The Cholesterol Metabolite Cholest-5-en-3-One Alleviates Hyperglycemia and Hyperinsulinemia in Obese (/) Mice.

Dietary sterols are catabolized into various substances in the intestinal tract. Dietary 3-oxo derivatives of cholesterol and plant sterols (e.g.

Efficacy of chemotherapy for older patients with gastric cancer: a multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Background: Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of malignant disease-related mortality, worldwide. With the use of recently developed anti-tumor agents, the prognoses of patients with unresectable gastric cancer are improving. However, the development of an aggressive treatment strategy for older patients (OPs) remains under debate due to concerns regarding treatment feasibility or patient frailty.

Clinical use of molecular targeted agents for primary small bowel adenocarcinoma: A multicenter retrospective cohort study by the Osaka Gut Forum.

Primary small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) is a rare cancer for which effective treatment strategies have not yet been established. The results of previous retrospective studies suggest that chemotherapy contributes to a longer survival time in patients with SBA. However, there are few case reports about the efficacy of molecular targeted agent-containing chemotherapy for SBA.

Controlled formation of ordered coordination polymeric networks using silsesquioxane building blocks.

In this report, we synthesized ordered coordination polymers using polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) as a building block. A POSS with eight carboxylic terminals was coordinated with copper ions at various temperatures, forming polymeric networks. This novel coordination polymer has a long-range ordered structure.

Impact of branched-chain amino acid supplementation on survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with sorafenib: A multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Aim: The therapeutic efficacy of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) when added to sorafenib has not been fully assessed in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This multicenter study investigated whether BCAA supplementation improves prognosis in patients with advanced HCC who underwent sorafenib treatment.

Methods: This retrospective analysis included 256 patients with advanced HCC treated with sorafenib, including 55 who did and 201 who did not receive BCAA supplementation.

25 mg versus 50 mg dose of rectal diclofenac for prevention of post-ERCP pancreatitis in Japanese patients: a retrospective study.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to assess the appropriate administration dose of non-steroidal anti-inflammation drugs to prevent pancreatitis after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Importantly, the 100 mg dose of diclofenac recommended in Western countries has not been permitted in Japan.

Design: A retrospective study.

Diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma nodules in patients with chronic liver disease using contrast-enhanced sonography: usefulness of the combination of arterial- and kupffer-phase enhancement patterns.

Objectives: To determine the usefulness of contrast-enhanced sonography using the perfluorobutane contrast agent Sonazoid (Daiichi-Sankyo, Tokyo, Japan) for establishing the diagnosis and cellular differentiation of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic liver disease.

Methods: Patients with chronic liver disease in whom hepatic nodules were detected during screening for hepatocellular carcinoma were examined by imaging modalities, including contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), contrast-enhanced sonography, and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. Nodules with negative imaging findings were further investigated with core biopsy or followed at our hospital.

Catecholamine release induces elevation in plasma lactate levels in patients undergoing adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma.

Study Objective: To determine the relationship between preoperative catecholamine levels and intraoperative peak plasma lactate levels in patients who underwent adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma.

Design: Retrospective observational study.

Setting: Operating room in one university hospital.

The prospective randomized study on telaprevir at 1500 or 2250 mg with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin in Japanese patients with HCV genotype 1.

Background: Triple therapy with telaprevir (TVR), pegylated interferon and ribavirin has improved antiviral efficacy in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CH-C). However, the severe adverse effects caused by TVR are important to resolve. In this prospective, randomized, multicenter, open-label study, the antiviral efficacy and safety in the reduced administration of TVR were examined.

[A case of hepatocellular carcinoma treated with specific substance of Maruyama resulting in a partial response].

We treated a 41-year-old man with hepatocellular carcinoma and chronic liver disease. He experienced leg edema. Following additional examinations, we diagnosed the patient with hepatocellular carcinoma and ascites with liver cirrhosis.

[A case of partial response achieved by chemotherapy for a duodenal cancer].

We treated a 73-year-old woman with adenocarcinoma of the duodenum. She complained of poor appetite and weight loss. Upon close inspection, we diagnosed duodenal cancer with obstructive jaundice.

[A case in which good quality of life was maintained by stent therapy for duodenal stenosis caused by gallbladder cancer invasion].

We treated an 80-year-old woman with gallbladder cancer. Because of her advanced age, chemotherapy was performed, but obstructive jaundice and duodenal stenosis were caused by invasion of the tumor. We inserted a metallic stent into the common bile duct and duodenum 3 times.

[A clinical case of the esophagogastric malignancy palliated with covered metallic stent with anti-reflux mechanism].

Esohophageal stents are often used in treating malignant stricture. But, when stents are placed across the esophagogastric junction, they may lead to esophagogastric reflux. We report a case of successfully treated esophagogastric strictures using the new stent with anti-reflux mechanism (long cover type Niti-S™ esophageal stent).

[Investigation of simplified international diagnostic criteria for autoimmune hepatitis].

The simplified international diagnostic criteria for autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), re-revised by the International AIH Group in 2008, were investigated in 114 patients with AIH from 15 centers in Japan. While applying of the criteria, we had to pay attention to anti-nuclear antibody measurement methods, and liver histology scoring. Definite and probable AIH were diagnosed in 83 and 22 patients, respectively.

