Ningen Dock International
Online ISSN : 2187-8080
Print ISSN : 2187-8072
Volume 2, Issue 1
Displaying 1-6 of 6 articles from this issue
Original Article
  • Yasuhiko Shimoyama, Yoko Mitsuda, Nobuyuki Hamajima, Toshimitsu Niwa
    2014 Volume 2 Issue 1 Pages 3-8
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 10, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    Objective: (Pro)renin receptor (PRR), a specific receptor for renin and prorenin, has been identified as a new member of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). We investigated an association between the rs5918007 PRR gene polymorphism and renal function in Japanese healthy subjects.

    Methods: This study enrolled 472 Japanese subjects (288 men and 184 women) who underwent health check-ups at Nagoya University Hospital. The genotyping of the PRR gene single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs5918007 was performed using a polymerase chain reaction with confronting two-pair primers (PCR-CTPP) assay.

    Results: In female subjects, the serum creatinine level was significantly low, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was significantly high in (CT+TT) carriers as compared with CC carriers. In male subjects, however, there was no significant difference in serum creatinine or eGFR between the C and T genotype.

    Conclusion: PRR SNP might affect renal function in Japanese women.

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  • Yuki Ohmoto-Sekine, Makiko Ishihara, Kazuhisa Amakawa, Shiun Dong Hsie ...
    2014 Volume 2 Issue 1 Pages 9-13
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 10, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    Objective: The coronary artery calcium (CAC) score measured by computed tomography (CT) is a strong and independent predictor of coronary events and all-cause mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate CAC using reconstructed images from low dose ECG-ungated CT used for lung cancer screening and to compare the results with CAC evaluation based on ECG-gated cardiac CT.

    Methods: Agatston scores for CAC were determined from reconstructed low dose ECG-ungated CT and ECG-gated cardiac CT images collected for 145 subjects (101 men and 44 women) at our institution between September 2009 and July 2013.

    Results: The findings showed a good correlation between low dose ECG-ungated CT and ECG-gated cardiac CT for Agatston scores in four risk categories for coronary artery disease (CAD), with a κ value of 0.963.

    Conclusion: We conclude that CAC evaluation using low dose ECG-ungated CT performed for lung cancer screening has good interscan agreement with that performed using ECG-gated cardiac CT and is reliable for stratification of examinees into CAD risk categories.

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  • Takashi Wada, Yuko Kawasaki, Junko Inaji
    2014 Volume 2 Issue 1 Pages 14-18
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 10, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    Objective: Sarcopenia, in which decreases in muscle mass occur, may cause walking and motor function disorders among elderly individuals. We noninvasively measured lean skeletal muscle mass of the legs in healthy individuals. Results were corrected with the square of height to determine a corrected leg muscle index (CLMI). Standard deviations (SDs) were determined according to sex and age group and used to establish borderline and at-risk regions for use in preventing sarcopenia.

    Subjects: The study participants comprised 5,197 healthy men (mean age, 52±11 years) and 2,237 healthy women (mean age, 50±11 years).

    Methods: Leg scores were determined with a body composition meter that uses bioelectrical impedance for measurement. Leg scores were used to calculate leg skeletal muscle based on standard levels in young people. The CLMI, corrected for height, was then used to: 1) evaluate age-related changes in men and women; and 2) set a borderline region as the range1-2 SDs below the mean in subjects 20–39 years old and an at-risk region as >2 SDs below the mean. The proportions of subjects in each age group in these regions were calculated.

    Results: The CLMI of persons in their 80s was 88% of that of those in their 20s. The CMLI of women in their 80s was 95% that of subjects in their 20s. Thus, age-related decline in CLMI was more prominent in men. For men, the borderline region was 5.1–5.8 kg/m2 and the at-risk region was <5.1 kg/m2. For women, these regions were 4.1–4.6 kg/m2 and <4.1 kg/m2, respectively.

    Conclusion: We set borderline and at-risk regions for use in preventing sarcopenia.

