Impact of chronic constipation symptoms on work productivity and daily activity: A large-scale internet survey.

Background And Aim: Chronic constipation negatively impacts work productivity and patients' quality of life. This retrospective study assessed the correlation between symptoms of chronic constipation and work/activity impairment with and without the use of laxative treatment.

Methods: This cross-sectional, observational, web-based survey was conducted using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment-Chronic Constipation Questionnaire and included Japanese patients with chronic constipation receiving prescribed medication.

Treatment of Chronic Constipation using Elobixibat in a Real-World Setting: A Retrospective Cohort Study using an Electronic Medical Records Database in Japan.

Background: Chronic constipation is a common condition affecting people of all ages; therefore, the socioeconomic burden of chronic constipation is nonnegligible. Elobixibat (ELO), an ileal bail acid transport inhibitor, was launched in Japan in 2018. However, evidence of its use in diverse populations is limited.

Elobixibat improves rectal sensation in patients with chronic constipation aged ≥60 years: a randomised placebo-controlled study.

Objective: High rectal sensory thresholds (RSTs) are associated with chronic constipation (CC), especially in older patients. Bile acids (BAs) affect the RSTs of healthy individuals. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of the BA transporter inhibitor elobixibat in patients with CC aged ≥60 years.

Effects of Elobixibat in Patients with Diabetes and Concomitant Chronic Constipation: an 8-week, Prospective, Single-center, Single-arm Study.

Aims: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of elobixibat in patients with diabetes and concomitant chronic constipation.

Methods: This was a single-center, single-arm study. Thirty-three patients with diabetes and chronic constipation, as defined by the Rome IV criteria, were treated with elobixibat (10 mg/day) for 8 weeks.

Impact of elobixibat on serum and fecal bile acid levels and constipation symptoms in patients with chronic constipation.

Background And Aim: Elobixibat is a locally acting inhibitor of the ileal bile acid transporter. We compared bile acid metabolism between healthy subjects and patients with chronic constipation and assessed changes in the bile acid profile after elobixibat administration in the latter group.

Methods: Healthy subjects (n = 10) and patients with chronic constipation (n = 19) were assessed as inpatients for 7 days, during which they received meals containing ~60 g/day of fat.

A novel diet-induced murine model of steatohepatitis with fibrosis for screening and evaluation of drug candidates for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Many animal models of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis have been reported. While these models exhibit mild onset of hepatitis and fibrosis, induction is often slow. For faster screening of drug candidates, there is a compelling need for convenient animal models of steatohepatitis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in which fatty liver and hepatitis are stably induced within a short period.

Branched-chain amino acids inhibit the TGF-beta-induced down-regulation of taurine biosynthetic enzyme cysteine dioxygenase in HepG2 cells.

Taurine deficiency has been suggested to contribute to the pathogenesis and complications of advanced hepatic diseases. The molecular basis for a low level of taurine associated with hepatic failure is largely unknown. Using carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced cirrhotic rat model, we found that the activity and expression of cysteine dioxygenase (CDO), a rate-limiting enzyme in taurine synthesis, were significantly decreased in the liver of these rats.

Branched chain amino acid suppresses hepatocellular cancer stem cells through the activation of mammalian target of rapamycin.

Differentiation of cancer stem cells (CSCs) into cancer cells causes increased sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents. Although inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) leads to CSC survival, the effect of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), an mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) activator remains unknown. In this study, we examined the effects of BCAA on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells expressing a hepatic CSC marker, EpCAM.

Long-term Branched Chain Amino Acid Supplementation Ameliorates Diethylnitrosamine-induced Liver Glutathione S-transferase-p Positivity in Zucker Fatty Rats.

Background: Obesity increases the risk of fatty liver disease and liver cancer. There are several models of obesity-associated hepatocellular carcinoma, but tumor development in these models is slow.

Materials And Methods: We investigated Zucker fatty rats, a model of obesity and insulin resistance, to discover if diethylnitrosamine (DEN), a potent liver carcinogen, might enhance liver carcinogenesis.

Possible role of visfatin in hepatoma progression and the effects of branched-chain amino acids on visfatin-induced proliferation in human hepatoma cells.

Obesity and related metabolic abnormalities, including adipocytokine dysbalance, are risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Visfatin, an adipocytokine that is highly expressed in visceral fat, is suggested to play a role in the progression of human malignancies. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) reduce the incidence of HCC in obese patients with liver cirrhosis and prevent obesity-related liver carcinogenesis in mice.

Branched-chain amino acids prevent insulin-induced hepatic tumor cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis through mTORC1 and mTORC2-dependent mechanisms.

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) supplementation has been reported to suppress the incidence of liver cancer in obese patients with liver cirrhosis or in obese and diabetic model animals of carcinogenesis. Whether BCAA directly suppresses cell proliferation of hepatic tumor cells under hyperinsulinemic condition remain to be defined. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of BCAA on insulin-induced proliferation of hepatic tumor cells and determine the underlying mechanisms.

Redox state of albumin is not associated with colloid osmotic pressure.

Serum albumin exists in oxidized and reduced forms. Although the oxidation of albumin affects some of its functions, the relationship between oxidized albumin and colloid osmotic pressure (COP) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an association between oxidized albumin and COP.

Localization of polypyrimidine-tract-binding protein is involved in the regulation of albumin synthesis by branched-chain amino acids in HepG2 cells.

Long-term supplementation of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) improves hypoalbuminemia in patients with cirrhosis. Our previous findings have suggested that the binding of polypyrimidine-tract-binding protein (PTB) to rat albumin mRNA attenuates its translation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of PTB in the regulation of albumin synthesis by BCAA in human hepatoma cells.