Intranasal levels of lead as an exacerbation factor for allergic rhinitis in humans and mice.

BACKGROUND: Air pollutants are suspected to affect pathological conditions of allergic rhinitis (AR). OBJECTIVES: After detecting Pb (375 µg/kg) in Japanese cedar pollen, the effects of intranasal exposure to Pb on symptoms of AR were investigated. METHODS: Pollen counts, subjective symptoms, and Pb levels in nasal epithelial lining fluid (ELF) were investigated in 44 patients with Japanese cedar pollinosis and 57 controls from preseason to season. Effects of intranasal exposure to Pb on symptoms were confirmed by using a mouse model of AR. RESULTS: Pb levels in ELF from patients were >40% higher than those in ELF from control subjects during the pollen season but not before the pollen season. Pb level in ELF was positively associated with pollen counts for the latest 4 days before visiting a hospital as well as scores of subjective symptoms. Intranasal exposure to Pb exacerbated symptoms in allergic mice, suggesting Pb as an exacerbation factor. Pb levels in ELF and nasal mucosa in Pb-exposed allergic mice were higher than those in Pb-exposed nonallergic mice, despite intranasally challenging the same amount of Pb. Because the increased Pb level in the nasal mucosa of Pb-exposed allergic mice was decreased after washing the nasal cavity, Pb on the surface of but not inside the nasal mucosa may have been a source of increased Pb level in ELF of allergic mice. CONCLUSIONS: Increased nasal Pb level partially derived from pollen could exacerbate subjective symptoms of AR, indicating Pb as a novel hazardous air pollutant for AR.

Improvement of balance in young adults by a sound component at 100 Hz in music.

About 80% of young people use personal listening devices (PLDs) including MP3 players to listen to music, which consists of sound components with various frequencies. Previous studies showed that exposure to noise of high intensities affected balance in humans. However, there is no information about a frequency-dependent effect of sound components in music from a PLD on balance in young people. In this study, we determined the associations between sound component levels (dB) at 100, 1000 and 4000 Hz in music from a portable listening device (PLD) and balance objectively determined by posturography in young adults (n = 110). We divided the subjects into two groups (low and high exposure groups) based on cut-off values of sound component levels at each frequency using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Balance in the high exposure group (≥46.6 dB) at 100 Hz was significantly better than that in low exposure group in logistic regression models adjusted for sex, BMI, smoking status and alcohol intake, while there were no significant associations at 1000 and 4000 Hz. Thus, this study demonstrated for the first time that the sound component at 100 Hz with more than 46.6 dB in music improved balance in young adults.

Decreased bioelements content in the hair of patients with Fahr's disease (idiopathic bilateral calcification in the brain).

The remarkable calcification of the basal ganglia and cerebellum has been traditionally called Fahr's disease, but this nomenclature is criticized for including heterogeneous diseases. To determine the pattern of some biological metals in the hair of patients with Fahr's disease, we investigated the levels of 24 bioelements in the hair of 28 patients (17 males and 11 females) with Fahr's disease and compared them with those of three age-, sex-, and living region-matched controls (84 controls in total). Interestingly, we found decreases in the levels of several bioelements [calcium (Ca), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), mercury (Hg), iodine (I), nickel (Ni), phosphate (P), lead (Pb), and selenium (Se)] in the hair of patients. This is in contrast to our previous finding of increases of Cu, Fe, zinc (Zn), and magnesium (Mg) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients. The decreased level of Cu in the hair was the most prominent and pathognomonic, while the increased level of Cu in the CSF had been found to be the most significant in patients. More significant correlations between two bioelements in the hair were recognized in patients than controls. Although Fahr's disease has been considered to be a heterogenous entity, the significant tendencies of several bioelements in the hair of patients in this study suggest metabolic disorders of bioelements, especially biometals, on the background. Some transporters, especially P transporter such as PiT2, of bioelements will be involved in the different distribution of bioelements in the body of patients.

Genetic and chemical comparison of Boi (Sinomeni Caulis et Rhizoma) and Seifuto (Caulis Sinomenii).

