Dietary phosphorus and blood pressure: international study of macro- and micro-nutrients and blood pressure

Raised blood pressure is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide; improved nutritional approaches to population-wide prevention are required. Few data are available on dietary phosphorus and blood pressure and none are available on possible combined effects of phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium on blood pressure. The International Study of Macro- and Micro-Nutrients and Blood Pressure is a cross-sectional epidemiologic study of 4680 men and women ages 40 to 59 from 17 population samples in Japan, China, United Kingdom, and United States. Blood pressure was measured 8 times at 4 visits. Dietary intakes were obtained from four 24-hour recalls plus data on supplement use. Dietary phosphorus was inversely associated with blood pressure in a series of predefined multiple regression models, with the successive addition of potential confounders, both nondietary and dietary. Estimated blood pressure differences per 232 mg/1000 kcal (2 SD) of higher dietary phosphorus were -1.1 to -2.3 mm Hg systolic/-0.6 to -1.5 mm Hg diastolic (n=4680) and -1.6 to -3.5 mm Hg systolic/-0.8 to -1.8 mm Hg diastolic for 2238 "nonintervened" individuals, ie, those without special diet/nutritional supplements or diagnosis/treatment for cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Dietary calcium and magnesium, correlated with phosphorus (partial r=0.71 and r=0.68), were inversely associated with blood pressure. Blood pressures were lower by 1.9 to 4.2 mm Hg systolic/1.2 to 2.4 mm Hg diastolic for people with intakes above versus below country-specific medians for all 3 of the minerals. These results indicate the potential for increased phosphorus/mineral intake to lower blood pressure as part of the recommendations for healthier eating patterns for the prevention and control of prehypertension and hypertension.     

Effects of exercise training after open heart surgery on quality of life and exercise tolerance in patients with mitral regurgitation or aortic regurgitation

We conducted a questionnaire survey regarding quality of life (QOL) to evaluate the effects of exercise training on the QOL in patients with valvular heart disease after surgery. This study included 64 consecutive patients who underwent heart surgery. They were divided into two groups: exercise training could (EX(+) group, n = 31) and could not be performed (EX(-) group, n = 33) until 6 months after surgery. To evaluate the QOL and exercise tolerance, we employed "a questionnaire regarding disease and quality of life" developed for Japanese people and cardiopulmonary exercise testing. In our questionnaire survey, the improvement rating (Delta subjective/social index), which was calculated from the difference between the pre-and postoperative values, was greater in the EX(+) group than that in the EX(-) group (4.9 +/- 3.1 versus 1.1 +/- 4.0, P < 0.05). In the changes in exercise tolerance, Delta anaerobic threshold was greater in the EX(+) group (0.79 +/- 0.17 versus -0.02 +/- 0.28, P < 0.01). Moreover, there was a positive correlation between Delta subjective/social index and Delta peak VO(2) (r = 0.62, P < 0.05). We concluded that exercise training for patients after cardiac surgery improves the QOL and exercise tolerance. It is suggested that changes in subjective and social parameters contribute to an exercise training-related improvement in the QOL.     

Induction of rat liver bilirubin-conjugating enzymes and glutathione S-transferase by rifampicin

After oral administration of rifampicin and 25-desacetylrifampicin, which is a major metabolite of rifampicin in man but not in rat, to male Wister rats for 7 days, hepatic microsomal cytochrome P450, cytochrome b5, and activities of aniline hydroxylase, aminopyrine demethylase, bilirubin-conjugating enzymes and supernatant glutathione S-transferase were measured. Rifampicin induced bilirubin UDP-glucuronyltransferase, bilirubin UDP-glucosyltransferase, bilirubin UDP-xylosyltransferase and glutathione S-transferase activities, but did not induce mixed function oxidase activities. No inductive effect of desacetylrifampicin on any enzymes was observed. Serum bilirubin increased till the third day, and decreased after 7 days of rifampicin treatment. Plasma clearances of indocyanine green and sulfobromophthalein showed a marked delay after 1 day and 7 days of rifampicin treatment. Induction of bilirubin-conjugating enzymes and glutathione S-transferase by rifampicin in rats was different from that in humans, in which selective induction of mixed function oxidase is reported to occur. This species difference does not seem to be derived from the species difference of rifampicin metabolism, because no effect of desacetylrifampicin was observed. These results suggested that in rats rifampicin directly inhibits the hepatic excretion of bilirubin, whereas it enhances bilirubin conjugation due to enzyme induction.     

Initial change in transient osteoporosis of the hip on magnetic resonance images: a case report

We report the case of a 29-year-old Japanese man with transient osteoporosis of the left hip (TOH) following contralateral TOH, paying special attention to the initial changes on MRI. MR images showed no abnormal findings 6 weeks before the clinical manifestation, but the images just after the onset depicted a linear abnormality equivalent to a subchondral insufficiency fracture. Both radiological findings and clinical symptoms disappeared completely without any surgical intervention within 10 months.     

Effect of combined cardiovascular risk factors on individual and population medical expenditures: a 10-year cohort study of national health insurance in a Japanese population.

