The Aqua Metal Research Society's Third Annual Researcher Symposium is a part of the ongoing effort to uncover the scientific mechanism of Aqua Titan/ Aqua-Titanium (a water soluble metal produced by dispersing titanium nanoparticles in water). Dr. Toshikazu Yoshikawa once again acted as a coordinator for this year's symposium. The representative of the Dr. Yoshikawa is a well-known authority in the field of anti-aging and serves as the president of the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and the director of the Louis Pasteur Center for Medical Research. Dr. Yoshikawa chaired the 2011 symposium in which five researchers from Japan and overseas gave presentations on the usefulness of Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium with the latest data. Various research results were presented, including the relaxing effect of Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium as well as its effects on muscle and bone cells, and the central nervous system.

I would like to present regarding the effects of Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium impregnated sportswear on running ability and Achilles tendon flexibility. The results of this research were also published in an internationally known sports medicine journal, “Medicine ＆ Science in Sports ＆ Exercise.” We conducted a double-blind experiment with the cooperation of 16 soccer players. Over the five-day test period, the players wore Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium impregnated sportswear and ran a rigorous sprint test called a “shuttle run” which simulated a soccer game. Running ability, muscular damage and muscular pain were studied during recovery and rest. The results found that wearing Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium impregnated sportswear expanded the range of motion, improved running ability and increased speed. While wearing this type of sportswear makes minimal difference in the results of those who hardly exercise, it improves the running ability of elite athletes. We will continue to conduct further research on the effects of Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium in the field of sports science.

In the previous symposium, I presented the results of our research, which showed that the use of the Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium tape relieved pain hypersensitivity and that the hypersensitive cells returned to normal more quickly when the tape contained a higher concentration of Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium. The experiment measuring the resting membrane potential, in which a lower voltage shows greater stability of neurons, also confirmed that the voltage was lower when the tape contained a higher concentration of Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium.The above-mentioned data was obtained from the experiments in mice, but for this symposium I also conducted experiments on living humans in cooperation with Phiten. We asked 282 patients who suffered chronic pain in any part of the body to use the Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium tape. Two-thirds of the patients said their sensitivity to pain was reduced when they had the Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium tape on. This result suggests that Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium reduces the memory of pain in the brain and helps relieve stress as well. It was also found that Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium works on neuronal potassium channels via magnesium but does not affect the synaptic properties of neurons. There were no results to indicate negative effects at any level of concentration used. I intend to further study how the hypersensitive cells recover after application of the Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium tape.

As Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium is recognized to provide mental relaxation, we conducted randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled tests to confirm such effect on humans. Each test was performed with the titanium group and placebo group. For each of these groups, six subjects were assigned and randomly placed in six different rooms. (Two tests were performed with different test subjects.) The “titanium rooms” used partitions, floor mats and sheets which were impregnated with Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium. The beds were partitioned. The materials used in the placebo control (?) rooms did not contain any titanium. Subjects were male businessmen between the ages of 40 and 65 who admit to being under psychological and physiological stress and who complained of symptoms of insomnia. During the test, which took five nights and six days, each subject wore a small ECG machine 24 hours a day to keep the relevant records.
The test results showed an clear improvement. Specifically, staying and sleeping in the “titanium room” inhibited the increase of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and thereby helped relieve symptoms of tension and anger felt by the subjects while enhancing energy. It was also found that, although the titanium room showed no significant benefit on sympathetic nerve activity or parasympathetic activity, the subjects in the titanium rooms experienced fewer variations in those activities (more stable). Based on the above results, I believe that Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium provides relaxation effects, not only on mice, but on humans as well.

In the global market of sports foods, sports drinks have the largest share and are expected to expand their market in the years to come. I believe the development of sports drinks is extremely important in the support of sports enthusiasts, and I have directed my attention to the usefulness of Aqua Gold. Aqua Gold is made by dispersing gold particles in water but may provide functionality that is different from gold.Accordingly, I developed an animal experimental model to evaluate Aqua Gold. First, we divided mice into two groups, which were fed Aqua Gold and tap water, respectively. The mice were made to run, and we began analyzing the mice 24 hours later when they started to experience muscle aches. The experiment found that Aqua Gold helped inhibit the oxidative stress disorder of skeletal muscles caused by high intensity exercise. We also fed Aqua Gold and commercially available mineral water to mice having type 2 diabetes and therefore low insulin sensitivity, and found that Aqua Gold has a tendency to decelerate the increase of the blood sugar level. I intend to continue my study of Aqua Gold's function to suppress muscle damage and fatigue in future studies.

Because titanium is very friendly to the body and has great stability, there are no harmful side effects caused by the use of titanium in the body. Accordingly, titanium is used in wide applications such as dental crowns, bridges, dental implants and other dental appliances, as well as orthopedic treatments.Prior to this symposium, I studied the reaction of the cells that come into contact with Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium, the effect of Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium on bone cells and its remote effect. First, we prepared two types of titanium discs: one with Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium applied on the surface and the other without it. Mouse osteoblasts were placed over the discs. The results showed that 65% more osteoblasts attached to the Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium discs than to the mere titanium discs. Moreover, osteoblasts on the Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium discs were larger in size and spread out as if with extended arms and legs.
We then studied the genes responsible for the production of collagen, a type of protein found in bones and tendons. We found that 70% to 80% more collagen genes appeared on the surface of Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium. Additionally, calcium buildup on the Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium disc was more than double that on the control titanium disc. In an experiment using the muscle cells of mice, the production of actin and collagen, which are the major components of muscle cells, was more accelerated on the Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium disc. In other words, we believe that Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium might have positive effects in the repair and maintenance of damaged muscles.
Another experiment was conducted in order to study the remote effect of Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium on cells when they are not in contact with each other. In this experiment, cloth and rubber were impregnated with Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium and placed around culture dishes. As we cultured osteoblasts and muscle cells in the dishes, we observed more buildup of proteins and calcium, which make up bones. One interesting finding was that, while osteoblasts showed better response and grew faster when in contact with Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium, muscle cells showed higher response when not in contact with Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium. These results show great future potential of Aqua Titan/Aqua-Titanium in a wide variety of applications in medical supplies such as orthopedic braces and supports to accelerate the healing of fractured bones; braces, supports and tape to help with recovery of damaged and fatigued muscles; and bandages to accelerate the healing of cuts and wounds.