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Background and Purpose: Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is a common subclinical feature of the aging brain. Steps per day may contribute to its prevention. We herein investigated the association between step counts and CSVD in a healthy Japanese male population. Methods: We analyzed data from 680 men who were free of stroke and participated in this observational study. Seven-day step counts were assessed at baseline (2006–2008) using a pedometer. CSVD was assessed at follow-ups (2012–2015) based on deep and subcortical white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), periventricular hyperintensities, lacunar infarcts, and cerebral microbleeds on magnetic resonance imaging. Using a logistic regression analysis, we computed the adjusted odds ratios, with 95% CIs, of prevalent CSVD according to quartiles of step counts (reference: Q1). We also investigated the association between step counts and WMH volumes using a quantile regression. Results: Steps per day were significantly associated with lower odds ratios, with the lowest at Q3 (8175–10 614 steps/day), of higher (versus low or no burden) deep and subcortical WMHs (odds ratio, 0.52 [95% CI, 0.30–0.89]), periventricular hyperintensities (0.50 [95% CI, 0.29–0.86]), and lacunar infarcts (0.52 [95% CI, 0.30–0.91]) compared with Q1 (≤6060 steps/day) but not cerebral microbleeds. An inverse linear association was observed between step counts and WMH volumes. These associations were independent of age and smoking and drinking status and remained consistent when adjusted for vascular risk factors. Conclusions: We found a J-shaped relationship between step counts and prevalent CSVD in healthy Japanese men, with the lowest risk being observed among participants with ≈8000 to 10 000 steps/day. Higher steps were also associated with lower WMH volumes.

CysC is a promising marker for GFR because it was not gender- or age-related. However, inflammation, prednisolone and DM caused CysC to deviate higher than expected from GFR. CysC can rise sensitively in early renal dysfunction.

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The official journal of the Japan Atherosclerosis Society and the Asian Pacific Society of Atherosclerosis and Vascular Diseases Original Article Aim: Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is an independent predictor of stroke and dementia, in which subclinical cerebrovascular diseases (SCVDs) play a vital pathogenetic role. However, few studies have described the association between CAC and SCVDs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the clinical relationship between CAC and SCVDs in a healthy Japanese male population. Methods: In this observational study, 709 men, free of stroke, were sampled from a city in Japan from 2010 to 2014. CAC was scored using the Agatston method. The following SCVDs were assessed using magnetic resonance imaging: intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS), lacunar infarction, deep and subcortical white matter hyperintensity (DSWMH), periventricular hyperintensity (PVH), and microbleeds. The participants were categorized according to CAC scores as follows: no CAC (0), mild CAC (1-100), and moderate-to-severe CAC (100). The adjusted odds ratios of prevalent SCVDs were computed in reference to the no-CAC group using logistic regression. Results: The mean (standard deviation) age of the participants was 68 (8.4) years. Participants in the moderateto-severe-CAC category showed significantly higher odds of prevalent lacunar infarction, DSWMH, and ICAS in age-adjusted and risk-factor-adjusted models. Microbleeds and PVH, in contrast, did not show any significant associations. The trends for CAC with lacunar infarction, DSWMH, and ICAS were also significant (all P-values for trend ≤ 0.02). Conclusions: Higher CAC scores were associated with higher odds of lacunar infarction, DSWMH, and ICAS. The presence and degree of CAC may be a useful indicator for SCVDs involving small and large vessels. dementia 3). Subclinical cerebrovascular diseases (SCVDs), involving both small and large vessels, are likely to play an important role in the pathogenesis of stroke and dementia 4, 5). The speculated mechanism for CAC to predict stroke and dementia is the coexis-Copyright©2020 Japan Atherosclerosis Society This article is distributed under the terms of the latest version of CC BY-NC-SA defined by the Creative Commons Attribution License.