Age-related difference of the association of cardiovascular risk factors with the cardio-ankle vascular index in the Cardiovascular Prognostic Coupling Study in Japan (the Coupling Registry).

The value of the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) increases with age. All large-scale studies of the CAVI have investigated patients <80 years old. Thus, the clinical characteristics of high CAVI in patients aged 80 or more remain unclear.

Rationale, design, and baseline characteristics of the Cardiovascular Prognostic COUPLING Study in Japan (the COUPLING Registry).

Vascular biomarkers, including the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), are increasingly being recognized as important indicators of cardiovascular risk. CAVI has been shown to have good discriminative ability for detecting new-onset hypertension, but results of studies investigating cardiovascular risk prediction are inconsistent. Furthermore, there is a lack of data on the prognostic value of changes in CAVI over time.

Treatment with atorvastatin attenuates progression of insulin resistance and pancreatic fibrosis in the Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima fatty rats.

Purpose: The effects of statins on insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are still controversial and its effects on pancreatic fibrosis are poorly defined. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of atorvastatin on these issues using the Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rat, an animal model of IR, T2DM and pancreatic fibrosis.

Methods: Male OLETF rats were divided into 2 groups at 6weeks of age.

Effect of endogenous cholecystokinin on the course of acute pancreatitis in rats.

Aim: To examine the effects of pancreatic rest, stimulation and rest/stimulation on the natural course of recovery after acute pancreatitis.

Methods: Acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis (AP) was induced in male rats by intraductal infusion of 40 μL/100 g body weight of 3% sodium taurocholate. All rats took food ad libitum.

Body mass index influences the outcome of acute pancreatitis: an analysis based on the Japanese administrative database.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and risk of death in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) using a Japanese national administrative database.

Methods: We analyzed a total of 6002 patients with AP. We collected patient information, including sex, age, BMI, severity of AP based on the Japan Pancreas Society scoring system, and prognosis.

Valsartan, a specific angiotensin II receptor blocker, inhibits pancreatic fluid secretion via vagal afferent pathway in conscious rats.

Background/aim: The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) exists in the pancreas, but the role of RAS in the regulation of pancreatic exocrine secretion under physiological conditions has been little known. The present study addressed the RAS's effect on the pancreatic secretion by using valsartan, a specific angiotensin II receptor blocker, in conscious rats.

Method: Male Wistar rats prepared with pancreatic, biliary, duodenal and jugular vein cannulas were used.

Poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma of the pancreas responsive to combination therapy with gemcitabine and S-1.

Poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma is a very rare malignancy, but it is characterized by agressive histological features and a poor clinical prognosis. We report a 42-year-old man who had poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma of the pancreas with multiple liver metastases. We administrated combined chemotherapy with S-1 and gemcitabine.

Treatment with pravastatin attenuates progression of chronic pancreatitis in rat.

As appropriate therapies for pancreatic fibrosis and inflammation are limited, prognosis of chronic pancreatitis has not improved to date. Recent studies have shown that statins improve inflammation and fibrosis in several organs. We therefore examined the therapeutic effect of pravastatin on progression of chronic pancreatitis by starting this treatment after induction of pancreatic fibrosis in rats.

Transient stasis of pancreatic fluid flow together with mild injury of the pancreatic duct cause chronic pancreatitis.

Background: Little is known about the etiopathogenesis of chronic pancreatitis, due mainly to the lack of simple animal models suitable to study inflammatory and fibrogenetic processes in the pancreas.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to examine whether transient congestion of pancreatic fluid flow alone or slight ductal injury alone is sufficient, or where both are required, to induce chronic pancreatic injury.

Methods: Three different models of pancreatitis were tested in rats induced by retrograde intraductal infusion of 40 μl/100 g body weight of 0.

Animal models of chronic pancreatitis.

Animal models for CP in rats can be classified into 2 groups: one is noninvasive or nonsurgical models and the other is invasive or surgical models. Pancreatic injury induced by repetitive injections of supramaximal stimulatory dose of caerulein (Cn) or by intraductal infusion of sodium taurocholate (NaTc) recovered within 14 days, whereas that caused by repetitive injection of arginine or by intraductal infusion of oleic acid was persistent. However, the destroyed acinar tissues were replaced by fatty tissues without fibrosis.

Three cases of locally advanced pancreatic cancer successfully treated with chemoradiation and chemotherapy.

