Genome-wide association study of idiopathic hypersomnia in a Japanese population

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - Idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) is a rare sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, great difficulty upon awakening, and prolonged sleep time. In...     

Une nouvelle observation d’une métastase testiculaire d’un adénocarcinome prostatique: Aspects diagnostiques et éthiopathogéniques

Testicular metastases from prostatic adenocarcinoma are rare. They are often asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally or at autopsy after orchidectomy in more advanced stages of the disease. The authors report a new case and review the diagnosis and aetiopathogenesis of these metastases. A 67-year-old patient with prostatic adenocarcinoma presented with painless right testicular mass for two months with no inflammatory signs. Germ cell tumour serum markers were negative. Scrotal ultrasound showed a large testicular tumour measuring 7×4×3cm. Histological examination revealed a solid non-differentiated tumour, not suggestive of primary testicular tumour. The immunohistochemical panel confirmed the prostate as the primary site due to the positivity of cytokeratins, PSA and PSAP and the negativity of classical markers of germ cell tumours. Testicular metastases from prostatic adenocarcinoma are rare, but their incidence is currently on the increase. They are often asymptomatic and discovered after pulpectomy. This diagnosis must be considered in the case of a testicular mass in patients over the age of 50 with a history of prostatic adenocarcinoma. The diagnosis was established after orchidectomy by histological examination and immunohistochemical tests.     

How much does a single sleep lecture have effect on sleep-related cognition of voluntary participants?

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - This study aims to clarify the changes in sleep-related cognitions (SRCs) of voluntary participants by a single sleep lecture (SL) using the DBAS-16 (self-recorded...     

Purification and characterization of 3,3-dihydroxyazetidine from culture medium of Bacillus mesentericus and B. subtilis

A method is described for the purification of 3,3-dihydroxyazetidine (DHA), which accelerates the growth of Bifidobacterium spp., from the culture medium of Bacillus mesentericus (BM). Purification involved adsorption to an ion-exchange resin; it required less time and gave a higher yield than a previously reported method. Monitoring the inhibition of E. coli NIHJ JC-2, we searched for other strains that produced 3,3-dihydroxyazetidine. We found that not only B. mesentericus TO-A but also B. subtilis IFO13719 produced the compound of interest.     

A novel transgenic chimaeric mouse system for the rapid functional evaluation of genes encoding secreted proteins

A major challenge of the post-genomic era is the functional characterization of anonymous open reading frames (ORFs) identified by the Human Genome Project. In this context, there is a strong requirement for the development of technologies that enhance our ability to analyze gene functions at the level of the whole organism. Here, we describe a rapid and efficient procedure to generate transgenic chimaeric mice that continuously secrete a foreign protein into the systemic circulation. The transgene units were inserted into the genomic site adjacent to the endogenous immunoglobulin (Ig) κ locus by homologous recombination, using a modified mouse embryonic stem (ES) cell line that exhibits a high frequency of homologous recombination at the Igκ region. The resultant ES clones were injected into embryos derived from a B-cell-deficient host strain, thus producing chimaerism-independent, B-cell-specific transgene expression. This feature of the system eliminates the time-consuming breeding typically implemented in standard transgenic strategies and allows for evaluating the effect of ectopic transgene expression directly in the resulting chimaeric mice. To demonstrate the utility of this system we showed high-level protein expression in the sera and severe phenotypes in human EPO (hEPO) and murine thrombopoietin (mTPO) transgenic chimaeras.     

A preliminary study of the effects of menstrual cycle on sleep instability using cyclic alternating pattern method

This study was aimed to clarify the changes in Non-REM sleep by menstrual cycle using polysomnography with the Cyclic Alternating Pattern (CAP) analysis. The subjects were twelve healthy women having regular menstrual cycles (mean age: 29.5 ± 4.4 years old). As the results of our study, the conventional sleep parameters did not significantly differ between different phases of the sexual cycle. However, the CAP rate, which represents instability of sleep, was significantly higher in Luteal phase (Lp) than in Follicular phase (Fp) (Lp: 38.7 ± 2.81 %, Fp: 28.6 ± 1.8). It was suggested that the worsening of sleep instability might cause the lowered sleep quality in Lp.

     

Effect of yokukansan on psychophysiological insomnia evaluated using cyclic alternating pattern as an objective marker of sleep instability

In this open-label study using final evaluator blinding, the efficacy of yokukansan (YKS) was evaluated in six psychophysiological insomnia patients using the cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) method. YKS had no influence on objective sleep parameters by the Rechtschaffen & Kales method, but the CAP rate and CAP cycle frequency decreased significantly. In the subjective Visual Analog Scale test, significant improvement was seen in five items: tension, calmness, fatigue, heavy-headedness and lassitude. No adverse reactions were noted. YKS improved sleep quality without influencing sleep structure and showed no adverse reactions, suggesting that YKS is an effective antiinsomnia drug with good tolerability.

     

Effects of two-session group cognitive behavioral therapy for psychophysiological insomnia: A preliminary study

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - The authors evaluated the effects of brief group cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (G-CBT-I) in outpatients with psychophysiological insomnia (PPI). This...