Development of Quality of Life Questionnaire for Patients with Parkinson's Disease Undergoing STN-DBS.

In device-aided therapy (DAT) for Parkinson's disease (PD), factors such as device-related adverse effects, psychological and lifestyle changes, and specific disease progression can affect the quality of life (QoL) of patients with advanced PD. However, there is no existing QoL scale that includes the effects of therapeutic devices. From a semi-structured interview with patients with PD undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS), we extracted the content of utterances that were thought to affect the QoL and created a draft questionnaire consisting of 113 items.

Effects of blood flow restriction on muscle size and gene expression in muscle during immobilization: A pilot study.

Purpose: Muscle mass is known to rapidly decrease with muscle disuse. Previous reports suggest that repetitive blood flow restriction (BFR) mitigates the reduction of muscle mass with disuse. However, the effects of BFR on muscle atrophy and gene expression levels in muscle during cast immobilization have not been clarified.

The effects of chronic subthalamic stimulation on nonmotor symptoms in advanced Parkinson's disease, revealed by an online questionnaire program.

Background: This study was designed to detect and assess the frequency and severity of nonmotor symptoms (NMSs) in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) and to investigate the effects of subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) on NMSs.

Methods: We developed an online PC-based questionnaire program to assess NMSs in PD. Twenty-six PD patients who underwent bilateral STN-DBS were assessed.

Predictive Factors of Antiparkinsonian Drug Reduction after Subthalamic Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease.

Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) improves motor symptoms in individuals with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) and enables physicians to reduce doses of antiparkinsonian drugs. We investigated possible predictive factors for the successful reduction of antiparkinsonian drug dosage after STN-DBS. We evaluated 33 PD patients who underwent bilateral STN-DBS.

Effects of alcohol abstinence on glucose metabolism in Japanese men with elevated fasting glucose: A pilot study.

It has been demonstrated that moderate alcohol consumption provides protection against the development of type 2 diabetes. However, several other reports suggested that moderate alcohol intake may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes in non-obese Japanese. The aim of present study was to investigate the effect of 1-week alcohol abstinence on hepatic insulin sensitivity and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) in non-obese Japanese men.

Relation Between Insulin Sensitivity and Metabolic Abnormalities in Japanese Men With BMI of 23-25 kg/m.

Context: Although metabolic abnormalities are often developed in Asians with body mass index (BMI) of 23-25 kg/m, the characteristics of the nonobese Asians with metabolic abnormality have not been fully understood.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of insulin sensitivity in Japanese men with BMI of 23-25 kg/m.

Design And Participants: In this study, we defined hypertension, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia as cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs).

Effect of treatment guidance using a retrospective continuous glucose monitoring system on glycaemic control in outpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: To assess the effect of treatment guidance based on data from a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device on glycaemic control, and patient satisfaction, in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: Patients with poorly-controlled T2DM treated with insulin were randomly assigned to the intervention or nonintervention group. Continuous blood-glucose levels were recorded for 4-5 days using a CGM device on three separate occasions during the 8-month study period.

Increased intramyocellular lipid/impaired insulin sensitivity is associated with altered lipid metabolic genes in muscle of high responders to a high-fat diet.

The accumulation of intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) is recognized as an important determinant of insulin resistance, and is increased by a high-fat diet (HFD). However, the effects of HFD on IMCL and insulin sensitivity are highly variable. The aim of this study was to identify the genes in muscle that are related to this inter-individual variation.

Effects of sitagliptin on ectopic fat contents and glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetic patients with fatty liver: A pilot study.

Aims/introduction: Recent data have shown that ectopic fat accumulation in the liver worsens hepatic glucose metabolism, suggesting that fatty liver in patients with type 2 diabetes is a therapeutic target. Glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 improves fatty liver, but the effect of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor on fatty liver is still unclear. The present pilot study determined the effects of 12-week treatment with sitagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, on liver fat content in type 2 diabetes with fatty liver.

Association between expression of FABPpm in skeletal muscle and insulin sensitivity in intramyocellular lipid-accumulated nonobese men.