We report three cases with unresectable locally advanced pancreatic cancer (PC) treated with a combination of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and systemic chemotherapy, using gemcitabine (GEM) and/or S-1. All three cases were diagnosed as having locally advanced unresectable PC without distant metastatic lesions based on computed tomography, endoscopic retrograde pancreatography and/or blushing cytology. In Cases 1 and 2, we applied a so-called sandwich therapy, which consisted of induction chemotherapy before CRT and maintenance chemotherapy after CRT.

Decreased production of immunoglobulin M and A in autoimmune pancreatitis.

Background: Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a rare type of chronic pancreatitis caused by an autoimmune abnormality. It is well known that high serum concentrations of IgG4 are helpful for making a diagnosis of AIP; however, it is unclear whether there are abnormalities in the production of other immunoglobulins in AIP.

Methods: We examined the immune condition of AIP patients before and after glucocorticoid treatment, focusing on serum levels of IgG, IgG4, IgM and IgA, and compared the results with those in other hepato-pancreatic diseases, such as autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic carcinoma.

[Influence of job-related factors on the clinical course of chronic hepatitis].

Although many workers suffer from chronic hepatitis, the influence of labor on its clinical course is not clear. We prospectively followed 89 workers with chronic hepatitis for 3 years, and examined the relationship between job-related factors, such as job class, job type, working hours and work effort, and the liver function test. There were no job-related factors that had any influence on the activity of hepatitis.

Supramaximal CCK-58 does not induce pancreatitis in the rat: role of pancreatic water secretion.

In contrast to supramaximal CCK-8 or caerulein, acute or prolonged supraphysiological levels of endogenous CCK-58 do not cause pancreatitis. Compared with CCK-8, CCK-58 is a much stronger stimulant of pancreatic chloride and water secretion, equivalent to maximally effective secretin, but with a chloride-to-bicarbonate ratio characteristic of acinar fluid. Because supraphysiological endogenous CCK does not cause pancreatitis and because coadministration of secretin ameliorated caerulein- or CCK-8-induced pancreatitis, coincident with restoring pancreatic water secretion, we hypothesized that supramaximal CCK-58 would not induce pancreatitis.

A new model of chronic pancreatitis in rats.

This study was designed to examine whether continuous pancreatic ductal hypertension (PDH) plays an important role in the onset and development of chronic pancreatitis (CP). Pancreatic, biliary, and duodenal cannulas were implanted in male Wistar rats. PDH was induced by vertically raising the free end of the pancreatic duct cannula to exert a hydrostatic pressure and maintained for 2 wk.

Effect of inhibition of alpha-glucosidase on age-related glucose intolerance and pancreatic atrophy in rats.

Oral administration of alpha-glucosidase inhibitor reduces postprandial serum glucose and insulin concentrations; thus, alpha-glucosidase inhibitor is used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus worldwide. In our study, we have evaluated the effect of alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, acarbose, on age-related glucose intolerance and pancreatic atrophy in the Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) rat. The first group of rats received a standard rat diet (control).

Autoimmune pancreatitis with IgG4-positive plasma cell infiltration in salivary glands and biliary tract.

A 62-year-old male was referred to our hospital because of liver dysfunction, diffuse pancreatic swelling, and trachelophyma. At admission, the patient was free of pain. Physical examination showed enlarged and palpable bilateral submandibular masses, but no palpable mass or organomegaly in the abdomen.

Bezafibrate on lipids and glucose metabolism in obese diabetic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima fatty rats.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction. The Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rat is an established animal model of human type 2 diabetes that exhibits chronic and slowly progressive hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia and is accompanied by progressive fibrosis in the islets. The aim of the present study was to examine whether worsening of hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and histologic alterations of the islets in OLETF rats is related to hyperlipidemia by treating these animals with a lipid-lowering drug, bezafibrate.

Differential mechanism and site of action of CCK on the pancreatic secretion and growth in rats.

Recent studies demonstrated that cholecystokinin (CCK) at physiological levels stimulates pancreatic enzyme secretion via a capsaicin-sensitive afferent vagal pathway. This study examined whether chemical ablation of afferent vagal fibers influences pancreatic growth and secretion in rats. Bilateral subdiaphragmatic vagal trunks were exposed, and capsaicin solution was applied.

Treatment for hyperglycemia promotes pancreatic regeneration in rats without CCK-1 receptor gene expression.

Introduction And Aim: Recent studies have suggested that CCK is not essential for normal pancreatic growth in mice. We examined whether the treatment of hyperglycemia participates in a non-CCK-1-receptor-mediated mechanism of pancreatic regeneration after partial (30%) pancreatectomy (Px) with use of Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, an animal model for type 2 diabetes mellitus without CCK-1 receptor gene expression.

Methodology: Male OLETF rats were divided into five groups at 24 weeks of age.