OREANDA-NEWS. Ajinomoto Co., Inc. will begin joint research in April 2014 with a group led by Robert E. Gerszten, MD of Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, United States).

Together, the Gerszten group and Ajinomoto's investigators will examine the potential of Ajinomoto Co.'s "AminoIndex Technology" for predicting the risk of the onset of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases among different countries and races.

"AminoIndex Technology" statistically analyzes and indexes changes in the balance of concentration of amino acids in the blood to identify health conditions and the risk of disease. In its research on Japanese people receiving medical examinations, Ajinomoto Co. found a strong link between changes in this balance and visceral fat accumulation, and established this technology to assess risks related to lifestyle diseases.

Dr. Gerszten and his colleagues have previously published papers based on analyses at the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Framingham Heart Study and other cohorts, supporting the strong link between the balance of concentration of amino acids in the blood and the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Amino acid profiles predict diabetes and cardiovascular disease as much as ten years before the onset of overt disease.

In April 2011, Ajinomoto Co. launched AminoIndex(r) Cancer Screening (AICS), a commercial screening service that uses "AminoIndex Technology" to assess the risk of six types of cancer.

Ajinomoto Co. intends to use the technology to contribute to healthy lives and to be of help in reducing the risk of lifestyle diseases and cutting medical expenses.

Going forward, Ajinomoto Co. will expand the use of "AminoIndex Technology", which leverages Ajinomoto Co.'s findings from a century of amino acid research, into other domains including nutritional support, exercise and beauty.