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  • Sorama Aoki, Kenichi Sato, Kenji Hoshi, Junko Kawakami, Kouki Mori, Yo ...
    2014 Volume 2 Issue 1 Pages 19-26
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 10, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    Objective: We developed a new, simple, low-cost screening method for detecting patients with overt thyroid dysfunction (PTDs) using a combination of six routine tests, and identified 7 new PTDs in the Ningen Dock of JR Sendai Hospital. The aim of this study was to investigate whether we can use this screening method on many more people taking Ningen Dock health check-ups and detect a lot of PTDs who should be further examined soon.

    Methods: The screening was applied to 8,831 Japanese people undergoing a health check-up in the Ningen Dock of Tohoku Kousai Hospital from September 2011 to March 2013. Six types of routine test data (alkaline phosphatase, serum creatinine, total cholesterol, heart rate, lactate dehydrogenase and red blood cells), which had already been measured, were input to a personal computer.

    Results: Through the measurement of serum TSH and free T4 (FT4) in 144 people who were suspected of having thyroid dysfunction in our screening (probability of >60%), we identified 14 new overt PTDs (8 Graves’ disease, 2 painless thyroiditis, 4 hypothyroidism). Except for the patient with Graves’ disease, none of them was suspected of having thyroid dysfunction in a medical examination. If we limit additional testing consisting of TSH and FT4 measurement to subjects with a thyroid dysfunction probability of >85%, this would greatly decrease the number of false positives and no Graves’ disease patient would be overlooked.

    Conclusions: The clinical usefulness of our method in screening for overt PTDs was confirmed. More than 10,000 PTDs would be discovered if this screening were performed at all Ningen Docks in Japan.

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  • Yoshimi Tamura, Kazunari Ohki, Masahiro Nishii, Yasuhiro Ohtuka, Mai M ...
    2014 Volume 2 Issue 1 Pages 27-34
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 10, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    Objective: To investigate clinicopathological features and define factors predicting survival in patients diagnosed with prostate cancer by the two major Japanese screening systems.

    Methods: Between 1999 and 2010, 36 (10.4%) and 310 (89.6%) patients were diagnosed with prostate cancer in Ningen Dock and population-based screening, respectively. Clinicopathological features were recorded and factors predictive of biochemical relapse-free survival (bRFS), cause-specific survival, and overall survival were investigated.

    Results: The mean ages of patients detected in Ningen Dock and population-based screening were 63 and 73 years, respectively. The proportion of localized prostate cancer was higher, with borderline statistical significance, in Ningen Dock, and significantly higher in those who had been screened at least once prior to diagnosis, compared with patients diagnosed in population-based screening, and those who had not been screened prior to diagnosis. The bRFS was significantly lower in patients who were older than the median age, in those diagnosed in population-based screening, in those with PSA above the median value, in patients at advanced clinical stages, in those with poorer Gleason scores, and in patients for whom the proportion of positive biopsy cores was > 25%. In the multivariate Cox’s proportional hazards model, only clinical stage and age were significant independent prognostic factors predicting bRFS.

    Conclusions: In Japan, the Ningen Dock and population-based screening systems provide complementary cover for males of different ages. Both screening systems play important roles in Japan in detecting prostate cancer at the curative stage, and improving patient outcomes.

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Case Report
  • Nobuhiro Shibata, Ken Shibata Lizama
    2014 Volume 2 Issue 1 Pages 35-38
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 10, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    We report a case of achalasia, which was identified and diagnosed through a health check-up. The patient was 24-year-old woman who in screening during a periodic employee health check-up had an abnormal finding on the right lung in a posteroanterior (PA) view chest X-ray. As the result of a thorough investigation, the patient was diagnosed with mild aspiration pneumonia and it was accompanied by suspected esophageal dilation, which was revealed by chest computed tomography (CT). The dilation was later confirmed by barium swallow and imaging. After completing the treatment regimen for aspiration pneumonia, pneumatic dilation (PD) was performed. Post-procedural examination indicated disappearance of symptoms. Also, the 24-month post-op follow-up did not indicate re-emergence of achalasia. However, long-term follow-up is still essential. Especially in young adults, it is necessary to identify the cause of aspiration pneumonia in an investigation.

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