Background and Objectives: Adiponectin is an adipocytokine with insulin-sensitizing and anti-atherosclerotic effects. Serum adiponectin levels have been reported to be negatively correlated with body weight and waist circumference (WC). Low plasma adiponectin levels are known to predispose to the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Adiponectin levels may vary according to ethnic group. The aim of this study was to investigate potential differences in plasma adiponectin levels between Japanese and Americans. Methods: Subjects consisted of 2,060 healthy American male and female participants in exam 6 of the Framingham Offspring Study (mean age 57.0 ± 9.0 years, 57.4 ± 10.5 years, respectively), and 1131 healthy Japanese male and female participants in the Fukuoka Study (mean age 56.3 ± 5.5 years, 55.6 ± 5.4 years, respectively). Frozen plasma samples (at −80 degree C) from both studies were shipped to Tufts University, Boston. Plasma concentrations of direct LDL-C, fasting plasma glucose and adiponectin were measured using the same assay kits on the same machine (Hitachi 911) by the same staff. Anthropometric measurements including weight, height, body mass index (BMI) and WC, were also used in the analysis. Results: Plasma adiponectin levels were significantly and inversely correlated with BMI, WC, glucose, insulin, triglycerides, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Moreover adiponectin levels were significantly and positively correlated with HDL-C in both populations. Mean BMI and WC of Japanese men and women were significantly lower (23.8 kg/m 2 and 22.1 kg/m 2 , 86.0 cm and 78.7 cm, respectively) than in US men and women (28.2 kg/m 2 and 27.0 kg/m 2 , 100.4 cm and 92.8 cm, respectively) (all p<0.05). However, mean adiponectin levels (± SD) in Japanese men and women were significantly lower (9.3 ± 4.5 micro g/mL and 14.7 ± 7.3 micro g/mL, respectively) than in US men and women (10.3 ± 5.2 micro g/mL and 16.3 ± 7.7 micro g/mL, respectively)(p<0.05). Conclusion: Our data indicate a substantially lower prevalence of adiposity, but not higher adiponectin levels, in a healthy Japanese population as compared to an American population. The data indicate that population specific norms may have to be used for different ethnic groups.
An outbreak of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections was demonstrated to have occurred from August to September 1984 in a hospital in Japan. This was the first recognized outbreak of the disease in a hospial. Eight elderly (50-86 years old) inpatients with underlying disease were affected. Five patients developed pneumonia and 3 bronchitis. Two patients, a 50-year-old male and a 75-year-old female, died. Both deaths were thought to be primarily due to underlying disease, liver cirrhosis in the male and cardiovascular disease in the female.
Objective There is little information regarding the incidence of bacterial infections as an adverse effect of telaprevir (TVR)-based triple therapy. This study was performed in order to evaluate the baseline and on-treatment predictors of bacterial infections in patients treated with TVR-based triple therapy. Methods This multicenter study evaluated 430 patients with chronic hepatitis C who received 12 weeks of TVR in combination with 24 weeks of pegylated interferon α2b plus ribavirin. The occurrence of a bacterial infection during anti-viral treatment was defined as the onset of local or systemic inflammation as a result of pathogenic bacteria. Results Bacterial infections occurred in 21 of the 430 (4.9%) patients during TVR-based triple therapy. Among these subjects, 71.4% (15 of 21) experienced bacterial infections during the initial eight weeks of treatment. Urinary tract infections were the most frequent infection, observed in 2.8% of cases (12 of 430). The rate of urinary tract infection among women (11 of 215, 5.1%) was significantly higher than that observed among men (1 of 215, 0.5%) (p<0.0001). According to a multivariable logistic regression analysis, the only significant independent predictor was the pretreatment serum albumin level (p=0.0008). Of the 21 patients who experienced bacterial infections, only one (4.8%) had to discontinue the treatment; however, the others were able to continue anti-viral treatment in combination with antibiotic treatment. Conclusion Clinicians should be concerned regarding the incidence of bacterial infections among patients treated with TVR-based triple therapy, especially those with a low serum albumin level.
Seventeen hospital employees were inoculated with 40 -μcg hepatitis B vaccine as a part of a phase 1 trial in Japan. More than 90 per cent of the subjects developed antibodies against HBsAg after two doses of the vaccine. The third dose had a booster effect. Seven of the 16 vaccinated women experienced menstrual abnormalities after the first and/or second inoculation. These included hypomenorrhea, too short menstruation, oligomenorrhea and polymenorrhea. One subject also suffered from acne after the third inoculation. These abnormalities may be side effects of the hepatitis B vaccine which have not been reported previously.
508 Japanese patients with chronic liver disease, including chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and 500 controls matched for sex and age were studied. Antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) alone was found in 233 (45.9%) patients and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) alone was present in 128 (25.2%) patients. Both anti-HCV and HBsAg were present in 18 (3.5%) patients. Anti-HCV was found in 8 (1.6%) controls and HBsAg was present in 4 (0.8%) controls. The prevalence of anti-HCV alone was 36.9% in chronic hepatitis, 49.0% in cirrhosis and 67.0% in hepatocellular carcinoma, respectively. The prevalence of anti-HCV increased with the progress of severity of liver disease. Anti-HCV was more prevalent than HBsAg both in cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (p less than 0.001). The prevalence of anti-HCV increased with age. Among patients under age 39 years, HBsAg was detected more often than anti-HCV, however, in those over age 50 years, anti-HCV was detected more often than HBsAg (p less than 0.001). It would appear that hepatitis C virus more than hepatitis B virus is a prominent cause of chronic liver disease among Japanese patients.
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