Biomedical subjects

Hiroyuki Furuya

Publications and source records attributed to Hiroyuki Furuya.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Transforming the SF-36 to account for death in longitudinal studies with three-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Analyses of longitudinal health-related quality of life data often exclude participants who die, which limits the generalizability of the results. Methods to incorporate death as a valid score in the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form (SF-36) have been suggested but need to be evaluated in other populations. OBJECTIVES: We sought to apply a method of transforming the SF-36 Physical Component Score (PCS) to include death. A transformation to estimate the probability of being "healthy" in 3 years, based on the current PCS value, will be developed and validated. SUBJECTS: Women in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH), ages 70-75 years at Survey 1 in 1996 (n = 12,432), were followed-up at 3 yearly intervals for 6 years. RESULTS: The transformation derived from the ALSWH data provides evidence that the methodology for transforming the PCS to account for deaths is sound. The 3-year equation provided good estimates of the probability of being healthy in 3 years and the method allowed deaths to be included in an analysis of changes in health over time. CONCLUSIONS: For longitudinal studies involving the SF-36 in which subjects have died, we support the recommendation that both the PCS and its transformed value which includes deaths should be analyzed to examine the influence of deaths on the study conclusions. Using study data to derive empirical parameters for the transformations may be appropriate for studies with follow-up intervals of other lengths.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

A drink to healthy aging: The association between older women's use of alcohol and their health-related quality of life.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the relationship between alcohol intake and mortality in a cohort of women aged 70 and older and to explore the relationship between level of alcohol use and changes in physical and mental health-related quality of life. DESIGN: National longitudinal surveys from 1996 to 2002. SETTING: Community based. PARTICIPANTS: A national random sample of 12,432 Australian women aged 70 to 75 at baseline. MEASUREMENTS: Alcohol consumption was the factor of interest, and the main outcome measures were survival and health-related quality of life, with adjustment for potential confounders. RESULTS: Women who did not consume alcohol or who drank rarely were more likely to die (nondrinkers' hazard (HR) = ratio 1.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.4-2.6; rare drinkers' HR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.2-2.1) than women in the low-intake reference category (1-2 drinks per day, 3-6 days per week), or if they survived, they had lower health-related quality-of-life scores on the General Health and Physical Functioning subscales of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form Survey after adjustment for smoking, comorbidity, education, body mass index, and area of residence. Nondrinkers also scored lower on the Mental Health and Social Functioning subscales. CONCLUSION: Being a nondrinker of alcohol was associated with greater risk of death and poorer health-related quality of life. Results for other levels of intake were consistent with current Australian alcohol consumption recommendations for women and indicated that moderate alcohol intake may carry some health benefits for older women in terms of survival and quality of life.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

[Review of neurobehavioral effects of alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder in an animal model].

Animal models had been investigated to clear the mechanism of neurobehavioral deficits caused by in-utero alcohol exposure. 5-HT1A agonist and antioxidants administration during pregnancy could attenuate in-utero alcohol-induced teratogenesis. Recently, activity-dependent neuroprotective peptides were reported to have the potential therapeutic effect for alcohol-related teratogenicity. Environmental and motor training for litters exposed to in-utero alcohol may have improve behavioral performance. We will review amelioration of fetal alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorders in animal models from the prevention and treatment.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Comparative socio-cultural analysis of smoking behavior and difficulty of quitting smoking in Japan and Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: Although education for smoking cessation is being conducted in Asian countries, the prevalence of smoking is still high. The present study was designed to clarify differences in the socio-cultural background in Japan and Thailand. METHODS: Cross-sectional study. The Japan survey was conducted in Kanagawa and the Thailand survey in Suphanburi. Questionnaires written in English were translated into each language. The subjects were out-patients of community hospitals (331 males and 353 females in Japan and 293 males and 288 females in Thailand). RESULTS: The prevalence of smoking was found to be higher in Thailand than in Japan for males but almost the same for females. A higher percentage of the subjects quit smoking in Japan than in Thailand. The motive for quitting smoking was "awareness of the harmful effects of smoking" in both countries, but "told by others to quit smoking" was also often encountered in Thailand. The method of quitting was most frequently "suppress the urge to smoke by will power" in both countries. Nicotine replacement therapy is not well known yet in either country. CONCLUSION: Smoking behavior was different although the difficulty of quitting smoking was common to both countries. The prevalence of smoking in younger males and females was established to be higher in Japan, and social and environmental regulations for quitting smoking were effective in Thailand. It suggests that such regulations should be made stricter in Japan. Enlightenment by providing knowledge may be particularly useful in Thailand.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 and beta3-adrenergic receptor gene polymorphisms: their association with elevated liver enzymes and metabolic syndrome.

