Yoga Training Improves Metabolic Parameters in Obese Boys

Yoga has been known to have stimulatory or inhibitory effects on the metabolic parameters and to be uncomplicated therapy for obesity. The purpose of the present study was to test the effect of an 8-week of yoga-asana training on body composition, lipid profile, and insulin resistance (IR) in obese adolescent boys. Twenty volunteers with body mass index (BMI) greater than the 95th percentile were randomly assigned to yoga (age 14.7±0.5 years, n=10) and control groups (age 14.6±1.0 years, n=10). The yoga group performed exercises three times per week at 40~60% of heart-rate reserve (HRR) for 8 weeks. IR was determined with the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). After yoga training, body weight, BMI, fat mass (FM), and body fat % (BF %) were significantly decreased, and fat-free mass and basal metabolic rate were significantly increased than baseline values. FM and BF % were significantly improved in the yoga group compared with the control group (p<0.05). Total cholesterol (TC) was significantly decreased in the yoga group (p<0.01). HDL-cholesterol was decreased in both groups (p<0.05). No significant changes were observed between or within groups for triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR. Our findings show that an 8-week of yoga training improves body composition and TC levels in obese adolescent boys, suggesting that yoga training may be effective in controlling some metabolic syndrome factors in obese adolescent boys.     

Association between weight status and recreational drug abuse in Korean adolescents

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between weight status and recreational drug use in Korean adolescents. A total of 72,399 adolescent students (38,152 boys and 34,247 girls) from the middle first to high third grade participated in the 5^th Korea Youth Risk Behaviour Web-based Survey (KYRBWS-V) project in 2009. They were assessed for body mass index (BMI) and recreational drug abuse. The associations between BMI and recreational drug use were examined using multivariable logistic regression analysis after adjusting for the covariate variables of age, smoking frequency and cigarette consumption, frequency of alcohol consumption and severe alcohol intoxication, amount of alcohol consumed, parents’ education level, economic status, sedentary activities during the week, mental stress, sleep duration, frequency of vigorous and moderate physical activities, and muscular strength exercises during the week. For boys, the odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) between overweight and drug use were 0.990 (0.723–1.356; p = 0.950) for almost none, 0.939 (0.521–1.693; p = 0.834) for past use, and 0.791 (0.385–1.624; p = 0.523) for present use. The OR (95% CI) between obesity and drug use was 0.731(0.508–1.052; p = 0.091) for almost none, 0.755 (0.389–1.465; p = 0.407) for past use, and 0.701 (0.314–1.565; p = 0.386) for present use. For girls, the OR (95% CI) between overweight and drug use was 1.112 (0.702–1.763; p = 0.650) for almost none, 1.103 (0.464–2.619; p = 0.825) for past use, and 0.927 (0.267–3.218; p = 0.905) for present use. The OR (95% CI) between obesity and drug abuse was 0.594 (0.261–1.352; p = 0.215) for almost none, 1.318 (0.462–3.764; p = 606) for past use, and <0.001(<0.001–<0.001; p = 0.998) for present use. We concluded that recreational drug use had no correlation with overweight and obesity in Korean adolescents.     

Effects of Fraction Obtained From Korean Corni Fructus Extracts Causing Anti-Proliferation and p53-Dependent Apoptosis in A549 Lung Cancer Cells

Corni Fructus has traditionally been used as herbal medicine for the treatment of tuberculosis, asthma, hepatitis, and chronic nephritis in Korea, Japan, and China. This research was carried out to evaluate the proliferative-inhibitory effect of CF extracts against cancer cells and to identify the new pro-substance from medicinal plants. Among these herbal extracts extracted from KCF (Korean Corni Fructus), JCF (Japanese Corni Fructus) and CCF (Chinese Corni Fructus), KCF extracts strongly induced anti-proliferation of cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner compared with other extracts. Moreover, after treatment with CM/F3 (fraction 3 obtained from KCF extracts) for 24 h, A549 cells were evaluated by several indicators such as cell viability, LDH release, DNA fragmentation, nuclear condensation, and apoptotic proteins in vitro. CM/F3 showed the tumor-selective growth inhibitory activity in a dose- and time-dependent manner in A549 cells. Consistently, CM/F3 effectively induced the activation of bax, cytochrome-c, caspase-3, -8, -9, p53, and p21 causing apoptosis, and caused the suppression of Cdk2, pRb, and E2F1 related to cell arrest in A549 cells. These results demonstrate that CM/F3 caused not only anti-proliferation but also cell death involving cell arrest through interaction between apoptotic proteins and the upregulation of p53 in A549 cells.     

