Steroid psychosis in a polyarteritis nodosa patient successfully treated with risperidone: tracking serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels longitudinally

We previously reported a case in which steroid-induced psychosis was eliminated with risperidone treatment in a patient with polyarteritis nodosa (PN). In the present report, we longitudinally tracked the serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). We found that corticosteroid lowered serum BDNF levels, and improvement of psychiatric symptoms was intact with the serum BDNF levels seen in the patients

Genome-wide association study revealed novel loci which aggravate asymptomatic hyperuricaemia into gout

Objective The first ever genome-wide association study (GWAS) of clinically defined gout cases and asymptomatic hyperuricaemia (AHUA) controls was performed to identify novel gout loci that aggravate AHUA into gout. Methods We carried out a GWAS of 945 clinically defined gout cases and 1003 AHUA controls followed by 2 replication studies. In total, 2860 gout cases and 3149 AHUA controls (all Japanese men) were analysed. We also compared the ORs for each locus in the present GWAS (gout vs AHUA) with those in the previous GWAS (gout vs normouricaemia). Results This new approach enabled us to identify two novel gout loci (rs7927466 of CNTN5 and rs9952962 of MIR302F) and one suggestive locus (rs12980365 of ZNF724) at the genome-wide significance level (p<5.0×10– 8). The present study also identified the loci of ABCG2, ALDH2 and SLC2A9. One of them, rs671 of ALDH2, was identified as a gout locus by GWAS for the first time. Comparing ORs for each locus in the present versus the previous GWAS revealed three ‘gout vs AHUA GWAS’-specific loci (CNTN5, MIR302F and ZNF724) to be clearly associated with mechanisms of gout development which distinctly differ from the known gout risk loci that basically elevate serum uric acid level. Conclusions This meta-analysis is the first to reveal the loci associated with crystal-induced inflammation, the last step in gout development that aggravates AHUA into gout. Our findings should help to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of gout development and assist the prevention of gout attacks in high-risk AHUA individuals

Cultivar differences in nitrogen use efficiency of rice

We investigated the effects of fertilizer-free and fertilizer-applied cultivation on growth, yield and nitrogen (N) utilization of rice cultivars in our Kurashiki paddy fields (Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama Univ.), which have been cultivated without fertilizer since 1970, and also in our Okayama paddy fields, which are conventionally cultivated. In 2001, the cultivars Nipponbare (NIP) and Nourin 18 (N18) were cultivated in the Kurashiki fields, with a “0N plot” (no fertilizer application), a “1N plot” (standard fertilizer application), and a “2N plot” (double fertilizer application). In 2002, five cultivars were grown without fertilizer in the Kurashiki fields, and 51cultivars were tested in 0N and 1N plots in the Okayama fields. Yield (2001) in the Kurashiki fields was higher in the 0N plot for N18 (379g m–2), which had a higher number of spikelets per m2, than NIP (300 g m–2), while in the 1N and 2N plots it was higher for NIP, which had a higher percentage of ripening, and N18 had high yield potential even without fertilizer application, but low fertilizer tolerance. The differences in yield were related to N-uptake (NU), and the differences in N use efficiency (NUE, yield/NU) between cultivars were small. The pot experiment showed that the yield of 0N plot was higher for N18 than NIP grown in Kurashiki soil because of the higher number of spikelets per hill, and the yield in the Okayama soil was higher than that in the Kurashiki soil. Long-term non-fertilized soils are of poor soil fertility, which also decreases the NUE, and the NUE of N18 is higher than that of NIP under isolated conditions. The difference in yields is closely related to sink capacity (SC). In 2002, yields in the Kurashiki fields were highest in Takanari (TAK, 494g m–2) and lowest in NIP (350g m–2), and differences in yields were closely related to SC. NUE was highest in TAK (68.6) and lowest in Akebono (48.1). TAK had high NUE and high sink production efficiency (SPE, SC/NU), while N18 had low NUE but high SC due to higher NU, ensuring high yield even under unfertilized cultivation. Yields in the 0N and 1N plots cultivated in 2002 varied between 244–631g m–2 and 199–769g m–2, respectively. A close positive correlation was observed between yield and SC, and between NU and SC, suggesting that the SC through NU is involved in determining yield. A positive correlation was also observed between NUE and yield. It was found that yield increased with an increase in NUE, and that NUE decreased although yield increased with fertilizer application. Through selection of cultivars with high SPE, it is expected that it will be possible to breed low-input, high-yielding cultivars with high NUE in the future