Effect of Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) in alcohol-induced liver enzyme elevation.

To investigate the effects of Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) supplementation and the mechanism action of AHCC in patients with alcohol-induced mildly elevated liver enzyme levels, participants were randomly allocated to the placebo, 1 g AHCC, or 3 g AHCC group and took the supplement for 12 wk. Subjects visited the hospital for clinical and biochemical measurements, for examination of adverse events, to return unused supplements, and to obtain their next supplements. Biochemical tests including liver enzymes, a questionnaire survey, and anthropometric measurements were collected at baseline and every 4 wk thereafter. Adherence and adverse events were evaluated. After 12 wk of supplementation, the percentage change in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level was significantly different between the placebo (4.02±59.07%) and both AHCC groups (1 g AHCC: 223.89±20.59%, 3 g AHCC: 224.09±30.73%) (p=0.04). Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (p<0.05) and interleukin-1ß (p<0.01) were significantly lower, while those of adiponectin were higher in both AHCC groups than in the placebo group (p<0.01). AHCC supplementation for 12 wk may improve the levels of liver enzymes and circulating pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in patients with alcohol-induced liver enzyme elevation with mildly elevated liver enzyme levels.

Changes in bone markers after once-weekly low-dose alendronate in postmenopausal women with moderate bone loss.

BACKGROUND: High bone turnover, with bone resorption exceeding bone formation, is a major mechanism of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Therefore, inhibition of bone resorption is a rational approach for the prevention of bone loss. The objective of the current study was to determine the short-term efficacy of once-weekly low-dose alendronate in the prevention of bone loss, via bone turnover markers, in early postmenopausal Korean women with moderate bone loss. METHODS: This study involved a 12-week, randomized, double-blind clinical trial that compared the effects of placebo with alendronate 20mg once weekly. All subjects received supplemental calcium 600 mg and vitamin D 400IU daily. We recruited 63 postmenopausal women (ranging from 50 to 65 years of age) with the lowest lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) at least 2.0 S.D. below the mean value for young healthy adults. BMD was measured at baseline and serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin, C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), and osteoprotegerin (OPG) were measured at baseline and 12 weeks after treatment. RESULTS: We randomly assigned 63 women to either placebo or alencronate 20 mg once a week for 3 months. Forty-nine women continued and completed all 3 months. After 3 months, bone resorption markers were significantly decreased in the alendronate group than in the placebo group: CTX -47.2% vs. 15% (p<0.01), ALP 1.6% vs. 25.9% (p=0.01), osteocalcin -29.2% vs. -13.6 (p=0.06). Women who received alendronate showed similar results to those who received placebo with regard to adverse events. CONCLUSION: Once-weekly low-dose alendronate may be a cost-effective and safe method of suppressing bone turnover in early postmenopausal women with moderate bone loss.

Abdominal visceral fat reduction is associated with favorable changes of serum retinol binding protein-4 in nondiabetic subjects.

The adipocytokine retinol binding protein-4 (RBP4) has recently been shown to link obesity and insulin resistance, although their relationship remains controversial in human studies. The influence of weight reduction with changes of fat distribution on serum RBP4 concentration in nondiabetics is also unknown. We assessed the effect of weight reduction (especially abdominal visceral fat loss) on serum RBP4 levels after a structuralized weight-reduction program. We conducted a prospective intervention study consisting of a 16-week weight reduction program, including lifestyle modification and adjuvant appetite suppressants. A total of 52 nondiabetic subjects aged 37.4 +/- 11 years with a body mass index of 27.4 +/- 4 kg/m (2) were included. Serum RBP4 concentrations with other metabolic parameters and abdominal adipose tissue areas as determined by computed tomography scan were measured both before and 16 weeks after the weight reduction program. Subjects had a 10.9% loss of body weight accompanied by a 25.5% decrease in serum RBP4 levels, with improved ( ) insulin sensitivity after the program. The changes in RBP4 levels were significantly correlated with the amounts of abdominal visceral fat loss (r = 0.38, p<0.01) but were not associated with the amount of total body fat loss or abdominal subcutaneous fat loss. Weight reduction, especially the loss of abdominal visceral fat, lowers serum RBP4 concentrations in nondiabetic subjects. The relationship between individual changes in RBP4 and abdominal visceral fat indicated that RBP4 may be involved in the beneficial effect of visceral fat reduction on the improvement of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.