Objective: Twins tend to lag behind singletons in their motor development, though the causes of this appear to be complicated and are not yet fully understood. The present study was performed to clarify the factors associated with the motor development of twins.
Methods: The twins in the first group consisted of school applicants, including 1131 twin pairs, and the second group consisted of children of members of several maternal associations, and included 951 pairs. All data were gathered by questionnaire survey, and six gross-motor development milestones were analyzed in individuals or pairs.
Results: Relative to general population norms in Japan, twins tended to be delayed in reaching several motor development milestones. Stepwise regression analysis showed that of all the variables measured, gestational age was the most influential on all six milestones. Birthweight was also influential on most milestones. Other factors affecting motor development milestones were parity for ‘sitting without support,’ ‘pulling up to a standing position,’ and ‘walking without support,’ and zygosity for ‘walking without support.’ In these cases, longer gestational age, heavier birthweight, primiparity, and dizygosity showed a tendency toward earlier attainment of development. Motor development within pairs was more similar in monozygotic pairs compared with dizygotic pairs regarding each item, suggesting genetic contributions.
Conclusion: The results of the present study showed specific and nonspecific factors that affect motor development of twins. These findings should prove useful in understanding the motor development of twin children and help clinicians to refine maternal and child health care for multiple-birth children.

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Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess preserved umbilical cords as chemical exposure media to investigate in utero chemical exposure. Furthermore, we aim to apply preserved umbilical cords to retrospective studies of the relationship between in utero chemical exposure and neurodevelopment disorders.
Methods: Two sets of preserved umbilical cord samples were analyzed for exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs): one composed of samples from 20 healthy Japanese subjects and the other set included samples from 17 autistic patients and 7 healthy siblings of theirs.
Results: The possibility of external PCBs contamination during storage of preserved umbilical cord samples was found, and due to this problem, the study design should be limited to the comparison between PCBs concentration in preserved cord samples from autistic patients and that in those from their sibling. Total PCBs concentrations in preserved cords from autistic patients and their control siblings were compared and we found no statistically significant difference between them (Wilcoxon signed rank test, p>0.05).
Conclusions: The association between autism and in utero PCBs exposure was not clarified in this study; however, retrospective studies such as a case-control study of siblings using preserved umbilical cords can be a method of choice for examining the possible relationship between in utero chemical exposure and childhood disorders.

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Objectives: To examine the effects of β₃-adrenergic receptor gene polymorphism on body weight change during a weight reduction program for middle-aged, overweight women with careful consideration of their energy intake and expenditure.
Methods: Design: Intervention study of weight reduction for 12 weeks in a community setting. Subjects: Eighty overweight middle-aged women who completed the individualized lifestyle modification program. Measurements: β₃-adrenergic receptor gene polymorphism was identified by polymerase chain reaction and consecutive restriction fragment-length polymorphism analysis. Anthropometrical parameters, lifestyle factors, blood lipid and glucose levels, physical activity level and energy intake were measured before and at the end of the program.
Results: The numbers of subjects with the Trp64Trp, Trp64Arg, and Arg64Arg genotypes were 45, 30 and 5, respectively. Baseline characteristics among subjects with the Trp64Trp, Trp64Arg and Arg64Arg alleles did not differ. After 12 weeks, the subjects with the 64Arg allele had significantly smaller decrease in body weight and energy intake than those without the 64Arg allele. The change of other clinical characteristics did not differ between the two groups. After adjusting for the %change of energy intake, the %change of body weight did not differ between the two groups.
Conclusion: The 64Arg allele of the β₃-AR gene is not likely to be the factor determining the difficulty in losing body weight in Japanese middle-aged, overweight women. Lifestyle factors, such as the decrease in energy intake, might mask the effect of the 64Arg allele on body weight loss. Specific considerations for the management of energy intake would be needed to promote body weight loss for those with the 64Arg allele.

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Objective: To examine the effectiveness of a drug abuse prevention program focusing on social influences for drug education classes in high school.
Methods: The social influence program in the experimental group used role-playing led by a pharmacist, a police officer and a teacher. The intervention evaluation used a quasi-experimental design. The subjects were first-year students from 10 high schools assigned to the experimental group (6 schools, 828 students) and the control group (4 schools, 408 students). In the control group, a pharmacist used a conventional information program in a lecture format.
Results: Regarding knowledge about drug abuse, in both the experimental and control groups, and for both males and females, a long-term effect was observed immediately after the program and lasted up to 15 months. For three other measures, attitudes toward drug abuse problem, self-efficacy regarding drug abuse prevention, and perception of social support for preventing drug abuse, a short-term effect was generally observed in the experimental group beginning immediately after the program and lasting for 3 months. A long-term effect was evident in high-risk students with positive opinions regarding drugs. In the control group and for both males and females, although an effect was generally evident immediately after the program, neither a short- nor a long-term effect was observed in males, suggesting the difficulty in achieving lasting effects.
Conclusions: The social influence program in the experimental group showed remarkable effectiveness. Thus, the program may be useful for preventing drug abuse among high school students in Japan.

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Objectives: The association of blood pressure and levels of serum lipids, liver enzymes, blood glucose and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) with drinking habit was examined in Japanese men.
Methods: The subjects were 264 men aged 39 to 80 years who were classified into the ALDH2 deficiency or sufficiency group using the ethanol patch test and the Tokyo University ALDH2 Phenotype Screening Test. A self-administered questionnaire including drinking habit was used. Blood pressure and the levels of biochemical markers in groups with ALDH2 sufficiency, ALDH2 deficiency and drinking habit were compared using multiple regression models for adjusting age, smoking habit, physical exercising habit and body mass index.
Results: The levels of serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GTP) were significantly higher in current drinkers of 20 g of ethanol or more per day than in nondrinkers of the ALDH2 sufficiency group. The levels of serum AST and γ-GTP in current drinkers of 20 g of ethanol or more per day, and fasting blood sugar in current drinkers of less than 20 g of ethanol per day were significantly higher than those in nondrinkers of the ALDH2 deficiency group.
Conclusions: These results suggest that alcohol consumption increases the levels of serum lipids and liver enzymes in ALDH2-sufficient individuals and liver enzymes and blood glucose levels in ALDH2-deficient individuals.

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Objectives: Metabolic rate is affected not solely by diet but also by environmental characteristics such as climate and seasonal changes in day length. In the present study, we conducted a controlled study in which we observed metabolic response to short-term energy restriction (ER).
Materials and Methods: Thirty-two subjects were divided randomly into a slight ER group and a moderate ER group. The energy intake per day for slight ER vs moderate ER was 1462 kcal vs 1114 kcal. During the 4-day study periods, the same daily timetable, which consists of nutrition, exercise, sleeping and others, was imposed on both groups. The same environment was also provided to both groups.
Results: After the 4-day ER, significant decreases in body weight and basal metabolic rate (BMR) were shown in both groups. The decrease in body weight was 2% of the baseline level in both groups, and the decreases in the BMR were 6% of baseline levels in the slight ER group and 13% in the moderate ER group. The decrease in BMR in the moderate ER group was significantly larger than that in the slight ER group.
Conclusions: In a controlled study of short-term ER, we observed a significant decrease in BMR. There was a positive association between the degree of ER and the reduction in BMR. Reductions in BMR were greater than those in body weight. It, thus, appears that the minimization of weight loss is due to dramatic decreases in BMR. This suggests the existence of metabolic resistance against ER.

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