Chizuko Hioki

Efficacy of Bofu-tsusho-san, an oriental herbal medicine, in obese Japanese women with impaired glucose tolerance

1. In the present study, we conducted the first randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study of bofu‐tsusho‐san (BF), an oriental herbal medicine (24 mg/day ephedrine in Ephedrae Herba and an efficacy equivalent of 280 mg caffeine, judging from the phosphodiesterase‐inhibitory effect of Glycyrrhizae Radix, Forsythiae Fructus and Schizonepetae Spica and another 14 crude drugs) in obese women with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT).

Growth Hormone Administration Controls Body Composition Associated with Changes of Thermogenesis in Obese KK-Ay Mice~!2009-08-29~!2010-01-12~!2010-03-26~!

We investigate the effects of continuous human growth hormone (GH) therapy in young obese mice on thermogenesis. Female KK-A y obese mice (n=10) were injected subcutaneously with GH (3.5 mg/kg/day) for 30 days from 42 days old. As a control, physiological saline was administered (n=10). At the terminal point (71 days old), GH administration affected linear growth, and the Lee obesity index (3 square root body weight/nasoanal length  1000) was significantly decreased. Rates of inguinal and perimetric white adipose pads per body weight also decreased. Free fatty acid levels decreased, while plasma insulin concentrations and homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance were increased (P<0.01). Plasma insulin-like growth factor � (IGF-1) levels markedly rose (P<0.00001). Uncoupling protein1 (UCP1) and UCP3 mRNA expressions in brown adipose tissue were inhibited (P<0.05). Continuous GH therapy changed obese body composition toward lean, however, the consequence could be the negative regulation of thermogenesis.

In vivo brain microdialysis studies on the striatal dopamine and serotonin release in zitter mutant rats.

In the present study, using in vivo brain microdialysis, we investigated the basal extracellular dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) release in the caudal striatum (cSTR) of young (4-6 months old) and aged (10-12 months old) zitter mutant rats. The basal extracellular levels of DA release in both young and aged zitter rats were significantly lower than that of age-matched Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, whereas only aged zitter rats showed a significant difference in the basal 5-HT release. Dopaminergic neurons were more vulnerable than serotonergic neurons in the cSTR of zitter mutant rats during aging. Perfusion of 60 mM potassium (K+) enhanced the extracellular levels of cSTR DA in the young zitter rats and the extracellular levels of both DA and 5-HT in the cSTR of the aged zitter rats. The firing rate of K+-stimulated monoamine release in the cSTR was significantly higher in the zitter rats than in the age-matched SD rats. These findings suggest that there are innate quantitative differences in the releasable pool and the availability of monoamines in the cSTR of zitter mutant rats.

Effect of ultrasonic stimulation on mRNA abundance of uncoupling protein (UCP) 2 and UCP 3 in gastrocnemius muscle of rats

1. The hypothesis that ultrasonic stimulation upregulates uncoupling protein (UCP) 2 and UCP3 in gastrocnemius muscle by a different mechanism of exercise was investigated in Wister rats.