Normality in the aged heart was examined with both of clinical and pathological approaches. A total of 1, 253 electrocardiograms was examined from cases over 100% obstruction, 4 in 75% stenosis, 3 in 50%, 2 in 25%, and 1 in slight stenosis). Sum of the indices from three main coronary branches was called as a stenotic index, ranging from 0 to maximum 15. A total of 35 hearts was selected as morphologically normal, without any valvular diseases, hypertension and with stenotic index less than 5. Measurements and calculations on these normal heart were tabulated. Cardiac weight ranged from 200 to 350 grams without any aging changes. Thickness of the ventricular musculature was measured at the inflow tract with 2 to 4mm in the right ventricle and 6 to 17mm in the left ventricle. Ventricular volume was from 5 to 40 in the right, and from 5 to 25ml in the left ventricle. Atrial volume was from 15 to 70ml to the right, and from 20 to 80ml in the left atrium: Circumference of the valve ring was from 75 to 140mm. at the tricuspid, 60 to 85mm at the pulmonary, 70 to 60 years of age, revealing completely normal findings in 13.4%. Group of abnormal findings increased with aging. A total of 275 autopsied hearts was examined morphologically. Coronary stenosis was evaluated using modified WHO criteria (point 5 in 110mm at the mitral and 60 to 85mm at the aortic valve. Thickness of the valve cusp was measured and values were tabulated from the thickest cusp as from 0.3 to 2.0mm at the tricuspid (anterior cusp), 0.1 to 1.2mm at the pulmonary (anterior cusp), 0.4 to 2.5 mm at the mitral (anterior cusp), and 0.3 to 3.0mm at the aortic (posterior cusp) valve.
These aged heart apparently without aging stigmata was examined by quantitative method which revealed several different aspects from young heart and presented a basic morpholoigcal data on the heart with physiological aging. These aging process and geriatric heart disease was correlated especially concerning with coronary heart disease, non-inflammatory valvular diseases (aortic insufficiency, mitral insufficiency, and calcific aortic stenosis).

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It has been assumed that plasma cholesterol esterifying reaction in human and rat is catalysed by lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase.
The present study was performed to evaluate the significance of this enzymatic activity in blood plasma of normal human subjects and that of patients with various diseases involving abnormal cholesterol metabolism.
The concentration of total and free cholesterol in plasma was determined before and after incubation at 37°C for 24 hours. The cholesterol esterifying activity was expressed as the percentage decrease of free cholesterol in plasma. The mean value of the activity in 11 normal individuals was 57%, 35% in 6 patients with liver diseases, 39% in 15 arteriosclerotic patients, 38% in 8 patients with hypothyroidism and 53% in 4 patients with hyperthyroidism. The results showed that the plasma cholesterol esterifying activity was decreased in patients with hypercholesterolemia in different types of origin.
Animal experiment: The plasma of normal and thyoidectomized rat 3 weeks after the operation was incubated at 37°C for 24 hours. Plasma lipids before and after incubation were determined.
In thyroidectomized rat, plasma concentration of total cholesterol was 41% higher than that of normal rat. Incubation resulted in no change of total cholesterol, decrease in lecithin and in crease in lysolecithin in both normal and treated groups.
The plasma cholesterol esterifying activity in thyroidectomized rat was 65% compared with 83% in normal rat.
In this experiment, the net content of free cholesterol transfered to esterified fraction per ml plasma in treated and normal rat was 8.1mg and 7.1mg respectively.
The cross experiment, therefore, was carried out using the equal content of plasma lipids as substrate.
The plasma of normal and treated rat was heated to inactivate at 56°C for 30 minutes prior to incubation. One ml of heat-inactivated plasma of thyroidectomized rat and the equal volume of fresh active plasma from normal rat was mixed and incubated with 4-C cholesterol at 77°C for 15 hours.
The recovery percentage of radiocativity in esterified cholesterol fraction was determined after separation with thin layer chromatography. This value was used as the expression of the plasma cholesterol esterifying activity. The mean value of the activity of normal rat was 25.6%. When the heat-inactivated plasma of normal rat and the equal volume of active plasma from the treated rat was incubated, the mean value of the activity was 20.5%.
The results suggest that the reduction of plasma cholesterol esterifying reaction in patients with hypothyroidism as well as in thyroidectomized rat is due to the lowering of lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase activity.

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Many authors have shown that a relationship appears to exist between body build and diseases, but the data, even the standard of reference have been scarcely given for the aged up to the present time. This study was aimed to present the standard body build of the Japanese old subjects and much practical values were discussed in research of the anthropometric indices.
In 431 ‘subjectively’ healthy individuals over the age of sixty years, strict physical examinations were carried out in order to rule out subjects with latent illness and 135 ‘clinically’ healthy subjects, namely 41 males and 94 females were selected. The anthropometric measurements-body height, body weight, chest circumference, abdominal circumference were taken according to accepted standardized techniques and mean values with standard deviations in both sexes were calculated. Several anthropometric indices-W kg/H cm, W g/H cm² (Kaup's index), H cm/3√W kg (Ponderal index), Vervaeck's index (body weight kg+chest circumference cm/body height cm), Tanji's index (chest circumference cm +abdminal circumference cm-body height cm) and per cent of standard weight [Broca: height cm-100, Katsura: 0.9 (height cm-100)] were also decided.
The data reported here could be used for establishing the standard values of body build of the Japanese old subjects because of the suitable selectiveness of materials.
The regression lines of the body weight to the height have the same trend of the weight-height relationship according to the Katsura's standard weight in case of male and to the Broca's in case of female. The lines of the weight-height relationship which were induced by the mean values of ponderal index were also similiar to these regression lines.
Vervaeck's index and Tanji's index showed highly significant correlations with ponderal index and with per cent of standard weight respectively.
As the relevant estimation method for the body build, anthropometric indices might not be influenced by the body size of the individuals. The data reported here showed that Tanji's index was scarcely and ponderal index was also very little influenced by the body height.
For the purpose of discussing the body build of the aged, the results obtained confirm the suitability of the following four indices-ponderal indes, Tanji's index, Vervaeck's index and per cent of standard weight.

