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The present study was undertaken to know the effect of supplementation of fish oil with high n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on oxidative stress-induced DNA damage of rat liver in vivo. Male Wistar rats were fed a diet containing fish oil or safflower oil with high n-6 PUFA at 50 g/kg of diet and an equal amount of vitamin E at 59 mg/kg of diet for 6 weeks. Livers of rats fed fish oil were rich in n-3 PUFA, whereas those of rats fed safflower oil were rich in n-6 PUFA. Ferric nitrilotriacetate was intraperitoneally injected to induce oxidative stress. The degree of lipid peroxidation of the liver was assessed by the levels of phospholipid hydroperoxides and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), and the degree of oxidative DNA damage was assessed by comet type characterization in alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine levels. The levels of TBARS of the livers of the fish oil diet group increased to a greater extent than those of the safflower oil diet group, whereas the levels of the hydroperoxides of the livers of both diet groups increased to a similar extent. The vitamin E level of livers of the fish oil diet group was remarkably decreased. The degree of DNA damage of both diet groups was increased, but the increased level of the fish oil diet group was remarkably lower than that of the safflower oil diet group. The above results indicate that fish oil supplementation does not enhance but appears to protect against oxidative stress-induced DNA damage and suggest that lipid peroxidation does not enhance but lowers the DNA damage.

The effect of supplementation of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on oxidative stress-induced DNA damage of rat hepatocytes was examined. Male Wistar rats were fed a diet containing safflower oil (control n-6 PUFA diet) or fish oil (n-3 PUFA diet) in 50 g/kg of dried diet and an equal amount of vitamin E in 59 mg/kg of dried diet for 6 weeks. The liver of rats fed safflower oil was rich in n-6 PUFA, whereas that of rats fed fish oil was rich in n-3 PUFA. Isolated hepatocytes were treated in vitro with ADP/Fe (II) ion or hydrogen peroxide at 37 degrees C for 30 min to induce oxidative stress. The degree of lipid peroxidation was assessed by the levels of phospholipid hydroperoxides and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances. The degree of oxidative DNA damage was assessed based on comet-type characterization in alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis and 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine levels. In both ADP/Fe(II) ion and hydrogen peroxide oxidation, the degree of lipid peroxidation of hepatocytes increased in both diet groups, and the level of increase in the fish oil diet group was slightly higher than that in the safflower oil diet group. In ADP/Fe(II) ion oxidation, the degree of DNA damage increased in both diet groups, but there were no significant differences in the level of increase. In contrast, in hydrogen peroxide oxidation, the degree of DNA damage increased in both diet, and the increase in the fish oil diet group was significantly lower than that in the safflower oil diet group. It is unlikely that an n-3 PUFA-rich diet enhances oxidative stress-induced hepatocyte DNA damage as compared with the control n-6 PUFA-rich diet.

Over 350 bacterial species are known to form communities on tooth surfaces in the oral cavity, and opportunistic pathogens are frequently isolated from samples taken from the oral cavities of immunocompromised hosts, as well as elderly people with poor oral hygiene. To confirm the correlation between the prevalence of opportunistic pathogens in the oral cavity and oral hygiene, dental plaque and saliva samples from 15 dental hygienists and 15 healthcare workers were investigated. No opportunistic pathogens were found in the samples from dental hygienists, however, they were isolated from 10 of the 15 healthcare workers (66.7%). The total amounts of Streptococcus sp. and Lactobacillus sp. were also significantly higher in the healthcare workers. The amount of Streptococcus mutans was also higher, although the difference was not significant. From our results, we concluded that the prevalence of opportunistic pathogens and cariogenic bacteria in the oral cavity may be reduced by proper oral hygiene measures.

Myocardial sympathetic neural function in professional athletes who had the long-term tremendous cardiac load has not been fully investigated by myocardial iodine-123-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) uptake in comparison with power spectral analysis (PSA) in electrocardiography. Eleven male professional cycle racers and age-matched 11 male healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. The low frequency components in the power spectral density (LF), the high frequency components in the power spectral density (HF), the LF/HF ratio and mean R-R interval were derived from PSA and time-domain analysis of heart rate variability in electrocardiography. The mean heart-to-mediastinum uptake ratio (H/M ratio) of the MIBG uptake, in professional cycle racers was significantly lower than that in healthy volunteers (p

