[The effect of air massage on serum constituents].

This study investigated the effect of air massage of the legs on serum constituents. Five volunteers (aged 48.8+/-12.98 years, n=5) served as subjects. The study consisted of three periods as follows: control period for one month(no-mas), massage period receiving the massage for 15 minutes per day for one month(mas), and another massage period receiving the massage for 15 minutes per day along with 40% oxygen uptake for one month (O2-mas). Venous blood samples were drawn every week during the study periods. Serum constituents were examined using an auto analyzer(Hitachi Ltd., JEOL Ltd.). Albumin concentration significantly increased under the O2-mas condition, whereas free-cholesterol concentration was significantly decreased under the same condition. In addition, significant increases in concentrations of creatinine and calcium were seen in men under the O2-mas condition. Furthermore, there was a significant decrease in the activity of alkaline phosphatase in women under both the mas and O2-mas conditions. These findings suggested that massage has positive effects on nutritional recovery and metabolism of lipids, bone and muscle. Thus, it may be argued that massage could potentially be effective as a form of exercise.

Development of a new method for measuring total urinary protein using acid violet 6B pigment.

We have developed a new method for measuring total urinary protein using acid violet 6B (AV6B) pigment. Nine purified components of human urinary proteins and urine samples collected randomly from 123 diabetic outpatients were used. There were 62, 36, and 25 cases of prenephropathy, early nephropathy, and overt nephropathy, respectively. All samples were measured by Coomassie brilliant blue G 250 (CBB), pyrogallol red-molybdate (PRM), and AV6B methods using an optical photometer. In healthy subjects, the major components of urinary proteins, such as gamma-globulins, IgG, IgA Tamm-Horsfall protein, and transferrin, the reactivity values of the AV6B and PRM methods were similar. The CBB method was the least sensitive of the three methods. In the urine samples from diabetic patients, the urinary protein values measured by the AV6B method were higher than those measured by the CBB method in the prenephropathy stage. The values obtained by the AV6B method (y) correlated well with those from the CBB method (x) (y=1.243x+3.61, r=0.904). When the values from the AV6B method (y) were compared to those from the PRM method (x), correlation was low (y=1.406x-29.15, r=0.786). In conclusion, the AV6B method was more useful than the CBB and PRM methods for low levels of urinary protein.