Masakuni Tokuda

COMPARISON OF BIOELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE ANALYSIS AND DUAL ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY FOR ASSESSMENT OF BODY COMPOSITION IN CHILDREN

Abstract Background: There are a variety of methods for assessing body composition. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is an easy and non‐invasive technique, but has limitations in underweight and overweight subjects. Few reports have investigated the validity of BIA in children. In this report, the characteristics of BIA, especially in overweight and underweight children, are assessed and the results are compared with those of dual energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA), as a reliable method for assessing body composition.

The Japanese Study Group of Insulin Therapy for Childhood and Adolescent Diabetes (JSGIT): initial aims and impact of the family history of type 1 diabetes mellitus in Japanese children

Abstract: The Japanese Study Group of Insulin Therapy for Childhood and Adolescent Diabetes (JSGIT) was established in July 1994 with the chief aim to improve the quality of therapy for type 1 diabetes in children, an entity far less common in Japan than in Europe. We proposed four initial research topics: (i) to determine the current status of medical care and glycemic control in Japanese children with type 1 diabetes mellitus; (ii) to standardize the measurement of hemoglobin A1c; (iii) to establish a registry of a large cohort of patients in order to enable prospective studies to improve the quality of therapy for children with type 1 diabetes in Japan; and (iv) to enable participants of the JSGIT to hold a workshop twice annually.

A new method of quantitating serum and urinary levels of 1,5-anhydroglucitol in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

A new method was developed for quantitating the serum and urinary levels of 1,5-anhydroglucitol (AG), a sensitive and informative marker of glycemic control. This method utilized a combination of ODS and pyranose oxidase-immobilized columns for HPLC, and monitored hydrogen peroxide production with an electrochemical detector. We applied this method to determine the serum and urinary AG levels in 15 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) as well as in control subjects. Baseline separation of AG from other sugars such as glucose and myoinositol was achieved. Quantitation of AG was achieved over the range from 0.2 ng to 0.3 micrograms based upon peak heights. The serum and urinary AG levels in the IDDM patients were 4.4 +/- 8.3 mg/l and 5.1 +/- 4.3 mg/day, respectively. We found that the urinary AG to serum AG ratio showed a linear correlation with the urinary glucose level in the IDDM patients (urinary glucose (y) vs. urinary AG to serum AG ratio (x): y = 9.071x-0.991; r = 0.968, P < 0.001). This method proved efficient and reliable for quantitating urinary AG. Since determination of both the AG and glucose levels in urine gives equivalent clinical information to the serum AG level, urinary monitoring could provide a valuable addition to the available methods for assessing the glycemic status of IDDM patients.

Glucose tolerance factor stimulates 3-0-methylglucose transport into isolated rat adipocytes

Glucose tolerance factor partially purified from yeast extract powder stimulated [U-14C]-D-glucose uptake to a level 5.6 times greater than the basal level in the absence of insulin in isolated adipocytes prepared from rats fed with normal laboratory chow. The factor also stimulated 3-O-methylglucose transport 2.2-fold from the basal level in the absence of insulin, but not in the presence of 8 nM insulin. Kinetic analysis revealed that glucose tolerance factor increased 3-O-methylglucose transport by decreasing the Ks value for 3-O-methylglucose with little change in the Vmax.

Soluble interleukin-2 receptor level in serum of children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus compared with that in diseases with activated immune system

Abstract The serum level of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) has been proposed as a clinical marker for various autoimmune diseases. Serum in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), as an organ-specific autoimmune disease, was investigated by sIL-2R assay. Although serum sIL-2R levels were very much higher in patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia and chronically or subchronically inflammatory diseases including Schoenlein-Henoch disease, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), ulcerative colitis (UC) and mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome (MCLS), the level in IDDM children who were newly diagnosed (within 6 months after onset) was also moderately higher (628 ± 64 U/ml; P 1c level, or patient. ThesThese findings suggest that slowly progressing T-cell activation and an imbalanced cellular immune response exist in newly diagnosed IDDM children.