A nested case-control study of stomach cancer incidence and serum superoxide dismutase activity in the Japan Collaborative Cohort study in Japan.

Background: We conducted a nested case-control study to investigate the association between serum levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme and the incidence of stomach cancer.

Methods: A nested case-control study was established within the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study. The follow-up period was from 1988 through 1997.

Thermodynamic instability of siRNA duplex is a prerequisite for dependable prediction of siRNA activities.

We developed a simple algorithm, i-Score (inhibitory-Score), to predict active siRNAs by applying a linear regression model to 2431 siRNAs. Our algorithm is exclusively comprised of nucleotide (nt) preferences at each position, and no other parameters are taken into account. Using a validation dataset comprised of 419 siRNAs, we found that the prediction accuracy of i-Score is as good as those of s-Biopredsi, ThermoComposition21 and DSIR, which employ a neural network model or more parameters in a linear regression model.

Pathophysiologic mechanisms of obesity and related metabolic disorders: an epidemiologic study using questionnaire and serologic biomarkers.

Background: It is still unclear whether individuals with the same degree of obesity but different weight histories since young adulthood have different insulin concentration, prevalence of metabolic syndrome components and their clustering.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 3,399 (for weight difference analysis) and 1,879 (for weight fluctuation analysis) Japanese men aged 40-59 years. Weight difference was calculated by subtracting the recalled weight at about 25 years old from the current weight.

Eating fast leads to insulin resistance: findings in middle-aged Japanese men and women.

Objective: To examine relationships between speed of eating and insulin resistance.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 2704 male (mean age and BMI: 48.2 y and 23.

Reduction of inner retinal thickness in patients with autosomal dominant optic atrophy associated with OPA1 mutations.

Purpose: To determine the morphologic changes in the retina in the macula and around the optic disc in patients with autosomal dominant optic atrophy (ADOA) associated with a mutation in the OPA1 gene.

Methods: Cross-sectional images of the macular area of the retina were obtained by optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients with ADOA who had a heterozygous mutation in the OPA1 gene. There were 15 eyes of eight patients from five families: four men and four women.

Smoking status and adiponectin in healthy Japanese men and women.

Background: Recent studies promisingly indicate that adiponectin plays an important and fundamental role in the development and progression of metabolic and atherosclerosis disorders. Smoking is known as one of the most important risk factors of atherosclerosis, and its relation with metabolic disorders has also been reported. We therefore investigated the association between cigarette smoking and adiponectin concentration in a large sample of Japanese men and women.

Direct comparison study between FDG-PET and IMP-SPECT for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease using 3D-SSP analysis in the same patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the diagnostic ability of 2-[(18)F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D: -glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and N-isopropyl-p-(123)I iodoamphetamine single photon emission computed tomography (IMP-SPECT) using three-dimensional stereotactic surface projections (3D-SSP) in patients with moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Materials And Methods: FDG-PET and IMP-SPECT were performed within 3 months in 14 patients with probable moderate AD. Z-score maps of FDG-PET and IMP-SPECT images of a patient were obtained by comparison with data obtained from control subjects.

Consumption of soy foods and the risk of breast cancer: findings from the Japan Collaborative Cohort (JACC) Study.

Objective: The association between a lower incidence of breast cancer within the Asian population and the consumption of a diet high in soy has recently been the subject of much attention. To examine whether soy foods really have protective effects against breast cancer and how their influence on breast cancer is modified according to menopausal status, we conducted a population-based, prospective cohort study in Japan.

Methods: We analyzed the data from the Japan Collaborative Cohort (JACC) Study.

A nested case-control study of stomach cancer and serum insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, IGF-2 and IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)-3.

We conducted this study to investigate the association between serum levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, IGF-2, and IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)-3 and the incidence of stomach cancer. A nested case-control study of 161 stomach cancer incidences and 314 matched controls was established within the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study. The adjusted ORs for IGF-1 quartile ranged from 0.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein is quite low in Japanese men at high coronary risk.

Background: Although numerous studies have demonstrated a positive association of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) with the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD), little information exists regarding this issue in Japanese.

Methods And Results: The association between CRP and the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) was investigated in 2,523 middle-aged Japanese men without a medical history of CHD. CRP was significantly associated with this score obtained from all FRS factors.

Further inflammatory information on metabolic syndrome by adiponectin evaluation.

Background: Despite a close association of adiponectin with metabolic syndrome (MetS), its usefulness as an additional MetS factor has not been well investigated.

Methods: We studied 2327 apparently healthy Japanese male office workers aged 35 to 66 years old and investigated cross-sectionally whether categorization by serum adiponectin distinguished participants' levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) beyond the conventional MetS.

Results: In a linear regression analysis, adiponectin was associated with CRP independently of all MetS factors (beta=-0.

Adiponectin level and left ventricular hypertrophy in Japanese men.

A recent study has demonstrated that adiponectin inhibited hypertrophic signaling in the myocardium of mice, implying that a decrease in the blood adiponectin level could cause cardiac muscle hypertrophy. We hypothesized that a relationship might exist between the serum adiponectin level and electrocardiographically diagnosed left ventricular hypertrophy (ECG-LVH), and we examined this hypothesis by epidemiological study of 2839 Japanese male workers who were not taking medications for hypertension. ECG-LVH was defined as meeting Sokolow-Lyon voltage criteria and/or Cornell voltage-duration product.

White blood cell count and risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in nationwide sample of Japanese--results from the NIPPON DATA90.

