Factors related with low back pain and pelvic pain at the early stage of pregnancy in Japanese women

The aim of this study was to clarify the proportion of women with low back and/or pelvic pain (LBPP) and LBPP-related factors at the early stage of pregnancy and to clarify the differences between LBPP-related factors in primiparous women and multiparous women in Japan. 157 pregnant women were recruited. Information about the presence of LBPP, degree of pain by using a visual analog scale (VAS), location of pain, past history of LBPP and background characteristics were collected. Physical status was assessed by the pregnancy mobility index (PMI). The Ethics Committee of Tokushima University Hospital approved the study. The proportion of women who complained of LBPP was 65.6%. PMI score in women with LBPP was significantly higher than that in women without LBPP (p<0.001). The proportions of women with a past history of LBPP before pregnancy and with a past history of LBPP in the previous pregnancy were significantly higher in women with LBPP (p<0.001 and p=0.002, respectively). In women with LBPP, the score of VAS in multiparous women was significantly higher than that in primiparous women (p=0.019). Early management for women with a past history of LBPP before pregnancy and with a past history of LBPP in the previous pregnancy is important. Management for lumbar pain according to parity is needed for health guidance at the early stage of pregnancy

Mutation in Archain 1, a Subunit of COPI Coatomer Complex, Causes Diluted Coat Color and Purkinje Cell Degeneration

Intracellular trafficking is critical for delivering molecules and organelles to their proper destinations to carry out normal cellular functions. Disruption of intracellular trafficking has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative disorders. In addition, a number of genes involved in vesicle/organelle trafficking are also essential for pigmentation, and loss of those genes is often associated with mouse coat-color dilution and human hypopigmentary disorders. Hence, we postulated that screening for mouse mutants with both neurological defects and coat-color dilution will help identify additional factors associated with intracellular trafficking in neuronal cells. In this study, we characterized a mouse mutant with a unique N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU)–induced mutation, named nur17. nur17 mutant mice exhibit both coat-color dilution and ataxia due to Purkinje cell degeneration in the cerebellum. By positional cloning, we identified that the nur17 mouse carries a T-to-C missense mutation in archain 1 (Arcn1) gene which encodes the δ subunit of the coat protein I (COPI) complex required for intracellular trafficking. Consistent with this function, we found that intracellular trafficking is disrupted in nur17 melanocytes. Moreover, the nur17 mutation leads to common characteristics of neurodegenerative disorders such as abnormal protein accumulation, ER stress, and neurofibrillary tangles. Our study documents for the first time the physiological consequences of the impairment of the ARCN1 function in the whole animal and demonstrates a direct association between ARCN1 and neurodegeneration