Associations between the orexin (hypocretin) receptor 2 gene polymorphism Val308Ile and nicotine dependence in genome-wide and subsequent association studies

Impact of the HCRTR2 gene risk variant on schizotypal personality traits (mean ± SD). (DOC 54 kb

Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite

The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E  >  2  keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. The paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month

Association between cardiac function and metabolic factors including adiponectin in patients with acute myocardial infarction

SummaryBackgroundAlthough several clinical studies have evaluated plasma adiponectin levels in response to chronic heart failure, little is known about the relation between cardiac function and metabolic factors including adiponectin in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).Methods and resultsWe analyzed 50 consecutive patients with AMI who had undergone successful coronary stent implantation. Echocardiography and blood sampling were performed at 1 week and 6 months after AMI. Blood was analyzed with regard to brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and metabolic factors including plasma levels of adiponectin, lipid profile, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Plasma adiponectin levels were significantly increased at 6 months (7.3±4.9μg/ml) compared to those at 1 week (6.1±3.7). BNP (from 156±151 to 96±124pg/ml) significantly decreased. In addition, BNP at 6 months was positively correlated with plasma adiponectin levels at 1 week (y=0.019 x−23.1, r=0.537, P=0.002), while BNP at 6 months was not associated with maximal creatinine kinase after AMI. A multiple regression analysis was performed to analyze the relationship between BNP at 6 months and metabolic factors (plasma levels of adiponectin, lipid profile, HbA1c, blood pressure, age, sex, and body mass index) at 1 week after AMI. BNP at 6 months was most closely correlated with plasma levels of adiponectin at 1 week (P=0.045).ConclusionsAmong the metabolic factors examined, a higher adiponectin level at 1 week is the predictor of a higher BNP as one marker of cardiac dysfunction at 6 months after AMI

Involvement of oxidative stress in orofacial mechanical pain hypersensitivity following neonatal maternal separation in rats

Abstract Patients with persistent pain have sometimes history of physical abuse or neglect during infancy. However, the pathogenic mechanisms underlying orofacial pain hypersensitivity associated with early-life stress remain unclear. The present study focused on oxidative stress and investigated its role in pain hypersensitivity in adulthood following early-life stress. To establish an early-life stress model, neonatal pups were separated with their mother in isolated cages for 2 weeks. The mechanical head-withdrawal threshold (MHWT) in the whisker pad skin of rats received maternal separation (MS) was lower than that of non-MS rats at postnatal week 7. In MS rats, the expression of 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine, a marker of DNA oxidative damage, was enhanced, and plasma antioxidant capacity, but not mitochondrial complex I activity, decreased compared with that in non-MS rats. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) inactivation and ROS-sensitive transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) antagonism in the whisker pad skin at week 7 suppressed the decrease of MHWT. Corticosterone levels on day 14 increased in MS rats. Corticosterone receptor antagonism during MS periods suppressed the reduction in antioxidant capacity and MHWT. The findings suggest that early-life stress potentially induces orofacial mechanical pain hypersensitivity via peripheral nociceptor TRPA1 hyperactivation induced by oxidative stress in the orofacial region

Suppression of Superficial Microglial Activation by Spinal Cord Stimulation Attenuates Neuropathic Pain Following Sciatic Nerve Injury in Rats

We evaluated the mechanisms underlying the spinal cord stimulation (SCS)-induced analgesic effect on neuropathic pain following spared nerve injury (SNI). On day 3 after SNI, SCS was performed for 6 h by using electrodes paraspinally placed on the L4-S1 spinal cord. The effects of SCS and intraperitoneal minocycline administration on plantar mechanical sensitivity, microglial activation, and neuronal excitability in the L4 dorsal horn were assessed on day 3 after SNI. The somatosensory cortical responses to electrical stimulation of the hind paw on day 3 following SNI were examined by using in vivo optical imaging with a voltage-sensitive dye. On day 3 after SNI, plantar mechanical hypersensitivity and enhanced microglial activation were suppressed by minocycline or SCS, and L4 dorsal horn nociceptive neuronal hyperexcitability was suppressed by SCS. In vivo optical imaging also revealed that electrical stimulation of the hind paw-activated areas in the somatosensory cortex was decreased by SCS. The present findings suggest that SCS could suppress plantar SNI-induced neuropathic pain via inhibition of microglial activation in the L4 dorsal horn, which is involved in spinal neuronal hyperexcitability. SCS is likely to be a potential alternative and complementary medicine therapy to alleviate neuropathic pain following nerve injury