Development of data-based semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire for dietary studies in middle-aged Japanese.

Background: We designed a data-based semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire to clarify the relationship between food intake and lifestyle-related diseases among middle-aged Japanese.

Methods: A total of 351 middle-aged individuals were recruited to a one-day weighed diet record survey in 1994. In all, 586 foods were consumed.

Advanced onset of menarche and higher bone mineral density depending on vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism.

Bone mineral density (BMD) at distal forearm, and weight and height of healthy Japanese girls aged 18-19 years were measured and their age at menarche was obtained through a questionnaire. A statistically significant association was found between BMD at distal radius and vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphism at the ApaI site. The age at menarche in the population with Aa genotype was significantly earlier than that in the aa population.

Histological grading of malignancy correlates with regional lymph node metastasis and survival of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of certain clinical and pathologic parameters in prognosing in oral squamous cell carcinoma (O-SCC). Patients and Methods. We performed a univariate and multivariate analysis of 212 patients with O-SCC and thus determined the move valuable factors in making a prognosis.

Primary localization amyloidosis of the sublingual gland.

We here in present a very rare case of primary localized amyloidosis with amyloid A protein of the sublingual gland. It presented a tumorous appearance on the left oral floor. Pretreatment with potassium premanganate made biopsy specimens unstained by Congo red.

Provirus load in patients with human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 uveitis correlates with precedent Graves' disease and disease activities.

We previously demonstrated the increased provirus load in the peripheral blood of patients with human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) uveitis (HU). To delineate the relevance of the increased provirus load to clinical and immunologic parameters, we studied the correlation between them. Seventy-nine HU patients (24 male and 55 female) were included in the study, with their informed consent.

Coffee consumption and decreased serum gamma-glutamyltransferase and aminotransferase activities among male alcohol drinkers.

Background: Attention has long been drawn to the potentially harmful effects of coffee on health, however recent epidemiological studies have suggested unexpected, possibly beneficial effects of coffee against the occurrence of alcoholic liver cirrhosis and upon serum liver enzyme levels.

Methods: We examined the potential inverse association between coffee drinking and serum concentrations of gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and aminotransferases, with special reference to interaction with alcohol consumption, in a cross-sectional study involving 12687 health examinees (7398 men and 5289 women) aged 40-69 years from over 1000 workplaces in Nagano prefecture in central Japan. Those who had a history of liver disease and/or serum aminotransferases exceeding the normal range were excluded.

Involvement of CYP1A2 in mexiletine metabolism.

Aims: Mexiletine has been reported to be hydroxylated by cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) in humans. However, the involvement of CYP1A2 in the metabolism of mexiletine has been proposed based on the interaction with theophylline which is mainly metabolized by CYP1A2. The aim of this study was to clarify the role of human CYP1A2 in mexiletine metabolism.

Smoking and dietary risk factors for cervical cancer at different age group in Japan.

The importance of the major risk and protective factors for cervical cancer in women by age group was evaluated with the use of data from the Hospital-based Epidemiologic Research Program at Aichi Cancer Center (HERPACC), Japan. This study included 416 cervical cancer cases and 20,985 referents confirmed as free of cancer. Cases and referents were divided into three age groups: the younger, middle and older age groups (30-44, 45-54 and 55-69 years old, respectively).

Cytochrome P450 2C9 catalyzes indomethacin O-demethylation in human liver microsomes.

Indomethacin is a widely used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. We studied the human cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoform responsible for indomethacin O-demethylation, the major metabolic pathway for indomethacin. For indomethacin O-demethylase activities, the KM value was 34.

[Properties in elastin of different arteries: cross-links, hydrophobicity and fibronectin in elastin fraction].

In order to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative changes of elastin in different arteries, biochemical properties were measured; that is, elastin content, isodesmosine (ID) as cross-links content, free thiol content (free SH/total SH), hydrophobic properties and coexisting fibronectin (FN) content in elastin fraction from different arteries, correlation coefficients of these properties and these their effect with aging were also calculated. The results from different arteries in regard to changes in elastin can be summarized as follows: 1. The basilar artery in the quantitative changes of elastin.

Impact of family history on the risk of breast cancer among the Japanese.

To assess the impact of family history on the risk of developing breast cancer, a case-referent study was conducted using data from the Hospital-based Epidemiologic Research Program at Aichi Cancer Center (HERPACC), Japan. In total, 1,551 breast cancer cases were included and 28,450 women, confirmed as free of cancer, were recruited as the reference group. The odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated by using an unconditional logistic regression model.

Dietary patterns in Japanese migrants to southeastern Brazil and their descendants.

