Plasma Oxidative State Induced by Exercise in Young Heat-Not-Burn Cigarette Users.

INTRODUCTION: Oxidative state, a risk factor for several diseases, is increased by habitual conventional cigarette (CC) smoking. Reports have demonstrated that heat-not-burn cigarettes (HNBCs), which have recently become popular among smokers, generate less oxidative state than CC in smokers with a long smoking history. However, no previous study has examined oxidative state in young HNBC users. Previously, we reported that exercise induces a greater oxidative state in young CC smokers than in never-smokers of similar age, but there was no difference in resting oxidative state. This study aimed to clarify the resting and exercise-induced oxidative states in young HNBC users, compared with those in never-smokers and CC users of similar age. METHODS: Healthy young never-smokers, HNBC users, and CC users were recruited, and they underwent the Wingate anaerobic test. Blood samples were collected before and after exercise, and the plasma hydroperoxide concentration, a marker of oxidative state, was measured. RESULTS: No significant differences in pre-exercise plasma hydroperoxide concentrations were detected among never-smokers, HNBC users, and CC users (n = 10 each). Plasma hydroperoxide concentration was significantly increased after exercise in all participants. The exercise induced a significant increase in plasma hydroperoxide concentration in HNBC users compared with that in never-smokers (p < .005), but it was significantly decreased compared with that in CC users (p < .01). CONCLUSIONS: The use of HNBC increased exercise-induced plasma oxidative state compared with that in never-smokers, indicating that HNBC may lead to the risk of oxidative damage. IMPLICATIONS: This study, for the first time, reports exercise-induced oxidative state in young HNBC users compared with never-smokers and CC users. The exercise-induced oxidative state in HNBC users was higher than that in never-smokers and lower than that in CC users. Our study suggests that the use of HNBCs increases the risk of acute oxidative damage.

Effects of L-arginine on impaired blood fluidity after high-intensity exercise: An in vitro evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Exercise-induced impairment of blood fluidity is considered to be associated with thrombosis development. However, the effects of L-arginine on blood fluidity after exercise remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the mechanisms of impaired blood fluidity after high-intensity exercise, and examined whether L-arginine improves exercise-induced blood fluidity impairment in vitro. METHODS: Ten healthy male participants performed 15 minutes of ergometer exercise at 70% of their peak oxygen uptake levels. Blood samples were obtained before and after exercise. L-arginine and NG-monomethyl-L-arginine acetate (L-NMMA)-a nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor-were added to the post-exercise blood samples. Using Kikuchi's microchannel method, we measured the blood passage time, percentage of obstructed microchannels, and the number of adherent white blood cells (WBCs) on the microchannel terrace. RESULTS: Exercise increased the hematocrit levels. The blood passage times, percentage of obstructed microchannels, and the number of adherent WBCs on the microchannel terrace increased after exercise; however, they decreased in a dose-dependent manner after the addition of L-arginine. L-NMMA inhibited the L-arginine-induced decrease in blood passage time. CONCLUSIONS: High-intensity exercise impairs blood fluidity by inducing hemoconcentration along with increasing platelet aggregation and WBC adhesion. The L-arginine-NO pathway improves blood fluidity impairment after high-intensity exercise in vitro.

L-cysteine improves blood fluidity impaired by acetaldehyde: In vitro evaluation.

