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We compared the levels of hepatic enzymes in 220 Japanese men with metabolic syndrome with those in age and sex-matched subjects without the syndrome. Metabolic syndrome was defi ned by the new criteria published in Japan, and hepatic enzymes, i.e., aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γGTP), were measured. AST, ALT and γGTP in subjects with metabolic syndrome were signifi cantly higher than those in subjects without the syndrome, and metabolic syndrome was closely associated with hepatic enzymes in this cohort of Japanese men.

A new model of status epilepticus (SE), which was induced by intermittent electrical stimulation (20 Hz for 20 sec every min for 180 min) of the deep prepyriform cortex, has been developed in the conscious rat. SE was induced in 9 of 16 rats in the drug-free group. The number of stimulation trains required to induce SE in this status subgroup was 125.6 +/- 12.7 (mean +/- SEM) and the mean duration of self-sustained seizure activity (SSSA) occurring after cessation of the stimulation session was 295.4 +/- 111.4 min. Some animals showed secondary generalized seizures. Significant cell loss was observed in the hippocampal CA3 pyramidal cell layer ipsilateral to the stimulation site and bilateral CA1 areas in the status subgroup compared with the group subjected to sham operation. In addition, there was a significant negative correlation between the duration of SSSA subsequent to the stimulation session and the total number of intact pyramidal neurons observed in the bilateral CA1 and ipsilateral CA3 subfields of the status subgroup. There were significant differences between the status and non-status subgroups with respect to the number of afterdischarges (ADs) and the total AD duration during the stimulation session. Pretreatment with phenobarbital (30 mg/kg) prevented the development of SE and hippocampal cell loss completely. Pretreatment with MK-801, a non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist (0.25 or 1 mg/kg), also prevented hippocampal cell loss, although it did not block SE generation completely, which suggests dissociation of the mechanisms underlying the development of SE and hippocampal damage. These results indicate that prolonged SSSA actually causes hippocampal damage and it is critically dependent upon NMDA receptor participation.

1. For the settlement of carbon origin of urinary isovalthine, acetic acid-2-C14, valine-U-C14 or leucine-U-C14 was administered to rats together with isovaleric acid as an isovalthinuria inducer, and urinary isovalthine excreted was tested by autoradiography. As the results of which, it was found that these isotopic compounds were not the precursor of urinary isovalthine. Although the isovalthinuria inducing effect of isovaleric acid was fairly diminished by these isotopic compounds, urinary isovalthine was detected by paper electrophoresis. 2. Some metabolic products of these isotopic compounds were also inquired in urine and some tissues. The results were as follows: a) Acetic acid incorporated into urea, aspartate, serine, glutamate, proline, glycine, alanine, ornithine, ethanolamine, r-amino-buthyric acid (brain only), cholesterol and fatty acids. b) Valine incorporated into urinary glutamate and glycine, and tissue cholesterol and fatty acids. Valine was rapidly excreted in urine and found in a very small amount in liver digest. c) Leucine incorporated into urinary aspartate, serine, glutamate and glycine, and tissue cholesterol and fatty acids. 3. Several important problems of isovalthine studies to be elucidated were discussed.