Boi and its original plant Sinomenium acutum from Japan were compared with Seifuto and its botanical origins from China in terms of their internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences and major chemical components. Boi, Seifuto, and their botanical origins overall showed seven variable sites in the ITS sequence and six genotypes. Japanese S. acutum and Boi had one nucleotide variation at position 593 to show two genotypes (J1 and J2) and their heterozygote (J3). Seifuto samples and their botanical origins, S. acutum and S. acutum var. cinereum from China, showed three genotypes (C1, C2, and C3), which did not agree with the botanical classification, indicating that they cannot be distinguished according to their ITS sequences. All Seifuto samples from Henan market showed the same ITS genotype (C1). The Japanese and Chinese genotypes differed in the nucleotide position 424, which can be used to distinguish the country of origin of these materials. In the HPLC analysis of six major components, sinomenine (1), magnoflorine (2), menisperine (3), 6-O-methyllaudanosoline glucoside (4), liriodendrin (5), and menisdaurin (6), all were detected in Boi, whereas five (all except for menisdaurin) were detected in Seifuto. The main component in the rhizome of Seifuto was sinomenine, whereas magnoflorine was the main component in the rhizome and the climbing stem of Boi. The content of sinomenine in Seifuto was almost twice that in Boi. Although the individual content of alkaloids 1-4 differed between Boi and Seifuto, the total contents of these alkaloids were comparable between them both in the climbing stem and rhizome.

Effect of the rhizomes of Atractylodes lancea and its constituents on the delay of gastric emptying.

The effect of rhizomes of Atractylodes lancea on gastric disorders, in particular, the delay in gastric emptying induced by N(G)-nitro-L-arginine in rats, was investigated. Intragastric treatment with an aqueous extract (250 mg/kg) and its lipophilic fractions (4 mg/kg) significantly improved delayed gastric emptying. The major constituents of the lipophilic fraction were two sesquiterpens, hinesol and beta-eudesmol, and four known polyacetylenic compounds, atractylodin, atractylodinol, acetylatractylodinol and 4,6,12-tetradecatriene-8,10-diyne-1,3,14-triol. The activity was found in the four polyacetylenic compounds at a similar potency, but not in the two sesquiterpens. To clarify the effect of the four polyacetylenic compounds in this extract, we attempted to evaluate the activity of atractylodin, as representative, at a dose of 0.2 mg/kg based on the total amounts (0.2 mg/250 mg aqueous extract) of the four polyacetylenic compounds. In addition, atractylodin improved the delay in gastric emptying at between 0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that the aqueous extract improved the delayed gastric emptying, and polyacetylenic compounds contributed to its activity.

Components of Panax ginseng that improve accelerated small intestinal transit.

We previously clarified that Dai-kenchu-to, a Chinese prescription, was useful for improving carbachol-induced hyperperistalsis of the small intestine in vivo, and the efficacy of Ginseng Radix, a crude drug component of Dai-kenchu-to, was also confirmed. Ginseng Radix, the root of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, showed significant ameliorative effects on both the carbachol-induced and the BaCl(2)-induced accelerated small intestinal transit model in mice, suggesting that both an inhibitory effect on the cholinergic nervous system and direct suppressive effect on muscles were involved in the ameliorative effect of Ginseng Radix on the accelerated small intestinal transit. Ginsenoside Rb1 (4) and ginsenoside Rd (7), major components of Ginseng Radix, improved both animal models. These results suggest that ginsenoside Rb1 (4) and ginsenoside Rd (7) were representative compounds of Ginseng Radix for improving the accelerated movement of the small intestine and that these compounds partly contribute to the action of Dai-kenchu-to on small intestinal transit.

Component of Zingiber officinale that improves the enhancement of small intestinal transport.

6-Shogaol, a constituent of Zingiber officinale, improved carbachol-induced accelerated small intestinal transit in vivo, as well as improving longitudinal muscle contraction induced by low-frequency electrical stimulation of the isolated guinea pig small intestine in vitro. In addition, 6-shogaol ameliorated BaCl(2) -induced hyperperistalsis of the small intestine in vivo.

Pharmacological evaluation of Shokyo and Kankyo (1).

Zingiberis Rhizoma (Shokyo, [Japanese characters: see text]) showed significant ameliorative effect on the BaCl2-induced delay of gastric emptying in rat. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the aqueous extract of Shokyo resulted in isolation of 6-gingesulfonic acid (1) and shogasulfonic acid A (3). These compounds significantly improved the delay of gastric emptying on both BaCl2-induced and N(G)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA)-induced model in rat. Zingiberis Siccatum Rhizoma (Kankyo, [Japanese characters: see text]) had significant efficacy against castor oil-induced diarrhea. In addition, Kankyo showed the activity increasing intestinal blood flow in normal rat.