the bilateral insular cortices subsequent to the onset of schizophrenia.     

Bilateral volume reduction of the insular cortex in patients with schizophrenia: a volumetric MRI Study

The morphologic changes of the insular cortex have been described in schizophrenia, but with inconsistencies between reports. We investigated the insular cortex volume by magnetic resonance imaging in 59 schizophrenia patients (31 males, 28 females) and 62 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (31 males, 31 females). The insular cortex volume was measured on consecutive coronal 1-mm slices. Volumes of the left and right insular cortex were significantly reduced in schizophrenia patients compared with control subjects. There were no effects of gender on the insular cortex volume in the patient group or control subjects. Bilateral insular cortex volumes were correlated negatively with illness duration in the patient group. The findings of this study suggest that there is a possible progressive loss of the gray matter volume of the bilateral insular cortices subsequent to the onset of schizophrenia.     

Urinary cadmium excretion is correlated with calcaneal bone mass in Japanese women living in an urban area

Nine hundred eight women aged 40-88 years living in a non-Cd-polluted area in Japan were analyzed for urinary cadmium (Cd), N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activity, beta(2)-microglobulin (B2MG) concentration, and for the stiffness index (STIFF) of calcaneal bone using an ultrasound method. The urinary Cd in the subjects, with a mean and range of 2.87 and 0.25-11.4 microg/g creatinine, respectively, showed a significant correlation with NAG but not with B2MG. STIFF was significantly inversely correlated with urinary Cd, and the association remained significant after adjusting for age, body weight, and menstrual status, suggesting a significant effect of Cd on the bone loss in these subjects without signs of Cd-induced kidney damage. A two-fold increase in urinary Cd was accompanied by a decrease in STIFF corresponding to a 1.7-year rise in age. These results emphasize the need for reassessment of the significance of Cd exposure in the general Japanese population.     

Assessment of cadmium-induced osteopenia by measurement of serum bone Gla protein, parathyroid hormone, and 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D

To assess the osteopenia induced by environmental cadmium (Cd) exposure by measurement of serum bone Gla protein (BGP), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1 alpha,25(OH)2D), 29 men and 41 women who lived in a Cd-polluted area and showed renal tubular dysfunction were selected. To evaluate the degree of osteopenia, microdensitometry (MD) was used. Compared with the non-exposed subjects, the levels of serum creatinine and BGP, urinary Cd and beta 2-microglobulin and blood Cd were higher, while the levels of serum inorganic phosphorus and MD indicators were lower in the Cd-exposed group. In simple correlation matrix, BGP showed significant correlations with serum alkaline phosphatase (S-Al-p) and MD indicators in the Cd-exposed men, and also correlations with S-Al-p and 1 alpha-25(OH)2D in the Cd-exposed women. Applying multivariate analysis to the Cd-exposed subjects, BGP, %TRP and base excess were found to show significant associations with the MD indicators in the men. In the women, PTH, age, blood Cd and BGP were associated significantly with the MD indicators. Only serum BGP showed a significant correlation in both sexes of the Cd-exposed subjects, and a sex difference was found in the relationship between bone metabolic markers and osteopenia. These results suggest that serum BGP has a close independent association with the osteopenia induced by Cd exposure and that BGP, which has a different biological function from that of PTH or 1 alpha,25(OH)2D, may be a useful indicator to detect bone damage in Cd-exposed subjects.     

Serum levels of bone Gla-protein in inhabitants exposed to environmental cadmium

Serum levels of bone Gla-protein (BGP)--the vitamin K-dependent CA2(+)-binding protein--were evaluated in 76 cadmium (Cd)-exposed subjects with renal tubular dysfunction (32 men, 44 women) and 133 nonexposed subjects (53 men, 80 women). Serum BGP levels were higher in the Cd-exposed subjects than in nonexposed subjects. Significant correlations between BGP and each index measured by bone microdensitometry (MD), serum alkaline phosphatase activity, and Cd in blood and urine were found. For all of the Cd-exposed and nonexposed men and women, BGP showed a significant standard partial regression coefficient (multiple regression analysis) with the metacarpal index (MCI), which was one of the MD indicators. Bone Gla-protein also correlated significantly with urinary beta 2-microglobulin in the men and with serum creatinine in the women. Serum BGP values strongly reflect the degree of bone damage and also reflect, although less strongly, the degree of renal damage induced by exposure to Cd.