Changes in dermal structure and skin oxidative stress in overweight and obese Japanese males after weight loss: a longitudinal observation study.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Previous studies have reported decreased dermal echogenicity and increased skin oxidative stress in overweight males. However, it is unknown whether these skin parameters of overweight and obese people are similar to those of individuals exhibiting a normal body weight following weight loss. The purpose of this study was to (1) compare the changes in the dermal structure parameters and levels of skin oxidative stress before and after weight loss in overweight and obese people in Japan and (2) to clarify how these aspects changed when body weight would be reduced to normal body weight. METHODS: Male volunteers with a body mass index of ≥25 kg/m2 were recruited. The dermal structure was visualized and dermal echogenicity and thickness were measured using ultrasound scanners. The mRNA expression level of heme oxygenase-1 in the hair follicles was quantitatively analyzed as a marker of skin oxidative stress. RESULTS: When overweight individuals in their 20s to 30s reduced their weight to normal, decreased dermal thickness in the abdominal region was observed in 50% of the subjects; however, no increase in dermal echogenicity was observed. A decrease in dermal thickness and an increase in dermal echogenicity in the thighs was observed in 83.3% of the subjects. No decrease in the level of dermal oxidative stress was observed. CONCLUSION: The dermal structure in the thighs of overweight young individuals can be improved to the level of the structure in those of normal body weight individuals following weight loss.

Enzymes of the de novo pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway in Toxoplasma gondii.

All six enzymes of the de novo biosynthetic pathway leading to the biosynthesis of UMP have been characterized in Toxoplasma gondii. The first three enzymes of the pathway, carbamyl phosphate synthetase-II (CPS-II), aspartate transcarbamylase (ATCase) and dihydroorotase (DHOase) could be consistently separated by sucrose gradient centrifugation. Their molecular weights were estimated to be approximately 540 000, 140 000 and 70 000, respectively. The last two enzymes, orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (OPRTase) and orotidylate decarboxylase (ODCase), cosedimented at the same position, corresponding also to a molecular weight of approximately 70 000. The fourth enzyme, dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHO-DHase), was associated with the particulate fraction. Apparent Km values for the respective enzymes were: CPS-II, MgATP2- (19.7 1.2 mM), L-glutamine (12.0 +/- 1.7 microM), ammonia (15.5 +/- 2.7 mM); ATCase, carbamyl phosphate (26.2 +/- 3.5 microM), L-aspartate (17.6 +/- 8.5 mM); DHOase (reverse direction) dihydroorotate (1.6 +/- 0.08 microM); ODCase, orotidine 5'-monophosphate (0.41 +/- 0.04 microM). MgUTP2- was found to act as an inhibitor of CPS-II, with an apparent Ki of 0.41 mM. However, 5-phospho-alpha-D-ribosyl-1-diphosphate, dimethyl sulphoxide and glycerol had no effect on the Km value for MgATP2-. The effect of some inhibitors, including pyrimidine and purine nucleotides and analogs and respiratory chain inhibitors, was also determined for the enzymes of the pathway.

Immunoglobulin E: raised levels in sera and pleural exudates of patients with paragonimiasis.

Serum IgE concentrations of patients with paragonimiasis were determined by a radioimmunosorbent test. The mean concentration was 3,462.3 IU/ml in a group of 13 cases of paragonimiasis miyazakii in which patients showed clinical symptoms and/or positive immunological diagnostic tests, and 1,026.6 IU/ml in a control group of 13 individuals who had eaten uncooked freshwater crabs, Potamon dehaani, but had been found to be free from the infection. Moreover, the IgE level of the pleural exudates obtained from four patients with paragonimiasis miyazakii on the day of bleeding or within several days after was significantly higher than that of their sera, ranging between 4,200 IU/ml and 10,000 IU/ml. This was true also in a case of paragonimiasis westermani. Sera and pleural exudates of patients with both forms of paragonimiasis were applied to immunosorbent columns of Sepharose 4B beads coupled with saline extracts of Paragonimus miyazakii, P. weetermani, or P. ohirai. IgE eluted from the corresponding column was considered to be specific, being around 5% to 10% of the total IgE.

Eosinophilic meningitis: a suspected case of angiostrongylosis found in Shizuoka Prefecture, Honshu, Japan.

A patient with eosinophilic meningitis in Shizuoka Prefecture, Honshu, Japan had nausea, vomiting and headache on admission; laboratory examinations revealed leukocytosis with eosinophilia. Eight days later neck stiffness appeared. Lumbar puncture showed an increase of the initial pressure in association with eosinophilic pleocytosis in the spinal fluid. The possibility of angiostrongylosis was considered because the patient had eaten raw slugs for 4 years as a remedy for lumbago. Although the serum contained cross-reactive antibodies against Toxocara canis, positive reactions to Angiostrongylus cantonensis antigens were observed in all of the immunological tests made. These observations, together with results of epidemiological studies in Honshu carried out by other investigators, suggest that the present case of eosinophilic meningitis may have been caused by A. cantonensis. One previous case has been reported from Honshu Island, Japan.

Control of schistosomiasis japonica in the Nagatoishi area of Kurume, Japan.

