Subject(s)
Autoimmune Diseases , Hyperlipidemias/immunology , Adult , Female , Humans , Hyperlipoproteinemia Type IABSTRACT
In 1989, we encountered a 68-year-old male patient with marked hyperlipoprotein(a)emia (hyperLp(a)emia), who was being treated for hypertension and arteriosclerotic obliterans (ASO) at an outpatient clinic of our hospital. He began to develop leg edema in 2002 and was referred to the Department of Internal Medicine. It was determined that he had severe hyperlipidemia (total cholesterol, 362 mg/dl), proteinuria, and hypoalbuminemia, suggesting the presence of nephrotic syndrome. On lipoprotein analysis, he was found to have very high levels of Lp(a) in the plasma (329 mg/dl). Severe atherosclerosis was also found: that is, abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and coronary artery disease (CAD) were detected, in addition to ASO. After remission of the nephrotic syndrome, the plasma Lp(a) level decreased to 204 mg/dl and the total cholesterol concentration decreased to 179 mg/dl, while very high levels of Lp(a) persisted. We estimate that the markedly elevated Lp(a) plasma levels in this patient may have played some role in the progression of atherosclerosis.
Subject(s)
Arteriosclerosis/complications , Hyperlipoproteinemias/complications , Lipoprotein(a)/blood , Nephrotic Syndrome/complications , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Arteriosclerosis/blood , Arteriosclerosis/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Hyperlipoproteinemias/blood , Hyperlipoproteinemias/diagnostic imaging , Male , Nephrotic Syndrome/blood , Nephrotic Syndrome/diagnostic imaging , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
It has been suggested that oral care is essential for improving the quality of life (QOL). The aim of oral care involves not only maintenance of oral health but also enhancement of mastication and appetite by means of improving taste sensitivity. There are, however, few studies that have investigated the effect of oral care on taste sensitivity. In the present study, we focused on tongue brushing among oral care and examined the changes in taste sensitivities by mild tongue brushing in the nursed elderly. Ninety subjects, over 64 years old with ability to communicate, were divided into 2 groups, one was the cared group (subject's tongue was brushed) and the other was the control group (not brushed but rinsed). The thresholds for four primary tastes such as saltiness, sourness, sweetness and bitterness were measured before and after treatments using the whole mouth method. The mean recognition thresholds for salty and sour tastes significantly decreased after tongue brushing in the cared group, while those for all four tastes were not changed after mouth rinsing in the control group. The present result suggests that mild tongue brushing may enhance taste sensitivity of saltiness and sourness in the nursed elderly.
