Dietary supplementation of gamma-linolenic acid improves skin parameters in subjects with dry skin and mild atopic dermatitis.

Disruption of the skin barrier function caused by epidermal hyper-proliferation, results in the skin becoming dry and showing high transepidermal water loss (TEWL). Gamma linolenic acid (GLA) is reportedly efficacious for treating TEWL and epidermal hyper-proliferation. In this study, to elucidate the effect of GLA-rich oil on skin function, GLA-containing food was given to adults with dry skin or mild atopic dermatitis and skin parameters were evaluated. In the results, we recognized beneficial effects on the TEWL index. The efficacy of GLA was also demonstrated to be statistically significant especially in subjects with pro-inflammatory features. The results suggest that the mechanism of improvement of skin barrier has been associated with possible generation of anti-inflammatory metabolites from GLA. The clinical physician also confirmed that none of the subjects showed any noteworthy side effects. GLA-enriched food appears to be safe and to improve skin barrier function in subjects with dry skin conditions and mild atopic dermatitis.

Prevalence of endoscopically negative and positive gastroesophageal reflux disease in the Japanese.

OBJECTIVE: The frequency of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has not been fully investigated in the Asian population. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of GERD, endoscopy-negative GERD (NERD), and erosive GERD in Japan, and the factors influencing disease prevalence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 2760 subjects (mean age 50.4 years, range 24-84 years) were prospectively enrolled in this multicenter study. GERD symptoms were assessed with the Japanese version of the Carlsson-Dent self-administered questionnaire (QUEST) and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed on all study participants. RESULTS: A total of 495 (17.9%) individuals were diagnosed with GERD by the presence of erosive esophagitis at endoscopy and/or by the presence of GERD symptoms. Erosive esophagitis was diagnosed endoscopically in 195 (7.1%), and symptomatic GERD was diagnosed in 351 (12.7%) based on a QUEST score of over 6. Of these 351 subjects, 300 (10.9%) were considered to have NERD. Male gender, hiatal hernia, and mild gastric mucosal atrophy were significant positive predictive factors of erosive esophagitis by multiple regression analysis. Hiatal hernia ws the only significant predictor of GERD symptoms. Traditional Japanese foods, such as sweet cakes and rice cake, frequently exacerbated GERD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of GERD in the Japanese was 17.9% and the prevalence rates of NERD and erosive esophagitis were 10.9% and 8.6%, respectively. The majority of symptomatic patients did not have endoscopically proven esophagitis. Hiatal hernia is the only important predictor of the presence of GERD symptoms.