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2004
Department of Public Health, Hamamatsu
University School of Medicine, Japan.
Low-energy diets and fasting have
suppressive effects on rheumatoid arthritis. It was reported
recently that urine levels of pentosidine (i.e., an advanced
glycation end product formed by glycosylation) is associated
with the activity of rheumatoid arthritis. We conducted
a regimen of caloric restriction combined with fasting
in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and then evaluated
urinary pentosidine levels. Ten patients with rheumatoid
arthritis underwent a 54-day caloric restriction program.
Urinary pentosidine levels were measured and the Lansbury
Index were determined by examining the clinical features,
blood biochemistry and the inflammation activity of rheumatoid
arthritis on days 0, 25 and 54. On day 0, the mean urinary
pentosidine level of patients with rheumatoid arthritis
was significantly higher than that of the control subjects.
On day 54, the mean body weight had reduced due to caloric
restriction. The mean values of the erythrocyte sedimentation
rate and the Lansbury Index of patients both significantly
decreased during the study. In addition, although the
urinary pentosidine levels showed no significant difference
between day 0 and 25, it was significantly decreased at
the end of the study (day 54). The study showed that under
a low energy diet a reduction of disease activity in rheumatoid
arthritis was accompanied with a reduction of the urinary
pentosidine.
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2001
Department of Public Health, Hamamatsu
University School of Medicine, Shizuoka, Japan.
Fasting alters various hormonal
and immune conditions. It has been reported that delayed
type immune response to the injection of keyhole limpet
hemocyanin was depressed by short-term fasting. In this
study, we adopted the computer-assisted image analyzer
for histopathological analysis and evaluated the influence
of short-term fasting on allergic contact dermatitis induced
by 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB). Mice were sensitized
by painting of DNFB to the abdomen. After the sensitization,
mice were challenged by DNFB painting to the ear. Fasting
started 24 hour before (48-hour fasted group) or immediately
after (24-hour fasted group) the challenging. Fasting
without DNFB treatment did not induce remarkable change
of ear thickness, ear tissue, serum albumin, serum total
protein, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, serum
glutamic pyruvic transaminase. or serum creatine phosphokinase.
In contrast, lasting suppressed the increment of ear thickness
in the DNFB-treated group in this study. We could also
demonstrate, using the computerized image analyzer, that
both lymphocyte infiltration and the edema in the dermis
were suppressed in fasted mice treated with DNFB. Further,
edema in the dermis was inhibited more strongly in 48-hour
fasted mice than in 24-hour lasted mice. These findings
indicate that short-term fasting induce histopathological
changes in the state of contact dermatitis.
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1998
Laboratory of Nutritional
and Molecular Regulation, National Cancer Institute, Frederick
Cancer Research and Development Center, Maryland 21702-1201,
USA
In rodents calorie restriction (CR)
reduces cancer incidence, improves health by delaying
age-related declines in physiologic measures, and extends
both median and maximal life span. The mechanisms underlying
the various beneficial effects of CR remain undefined.
In this study, heterozygous p53-deficient (p53(+/-)) mice
(in which the inactivation of one allele of the p53 tumor
suppressor gene increases susceptibility to spontaneous
and carcinogen-induced tumor development) and wild-type
(WT) litter mates were subjected to a two-stage skin carcinogenesis
protocol with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate.
Instead of skin carcinomas, however, the chemical treatment
protocol caused ulcerous skin lesions, and 89% of mice
fed ad libitum died from infection/septicemia. When WT
mice were restricted to 60% of the average calorie intake
of the respective ad libitum group, however, only 33%
developed such lesions, and the CR mice survived twice
as long on average as the ad libitum mice. CR also extended
life span in p53(+/-) mice, but 50% of p53(+/-) mice subjected
to CR still developed skin ulcers and mean life span was
shorter than that seen in WT mice. Differences in response
to CR between WT and p53(+/-) mice may be due to the reduction
in p53 gene dosage, dissimilarity in the application of
the CR treatment, or both. These results suggest that
some of the beneficial effects of CR may need full expression
of p53 for complete realization.
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1983
Twenty patients with arthritis and
various skin diseases were studied on a metabolic ward
during a 2-week period of modified fast followed by a
3-week period of vegetarian diet. During fasting, arthralgia
was less intense in many subjects. In some types of skin
diseases (pustulosis palmaris et plantaris and atopic
eczema) an improvement could be demonstrated during the
fast. During the vegan diet, both signs and symptoms returned
in most patients, with the exception of some patients
with psoriasis who experienced an improvement. The concentrations
of lactoferrin in serum reflect the turnover and activity
of neutrophil leukocytes. When this protein was initially
increased it fell to normal values in most cases. The
improvement or impairment of signs and symptoms was related
to the lactoferrin levels in serum.
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Urticaria also called nettle-rash or hives or wheals in
a common language, simply means itching with rash. Medically,
urticaria may be defined as skin eruption, which is allergic
in origin and is characterized by profound itching, red
circular or irregularly shaped eruption on any part of the
body. These eruptions can remain for variable period, anywhere
between few seconds to even hours, on the body. They have
tendency to disappear and reappear. They tend to disappear
without leaving behind any trace.
| Urticaria is an allergic skin
disorder. Characteristically the skin eruptions are
erythematous, raised above the skin level, with intense
itching and usually worse by itching, with slight
local warmth. |
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1992
Department of Dermatology,
Oita Medical University, Japan.
We used fasting diet therapy
with a 28-year-old woman with chronic urticaria
who responded only to systemic administration
of glucocorticosteroids. The rashes began to decrease
on the third therapeutic day and completely disappeared
on the 11th day. Although the eruptions relapsed
three days after the termination of the therapy,
they were milder than previous ones. We also discussed
the possible efficacy of fasting diet therapy
for chronic urticaria as reported in the literature.
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