Residual alcohol effects on physiological and psychological symptoms are commonly experienced the morning after alcohol consumption. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of L-ornithine on subjective feelings and salivary stress markers the morning after alcohol consumption and to investigate whether L-ornithine acutely accelerates ethanol metabolism.This study had a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-masked crossover design. Subjects were all healthy Japanese adults with the 'flusher' phenotype for alcohol tolerance. In experiment 1, 11 subjects drank 0.4 g/kg body weight alcohol 1.5 h before their usual bedtime. Half an hour after drinking, they ingested either a placebo or 400 mg ornithine. The next morning on awakening, subjects completed a questionnaire containing a visual analog scale (VAS), the Oguri-Shirakawa-Azumi sleep inventory MA version (OSA-MA), and a profile of mood states (POMS) and collected a saliva sample for measurement of salivary stress markers (cortisol, secretory immunoglobulin A, and α-amylase). In experiment 2, placebo or 400 mg ornithine were administrated to 16 subjects both before and after drinking, and the feeling of drunkenness, breath ethanol concentration and one-leg standing time were repeatedly investigated until 180 min after alcohol consumption.There were significant decreases in "awareness", "feeling of fatigue" and "lassitude" VAS scores and in "anger-hostility" and "confusion" POMS scores and a significant increase in "sleep length" in the OSA-MA test. Salivary cortisol concentrations on awakening were reduced after ornithine supplementation. There were no differences between ornithine and placebo in any of the subjective or physiological parameters of acute alcohol metabolism.Taking 400 mg ornithine after alcohol consumption improved various negative feelings and decreased the salivary stress marker cortisol the next morning. These effects were not caused by an increase in acute alcohol metabolism.
✓ A case of secondary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma with high uptake in the delayed image of N-isopropyl-[ 123 I]-p-iodoamphetamine ( 123 I-IMP) single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) is presented. Previous to this report, only six cases of brain tumor with high uptake on the delayed 123 I-IMP SPECT scan have been reported, two of which were CNS malignant lymphomas. Of 19 brain tumors examined with 123 I-IMP SPECT at Kameda General Hospital, this case was the only one that showed high uptake in the delayed image. These data imply that 123 I-IMP SPECT, which has now become rather obsolete as a tumor-imaging method, can be useful in diagnosing CNS malignant lymphoma.
A 27-year-old woman developed generalized subcutaneous painful nodules, fever, abnormal liver function, a bleeding tendency, and pancytopenia. Skin biopsies revealed the lobular panniculitis with a morphologically benign histiocytic infiltration with prominent phagocytosis. Leukophagocytosis and erythrophagocytosis were also present in the bone marrow. The diagnosis of cytophagic histiocytic panniculitis was made. The patient received polychemotherapy with cyclo-phosphamide, Adriamycin, and vincristine on day 1, pred-nisone on day 1–5 (modified CHOP), with the addition of ctoposide (E). This regimen was repeated 8 times every 3 weeks. The patient obtained a complete clinical remission that has lasted almost 2 years after the completion of chemotherapy. Thus we suggest modified CHOP-E chemotherapy for an effective treatment for the aggressive form of cytophagic histiocytic panniculitis.
Objectives: The objectives of this surveillance were to determine safety and effectiveness of etanercept in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Methods: In this postmarketing surveillance, patients aged 5–16 years with active polyarthritis JIA were treated with etanercept at the doses approved in the Japanese package insert. The occurrence and seriousness of adverse events (AEs) were assessed using the Japanese Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities version 15.1. Effectiveness was determined as the improvement from baseline in disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28)–erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), remission, and physician's assessment of overall improvement. The number of responders was expressed as a percentage. The last observation carried forward method was used to impute missing data. Results: Safety analysis included 102 patients; 22 patients experienced 36 treatment-related AEs, three of which were unexpected. None of the AEs were deemed to need special safety warnings. Effectiveness analysis included 87 patients. At 24 weeks, 29/46 (63.0%) patients demonstrated either good or moderate response in DAS28-4/ESR and treatment was assessed to be markedly effective or effective by physicians in 79/83 (95.2%) patients. Conclusions: These data are consistent with earlier reports showing that etanercept was effective and demonstrated no safety signals in patients with JIA.
Objectives: To confirm the safety and effectiveness of high-dose (>8 mg/week) methotrexate (MTX) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in Japan. Methods: A postmarketing surveillance program enrolled Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis starting on high-dose MTX followed up for either 24- or 52-weeks. Analyses for safety, risk factors affecting safety, and effectiveness were conducted. Results: The safety/effectiveness analysis sets included 2838/2779 and 335/326 patients in the 24-weeks and 52-weeks follow-up groups, respectively. Incidence rates of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and serious ADRs were 21.42% and 1.66% in the 24-weeks, and 35.52% and 2.69% in the 52-weeks groups, respectively. The Disease Activity Score in 28 Joints (DAS28) was significantly decreased as early as four weeks from the start of high-dose MTX; after 24-weeks (4.09–3.21) and 52-weeks of treatment (3.91–2.80; both pConclusions: High-dose MTX was well tolerated in Japanese patients, resulted in improved disease control, and can be considered a step forward in achieving treat-to-target goals.
Maintaining employees' presenteeism is a major issue in the workplace. Simple and convenient methods to improve presenteeism are required. We investigated whether administering the lactic acid bacteria Lactococcus lactis strain Plasma (LC-Plasma) can improve the performance and physical condition of office workers. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1) an intake period (consumption of LC-Plasma-containing yogurt beverage) followed by a non-intake period, or 2) a non-intake period followed by an intake period. Each period lasted 4 weeks and there was a 4- week washout period between each. Assessment was conducted using the World Health Organization Health and Work Performance Questionnaire (HPQ), the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire and physical condition questionnaires. A total of 153 subjects were analyzed. Absolute presenteeism (as assessed by the HPQ) and vigor (as assessed by POMS) were significantly higher in the intake period than the non-intake period. The subject's physical health (as assessed by typical common cold symptoms, physical condition, sneezing or runny noses, coughing or sore throats, and lassitude) was also superior during the LC-Plasma intake period. Our results suggest that intake of LC-Plasma for 4 weeks improves work performance through reducing the risk of infection.
