Efficacy of Ninjin'yoeito in treating severe coronavirus disease 2019 in patients in an intensive care unit.

Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19), an infectious disease associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a global emergency with high mortality. There are few effective treatments, and many severe patients are treated in an intensive care unit (ICU). The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the Japanese Kampo medicine ninjin'yoeito (NYT) is effective in treating ICU patients with COVID-19.

Visceral adiposity is associated with the discrepancy between glycated albumin and HbA1c in type 2 diabetes.

Aim: We investigated the association of visceral adiposity with glycated albumin (GA) as well as GA/hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in type 2 diabetes.

Methods: One hundred twenty-three patients (68 males, 55 females) with type 2 diabetes were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Visceral fat area (VFA) was determined using an abdominal dual bioelectrical impedance analysis (dual BIA) instrument.

Inverse association of plasma leptin with cortical thickness at distal radius determined with a quantitative ultrasound device in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Aims/introduction: Osteoporosis is known to be intimately related to sympathetic nerve activity. We examined the relationship of plasma leptin with cortical and trabecular bone components in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Materials And Methods: The present cross-sectional study included 182 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients (93 men, 89 women).

Association of Decreased Handgrip Strength with Reduced Cortical Thickness in Japanese Female Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

LD-100, a quantitative ultrasonic device, allows us to measure cortical thickness (CoTh). Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) show high prevalence of sarcopenia. This study aimed to clarify the association of handgrip strength (HGS) with cortical porosis, a major risk for fracture of DM.

Plasma polyunsaturated fatty acid profile is associated with vascular endothelial function in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Decreased plasma n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid levels or the n-3/n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid ratios are associated with a risk of cardiovascular events. In this cross-sectional study, we measured plasma levels of eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid and investigated the association between the plasma polyunsaturated fatty acid profile and vascular endothelial function in 396 patients with type 2 diabetes. Endothelium-dependent, flow-mediated dilatation of the brachial artery was measured using ultrasonography.

Correlation analysis of monocyte subsets and insulin resistance considering fetuin-A involvement in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background: Fetuin-A is a multifunctional circulating glycoprotein that can induce insulin resistance. Lately, adipose tissue has gained prominence as an effector site of fetuin-A. Although fetuin-A-induced proinflammatory polarization and migration of macrophages plays a crucial role, it remains obscure whether monocyte subsets in circulation could simulate characteristics of macrophages in adipose tissues.

Positive association of plasma leptin with sleep quality in obese type 2 diabetes patients.

Aims/introduction: Poor sleep quality is associated with obesity and diabetes. The adipocyte-derived hormone, leptin, was recently shown to underlie the link between abnormal sleep and obesity. We aimed to investigate the association between leptin and sleep quality in type 2 diabetes patients.

The Association between Monocyte Surface CD163 and Insulin Resistance in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

Aim: To investigate the association between monocyte CD163 and insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: One hundred sixty-six patients with type 2 diabetes without inflammatory or chronic kidney disease were recruited. The monocyte CD163 levels were measured by flow cytometry and soluble CD163 (sCD163) by ELISA.

Association between α-Klotho and Deep White Matter Lesions in the Brain: A Pilot Case Control Study Using Brain MRI.

Background: The anti-aging protein, α-Klotho, may be involved in cognitive decline and has potential as a surrogate marker that reflects dementia. However, the role of α-Klotho in the brain has not been sufficiently investigated.

Objective: Here, we investigated the association between α-Klotho and cognitive decline that is associated with cerebral deep white matter lesions (DWMLs).

Altered Serum n-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Profile and Risks of Mortality and Cardiovascular Events in a Cohort of Hemodialysis Patients.

Objective: Alterations in the balance between serum n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) is predictive of cardiovascular events among hemodialysis patients, although little is known about the serum ratio of n-6 arachidonic acid (AA) to n-6 dihomo-γ-linoleic acid (DGLA) in renal failure. We hypothesized that AA/DGLA ratio is altered in hemodialysis patients resulting in poor clinical outcomes.

Methods: This was a single center cohort study in an urban area in Japan with cross-sectional analyses.

Plasma homocysteine and cerebral small vessel disease as possible mediators between kidney and cognitive functions in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Cognitive impairment is more prevalent in those with decreased kidney function. We tested a hypothesis that an increased homocysteine and/or cerebral small vessel diseases (SVDs) mediate the link between kidney and cognitive functions in a cross-sectional study in 143 type 2 diabetes patients without diagnosis of dementia or prior stroke. The exposure and outcome variables were estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and cognitive performance evaluated with Modified Mini-Mental State (3 MS) examination, respectively.

Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein is associated with arterial stiffness in patients with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-binding protein (LBP) is an acute-phase reactant that mediates immune responses triggered by LPS. Recent evidence indicates the association of circulating LBP levels with obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between serum LBP levels and arterial stiffness in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Plasma soluble leptin receptor levels are associated with pancreatic β-cell dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Aims/introduction: A soluble form of the leptin receptor (soluble Ob-R) in the circulation regulates leptin's bioactivity, and is inversely associated with body adiposity and circulating leptin levels. However, no study has examined the clinical impact of soluble Ob-R on glucose metabolism in diabetes. The present study aimed to investigate the association of plasma soluble Ob-R levels with insulin resistance and pancreatic β-cell function in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Plasma C1q/TNF-Related Protein-9 Levels Are Associated with Atherosclerosis in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes without Renal Dysfunction.

C1q/tumor necrosis factor-related protein-9 (CTRP9), a paralog of adiponectin, is expressed in adipose tissue. CTRP9 exerts protective effects against obesity and atherosclerosis in rodents. We investigated the association between plasma CTRP9 levels and atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Visceral Adiposity is Preferentially Associated with Vascular Stiffness Rather than Thickness in Men with Type 2 Diabetes.

Aim: Visceral fat accumulation is known to underlie the clustering of cardiovascular risk factors. However, it is not completely understood how visceral fat accumulation influences the development of cardiovascular disease. In this study, we investigated the clinical impact of visceral adiposity on vascular stiffness and thickness in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Sustained Decrease of Early-Phase Insulin Secretion in Japanese Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Who Developed Impaired Glucose Tolerance and Impaired Fasting Glucose Postpartum.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare glucose intolerance in the antenatal and the postpartum periods using a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in the Japanese women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) using a retrospective design.

Patients And Methods: Data were obtained from 85 Japanese women with GDM who delivered from April 2011 through April 2015 and who underwent an OGTT 6-14 weeks postpartum. The women were divided into two groups based on the results of the postpartum OGTT: one group with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and the other with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) as well as impaired fasting glucose (IFG).

Indoxyl sulfate suppresses hepatic fetuin-A expression via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor in HepG2 cells.

Background: Fetuin-A is a liver-derived circulating protein that has potent calcification-inhibitory activity. Uraemic patients exhibit decreased serum fetuin-A levels, increased vascular calcification and elevated cardiovascular mortality. Because the mechanisms for fetuin-A deficiency are unknown, we hypothesized that some uraemic toxins suppressed hepatic fetuin-A production, which resulted in accelerated vascular calcification and poor outcome.

Myeloid HIF-1 attenuates the progression of renal fibrosis in murine obstructive nephropathy.

Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) play an important role in the pathogenesis of renal fibrosis. Although the role of macrophage infiltration in the progression of renal fibrosis is well known, the role of macrophage HIF-1 remains to be revealed. To address this question, myeloid specific conditional HIF-1 knock out mice were subjected to unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO).

Injectable cell scaffold restores impaired cell-based therapeutic angiogenesis in diabetic mice with hindlimb ischemia.

The clinical success of cell-based therapeutic angiogenesis has been limited in diabetic patients with critical limb ischemia. We previously reported that an injectable cell scaffold (ICS), which is a nano-scaled hydroxyapatite (HAp)-coated polymer microsphere, enhances therapeutic angiogenesis. Subsequently, we developed a modified ICS for clinical use, measuring 50 μm in diameter using poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) as a biodegradable polymer, which achieved appropriately accelerated absorption in vivo.

Advantage of insulin glulisine over regular insulin in patients with type 2 diabetes and severe renal insufficiency.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy and safety of insulin glulisine over regular insulin in patients with type 2 diabetes and severe renal insufficiency.

Subjects: Our study included 18 patients with type 2 diabetes and a mean (range) estimated glomerular filtration rate of 13.2 mL/minute/1.

Plasma polyunsaturated fatty acid profile and delta-5 desaturase activity are altered in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Objective: The association between imbalance of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), especially low plasma n-3 to n-6 PUFA ratio, and risk of cardiovascular diseases is well known. A balance of plasma PUFAs is determined not only by dietary fatty acid intake, but also by the endogenous fatty acid metabolism, which could be dysregulated by diabetes. In this study, we investigated the plasma n-3 and n-6 PUFA profile and fatty acid desaturase activity in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Direct inhibitory effects of pioglitazone on hepatic fetuin-A expression.

Fetuin-A, a circulating glycoprotein synthesized in the liver, is involved in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. However, regulation of fetuin-A synthesis has remained obscure. We previously reported that pioglitazone treatment significantly reduced serum fetuin-A levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.