Zyflamend Reduces the Expression of Androgen Receptor in a Model of Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed solid malignancy, and tumor cells eventually transform to castrate resistance through multiple pathways including activation of the androgen receptor via insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-1R) signaling involving phospho-AKT (pAKT). In this study, a mixture of herbal extracts, Zyflamend®, was used as a treatment in a model of castrate-resistant prostate cancer using CWR22Rv1 cells. Zyflamend reduced androgen receptor and IGF-1R expression along with a reduction of IGF-1-mediated proliferation of CWR22Rv1 cells. IGF-1 induced downstream AKT phosphorylation; however, the induction of pAKT was not associated with androgen receptor expression. Further, constitutively active form of AKT had no effect on nuclear expression of androgen receptor, indicating that upregulation of pAKT did not promote androgen receptor expression or nuclear translocation in castrate-resistant CWR22Rv1 cells. Conversely, Zyflamend reduced androgen receptor expression following IGF-1 stimulation and in cells overexpressing pAKT. These results demonstrated that Zyflamend inhibited IGF-1-stimulated cell growth, IGF-1R expression, and androgen receptor expression and its nuclear localization, but these effects were not dependent upon phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/pAKT signaling. In conclusion, Zyflamend decreased cell proliferation and inhibited IGF-1R and androgen receptor expression in a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/pAKT independent manner.     

Estimating genome conservation between crop and model legume species

Legumes are simultaneously one of the largest families of crop plants and a cornerstone in the biological nitrogen cycle. We combined molecular and phylogenetic analyses to evaluate genome conservation both within and between the two major clades of crop legumes. Genetic mapping of orthologous genes identifies broad conservation of genome macrostructure, especially within the galegoid legumes, while also highlighting inferred chromosomal rearrangements that may underlie the variation in chromosome number between these species. As a complement to comparative genetic mapping, we compared sequenced regions of the model legume Medicago truncatula with those of the diploid Lotus japonicus and the polyploid Glycine max. High conservation was observed between the genomes of M. truncatula and L. japonicus, whereas lower levels of conservation were evident between M. truncatula and G. max. In all cases, conserved genome microstructure was punctuated by significant structural divergence, including frequent insertion/deletion of individual genes or groups of genes and lineage-specific expansion/contraction of gene families. These results suggest that comparative mapping may have considerable utility for basic and applied research in the legumes, although its predictive value is likely to be tempered by phylogenetic distance and genome duplication.     

Efficacy of mitiglinide and sitagliptin,alone or in combination,on postprandial excursion and glycemic variability assessed by continuous glucose monitoring: a post hoc analysis with single-day treatment

Objective: To compare the efficacy of mitiglinide and sitagliptin, alone or in combination, on postprandial excursion and glycemic variability assessed by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in a single-day treatment setting.

Methods: This was a post hoc analysis of a randomized crossover study comparing the efficacy of sitagliptin, mitiglinide and the combination of these two drugs. Twenty-four hour CGM was performed before and after a single-day treatment with each drug alone or in combination.

Results: Mean glucose levels were decreased in all groups. The average of three postprandial glucose excursions AUC (average of all three 4-h postprandial periods throughout the day) (AUCpp-average) decreased in the mitiglinide and combination treatment groups, but not in the sitagliptin group. The lowering effect on AUCpp-average was greater in patients given mitiglinide (–47 mg/dl, p < 0.001) or combination treatment (–66 mg/dl, p < 0.001) compared with sitagliptin alone (–18 mg/dl). The reduction in mean amplitude of glycemic excursion was greater with mitiglinide (–29.3 mg/dl, p < 0.001) and combination treatment (–28.3 mg/dl, p < 0.01) than with sitagliptin alone (–8.9 mg/dl).

Conclusions: Mitiglinide or combination treatment resulted in lower glycemic variability and postprandial glucose excursion than sitagliptin alone; however, the results of this single-day pharmacodynamics study cannot be generalized to a clinical setting.