Post-dialysis fatigue predicts all-cause mortality in patients on chronic hemodialysis.

Introduction: Fatigue is reportedly associated with a poor prognosis in dialysis patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether fatigue on dialysis days or non-dialysis days is associated with mortality in patients on chronic hemodialysis.

Methods: This was a prospective study of 134 hemodialysis patients.

Impacts of Subchronic and Mild Social Defeat Stress on Plasma Putrefactive Metabolites and Cardiovascular Structure in Male Mice.

Psychosocial stress precipitates mental illnesses, such as depression, and increases the risk of other health problems, including cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we observed the effects of psychosocial stress on the histopathological features of systemic organs and tissues in a mouse psychosocial stress model, namely the subchronic and mild social defeat stress (sCSDS) model. There were several pathological findings in the tissues of both sCSDS and control mice.

Anterior segment dysmorphogenesis of the eye and glaucoma in MG-W gerbils.

Unilaterally swollen eyes were histopathologically characterized in four MG-W gerbils. The primary lesions resided in the anterior segment of the eye where neural crest cells play a critical role in embryonic development. They included indistinct filtration angle, unformed canal of Schlemm, hypoplastic iris, and ciliary body.

Drastic hypothermia after intraperitoneal injection of okadaic acid, a diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxin, in mice.

The mouse bioassay for diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxins had been used as the official method in Japan and also used in the world. In this study, hypothermia, one of the symptoms observed in mice after inoculation with DSP toxins, were characterized. Lethal and sublethal doses of okadaic acid (OA), a representative component of DSP toxins, were inoculated intraperitoneally into mice.

Comparison of the Susceptibility to Tetrodotoxin in ddY Strain Mice from Different Breeder Companies.

The mouse bioassay for tetrodotoxin has been used in Japan and ddY strain mice are designated to be used in the assay. ddY strain is a closed-colony outbred mouse strain, originally from the National Institute of Health, however, the ddY mouse stocks of 3 breeders were divided 30 or more years ago. In this study, we investigated the differences in susceptibility to tetrodotoxin in ddY strain mice from 3 different breeders in Japan.

Comparative toxicity of dinophysistoxin-1 and okadaic acid in mice.

The mouse bioassay for diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins has been used worldwide. In this study, dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX-1) and okadaic acid (OA) were compared for toxicity. The lethality rate increased and the median survival time decreased in a dose-dependent manner in both DTX-1 and OA.

Novel haemodialysis (HD) treatment employing molecular hydrogen (H)-enriched dialysis solution improves prognosis of chronic dialysis patients: A prospective observational study.

Recent studies have revealed unique biological characteristics of molecular hydrogen (H) as an anti-inflammatory agent. We developed a novel haemodialysis (E-HD) system delivering an H (30-80 ppb)-enriched dialysis solution by water electrolysis, and conducted a non-randomized, non-blinded, prospective observational study exploring its clinical impact. Prevalent chronic HD patients were allocated to either the E-HD (n = 161) group or the conventional HD (C-HD: n = 148) group, and received the respective HD treatments during the study.

Possible clinical effects of molecular hydrogen (H2) delivery during hemodialysis in chronic dialysis patients: Interim analysis in a 12 month observation.

Background And Aim: It is supposed that enhanced oxidative stress and inflammation are involved with the poor clinical outcomes in patients on chronic dialysis treatment. Recent studies have shown that molecular hydrogen (H2) is biologically active as an anti-inflammatory agent. Thus, we developed a novel hemodialysis (E-HD) system which delivers H2 (30 to 80 ppb)-enriched dialysis solution, to conduct a prospective observational study (UMIN000004857) in order to compare the long-term outcomes between E-HD and conventional-HD (C-HD) in Japan.

High-density Association Mapping and Interaction Analysis of PLA2R1 and HLA Regions with Idiopathic Membranous Nephropathy in Japanese.

Although recent studies showed anti-PLA2R antibody plays a crucial role in idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN), detailed HLA mapping and interaction between the HLA genes and PLA2R1 have not been investigated in IMN. We genotyped across the PLA2R1 gene and the HLA region, using 183 IMN patients and 811 healthy controls. Five SNPs around the PLA2R1 gene were significantly associated with IMN.

Differences in susceptibility of mouse strains to tetrodotoxin.

The mouse bioassay for tetrodotoxin has been used for many years in Japan. To the best of our knowledge, however, there have only been a few reports that have specifically investigated differences in susceptibility to tetrodotoxin among mouse strains. In this study, we investigated the response of various mouse strains to tetrodotoxin.

Comparison of toxicity between saxitoxin and decarbamoyl saxitoxin in the mouse bioassay for paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins.

The mouse bioassay (MBA) for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins has been used in the AOAC Official Method and the official Japanese method. In the AOAC Official Method, the saxitoxin (STX) standard provided by the U.S.

Bacterial translocation in alymphoplasia (aly/aly) mice.

Bacterial translocation (BTL) is defined as the passage of viable bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract to the organs. This study was to elucidate the roles of Peyer's patches (PPs) and/or mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) in BTL. Alymphoplastic mutant mice and phenotypically normal heterozygous micewere dominantly colonized with streptomycin-resistant Escherichia coli and BTL was examined.

Influence of body weight of mice on the susceptibility to okadaic acid, a diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxin.