BACKGROUND: Although obesity is required for some criteria defining metabolic syndrome, clustering of other risk factors also indicates an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Whether the relationship between cardiovascular risk factor clustering and medical expenditures differs with body mass index (BMI) requires investigation, especially in a population with a low prevalence of obesity such as that in Japan. METHODS AND RESULTS: A 10-year cohort study of 4,478 Japanese National Health Insurance beneficiaries aged 40-69 years in a community between 1990 and 2001 was carried out in the present study. The clustering of cardiovascular risk factors showed a positive and graded relationship to personal medical expenditures in participants who are overweight (BMI > or =25.0) and normal weight (BMI <25.0). The individual medical expenditures per month were 1.7-fold higher for participants with 2 or 3 risk factors and overweight than for those without these factors (26,782 vs 15,377 Japanese yen). Differences in the geometric means were similarly significant after adjustment for other confounding factors. However, the excess medical expenditures by risk clustering of normal weight categories within the total medical expenditures were higher than those of overweight categories because more participants were of normal weight. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiovascular risk factor clustering and being overweight can be a useful predictor of medical expenditures in a Japanese population.     

Chronic kidney disease is a risk factor for cardiovascular death in a community-based population in Japan: NIPPON DATA90.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been identified as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS AND RESULTS: The risk of cardiovascular death was evaluated in a large cohort of participants selected randomly from the overall Japanese population. Participants (mean age, 52.4 years) free of previous CVD were followed up for 10 years. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated using the abbreviated equation developed at the Cleveland Clinic laboratory for the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study. Of the 7,316 participants, 6.7% had CKD with a GFR<60 at baseline. Even after adjustment for other risk factors, the presence of CKD conferred an increased risk of cardiovascular death with a hazard ratio of 1.20 (95% confidence interval, 0.82-1.76). Furthermore, a negative, graded correlation between GFR and risk of cardiovascular death was observed: 1.09 (0.72-1.64) for a 60or=90). The proportion of excess cardiovascular death due to CKD was 1.3%. CONCLUSION: CKD was an independent risk factor for cardiovascular death in a community-dwelling Japanese population.     

Effects of nocturnal oxygen therapy in patients with chronic heart failure and central sleep apnea: CHF-HOT study

It was previously reported that nocturnal home oxygen therapy (HOT) significantly improved not only sleep disordered breathing (SDB), but also quality of life (QOL) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in two trials. To strengthen the statistical reliability of the above efficacies of HOT and to assess the effects of 12-week nocturnal HOT on suppression of ventricular arrhythmias, we combined the two trials and undertook a post hoc analysis. Ninety-seven patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and central sleep apnea were assigned to receive HOT (45 patients) or not (52 patients). HOT resulted in greater reduction in the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) (?11.4 ± 11.0 vs. ?0.2 ± 7.6 events/h, p < 0.01), which is associated with greater improvement in the Specific Activity Scale (0.8 ± 1.2 vs. 0.0 ± 0.6, p < 0.01), New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class (p < 0.01), and LVEF (p = 0.06). Median number of premature ventricular contraction (PVC) at baseline was 17 beats per hour in both the HOT and the control groups. Overall improvements of PVCs were not different either in the HOT group or in the control. However, in 12 patients with NYHA >III and AHI >20 events/h, PVC was significantly improved by HOT with a marked reduction in AHI and a substantial increase in LVEF. In conclusion, among patients with CHF and CSA, HOT improves SDB, QOL, and cardiac function. The effectiveness of HOT for ventricular arrhythmias was not observed in the overall analysis, but only in a limited number of patients with severe CHF and SDB. To clarify the effects of HOT on ventricular arrhythmias in patients with CHF and SDB, a further study is needed.     

Serum Markers for Hepatic Fibrosis in Alcoholic Liver Disease: Which Is the Best Marker,Type III Procollagen,Type IV Collagen,Laminin, Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase,or Prolyl Hydroxylase?

Although various serum markers for the evaluation of hepatic fibrosis have been introduced, it remains unclear which is the best marker to evaluate the hepatic fibrosis observed in alcoholic liver disease (ALD). In this study, we measured serum concentrations of the immunoreactive β-subunit of prolyl hydroxylase, procollagen type III peptide, the 7s domain (7s-IV) and triple-helix domain (TH-IV) of type IV collagen, laminin, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) in patients with and without ALD (non-ALD), and controls to evaluate the best serum marker reflecting the characteristic histologic features of ALD. Alter Azan-Mallory and silver-impregnated reticulin staining, histologic specimens were examined; and the degree of hepatic fibrosis was classified as mild, moderate, or severe. Although serum concentrations of all markers, except for TIMP, in patients with each type and stage of liver disease were higher than cut-off values and these concentrations increase with the progression of liver disease, statistical analyses indicate that serum TH-IV concentration is the best marker to distinguish ALD from non-ALD. A good correlation was also found between the hepatic type IV collagen content and serum TH-IV, but not serum 7s-IV concentration. Moreover, after abstinence from alcohol, serum concentrations of TH-IV decreased more quickly than other serum markers. These results clearly suggest that, compared with other markers, serum concentration of TH-IV may more strongly reflect the histologic features of ALD. However, other serum markers, except for TIMP, may be useful in evaluating the degree of hepatic fibrosis.