Seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 in a population-based cohort in Japan.

Background: There have been few population-based studies of the seroprevalence and correlates of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) in Japan.

Methods: We enrolled a total of 1244 adults, aged 18-59 years, from a population-based cohort in southern Japan, and tested their serum samples using an ELISA kit containing HSV type-specific antigens to glycoproteins G1 and G2.

Results: The seroprevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 was 55.

Proposed criteria for metabolic syndrome in Japanese based on prospective evidence: the Hisayama study.

Background And Purpose: The current criteria of metabolic syndrome (MetS) are not based on evidence derived from prospective studies on cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Methods: In a 14-year follow-up study of 2452 community-dwelling Japanese individuals aged >or=40 years, we examined which of the MetS criteria are most predictive for the development of CVD. During the follow-up, 246 first-ever CVD events occurred.

Lack of association between variations of PDE4D and ischemic stroke in the Japanese population.

Background And Purpose: After the first genomewide association study of ischemic stroke identified PDE4D as a susceptible gene, many replication studies have been conducted. However, the validity of the association has remained controversial because of the heterogeneity of both genetic markers and phenotypes.

Methods: We investigated the association between variations of PDE4D and ischemic stroke by 3 methods: single-marker, haplotype, and tag-single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analyses.

Hyperglycemia increases risk of gastric cancer posed by Helicobacter pylori infection: a population-based cohort study.

Background & Aims: Although diabetes mellitus and hyperglycemia are considered to be possible risk factors for various types of malignancy, the epidemiologic evidence concerning gastric cancer is scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels on gastric cancer occurrence and their interaction with Helicobacter pylori infection.

Methods: A total of 2603 Japanese subjects aged>or=40 years were stratified into 4 groups according to baseline HbA1c levels ( View Article and Find Full Text PDF

[Molecular epidemiology of cerebrovascular diseases; the Hisayama study and the Fukuoka Stroke Registry (FSR)].

The underlying pathogenesis of stroke is mediated by a variety of environmental risk factors as well as genetic ones. Thus, we have to evaluate the environmental factors precisely to identify the stroke-related gene polymorphisms. The Hisayama study, an epidemiological study of cardiovascular diseases, was established in 1961 in Hisayama, Japan.

Secular trends in the incidence of and risk factors for ischemic stroke and its subtypes in Japanese population.

Background: The study of long-term trends in the incidence of and risk factors for ischemic stroke subtypes could offer insights into primary and secondary prevention.

Methods And Results: We established 3 cohorts of residents >/=40 years of age in 1961, 1974, and 1988 in the Japanese community of Hisayama. Morphological examinations by autopsy or brain imaging were performed on most of the ischemic stroke cases developed in these cohorts.

LDL cholesterol and the development of stroke subtypes and coronary heart disease in a general Japanese population: the Hisayama study.

Background And Purpose: Although the relation between serum LDL cholesterol level and coronary heart disease (CHD) is well established, its relation with stroke subtypes is less clear.

Methods: A total of 2351 inhabitants age >or=40 years in a Japanese community were followed up for 19 years.

Results: During follow-up, 271 subjects developed stroke and 144 developed CHD.

Fasting plasma glucose cutoff for diagnosis of diabetes in a Japanese population.

Objective: We examined the relationship between fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 2-h post-load glucose (PG) levels, and the optimal FPG cutoff level to correspond to a 2-h PG of 11.1 mmol/liter, the gold standard diagnostic criterion, in a general Japanese population.

Design: Cross-sectional study populations of 2421 subjects in 1988 and 2698 subjects in 2002, aged 40-79 yr and without antidiabetic medication, were tested with an oral glucose tolerance test.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and coronary heart disease in a general population of Japanese: the Hisayama study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) on the risks of coronary heart disease (CHD) in a general population of Japanese.

Methods And Results: The Hisayama study is a population-based prospective cohort study. A total of 2589 participants aged 40 years or older were followed up for 14 years.

Polymorphisms in the lymphotoxin alpha gene and the risk of ischemic stroke in the Japanese population. The Fukuoka Stroke Registry and the Hisayama Study.

Background And Purpose: Lymphotoxin alpha (LTA), one of the tumor necrosis factor family proteins, is an important proinflammatory cytokine and appears to play a putative role in the inflammatory process of atherosclerosis. Recent genetic studies have suggested that variations in the gene encoding LTA, which affect its expression and biological function, may contribute to the development of vascular diseases. We conducted a case-control study to clarify the association of LTA gene polymorphisms with ischemic stroke in a large Japanese population.

Impact of Kir6.2 E23K polymorphism on the development of type 2 diabetes in a general Japanese population: The Hisayama Study.

Objective: The association between the E23K polymorphism of ATP-sensitive K(+) channel subunit Kir6.2 and diabetes has been reported in Caucasians but not in Asians. We examined this issue in follow-up and cross-sectional studies in a general Japanese population.

Functional SNP in an Sp1-binding site of AGTRL1 gene is associated with susceptibility to brain infarction.

Brain infarction is one of the common causes of death and also a major cause of severe disability. To identify a gene(s) susceptible to brain infarction, we performed a large-scale association study of Japanese patients with brain infarction, using 52608 gene-based single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Comparison of allele frequencies between 1112 cases with brain infarction and age- and sex-matched control subjects of the same number found an SNP in the 5'-flanking region of angiotensin receptor like-1 (AGTRL1) gene (rs9943582, - 154G/A) to have a significant association with brain infarction [odds ratio = 1.

A nonsynonymous SNP in PRKCH (protein kinase C eta) increases the risk of cerebral infarction.

Cerebral infarction is the most common type of stroke and often causes long-term disability. To investigate the genetic contribution to cerebral infarction, we conducted a case-control study using 52,608 gene-based tag SNPs selected from the JSNP database. Here we report that a nonsynonymous SNP in a member of protein kinase C (PKC) family, PRKCH, was significantly associated with lacunar infarction in two independent Japanese samples (P = 5.

C-reactive protein and risk of first-ever ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke in a general Japanese population: the Hisayama Study.

Background And Purpose: The role of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in the development of stroke is not clearly understood. We investigated the relationship between serum hsCRP levels and stroke occurrence in a general Japanese population.

Methods: We followed 2692 subjects > or =40 years of age for 12 years.

Chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease in a general Japanese population: the Hisayama Study.

Background: Chronic kidney disease has been shown to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in high-risk populations. However, this relationship is inconclusive in community-based populations.

Methods: To clarify this issue, we followed 2634 community-dwelling individuals without cardiovascular disease, aged 40 years or older, for 12 years and examined the relationship between chronic kidney disease and the incidence of cardiovascular disease.

Hyperhomocysteinemia and the development of chronic kidney disease in a general population: the Hisayama study.

Background: Hyperhomocysteinemia has been linked with various atherosclerotic diseases, but has not been evaluated sufficiently as a risk factor for the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the general population.

Methods: To clarify this issue, we followed up 1,477 community-dwelling individuals without CKD, aged 40 years or older, for 5 years and examined the effects of baseline serum total homocysteine (tHcy) levels on the development of CKD.

Results: During follow-up, 88 subjects experienced CKD.

[Late onset of spinal epidural abscess after spinal epidural catheterization].

A 76-year-old diabetic woman received epidural catheterization for sigmoid colectomy. Four months later she started to complain of fever and severe lumbago, and finally fell into coma and tetraplegia. She had severe neck stiffness, and lumbar puncture yielded yellowish pus.