The mouse bioassay (MBA) for diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxins has been widely used in many countries of the world. However, different body weight ranges of mice are designated to be used in the Japanese official method and European Union procedure. In this study we investigated whether and to what extent the body weights of the mice affect the susceptibility to DSP toxins.

Skin autofluorescence predicts cardiovascular mortality in patients on chronic hemodialysis.

Tissue accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGE) is thought to contribute to the progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Skin autofluorescence, a non-invasive measure of AGE accumulation using autofluorescence of the skin under ultraviolet light, has been reported to be an independent predictor of mortality associated with CVD in Caucasian patients on chronic hemodialysis. The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of skin autofluorescence on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in non-Caucasian (Japanese) patients on chronic hemodialysis.

Skin autofluorescence is associated with the progression of chronic kidney disease: a prospective observational study.

Background: Advanced glycation end product (AGE) accumulation is thought to be a measure of cumulative metabolic stress that has been reported to independently predict cardiovascular disease in diabetes and renal failure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between AGE accumulation, measured as skin autofluorescence, and the progression of renal disease in pre-dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: Skin autofluorescence was measured noninvasively with an autofluorescence reader at baseline in 449 pre-dialysis patients with CKD.

Growth of Listeria monocytogenes in refrigerated ready-to-eat foods in Japan.

The ability of L. monocytogenes to grow in a series of Japanese ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, including boiled baby sardine and Japanese pickle, was tested at two different refrigeration temperatures. In RTE foods in which L.

Differences in susceptibility to okadaic acid, a diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxin, between male and female mice.

The mouse bioassay (MBA) for diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxins has been widely used in many countries of the world. In the Japanese and EU methods, male mice are designated to be used for MBA. Female mice were described to be less susceptible than male mice.

Susceptibility of different mice strains to okadaic acid, a diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxin.

The mouse bioassay is widely used to detect diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxins. To the best of our knowledge, however, there have been no reports specifically on strain differences in susceptibility to DSP toxins. In this study, we investigated the susceptibility of different mice strains to okadaic acid (OA), one of the representative DSP toxins.

Sequence of busulfan-induced neural progenitor cell damage in the fetal rat brain.

The sequence of neural progenitor cell (NPC) damage induced in fetal rat brain by transplacental exposure to busulfan, an antineoplastic bifunctional-alkylating agent, on gestational day 13 was examined by immunohistochemical and real-time RT-PCR analyses. Following busulfan treatment, pyknotic NPCs first appeared in the medial layer and then extended to the dorsal layer of the ventricular zone (VZ) of the telencephalon. Pyknotic NPCs that were immunohistochemically positive for cleaved caspase-3, i.

[Food-poisoning bacterial contamination on food: a comparison between European countries and Japan].

"Shokuhin no shokuchudokukin osenjittai chosa (The national survey of food-poisoning bacterial contamination on food)" has been performed annually in Japan since 1998. This surveillance is thought to be the useful baseline study of bacterial contamination on food in Japan. On the other hand, "The community summary report on trends and sources of zoonoses, zoonotic agents and food-borne outbreaks in the European Union" published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the annual surveillance report about zoonoses, zoonotic agents and food-borne outbreaks in the European Union based on the Directive 2003/99/EC.

Age-dependent changes in intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) of the small intestine, cecum, and colon from young adult to aged mice.

We previously reported the regional differences in the IELs present in the proximal (P), middle (M), and distal (D) parts of the small intestine, cecum (Ce), and colon (Co) of mice. In this study, we investigated the age-dependent changes in the regional differences of IELs from young adult to aged mice. In this experiment, 3-, 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24-month-old mice were examined.

Antimicrobial susceptibilities of Listeria monocytogenes isolated in Japan.

The antimicrobial susceptibility of 201 Listeria monocytogenes isolates from foods, environments, animals and human patients in Japan was determined. All isolates were susceptible to ampicillin, the first choice of drug for listeriosis treatment, chloramphenicol, dihydrostreptomycin, erythromycin, enrofloxacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, lincomycin, nosiheptide, salinomycin, vancomycin, and virginiamycin. A human strain was resistant to oxytetracycline.

Common variation in GPC5 is associated with acquired nephrotic syndrome.

Severe proteinuria is a defining factor of nephrotic syndrome irrespective of the etiology. Investigation of congenital nephrotic syndrome has shown that dysfunction of glomerular epithelial cells (podocytes) plays a crucial role in this disease. Acquired nephrotic syndrome is also assumed to be associated with podocyte injury.

Quantitative risk assessment of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in finfish: a model of raw horse mackerel consumption in Japan.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of implemented control measures to reduce illness induced by Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus) in horse mackerel (Trachurus japonicus), seafood that is commonly consumed raw in Japan. On the basis of currently available experimental and survey data, we constructed a quantitative risk model of V.

Relationship of skin autofluorescence to cardiovascular disease in Japanese hemodialysis patients.

Advanced glycation end products (AGE) are significantly increased in end-stage renal disease patients and it has been suggested that AGE accumulation is related to the progression of cardiovascular disease. An autofluorescence reader non-invasively assesses AGE accumulation using skin autofluorescence under ultraviolet light. Skin autofluorescence has been reported to be an independent predictor of mortality in Caucasian hemodialysis patients.