OBJECTIVES:We present a novel method of scanning for intra-abdominal fat volume by helical computed tomography (CT), and describe the clinical significance of measuring the volumes of intra-abdominal visceral fat (V vol ) and subcutaneous fat (S vol ) vs these respective areas determined by conventional slice-by-slice CT at the umbilical level. METHOD: Subjects with obesity or hyperlipidemia (79 men, 74 women) were recruited for this study. We obtained helical CT scans with a tube current of 150 mA, voltage of 120 kV and 2:1 pitch (table speed in relation to slice thickness), starting at the upper edge of the liver and continuing until the pelvis. The intra-abdominal visceral fat volume was measured by drawing a line within the muscle wall surrounding the abdominal cavity. The abdominal subcutaneous fat volume was calculated by subtracting the visceral fat volume from the total abdominal fat volume. By comparison, the intra-abdominal visceral and subcutaneous fat areas were determined at the umbilical level by the established slice-by-slice CT scanning technique. RESULTS: V vol was correlated positively with visceral fat area (V area ) measured by conventional CT in both genders (in men (n ¼ 79) V vol vs V area , r ¼ 0.81 P < 0.0001; in women (n ¼ 74) V vol vs V area , r ¼ 0.85, P < 0.0001). S vol also showed a positive correlation with subcutaneous fat area (S area ) in both genders (in men (n ¼ 78) S vol vs S area , r ¼ 0.95, P < 0.0001; in women (n ¼ 74) S vol vs S area , r ¼ 0.92, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: We have reported a novel method for measuring intra-abdominal fat volume by the use of helical CT.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between preperitoneal fat thickness (PFT) determined by ultrasonography and the risk of coronary arterial disease, 130 non-obese patients with ischemic heart disease (77 men and 53 women) were examined. RESULTS: There was a positive correlation between PFT and coronary artery stenosis score (r 0.212, P`0.05). After dividing the patients by gender, the correlation was recognized only in men (r 0.246, P`0.05). Also, PFT was positively correlated to serum total cholesterol (r 0.259, P`0.01), triglyceride (r 0.205, P`0.05) and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol (r 0.205, P`0.05), and negatively correlated to serum high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol (r 7 0.261, P`0.01). Again, these correlations were found only in men, not in women. CONCLUSION: PFT shows good correlations with coronary artery stenosis score and dislipidemia, and may lead to the development of coronary artery disease in non-obese male subjects.

DIMBOA[2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one] is a benzoxazinoid (Bx), part of the chemical defense system of graminaceous plants such as maize, wheat, and rye. When Bombyx mori larvae were fed artificial diets containing DIMBOA, they died in three days. In contrast, Mythimna separata larvae, a serious pest of rice, maize, sorghum, wheat etc., grew well on the same diets. Three kinds of glucosides [1-(2-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenylamino)-1-deoxy--glucopyranoside-1,2-carbamate (methoxy glucoside carbamate), 2-O--glucopyranosyl-4-hydroxy-7-methoxy-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one (DIMBOA-2-O-Glc), and 2-O--glucopyranosyl-7-methoxy-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one (HMBOA-2-O-Glc)] were identified by LC-MS and NMR analyses from the frass of M. separata that had been fed on a DIMBOA-containing diet. Furthermore, the incubation of DIMBOA with a midgut tissue suspension of M. separata in the presence of UDP-D-glucose generated DIMBOA-2-O-Glc. These findings strongly suggest that glucosylation by UDP-glucosyltransferase(s) was important for detoxification to circumvent the defenses of host plants against M. separata larvae.

Aim:To investigate the factors that influence visceral fat accumulation in adolescence, we performed a medical examination of high school students and assessed abdominal fat thickness and fatty change of the liver. Methods: A cohort of 374 Japanese high school students aged 15 − 16 years (193 boys and 181 girls) in public high schools in Chiba prefecture were enrolled. Anthropometric parameters, blood cell count, blood chemistry and adipocytokine levels were measured. Preperitoneal fat thickness (PFT) and echoic contrast of the liver were measured by ultrasonography. Results: Anthropometric parameters, systolic blood pressure, blood cell count, ALT, AST, FBS, -GTP, HDL-C, LpL, UA, adiponectin, resistin and leptin levels differed between sexes. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that leptin was the most appropriate marker for PFT in both sexes (p 0.0001). Visceral obesity, categorized as PFT exceeding 8 mm, was observed in 9.6% of all students. Boys with visceral obesity showed apparent liver dysfunction, hyperlipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, and high leptin and low adiponectin levels. Overall, 16.6% of boys and 30.4% of girls showed hepatorenal echo contrast positivity. Boys with visceral obesity and fatty liver had more risk factors for atherosclerosis. Conclusions: Physical examination of high school students is important for early detection of atherosclerosis.J Atheroscler Thromb, 2010; 17:546-557.

It isapparentthatpersonalityisrelated to thepathogenesis of obesity, and that understanding the personality of the patientmay bea key to successfultreatment of the disease. Using the Rorschachtest andinterviews by apsychiatrist, the types of personality were classified into four groups according to the healthiness of personalities. The judgment of healthiness was b aped mainly on the score obtained from the Rorschach test. This classification revealed that the occurrenceofmentaland physicalsymptoms duringtherapy withaverylow caloriediet(VLCD)andsubsequentrebound of bodyweightweremorefrequentlyobsemedinpatientswith relatively less healthy personalities. We used this classificationtoadaptourprogramto treatobesepatients. Inthis program,severe dietrestrictionswere applidto patientswith relatively healthy personalities. These restrictions were appliedwithmodifkations to patients withless healthy personality,because severe restrictionswould be possibly very stressful for them and would bring about an undesirable reaction. For strengthening the patients' motivation for therapy, the significance of body weight reduction was explainedindifferentways to patients with differenttypes of personality. Thetargetofbodyweightreduction,rewardfor patients with successfulweight reduction, andthe duration oftherapywere setup differentlyforpatients with different KOHJI SHIRAI, YUKARI AZUMA AND KAZUHI- personalities types. The results showed that body weight reboundoneortwo years aftertreatmentwasreducedniththe personalitydnentedtherdpy program compared to that observed with the previous conventional therapies. Also, the incidence of psychological problems was remarkably decreased.

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