Recent studies indicate that some patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver have ongoing liver injury that may progress from steatosis to steatohepatitis or fibrosis. The present study was designed to clarify the clinical features of liver dysfunction observed in the course of workplace physical check-ups in relation to multiple risk factor syndrome including obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and impaired glucose tolerance, and to clarify the involvement of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) and beta(3)-adrenergic receptor (beta3-AR) gene polymorphisms in elevation of liver enzymes. One hundred forty-eight male workers 35 years of age were enrolled. They were requested to answer questionnaires about drinking and smoking habits, and underwent urinalysis, physical and peripheral blood examinations, blood chemistry, electrocardiogram and chest x-rays. The genotypes of ALDH2 and beta3-AR were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The subjects were divided into active ALDH2 or inactive ALDH2 groups. They were also divided into 2 groups according to the beta3-AR genotype. The relationships between ALDH2 and beta3-AR gene polymorphism and the results of the physical examination including liver function tests were analyzed. The subjects were also divided according to the number of components of metabolic syndrome. The prevalence of elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level increased with the accumulation of components of metabolic syndrome. Active ALDH2 was associated with elevated ALT level to a greater degree than beta3-AR polymorphism. Among those with normal body mass index (BMI), the genotypes of ALDH2 and beta3-AR were strongly associated with elevated ALT level. Logistic regression analysis revealed that BMI, triglyceride level, and ALDH2 genotype were associated with ALT elevation. In conclusion, evaluating the genotype of ALDH2 and beta3-AR may assist in predicting and preventing the development of fatty liver which may be related to multiple risk factor syndrome.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Spatial reference and standing posture during high-speed Coriolis stimulation.

BACKGROUND: In a previous study, we found that sensation, gaze, and posture during Coriolis stimulation differ considerably between vision and nonvision conditions during rotations at 60 degrees x s(-1). To determine the validity of these findings at higher velocities, we compared standing postures during Coriolis stimulation up to 150 degrees x s(-1) between vision and nonvision conditions. METHODS: The 19 subjects underwent 5-min rotation tests at 50 to 150 degrees x s(-1). While standing on a force platform attached to a rotating device, each subject tilted his or her head and then returned it to upright, first with the eyes covered, then with eyes open. Six subjects were re-examined 5 d later after 4 consecutive days of 20-min rotations with their eyes open. We assessed success and failure to stand and recorded the center of pressure during rotation. RESULTS: Although success rates (number of successes/19) differed between vision and nonvision conditions at 50 degrees x s(-1) (94.7% vs. 57.9%), they steeply decreased as rotation velocity increased and showed no difference at 70 degrees x s(-1) and faster velocities. After the 4-d exposure, however, subjects could stand at higher velocities particularly under the vision condition. A patient with bilateral labyrinthine loss, being examined for reference, could stand at 110 degrees x s(-1) even with the eyes covered. CONCLUSIONS: Untrained subjects frequently fell during high-speed Coriolis stimulation, apparently because vision was insufficient to provide a spatial reference frame from the stationary surroundings. Following rotation training with their eyes open, subjects appeared more able to use the visual reference frame and falls were reduced.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

[Associations between glycated hemoglobin levels and atherosclerotic risk factors in urban communities].

PURPOSE: To prevent coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus, we need to focus on "the deadly quartet" (coexistence of upper-body obesity, glucose intolerance, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypertension), and the multiple risk factor syndrome related to insulin resistance. As few urban community-based population studies have evaluated the correlation between glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels and risks of life-style related disease, we investigated this parameter and its correlation with atherosclerotic risk factors in participants of health check ups in two communities in Kanagawa prefecture. We also examined whether these correlations were affected by difference between the two groups. METHODS: The study populations comprised male and female residents aged 40-79 in two communities (A and B cities) in 1998. Age, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), total cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), GOT, GPT, Uric acid (UA), and gamma GTP were considered as atherosclerotic risk factors. Firstly we calculated correlation coefficients with HbA1c level. Secondly, logistic regression analyses were performed with HbA1c as the dependent variable, and risk factors correlated with HbA1c significantly and variable for each community as independent variables. To assess whether community differences affect associations between HbA1c levels and risk factors, we added interaction terms as independent variables in the logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: 1. There were no significant interaction terms while significant positive associations were observed between HbA1c and age, BMI, and levels of TC and gamma GTP for men in both communities. A significant negative association was observed between HbA1c and UA.. 2. Age, BMI, and the levels of SBP, TG, GPT, and gamma GTP were positively associated, and GOT was negatively associated with the HbA1c levels in women in both communities. Each community had its own association between TC and HbA1c. CONCLUSIONS: The findings that TC is associated with HbA1c in men, and that BMI and the level of TC are linked with HbA1c in women are consistent with previous results for Japanese. The association between HbA1c and TG in women was newly observed for Japanese. Furthermore, the levels of gamma GTP in both sexes and also GPT in women are associated with HbA1c. From these results, investigating linkage between HbA1c level and atherosclerotic risk factors was thought to be appropriate for estimating accumulation of multiple risk factors in the community.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Effect of ethanol and docosahexaenoic acid on nerve growth factor-induced neurite formation and neuron specific growth-associated protein gene expression in PC12 cells.

It is known that prenatal and postnatal exposure to ethanol can result in hyperactive behavior and learning disturbance in offspring. We have previously shown that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ameliorated hyperactivity induced by in utero ethanol exposure in rat pups. The present study is designed to clarify the effects of DHA on neurite outgrowth and gene expression of GAP-43 and SCG10, neuron specific growth-associated proteins (GAPs) in PC12 cells treated with ethanol. Ethanol seemed to enhance the neurite outgrowth induced by nerve growth factor (NGF). DHA administration further increased neurite outgrowth in both NGF alone and the combination of NGF and ethanol treated PC12 cells. DHA treatment increased the levels of both GAP-43 and SCG10 mRNAs, and simultaneous administration of ethanol suppressed the elevation of GAP-43 and SCG10 mRNA enhanced by DHA. The present study has demonstrated, for the first time, the effect of ethanol and DHA on GAPs' gene expression. Interaction of ethanol and docosahexaenoic acid in NGF-induced neurite formation, as well as the mechanisms by which DHA ameliorate the hyperactivity induced by in utero ethanol exposure, are to be elucidated.

Animals↗