Obesity: Murakami M

Kondo T, Kobayashi I, Murakami M. · Gunma Paz College, Faculty of Health Science School of Physical Therapy, Takayama, Japan. · Endocr J. · Pubmed #16618976 links to  free full text

Abstract: We studied the effect of exercise on circulating adipokine, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and metabolic parameters in obese young women. Ninety-six healthy Japanese young female students aged 18-23 years were studied. The longitudinal intervention study of a 7-month exercise training program (30-60 min/day, 60-70% HR-reserve, 200-400 kcal, 4-5 days/week) was performed in eight obese female students (BMI > or =25 kg/m(2)). Eight control female students (mean BMI = 22 kg/m(2)) were included in the follow-up study. Body weight, body mass index (BMI), percentage of body fat (%Fat), body fat mass, lean body mass, health-promoting lifestyle profile-scale (L-scale), VO(2)max (maximal oxygen uptake), hs-CRP, lipids, insulin homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-R), fasting levels for circulating adiponectin, leptin, and TNF-alpha, were measured before and after the exercise program. In obese subjects, body weight, BMI, %Fat, body fat mass, lean body mass, hs-CRP, leptin, and TNF-alpha were significantly higher, and L-scale and adiponectin were lower than those in control subjects. In obese subjects, exercise decreased body weight, BMI, %Fat, body fat mass, lean body mass, hs-CRP, leptin, and TNF-alpha, and increased L-scale, VO(2)max, HDL-cho, and adiponectin. It was concluded that changes in circulating adipokine levels are involved in the improvement of the metabolic state by exercise and may be useful markers for evaluation and prescription of exercise.

Seki K, Sumino H, Nara M, Ishiyama N, Nishino M, Murakami M. · Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan. · Clin Hemorheol Microcirc. · Pubmed #16614464 No free full text.

Abstract: We investigated the relationships between blood rheology assessed by microchannel method and the various hemorheologic factors in healthy subjects. One hundred seventy-six healthy volunteers (90 men and 86 women, mean age; 32.9+/-11.3 years) were participated in this study. Body weight, body mass index, red blood cell count, hematocrit, hemoglobin, white blood cell count, and platelet count, plasma fibrinogen, and fasting serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations were measured. In order to assess blood rheology, blood passage time was determined by a microchannel method (Micro Channel Array Flow Analyzer). Age, body mass index, red blood cell count, hematocrit, hemoglobin, white blood cell count, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride were positively correlated with blood passage time in all subjects, respectively (p<0.01) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was inversely correlated with blood passage time (p<0.01). However, platelet count, and fibrinogen were not correlated with blood passage time. The present study showed that increased age, body mass index, red blood cell count, white blood cell count, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were associated with impaired blood rheology measured by microchannel method in healthy subjects, suggesting that aging, obesity, erythrocytosis, leukocytosis, and dyslipidemia may be related to hemorheological disorders. This microchannel method may be useful to study blood rheology which may be associated with various risk factors of cardiovascular disorders.

Murakami M, Ohmichi M, Takahashi T, Shibata A, Fukao A, Morisaki N, Kurachi H. · Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, 2-2-2 Iida-nishi, Yamagata-city, Yamagata 9909585, Japan. · Arch Gynecol Obstet. · Pubmed #15185098 No free full text.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: The influence of maternal body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy and weight gain during pregnancy on perinatal outcomes in the Japanese population remains to be elucidated. Therefore, we estimated the risk of perinatal morbidity of the mother and infant with respect to maternal prepregnancy BMI and weight gain during pregnancy in Japanese. RESULTS: In the obese before pregnancy group, the risks of cesarean delivery, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes were significantly elevated compared with the normal group. In the underweight before pregnancy group, the risks of low birth weight infant and hospitalization of infant were elevated significantly. CONCLUSION: However, weight gain during pregnancy did not show any significant influence on the perinatal outcomes of the mother or infant.

Koba S, Hirano T, Kondo T, Shibata M, Suzuki H, Murakami M, Geshi E, Katagiri T. · Third Department of Internal Medicine, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. · Am Heart J. · Pubmed #12486427 No free full text.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: It remains unclear how closely the small dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (diameter < or =25.5 nm) is associated with various types of coronary heart disease (CHD) in Japanese patients, an ethnic group with lower serum cholesterol levels and less massive obesity compared with Western populations. METHODS AND RESULTS: We measured mean LDL particle diameter by gradient gel electrophoresis in 571 patients with CHD and in 263 healthy subjects who served as control patients. Patients with CHD were classified into acute coronary syndrome (ACS), stable CHD and vasospastic angina. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein-A1 and -B were significantly different between patients with CHD and controls. LDL size in patients with CHD was markedly smaller than that in controls in both men and women (25.5 +/- 0.7 vs 25.9 +/- 0.4 and 25.7 +/- 0.7 vs 26.0 +/- 0.5 nm, respectively). LDL cholesterol was significantly higher in patients with ACS than in other groups. Plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased as the number of diseased vessels or angiographic coronary severity evaluated by Gensini score increased, but the LDL size was comparable irrespective of the type of CHD and the extent and severity of the lesions. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that small dense LDL was independently associated with the incidence of CHD in both sexes (odds ratio [OR] 3.5, 95% CI 2.1-5.7, and OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.5-5.6, P <.005). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that the small dense LDL is strongly associated with various types of CHD, independent of traditional and nontraditional coronary risk factors, but is not related to the severity and extent of the coronary lesions.

Fukuhara A, Matsuda M, Nishizawa M, Segawa K, Tanaka M, Kishimoto K, Matsuki Y, Murakami M, Ichisaka T, Murakami H, Watanabe E, Takagi T, Akiyoshi M, Ohtsubo T, Kihara S, Yamashita S, Makishima M, Funahashi T, Yamanaka S, Hiramatsu R, Matsuzawa Y, Shimomura I. · Department of Medicine and Pathophysiology, Graduate School of Medicine, and Department of Organismal Biosystems, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. · Science. · Pubmed #15604363 links to  free full text

Abstract: Fat tissue produces a variety of secreted proteins (adipocytokines) with important roles in metabolism. We isolated a newly identified adipocytokine, visfatin, that is highly enriched in the visceral fat of both humans and mice and whose expression level in plasma increases during the development of obesity. Visfatin corresponds to a protein identified previously as pre-B cell colony-enhancing factor (PBEF), a 52-kilodalton cytokine expressed in lymphocytes. Visfatin exerted insulin-mimetic effects in cultured cells and lowered plasma glucose levels in mice. Mice heterozygous for a targeted mutation in the visfatin gene had modestly higher levels of plasma glucose relative to wild-type littermates. Surprisingly, visfatin binds to and activates the insulin receptor. Further study of visfatin's physiological role may lead to new insights into glucose homeostasis and/or new therapies for metabolic disorders such as diabetes.