Roles of double-balloon endoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of Crohn's disease: a multicenter experience.

Background: Double-balloon endoscopy (DBE) examinations are not yet widely accepted as routine procedures for examining the small bowel of patients with Crohn's disease (CD).

Aim: To evaluate the feasibility and usefulness of DBE for CD in tertiary-care hospitals.

Methods: Between July 2004 and September 2008, 1444 DBE procedures were performed for 704 patients in 6 tertiary-care hospitals.

Successful multimodal treatment in a patient with thymoma accompanied by hepatic metastasis.

Despite a benign histologic appearance, thymomas have metastatic potential. Here we report a case of a patient with a Masaoka stage IVb thymoma who was successfully treated using a multimodal strategy including systemic chemotherapy, radiofrequency ablation, and thoracic surgery. Despite complete remission after treatment, the patient developed myasthenia gravis with ptosis and neck drop symptoms.

A fermentation product of phytosterol including campestenone reduces body fat storage and body weight gain in mice.

Anti-obesity effects of a fermentation product of phytosterols including campestenone in ICR mice were investigated. Five-week-old male ICR mice were fed by the pair-feeding method for 8 wk. Experimental feed was prepared by adding TO-001, a phytostenone mixture produced by fermentation of phytosterols using Nocardioides simplex, at 0.

Real-time PCR for quantification of viable Renibacterium salmoninarum in chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta.

Quantification of msa gene mRNA of Renibacterium salmoninarum, the causative agent of bacterial kidney disease (BKD), was investigated using reverse transcription followed by real-time PCR assay on R. salmoninarum in culture, and in experimentally challenged chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta fry kidney tissues (total of 70 samples) after intraperitoneal (i.p.

Detection of DNAs homologous to betanodavirus genome RNAs in barfin flounder Verasper moseri and Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus.

I investigated the presence of DNA homologous to genome RNA1 and RNA2 (RNA1 DNA and RNA2 DNA) of betanodaviruses - the causative agent of viral nervous necrosis (VNN) --in eggs, sperm, ovarian cavity fluid, larvae, and juveniles of barfin flounder Verasper moseri and larvae and juveniles of Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus collected at 6 sites in Hokkaido, Japan, from 1994 to 2001. RNA1 DNA and RNA2 DNA were detected by PCR in 13 and 33 % of barfin flounder samples and 0 and 69% of Japanese flounder samples, respectively. No infectious virus was detected by cell culture or by successive immunoblot against coat protein (genome RNA2 product) using an E-11 cell line, except for a virus present in 1 dead fish collected during an outbreak of VNN in 1995.

Dietary 5-campestenone (campest-5-en-3-one) enhances fatty acid oxidation in perfused rat liver.

The effect of dietary 5-campestenone (campest-5-en-3-one), a chemical modification product of a naturally-occurring plant sterol, campesterol, on lipid metabolism was examined using a rat liver perfusion system. Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing about 140 g were fed a diet supplemented with or without 0.2% 5-campestenone for 14 d.

Should aged patients with chronic hepatitis C be treated with interferon and ribavirin combination therapy?

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of combination therapy of interferon and ribavirin for aged patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Methods: This study was conducted at Osaka University Hospital and institutions participating in the Osaka Liver Disease Study Group on 329 patients with chronic hepatitis C receiving interferon and ribavirin combination therapy (group A, under 60 year old, n=199; group B, 60-64 year old, n=64; group C, over 65 year old (mean age, 67.8+/-2.

Campest-5-en-3-one, an oxidized derivative of campesterol, activates PPARalpha, promotes energy consumption and reduces visceral fat deposition in rats.

Dietary campest-5-en-3-one (campestenone), an oxidized derivative of campesterol, significantly reduced visceral fat weight and the concentration of triacylglycerol in serum and liver of rats. Dietary campestenone dramatically increased the activities and the mRNA expressions of mitochondrial and peroxisomal enzymes involved in beta-oxidation in the liver. Campestenone activated human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) alpha as determined using the novel GAL4 ligand-binding domain chimera assay system with coactivator coexpression.

The significance of interferon and ribavirin combination therapy followed by interferon monotherapy for patients with chronic hepatitis C in Japan.

One hundred seventy-one patients with chronic hepatitis C were included in this study (genotype1 and high viral loads (1H), [Formula: see text]; non-1H, [Formula: see text]; N.D., [Formula: see text] ).

Nonthyroidal illness syndrome in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage due to intracranial aneurysm.

We have previously reported that subarachnoid hemorrhage due to ruptured intracranial aneurysm (SH) is associated with changes in the hormonal profile in the first 24 hours after the event. We proposed that the hormonal changes observed are due to the intense stress to which the patients are exposed. However, the thyroidal hormonal profile is indicative of the presence of a nonthyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS).

Relationship between elevated FX expression and increased production of GDP-L-fucose, a common donor substrate for fucosylation in human hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatoma cell lines.

The levels of fucosylated glycoproteins in various cancers and inflammatory processes have been a subject of intense study. The level of fucosyltransferases and intracellular GDP-L-fucose, a sugar nucleotide and a common donor substrate for all fucosyltransferases, may regulate the level of fucosylated glycoproteins. This study reports on the determination of GDP-L-fucose levels in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and surrounding tissues, using a recently established high-throughput assay system.