Gastric emptying and colonic transit in patients with Parkinson's disease. Effects of Rikkunshi-to on gastrointestinal dysfunction

Abstract

s from The Japanese Journal: The Autonomic Nervous System #1 Heart rate variability in menopausal state. Analysis with short-time measurements at rest and after work load Yuka Goto, Hiroyuki Okuda, Yuko Nakamura, Mikiya Nakatsuka Kurashiki Daiichi Hospital Outpatient Kampo Clinic for Women, Okayama 710-0826, Japan Graduate School of Health Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8558, Japan The aim of this study was to compare heart rate variability (HRV) between women in pre-menopausal state and women in postmenopausal state, and to determine whether difference in age and estrogen-level could account for any difference in HRV between the two groups. 264 subjectswere analyzedwithoutmaking adjustments for age. In this study the post-menopausal state was characterized by amenorrhea of more than 12 months, an E2 value of 20 pg/ml in the blood, and an FSH blood level higher than 40 mlU/ml. We have found that in the post-menopausal state the value of VLF, LF, HF at rest, HR and LF/HF ratio atmaximum load, and VLF and LF after exercise, were significantly lower than in the pre-menopausal state. Subsequently, 36 subjects were analyzed after adjusting for age. The resultswere almost the same before and after adjustment for age. In conclusion, women in post-menopausal state, showed less fluctuation of autonomic nervous activity represented by HRV than women in pre-menopausal state. (The Autonomic Nervous System, 50: 293-299, 2013). doi:10.1016/j.autneu.2014.09.005 #2 Gastric emptying and colonic transit in patients with Parkinson's disease. Effects of Rikkunshi-to on gastrointestinal dysfunction Hirokazu Doi, Ryuji Sakakibara, Masahiko Kishi, Yohei Tsuyuzaki, Fuyuki Tateno, Shigekazu Hiraia, Tohru Masaka, Mitsutoshi Sato Pharmaceutical Unit, Sakura Medical Center, Toho University, Chiba 285-8741, Japan Neurology, Internal Medicine, Sakura Medical Center, Toho University, Chiba 285-8741, Japan Chemical Pharmacology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, Chiba 274-8510, Japan Gastric motility impairment and constipation are common complications of Parkinson's disease. Degeneration of enteric nerves and ganglia is considered to be part of the pathogenesis of those autonomic dysfunctions. In this study, we evaluated the correlation between gastric emptying and colonic transit time in 56 Parkinson's disease patients. In addition, we investigated the effect of Rikkunshi-to, an extract of the dietary herbs commonly used for dyspepsia, in 9 patients. Gastric emptyingwas examined by the 13C-acetate breath test [the peak time of the 13C percentage-dose-excess curve (Tmax-13C)]. Colonic transit time (CTT) was examined after ingestion of a radio-opaque marker. In Parkinson's disease patients, Tmax-13C and CTT were markedly delayed when compared with the data from a normal group published in previous reports. Although therewas not significant correlation between Tmax-13C and CTT among these patients, the frequency of highly delayed gastric emptying (Tmax-13C ≧ 75 min) tended to be larger in patients with delayed CTT (CTT N 39 h). Rikkunshi-to was administered at the dose of 15 g/day to 9 patients, of whom 8 had delayed CTT and 4 had delayed gastric emptying. Tmax-13C and CTTweremeasured before and after the treatment. After three months of treatment, 7 of the 8 patients with delayed CTT had an improvement; the Tmax-13C test was improved in all the 4 patients with delayed gastric emptying. These results suggest that Rikkunshi-has beneficial effects in Parkinson's disease patientswith constipation and/orwith delayed gastric emptying. (The Autonomic Nervous System, 50: 300-305, 2013). doi:10.1016/j.autneu.2014.09.006 #3 Effects of pain caused by orthodontic tooth movement on autonomic nervous system Jun Oba, Naoto Hara, Yasue Kotegawa, Yukiko Miyazawa, Kazuo Mukuno, Hiroo Oda, Kazuichi Yoshida Department of Orthodontics, Kanagawa Dental University Yokohama Dental and Medical Clinic, Kanagawa 221-0835, Japan Department of Ophthalmology, Kanagawa Dental University, Yokohama Dental and Medical Clinic, Kanagawa 221-0835, Japan Department of Orthodontics, Kanagawa Dental University Hospital, Kanagawa 238-8580, Japan Department of Anesthesiology, Graduate School of Kanagawa Dental University, Kanagawa 238-8580, Japan In order to investigate the effects of pain caused by orthodontic tooth movement on the autonomic nervous system, we selected three healthy men and three healthy women (mean age: 30.3 ± 8.4 years) and inserted separating elastic strips between the upper right first molar and the adjacent tooth to induce pain due to the tooth movement, and we conducted our testing after 3, 6, 9 and 24 h. The degree of pain was Autonomic Neuroscience: Basic and Clinical 186 (2014) 95–98