Effects of a single bout of walking on psychophysiologic responses and executive function in elderly adults: a pilot study

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a single bout of walking on mood, psychophysiologic responses, and executive function in elderly adults.Methods: Twenty healthy, elderly adults (10 women and 10 men; mean age 70.50 ± 3.4 years) participated in this study. Mood, as assessed by the Profile of Mood States, and salivary α-amylase activity were examined before and after walking. Executive functions were also evaluated by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.Results: Negative feeling scores such as tension-anxiety, anger-hostility, and confusion significantly improved after walking. No significant differences were found for either salivary α-amylase activities or Wisconsin Card Sorting Test scores before and after walking. However, the changes in salivary α-amylase activity before and after walking correlated positively with the number of total errors and perseverative errors of Nelson in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.Conclusion: These results suggest that moderate exercise, such as self-paced one-time walking, induces beneficial psychologic effects in elderly adults. Meanwhile, the significant increase in salivary α-amylase activity after walking might temporarily cause deterioration of executive function

Decreased Prostaglandin E2 Production by Inflammatory Cytokine and Lower Expression of EP2 Receptor Result in Increased Collagen Synthesis in Keloid Fibroblasts

We investigated the metabolism of arachidonic acid in normal skin-derived fibroblasts (NF) as well as in keloid-derived fibroblasts (KF) in response to macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a pluripotent cytokine. We found that MIF enhanced cyclooxygenase-2 activity in NF more than in KF. Consistent with this finding, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), an antifibrogenic molecule, was more significantly increased in NF than in KF by MIF treatment. As regarding E prostanoid receptor 2, the level of expression was significantly lower in KF than in NF. On the other hand, Forskolin, a direct activator of adenylcyclase, decreased collagen synthesis in both NF and KF, which indicates that cAMP plays an important role in regulating collagen synthesis. As PGE2 induces cAMP production, it is conceivable that increased collagen synthesis in KF might be owing to decreased PGE2 and cAMP production. These findings may aid in the development of a therapeutic strategy for the regulation of collagen synthesis in keloid fibroblasts

The effects of herring-roe lyophilized powder on lipid metabolism

AbstractHerring-roe, which contains large amounts of docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid, has anti-dyslipidemia effects. Here, we evaluated the effects of herring-roe on lipid metabolism in 33 adult subjects in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. We divided the subjects into a test group that ingested herring-roe lyophilized powder (herring-roe powder) and a placebo group that ingested non-herring-roe powder, with each member of each group ingesting 15 g daily for 8 weeks. Hematological tests and body composition measurements were performed before and after 4, 6, and 8 weeks of the study period. Although no significant differences in low density lipoprotein were observed, high density lipoprotein was found to be increased in subjects who ingested herring-roe powder. In addition, the level of free fatty acid was significantly improved in the herring-roe powder group. These results suggest that ingestion of herring-roe could influence lipid metabolism