A case of Klinefelter's syndrome with schizophrenia-like symptoms is reported. He was given a diagnosis of schizophrenia at the age of 39. After being treated with medication for many years, he stopped taking them at the age of seventy-two and involuntary movements appeared in his limbs and the trunk. Upon admission to our hospital, he was experiencing delusion and psychosocial excitement. A physical examination showed him to be a thin man of 175.5 cm height, suffering from a mild degree of gynecomastia, testicular atrophy. Serum LH and FSH were both high 10.9 and 47.8 mU/ml respectively. Serum testosterone concentration was 0.2 ng/ml, much lower than the normal range (2.7-10.7 ng/ml). On the Wechsler adult intelligence scale (Revision), his total IQ was 103 (performance IQ 100, verbal IQ105). Karyotype analysis revealed an XXY pattern. Although slight auditory hallucinations remained, the delusional symptoms as well as the involuntary movements diminished after the administration of psychotrophics. Personality changes such as apathy and abulia was subsided. The psychological symptoms were very similar to these of cases in other reports of Klinefelter's syndrome associated with schizophrenia-like symptoms. Some reports about the relationships between sex hormones and schizophrenia including other psychotic disorders suggest that the X-chromosome plays an important part in the mechanism of psychosocial symptoms and in the prognosis in Klinefelter's syndrome.

Low melting point rare earth (RE) elements (samarium, gadolinium and ytterbium) complexes were newly synthesized for fabricating (RE)BCO thin films by an MOCVD method; tris(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-octanedionato)samarium(SGd(TMOD)3, and Yb(TMOD)3. The melting point of Sm(TMOD)3, 114 °C, Gd(IMOD)3, 105 °C, and Yb(TMOD)3,99 °C, is 70–90 °C lower than that of the conventional tris(dipivaloylmethanato)RE (RE(DPM)3). The RE oxide thin films could be fabricated by MOCVD using the TMOD complexes as a precursor and a SmBCO thin film could be also fabricated using Sm(TMOD3, the mixture of Ba(DPM)2 and Ba(TMOD)2 and bis(6-ethyl-2,2-Klimethyl-3,5-octanedionato) copper (Cu(EDMOD)2) in the liquid state as precursors.

We investigated the relationship between hemodynamic changes in the cortex measured by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and the polysomnographic changes during sleep. Four healthy male volunteers participated in the study. Near-infrared spectroscopy measuring and polysomnographic recordings were done simultaneously during sleep. In many case, oxy-hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) decreased and deoxy-hemoglobin (deoxy-Hb) increased during the transition from wakefulness to sleep, and oxy-Hb increased toward deep sleep. Oxy-Hb and deoxy-Hb had larger fluctuations during REM sleep than those during non-REM sleep. During REM sleep, oxy-Hb often showed a lower level and deoxy-Hb showed a higher level than those during the preceding and following non-REM sleep.

Although individuals aged 65 and over accounted for 12% of the total population of Japan in 1990, suicides in this age group consisted of 29% of all suicides. The elderly population of Japan is expected to grow rapidly to 24% of the total population by the year 2020, and suicide prevention for the elderly is an urgent mental health problem. Among a total of 1,216 elderly patients who were admitted to the Department of Psychiatry at Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital between April 1980 and March 1990, 50 were hospitalized immediately after suicide attempts in order to study their psychosociomedical problems. Because early diagnosis of depression and initiation of proper treatment are indispensable—even if patients do not show obvious depressive symptoms—those who develop persistent somatization and/or delirium should be considered highly suicidal and given special attention. With the cooperation of mental health professionals, it is necessary to educate general practitioners, the public, and the elderly themselves about characteristics of psychiatric disorders and various problems associated with aging. Further research on other elderly Japanese populations, as well as research that examines suicide completion, is needed to confirm the findings of the present study.

Publisher Summary Most of the reactive oxygen species rapidly react with various molecules and interfere with cellular functions. Based on experiments using antioxidant enzymes and scavengers for reactive oxygen species and free radicals, such as Cu/Zn-type superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione, ascorbic acid, and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), critical roles of these reactive species in the pathogenesis of various diseases are presented in this chapter. However, these antioxidants react with a wide variety of compounds and are involved in various metabolic pathways. Thus, even if these scavengers inhibited tissue injury, the corresponding reactive oxygen species may not always be involved in their pathogenesis. To get direct evidence for the involvement of reactive oxygen species in the pathogenesis of various diseases, these species should be determined quantitatively in vivo. Cytochrome c (Cyt c) is used for determining superoxide radicals in vitro. Because Cyt c reacts not only with superoxide radicals but also with other compounds with reducing activity and serves as a substrate for cytochrome c-reductase and cytochrome c-oxidase, acetylated Cyt c (AC) is used for the detection of superoxide radicals, particularly in complex biological systems.