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The present study suggests that Lb. plantarum SN13T exhibits a superior probiotic effect on constipation in addition to improving the serum lipid contents and liver function.

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OBJECTIVEWe examined the relationship between intima-media thickness of common carotid artery (CCA-IMT) and silent cerebral infarction (SCI) with the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study in Japanese subjects with type 2 diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSThe brain MRI study and the carotid ultrasonography were performed in a total of 217 consecutive Japanese subjects with type 2 diabetes. Various risk factors for SCI were examined using multiple logistic analyses.RESULTSThe SCI was found in 60.4% of the diabetic subjects. In the diabetic subjects, age, systolic blood pressure (SBP), pulse wave velocity, and CCA-IMT were significantly higher in the subjects with SCI than in those without it. Multiple logistic analyses indicated that age, SBP, and CCA-IMT were significant and independent risk factors of SCI in the diabetic subjects.CONCLUSIONSCCA-IMT, but not pulse wave velocity, was independently associated with SCI in Japanese subjects with type 2 diabetes.

Whereas immobility is a common cause of muscle atrophy, the mechanism underlying this causality is unclear. We here show that KLF15 and IL-6 are up-regulated in skeletal muscle of limb-immobilized mice and that mice with KLF15 deficiency in skeletal muscle or with systemic IL-6 deficiency are protected from immobility-induced muscle atrophy. A newly developed Ca 2+ bioimaging revealed that the Ca 2+ concentration ([Ca 2+ ]i) of skeletal muscle is reduced to below the basal level by immobilization, which is associated with the down-regulation of Piezo1. Acute disruption of Piezo1 in skeletal muscle induced Klf15 and Il6 expression as well as muscle atrophy, which was prevented by antibodies to IL-6. A role for the Piezo1/KLF15/IL-6 axis in immobilityinduced muscle atrophy was validated by human samples. Our results thus uncover a paradigm for Ca 2+ signaling in that a decrease in [Ca 2+ ]i from the basal level triggers a defined biological event.