Blood fluidity is reportedly influenced by the volume and function of blood cells and plasma and is a predictor of primary cardiovascular events in patients with traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Heavy alcohol consumption was shown to be associated with a higher risk for cardiovascular diseases. Acetaldehyde (ACD), an oxidizing substance formed from ethanol, reportedly stimulates monocyte adhesion, causes abnormalities in the red blood cell (RBC) membrane, and decreases RBC deformability. In addition, it was reported that blood ACD levels are reduced in mice pretreated with L-cysteine. However, there are no studies on the effect of ACD and/or L-cysteine on blood fluidity. In the present study, we evaluated whether ACD impairs blood fluidity. In addition, the effect of L-cysteine on blood fluidity impaired by ACD was examined. Blood samples were obtained from 10 healthy, non-smoking, male volunteers (age: 23.4 ± 1.2 years, body mass index: 21.8 ± 2.6 kg/m2). ACD or ACD and L-cysteine were added to the blood samples before each experiment. We measured the passage time of 100 µL blood and RBC suspension using Kikuchi's microchannel method. Percentage of microchannel obstruction and the number of adherent white blood cells (WBCs) on microchannel terrace were counted. The blood passage time, percentage of microchannel obstruction, and numbers of adherent WBCs on the microchannel terrace increased after adding ACD in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas they decreased after adding ACD and L-cysteine in a L-cysteine concentration-dependent manner. No significant effects were observed in passage time for 100 µL RBC suspension after adding ACD and L-cysteine. This study suggested that blood fluidity impaired by ACD might improve after adding L-cysteine.

Inter-observer reproducibility of endometrial cytology by the Osaki Study Group method: utilising the Becton Dickinson SurePath™ liquid-based cytology.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the reproducibility of the cytological diagnosis of endometrial lesions by the Osaki Study Group (OSG) method of new cytological diagnostic criteria using BD SurePath™ (SP)-liquid-based cytology (LBC). METHODS: This cytological classification using the OSG method consists of six categories: (i) normal endometrium (NE), (ii) endometrial glandular and stromal breakdown (EGBD), (iii) atypical endometrial cells, cannot exclude atypical endometrial hyperplasia or more (ATEC-A), (iv) adenocarcinoma including atypical endometrial hyperplasia or malignant tumour (Malignancy), (v) endometrial hyperplasia without atypia (EH) and (vi) atypical endometrial cells of undetermined significance (ATEC-US). For this study, a total 244 endometrial samplings were classified by two academic cytopathologists as follows: 147 NE cases , 36 EGBD cases , 47 Malignant cases, eight ATEC-A cases, two EH cases and four ATEC-US cases. To confirm the reproducibility of the diagnosis and to study the inter- and intra-observer agreement further, a second review round followed at 3-month intervals, which included three additional cytopathologists. RESULTS: The inter-observer agreement of NE classes improved progressively from 'good to fair' to 'excellent', with values increasing from 0.70 to 0.81. Both EGBD and Malignancy classes improved progressively from 'good to fair' to 'excellent', with values increasing from 0.62-0.63 to 0.84-0.95, respectively. The overall intra-observer agreement between the first and the second rounds was 'good to fair' to 'excellent', with values changing from 0.79 to 0.85. All kappa improvements were significant (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: In this study, it seemed that the use of the OSG method as the new diagnostic criteria for SP-LBC preparation, may be a valid method to improve the precision (reproducibility) of endometrial cytology.

Management for stage II glottic carcinoma: radiation therapy or surgery.

AIM: To analyze the results of stage II glottic carcinoma treated with radiotherapy or surgery. PATIENTS AND METHOD: One hundred thirty-four patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the T2N0M0 glottic carcinoma treated at the Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases from 1979 through 1991 were reviewed. The 5-year disease-free survival and laryngeal preservation rate and prognostic factors were examined. Treatment was radiation therapy with salvage surgery for failure or surgery alone. RESULTS: The 5-year disease-specific survival rate for the radiotherapy group was 100% and for the surgery group, 93% (p = 0.055). In the surgery group 5-year disease-specific survival rate for the subgroup of cord mobility was 94% and that of impaired cord mobility, 89% (p = 0.5354). Concerning laryngeal preservation the radiotherapy group showed better preservation rate than the surgery group in the subgroup of cord mobility, i.e., 41/51 (80%) versus 6/55 (11%) (p < 0.001) although significant difference was not observed in the lesion with impaired cord mobility, 2/5 versus 4/22 (p = 0.171). CONCLUSION: We recommend radiation therapy for stage II glottic carcinoma with normal cord mobility, although further study is needed to improve the preservation rate of the larynx with keeping the disease-specific survival for the lesion with impaired cord mobility.