This paper describes the dietary patterns of people of Japanese ancestry living in São Paulo, Brazil. Two cross-sectional surveys using a food frequency questionnaire (in 1989 and 1995) and self-administered three-day food record (only in 1995) were carried out in randomly chosen first-generation (Japan-born) and second-generation (Brazil-born) Japanese living in the city of São Paulo (n = 166), aged 40-69 years at the time of the first survey (1989). Daily intake of rice, bread, milk, fruits and coffee, and infrequent consumption of pork, green tea, black tea, tsukemono (pickled vegetables), seaweed and mushrooms were reported.

Problems on the diagnosis of sudden infant death syndrome.

Various autopsy cases of sudden unexpected death (SUD) in infancy were examined at the Tokyo Medical Examiner's Office between 1985 and 1994. More than half of the SUD were diagnosed as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), but a number of other causes, such as mechanical asphyxia, were also diagnosed. SIDS is diagnosed by autopsy, but there are no clear diagnostic criteria differentiating SIDS from other causes of SUD.

Combination assay for tumor markers in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: This study evaluated use of a combination assay of tumor markers in the diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Patients And Methods: Serum levels of four tumor markers (carcinoembryonic antigen [CEA], squamous cell carcinoma antigen [SCCA], immunosuppressive acidic protein [IAP], and cytokeratin 19 fragment [Cyfra]) were simultaneously measured in 42 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (O-SCC) and in 12 patients with oral benign diseases.

Results: The positive rates were 31.

[Evaluation of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy for oral squamous cell carcinoma].

In the present study, we investigated the clinical and histopathological effects of CP therapy consisting of cisplatin (CDDP 50 mg/m2) or carboplatin (CBDCA 300 mg/m2) and peplomycin (PEP 5 mg/day) for 25 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. The effects of treatment and associated complications were as follows: 1) Complete response (CR) was achieved in 8 and partial response (PR) in 14 of the 25 cases. The overall clinical response rate was 88%.

Reproducibility of self-administered questionnaire in epidemiological surveys.

We evaluated the reproducibility of data on intake frequency of 33 food items, beverage intake frequency of 3 items, drinking and smoking habits, and past history of 10 diseases obtained from a self-administered questionnaire. The survey subjects consisted of 263 aged 39 to 79 years individuals in the general population. After about one year interval these subjects consecutively participated in two surveys and were unintentionally requested to answer to the same questionnaire.

[Management of impaired glucose tolerance: physical training therapy].

Many epidemiological surveys have shown that impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is at an increased risk of developing non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Other studies have reported that physical activity has been associated inversely with the prevalence of IGT and NIDDM, and that persons with high physical activity have a low incidence of NIDDM. These data suggest that physical training is an essential and effective therapy for IGT as a promising approach to the primary prevention of NIDDM.

Subsite (cervix/endometrium)-specific risk and protective factors in uterus cancer.

In Japan the incidence of cervical cancer has been high, but has recently been decreasing gradually, while the incidence of endometrial cancer is running at lower levels but is gradually increasing. To clarify the common and/or specific risk and/or protective factors of cervical cancer(CC) in contrast with endometrial cancer (EC), a comparative case-control study was conducted at the Aichi Cancer Center Hospital, Japan. In total, 556 CC cases and 145 EC cases were included and 26,751 women, confirmed as free of cancer, were chosen as the common control group.

Autopsy cases of sudden unexpected infant deaths examined at the Tokyo medical examiner's office, 1964-1993.

The medical examination system in Japan covers only four regions (Yokohama, Osaka, Kobe and the 23 wards in Tokyo). In almost all other regions, it is difficult to perform reliable epidemiologic studies. This report presents a chronological analysis of sudden infant deaths, including sudden infant death syndrome, over 30 years (1964-93) in the 23 Tokyo wards.

Usefulness and limitation of phylogenetic analysis for hepatitis C virus core region: application to isolates from Egyptian and Yemeni patients.

We report here the nucleotide sequences of the core region of HCV isolates from Egyptian and Yemeni patients and the method for classifying these HCV isolates by phylogenetic analysis. Sequence comparison suggested that the genotypes of these isolates were the same. Preliminary phylogenetic analysis of the HCV core region indicated that the genotypes of both isolates were 1c.

Altered reactivity of human cerebral arteries after subarachnoid hemorrhage.

To investigate the effects of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) on the responsiveness of human cerebral arteries to vasoactive substances, the authors measured the isometric tension generated in helical strips of basilar and middle cerebral arteries isolated from human cadavers. Contractions caused by KCl, prostaglandin F2 alpha, noradrenaline, and serotonin were reduced in arteries obtained from cadavers with aneurysmal SAH damage and compared to those obtained from cadavers with no indication of intracranial diseases. Endothelium-dependent relaxation elicited by substance P and bradykinin, and endothelium-independent relaxation induced by prostaglandin I2 and nitroglycerin were also markedly decreased in arteries affected by SAH.