Transmembrane G protein-coupled receptor 5 signaling stimulates fibroblast growth factor 21 expression concomitant with up-regulation of the transcription factor nuclear receptor Nr4a1.

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) acts as an endocrine factor, playing important roles in the regulation of energy homeostasis, glucose and lipid metabolism. It is induced by diverse metabolic and cellular stresses, such as starvation and cold challenge, which in turn facilitate adaptation to the stress environment. The pharmacological action of FGF21 has received much attention, because the administration of FGF21 or its analogs has been shown to have an anti-obesity effect in rodent models.

Seasonality in physical activity and walking of healthy older adults.

Background: An increasing number of older adults require improvements in their quality of life. Physical activities, particularly walking ability, are of primary importance for older adults. The influence of season on physical activity has not been sufficiently studied among older adults.

Combined effects of age and gender on gait symmetry and regularity assessed by autocorrelation of trunk acceleration.

Background: The gait of a healthy person is believed to be more regular and symmetrical than those of an individual with a disease. Thus, symmetry and regularity are important indicators of human gait.

Methods: The effects of age and gender on gait symmetry and regularity were investigated in 87 Japanese participants by measuring trunk accelerometry during a 7-m walk.

Addition of an arch support improves the biomechanical effect of a laterally wedged insole.

In order to examine if the addition of an arch support could improve the biomechanical effect of the laterally wedged insole, three-dimensional gait analysis was performed on 20 healthy volunteers. Kinetic and kinematic parameters at the knee and subtalar joints were compared among the following four types of insoles; a 5-mm thick flat insole, a flat insole with an arch support (AS), a 6 degrees inclined laterally wedged insole (LW), and a laterally wedged insole with an arch support (LWAS). The knee adduction moment averaged for the entire stance phase was reduced by the use of LW and LWAS by 7.

Inconsistent knee varus moment reduction caused by a lateral wedge in knee osteoarthritis.

Objective: To determine--with the assistance of a larger sample size--whether the inconsistency of reducing the knee-joint varus moment with a lateral wedge in patients with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis (OA) persists and if so, what underlying mechanisms may explain it.

Design: Crossover design whereby 51 patients with bilateral isolated medial compartment knee OA and 19 age-matched healthy controls walked with two different wedge conditions: a 0-degree control wedge and a 6-degree lateral wedge. We conducted three-dimensional motion analysis, hip-knee-ankle (HKA) angle measurement, and radiologic assessment with Kellgren-Lawrence grade.

Effect of a lateral wedge on joint moments during gait in subjects with recurrent ankle sprain.

This study assessed the biomechanic effects of wearing a lateral wedge on the subtalar joint moment during gait in athletes with and without an unstable lateral ankle. A crossover design was applied whereby 50 collegiate males walked with two different wedges: a 0 degrees control wedge and a 6 degrees lateral wedge. We investigated frontal plane angles and moments at the subtalar joint and the knee joint, as well as ground reaction forces and center of pressure excursion.

Effects of laterally wedged insoles on knee and subtalar joint moments.

Objective: To assess the biomechanic effects of wearing a lateral wedge on the knee joint varus moment during gait in elders with and without knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Design: Crossover design whereby subjects walked under 2 different insole conditions: a 0 degrees control wedge and a 6 degrees lateral wedge.

Setting: A gait laboratory with 3-dimensional motion analysis and force platform equipment.

Changes of joint moments in the gait of normal subjects wearing laterally wedged insoles.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the kinematic and kinetic effects of wearing a laterally wedged insole on the knee joint moment during gait, specifically in the frontal plane, in normal healthy adults.

Design: Motion analyses were conducted with (1) a three-dimensional motion analysis system and (2) ground reaction force analysis using force platforms when subjects walked under three different insole conditions: no wedge, a low wedge with a 3-degree lateral angle, and a high wedge with a 6-degree lateral angle.

Results: The high-wedge insole significantly reduced the knee joint varus moment during gait compared with the gait with the no-wedge insole.

Induction of locomotor-like EMG activity in paraplegic persons by orthotic gait training.

This is, to our knowledge, the first report demonstrating the effects of orthotic gait training on the activity of the spinal locomotor neural networks. Three subjects with complete spinal cord injury (SCI) performed 1-h training with reciprocating gait orthosis 5 days/week for 12 weeks. The results showed that after 3 (n=1) or 6 weeks (n=2) of training, EMG activities synchronized with locomotor rhythm appeared in the soleus muscle (SOL) in all subjects, although very little EMG activity accompanied the orthotic gait at the early training stage.