Context: Intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) accumulation is observed in both insulin-resistant subjects and insulin-sensitive endurance athletes (athlete's paradox). We hypothesized that the expression pattern of fatty acid transporters may influence oxidative capacity and determine the association between IMCL and insulin resistance.

Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate the muscle expression of fatty acid transporters and their function related to insulin sensitivity in IMCL-accumulated subjects.

Gut dysbiosis and detection of "live gut bacteria" in blood of Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.

Objective: Mounting evidence indicates that the gut microbiota are an important modifier of obesity and diabetes. However, so far there is no information on gut microbiota and "live gut bacteria" in the systemic circulation of Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: Using a sensitive reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) method, we determined the composition of fecal gut microbiota in 50 Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes and 50 control subjects, and its association with various clinical parameters, including inflammatory markers.

Transient interhemispheric disconnection in a case of insulinoma-induced hypoglycemic encephalopathy.

We report a case of a 22-year-old male who was transferred to our hospital in a comatose state following successive seizures. Low blood glucose had been detected upon his arrival at the previous hospital. He became responsive 12 days after the onset of coma.

Exercise-induced enhancement of insulin sensitivity is associated with accumulation of M2-polarized macrophages in mouse skeletal muscle.

Exercise enhances insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle, but the underlying mechanism remains obscure. Recent data suggest that alternatively activated M2 macrophages enhance insulin sensitivity in insulin target organs such as adipose tissue and liver. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the role of anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages in exercise-induced enhancement of insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle.

The diabetes-susceptible gene SLC30A8/ZnT8 regulates hepatic insulin clearance.

Recent genome-wide association studies demonstrated that common variants of solute carrier family 30 member 8 gene (SLC30A8) increase susceptibility to type 2 diabetes. SLC30A8 encodes zinc transporter-8 (ZnT8), which delivers zinc ion from the cytoplasm into insulin granules. Although it is well known that insulin granules contain high amounts of zinc, the physiological role of secreted zinc remains elusive.

Comparison of effects of cilnidipine and azelnidipine on blood pressure, heart rate and albuminuria in type 2 diabetics with hypertension: A pilot study.

Previous studies reported that both cilnidipine and azelnidipine have a renoprotective effect compared with amlodipine. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of cilnidipine and azelnidipine on blood pressure, heart rate and albuminuria. An open-label prospective crossover trial was carried out.

[Intracerebral hemorrhage during multi-track microrecording of deep brain stimulation surgery: a report of three cases].

We described three cases with hemorrhagic complication during simultaneous multi-track microelectrode recording (MER) for stereotactic implantation of a subthalamic nucleus electrode. Although preoperative planning with gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted MR images is recommended to prevent the occurrence of intracerebral hemorrhage, it should be noted that the danger from cerebral vasculatures is still underestimated. Multiple nonspecific white matter hyperintensities and asymptomatic lacunar infarcts may be suspected as potential risk factors, so, it is suggested that the number of MER penetrations should be restricted in such cases.

Subthalamic nucleus stimulation does not cause deterioration of preexisting hallucinations in Parkinson's disease patients.

Background: Among the neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, hallucination can result from the disease itself or medical treatment. Hallucination associated with subthalamic nucleus stimulation (STN-DBS) has been reported; however, it is still unclear whether PD patients with a history of hallucination are appropriate candidates for STN-DBS or not.

Aims: We investigated the effect of STN-DBS on preexisting hallucination associated with advanced PD.

Efficacy and safety of modified Yale insulin infusion protocol in Japanese diabetic patients after open-heart surgery.

To our knowledge, there is currently no insulin infusion protocol for critically ill patients especially designed for Asian diabetics although many such protocols are used in Western countries. In this study, we modified the Yale insulin infusion protocol taking into consideration the characteristics of Japanese diabetics and hospital environment. We tested the modified protocol in 40 type 2 diabetic patients after elective open-heart surgery (MY group) comparing with 35 type 2 diabetic patients under empirical blood glucose control (EC group).