Rice bran contains many phenolic acids, the most abundant of which is the antioxidant, ferulic acid (FA). We evaluated the hypoglycemic effects of a phenolic acid fraction (the ethyl acetate fraction, EAE) of rice bran and of FA in C57BL/KsJ db/db mice. Type 2 diabetic mice were allocated to a control group, an EAE group, or an FA group. Animals were fed a modified AIN-76 diet, and EAE or FA was administered orally for 17 days. There was no significant difference in body weight gain between groups. Administration of EAE and FA significantly decreased blood glucose levels and increased plasma insulin levels. EAE or FA groups had significantly elevated hepatic glycogen synthesis and glucokinase activity compared with the control group. Plasma total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations were significantly decreased by EAE and FA administration. These findings suggest that EAE and FA may be beneficial for treatment of type 2 diabetes because they regulate blood glucose levels by elevating glucokinase activity and production of glycogen in the liver.

No abstract

Evidence generally supported the validity and reliability of EQ-5D in asthma and COPD. Utility scores associated with COPD stage may be useful for modeling health outcomes in economic evaluations of treatments for COPD.

ObjectiveThis study had two main objectives: to compare current suicide rates in OECD countries among 10–19-year-olds and to identify patterns of suicide rates based on age, gender and time. Furthermore we investigated the main dimensions that contributed to the variation in child and adolescent suicide rates across countries. MethodsWe combined the WHO mortality data and the population data released by OECD to calculate the suicide rates in 29 OECD countries. A self-organizing map (SOM), k-means clustering analysis, and multi-dimensional scaling were used to classify countries based on similarities in suicide rate structure and to identify the important dimensions accounting for differences among groups. ResultsWe identified significant differences in suicide rates depending on age, sex, country, and time period. Late adolescence and male gender were universal risk factors for suicide, and we observed a general trend of declining suicide rates in OECD countries. The SOM analysis yielded eight types of countries. Most countries showed gender gaps in suicide rates of similar magnitudes; however, there were outliers in which the gender gap was particularly large or small. ConclusionSignificant variation exists with respect to suicide rates and their associated gender gaps in OECD countries.

COPD patients in their last year of life tended to use respiratory medications sporadically. Further research is needed to qualify whether minor differences in MPR between regimens reflect behavioral differences related to regimen or reflect refill policy and MPR calculation technique.

No abstract

To estimate the nutritional and the pathological states in thiamin-deficiency-related diseases, especially Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, we studied the relationship among transketolase activity, transketolase concentration, and thiamin phosphate esters in rats chronically fed alcohol. In the brain of alcohol-fed rats, the enzyme activity and concentration decreased although there was no positive correlation between the two. On the contrary, transketolase activity in the liver correlated positively with concentration, and both transketolase activity and concentration were decreased in the thiamin-deficient groups. These findings suggest that transketolase in the brain may be different from that in the liver and that the alteration of the enzyme activity in the brain may be based on the conformational change of the protein molecule caused by chronic alcohol administration.

No abstract