A pilot experiment using NaPCP as a molluscicide to control schistosomiasis japonica was initiated in 1950--51 in Nagatoishi-cho, Kurume, Japan, where 1,050 persons lived behind dikes built to prevent flooding from the Chikugo River. They farmed 60 ha of rice, and 72.9% of them were infected with schistosomiasis. At the end of 2 years, 99.5% of the snails (Oncomelania h. nosophora) were controlled and new cases dropped from 30--35 per year to 5 and 0 at the end of the 1st and 2nd year, respectively. Mollusciciding was continued by Japanese, and paddy irrigation ditches were lined with concrete by 1958. Land reclamation, involving conversion of cultivated land in the river bottom to a golf course, resulted in virtual elimination of infected snails from this area and, when found, snails were uninfected. Using immunologic tests (intradermal, complement fixation, and circumoval precipitation) plus multiple stool examinations in 1972 and 1978, it was possible to demonstrate a marked decrease in cases of schistosomiasis in children 15 years of age or younger. These results were significantly different (P less than 0.001) from those found in similar tests run in 1940 and 1966. By 1978 all children in the Nagatoishi area of Kurume, Japan, were negative for Schistosoma japonicum infection.

Application of the latex agglutination test for human paragonimiasis in South America.

The latex agglutination test (LAT) was compared with the complement fixation test (CFT), double diffusion test (DDT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the serodiagnosis of South American paragonimiasis. Sera from 17 Peruvian and Ecuadorian patients with paragonimiasis, from 15 Japanese patients with other helminthiases, and from 100 healthy students were analyzed. The tests were also compared using serum samples from patients treated with bithionol. There was remarkable agreement among the methods and it was concluded that the LAT could be a useful serodiagnostic technique for paragonimiasis, especially in field surveys.

In vitro cultivation of Paragonimus miyazakii and P. ohirai.

Excysted metacercariae of Paragonimus miyazakii and P. ohirai were cultured in various media at 37.5 C in a 5% CO2 atmosphere. Paragonimus miyazakii grew rapidly and showed a well-developed ovary, uterus, and testes at 172 days in NCTC 109 supplemented with 30% rabbit serum, 50% egg yolk-109, and rabbit red blood cells (RBC's). However, none of the worms formed yolk or eggs in these cultures. On the other hand, P. ohirai grew to the adult stage, in which vitellaria and imperfect ova were formed, in NCTC 109 supplemented with 30% dog serum, 10% yeast extract Earle's solution (YLE), and dog RBC's at 252 days. The maximum body length of these worms measured 7.0 mm (mean 5.5 mm) at 252 days. The dog RBC's were an essential ingredient of the culture medium for the development of P. ohirai. Additions of liver concentrate, chick embryo extract (CEE), and egg yolk-109 in the medium did not provide any additional benefits for the development of worms. Using this supplemented medium, adult worms of P. ohirai removed from rats were maintained in vitro to examine their ability to lay eggs. Egg laying occurred during the first 10-13 days for worms that survived more than 60 days. The number of eggs deposited in this medium was about 2 times that found when Hanks' BSS and NCTC 109 were used.

Review of prevalence and distribution of schistosomiasis in Japan.

There has been a temporary increase in schistosomiasis japonica after World War II in each of the known endemic areas, but a national control programme, including use of molluscicides, lining irrigation ditches through rice paddies with concrete and the reclamation of swampy areas by drainage and filling, begun around 1950, drastically reduced the prevalence and distribution of the disease. It can be said that these measures together with improvements in agricultural techniques, mechanization of farming and also socioeconomic factors such as improvements in the living standards of the inhabitants and urbanization have brought about a rapid decrease in schistosomiasis in Japan.

[Efficacy of paromomycin sulfate against human cestodiasis and its pharmacological action on tapeworm in vitro].

Recently, it has been reported that paromomycin sulfate has marked anthelmintic efficacy against tapeworm infections in man. In the present study this drug was used in the treatment of 14 cases of diphyllobothriasis latum and 1 case of taeniasis saginata. Also, the actions of paromomycin sulfate on Diphyllobothrium ditremum and D. erinacei were examined pharmacologically using Magnus apparatus and biochemical methods. The results obtained were as follows. For the treatment, a total of 50 mg/kg of paromomycin sulfate divided into 2 doses was given orally at intervals of 30 minutes. Two hours after medication, 20 g of magnesium sulfate dissolved in 200--300 ml of water was given as purgative. One or 2 worms were found in the stools of 11 cases with D. latum and 1 case with T. saginata within 24 hours after medication, but scolex was found in only 2 of them. All cases were negative for the eggs or segments in stool examinations at 1 and 3 months after treatment. Except 1 case complained mild and transient vomiting no side effects were noticed. All cases showed no abnormality in blood examination, liver function test and urinalysis. Both of the proglottids of D. ditremum and D. erinacei showed muscle relaxation in Tyrode solution containing 10(-4) g/ml of paromomycin sulfate. In D. ditremum the recovery of muscle tonus was observed within 10--15 minutes after affection of this drug, while the persistence of muscle relaxation was seen in D. erinacei. The activity of phosphoglucose isomerase was slightly inhibited by 10(-3) M paromomycin sulfate while those of hexokinase, phosphofructokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase were not inhibited. In phosphoenolpyruvate-succinate pathway, the activity of fumarate reductase was slightly inhibited 10(-3) M paromomycin sulfate while those of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and malate dehydrogenase were not inhibited.