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The obesity, in its true sense, is defined as the condition of the abnormal increase of the body fat. Accordingly, the relevance of the most widely used estimation methods, using the indices of weight-height relationship is insufficient, and the study of the body composition can not be ignored.
Upper arm circumference and skinfold thickness over the triceps, subscapularis, abdominal and lumbar sites of the same 135 individuals presented in the first report were measured. Using naturally-occuring ⁴⁰K decided by the Human Counter, body potassium content of the 33 individuals were estimated as the indicator of Lean Body Mass (LBM).
The results showed that skinfolds of the lower portion of the aged (in male, especially abdominal) tend to increase greater as they become fatty.
It becomes clear that the skinfolds are not very closely correlated with anthropometric indices when the skinfold of the mean value of triceps and subscapularis for male and abdominal for female are selected as the representative values because they correlate most significantly with the potassium content per kg body weight.
For the purpose of deciding the most useful estimation method of leanness-fatness, correlations between the anthropometric indices and the potassium content per kg body weight were studied, but the anthropometric indices were not very closely correlated with the body potassium content per kg body weight, the correlations being 0.38 for the ponderal index, not significant for the per cent of standard weight and Tanji's index. On the contrary, skinfold thickness are significantly correlated with the body potassium per kg body weight (correlation coefficient-0.47- -0.79 according to the sites), which appeared to estimate the degree of fatness sufficiently.
Calculation of the upper arm diameter was done using the following formula,
Upper arn diameter=Upper arm circumference/π
-Triceps skinfold thickness
In this study, the physiological decrease of LBM was confirmed with increasing age. The result showed that the value of the square of upper arm diameter multiplied by body height was closely correlated with total body potassium(correlation coefficient 0.85 p<0.1 %) and LBM of the upper arm could be interpretated as the representative value of the total body LBM.
For the purpose of arriving at more precise evaluation of the body fat per cent, instead of the absolute skinfold thickness, the quantitative relationship between LBM and subcutaneous fat would be theoretically more relevant.
Accordingly, the following formula was posturated as the indicator of adiposidy and muscularity,
Estimated upper arm fat %=
[1-(1-π Triceps skinfold thickness/Upper arm circumference)3]×100
By this formula the fat per cent of the upper arm was calculated and the correlation coefficient -0.68 (p<0.1%) was obtained between fat per cent and the body potassium content per kg body weight. Thus the fat per cent of the upper arm could be considered as the substitution of the total body fat per cent. By the calculation of the formula to all the subjects, the Japanese ‘clinically’ healthy old male over sixty of age could be estimated to have 19.97% and the fomale 39.16% of body fat on the average.

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In general, the values of the measurements of the older subjects tend to be scattered widely and the larger variance of the values would be inescapable by the influence of the latent disorders or the ill-defined abnormalities. The author in this paper discussed the role of this influence which have upon the values of the anthropometric measurements and indices even in he ‘subjectively’ healthy old subjects.
The same 431 ‘subjectively’ healthy old individuals (134 males, 297 females) presented in the first report were classified as 135 ‘normal’ (41 males, 94 females) and 296 ‘abnormal’ (93 males, 203 females) by strict physical examinations.
The mean values and the anthropometric indices-W/H, W/H², Vervaeck's index, ponderal index, Tanji's index, and per cent of standard weight-were calculated and compared with two groups.
The results obtained showed that the mean values of the anthropometric indices in both sexes were same between the ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ group. but the unbiased variances of the ‘normal’ were smaller compared to the ‘abnormal’.
While the ratio of the unbiased variances of ponderal index and Tanji's index between the male ‘normal’ and the ‘abnormal’ group were significantly different respectively, in the female subjects, the ratio of the unbiased variances of all the anthropometric indices between them were significantly different.
The conclusion was drawn that with increasing age, the anthropometric values come also to be scattered widely by the influence of the latent disorders or ill-defined abnormalities.

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Analysis of the calcium content and the histological changes of the various organs of rats chronically treated with dihydrotachysterol (DHT) was described. It was found that under our experimental conditions, DHT caused a marked hypercalcemia as well as a significant increase in the calcium content of the kidney and heart. On the other hand, calcium content of the femurs treated with DHT was markedly decreased as compared with that of controls. Histological and radiological evidence suggests the increased bone resorption with osteoporotic changes following DHT trea tment. Almost all these changes induced by DHT administration are prevented by the simultaneous treatment with conjugated estrogens (Premarin). Estrogen thus appears to prevent the development of “Progeria-like syndrome” which is quite simular to premature aging.

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