Background: The association of white blood cell (WBC) count with all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality were examined in the National Integrated Project for Prospective Observation of Non-communicable Disease and Its Trends in the Aged (NIPPON DATA) 90.

Methods And Results: A total of 6,756 Japanese residents (2,773 men and 3,983 women) throughout Japan without a history of CVD were followed for 9.6 years.

Impact of intensive-care-unit(ICU)-acquired ventilator-associated pneumonia(VAP) on hospital mortality: a matched-paired case-control study.

The effect of ICU-acquired ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) on hospital mortality is still a controversial issue in many countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ICU-acquired VAP on hospital mortality in a Japanese university hospital. Our study population was comprised of patients aged 16 years or older who were admitted to our ICU and received mechanical ventilation for more than 48 hours during a period of 42 months as of December 2003.

Psychological factors and insomnia among male civil servants in Japan.

Objective: This study aims at assessing the relative impact of psychological factors on insomnia among daytime workers.

Background: Insomnia affects 5-45% of non-shift workers, making it a serious public health concern.

Methods: The study population was 3435 male civil servants aged 35 years and over.

Psychological attitudes and risk of breast cancer in Japan: a prospective study.

Objective: To examine the association between psychological factors and the risk of breast cancer prospectively in a non-Western population.

Methods: Data from the Japan Collaborative Cohort (JACC) study were analyzed. From 1988 to 1990, 34,497 women aged 40-79 years completed a questionnaire on medical, lifestyle and psychosocial factors.

Lung cancer mortality and body mass index in a Japanese cohort: findings from the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study (JACC Study).

Objective: To determine the relationship of body mass index (BMI) and BMI changes during adulthood to lung cancer mortality in a large-sized Japanese cohort.

Methods: We followed 29,350 men for a maximum of 11 years in the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk (JACC Study), which was initiated from 1988 to 1990. Complementary log-log modeling was employed with age, smoking status, and family history of lung cancer as covariates.

The transition to menopause reinforces adiponectin production and its contribution to improvement of insulin-resistant state.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of menopausal status on the serum adiponectin concentration and investigate whether the contribution of adiponectin to insulin resistance is modified by menopausal status.

Subjects: We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional study of 207 premenopausal and 206 postmenopausal Japanese women.

Measurements: Data on anthropometric characteristics, fasting serum adiponectin, glucose and insulin concentrations were used.

Perceived psychological stress and serum leptin concentrations in Japanese men.

Objective: To examine epidemiologically whether subjects with higher stress perception levels have higher leptin concentrations.

Research Methods And Procedures: In this cross-sectional study, the study population comprised 1062 male workers at local government offices in central Japan. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed in 1997.

A positive association between leptin and blood pressure of normal range in Japanese men.

The results of previous studies on the relationship between leptin and blood pressure are discordant. We investigated to what extent the serum leptin level was related to blood pressure independent of the degree of insulin resistance. The subjects were 1916 men aged 34-69 years whose mean body mass index (BMI) was 23.

HIV prevalence and factors associated with HIV infection among male injection drug users under 30: a cross-sectional study in Long An, Vietnam.

Background: Sufficient targeted HIV prevention activities aiming at reducing HIV transmission within and from an extremely marginalized population of injection drug users (IDUs) must urgently and efficiently be implemented in Vietnam. This study was conducted to facilitate the development of such activities by describing transmission risks of young IDUs and evaluating factors in association with HIV infection.

Methods: Thirty clusters were selected from 29 hotspot communes in Long An province by probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling method.

A new method of blood sampling reduces pain for newborn infants: a prospective, randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background: Using a new simple blood glucose measurement device (Free Style), blood can thus be sampled from the forearm, which is less sensitive to pain than from the heel. Measuring the blood glucose levels in newborn infants using Free Style is therefore a potentially less painful testing modality than traditional blood sampling methods.

Objective: To compare the pain intensity at the time of blood sampling from the forearm using the Free Style with the conventional method from the heel.

Factors related to frequency of engaging in outside activities among elderly persons living an independent life at home.

We examined by cross-sectional design the association between the frequency of outside activity and the demographic, health problem, lifestyle, psychosocial and environmental factors among 239 community-dwelling elderly Japanese people (105 men and 134 women) aged 65 years and older, who lived independently at home. The associations of the outside activities more than 6-7 days per week based on a categorical questionnaire choice with potential factors were expressed by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) calculated through logistic regression analysis by sex. The proportions of those engaging in outside activity more than 6-7 days per week were 38.

Seasonal variations of acute massive submacular haemorrhage associated with age-related macular degeneration.

Aims: To determine whether there is a seasonal variation in the onset of acute, massive submacular haemorrhage associated with age-related macular degeneration.

Methods: Sixty eyes of 59 patients diagnosed between April 1998 and March 2005, were studied retrospectively. For each patient, the month and season of onset of the submacular haemorrhage and the mean monthly ambient temperature in Nagoya were analysed.

Interleukin-8 gene polymorphism associated with susceptibility to non-cardia gastric carcinoma with microsatellite instability.

Background And Aim: Gastric carcinoma (GC) with microsatellite instability (MSI) exhibits clinicopathological characteristics distinct from microsatellite-stable (MSS) GC. Both MSI and MSS carcinomas are mostly associated with chronic gastritis infected by Helicobacter pylori (Hp). The relationship between Hp-induced inflammation and the mutator pathway of MSI remains unclear.