Clinical outcome of canine cardiopulmonary resuscitation following the RECOVER clinical guidelines at a Japanese nighttime animal hospital

A set of evidence-based consensus guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in dogs and cats (RECOVER guidelines) was published in 2012. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical outcomes of CPR performed according to those guidelines in dogs. A total of 141 dogs with cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) were identified and underwent CPR between January 2012 and December 2015 at the Sapporo Nighttime Animal Hospital. CPR was performed according to no-consensus traditional veterinary CPR procedures in 68 dogs (TRADITIONAL group), and according to the RECOVER guidelines in 73 dogs (RECOVER group). There was no significant difference in the age, body weight, or time from CPA identification to initiation of CPR between the TRADITIONAL and RECOVER groups (median [range]: 10 [0-16] vs. 11 [0-16] years; 6.6 [1.0-58.6] vs. 5.5 [1.1-30.4] kg; and 0 [0-30] vs. 0 [0-30] min, respectively). In the TRADITIONAL group, 12 dogs (17%) achieved a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), but none survived to hospital discharge. However, 32 dogs (43%) in the RECOVER group achieved ROSC, and 4 dogs (5%) were discharged from the hospital. Incorporating the RECOVER guidelines into clinical practice significantly improved the ROSC rate (P<0.001). However, the rate of survival to hospital discharge was still low. This may suggest that a superior intensive care unit that provides advanced post-CPA care could benefit veterinary CPR patients

Ribosomal DNA gene copies are increased in blood and brain of Japanese schizophrenia patients.

Past evidence has indicated increased ribosomal DNA (rDNA) content in the blood of patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) among European populations. Here, for the first time, we investigated the rDNA copy number (rDNAcn) of SCZ in East Asian populations as well as in blood and brain tissues. In this study, we measured 18S/28S rDNAcn in the peripheral blood of live participants (81 patients with SCZ and 98 healthy controls) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (DLPFCs) of postmortem individuals (10 patients with SCZ and 23 non-psychiatric controls) in the Japanese population. Patients with SCZ had significantly increased 18S/28S rDNAcn in the blood compared to controls (p < 0.05). 18S rDNAcn was significantly increased in the brain of patients with SCZ compared to controls (p < 0.05). In conclusion, regarding the increased rDNAcn in the blood of patients with SCZ that was previously reported in Europeans, we successfully replicated this by using a different, ethnically East Asian, cohort. Additionally, we provide the first evidence of increased rDNAcn in the brain of patients with SCZ. These findings may help to elucidate the molecular underpinnings of SCZ pathophysiology related to ribosomal DNA abnormalities

Association of two variable number of tandem repeats in the monoamine oxidase A gene promoter with suicide completion: The present study and meta‐analysis

Abstract Background One potential cause of suicide is serotonergic dysfunction. Sex differences have been reported to modulate the effects of serotonergic polymorphisms. Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) is an enzyme that degrades serotonin and is located on the X chromosome. A previous study indicated that the upstream (u) variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) in the MAOA gene promoter may be associated with suicide. However, a meta‐analysis showed that this polymorphism may not be related to suicide. According to a recent study, compared with the uVNTR, the distal (d)VNTR and the haplotypes of the two VNTRs modulate MAOA expression. Methods We examined the two VNTRs in the MAOA gene promoter in 1007 subjects who committed suicide and 844 healthy controls. We analyzed the two VNTRs using fluorescence‐based polymerase chain reaction assays. We conducted a meta‐analysis for the two VNTRs to update it. Results Our results demonstrated that neither the genotype‐based associations nor allele/haplotype frequencies of the two VNTRs were significantly associated with suicide. In the meta‐analysis, we did not indicate relationships between uVNTR and suicide nor did we identify articles analyzing dVNTR in suicide. Conclusion Overall, we did not find a relationship between the two VNTRs in the MAOA promoter and suicide completion; thus, warranting further studies are required

Association study of a single nucleotide polymorphism in the hypoxia response element of the macrophage migration inhibitory factor gene promoter with suicide completers in the Japanese population

Abstract Background More than 800 000 people die by suicide annually. The heritability of suicide is 30%–50%. We focused on the hypoxia response element (HRE), which promotes the expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) via the hypoxia‐inducible factor (HIF) pathway, important in neurogenesis and neuroprotection. We examined a genetic polymorphism of rs17004038, a single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), in suicide completers and controls. Methods The study population included 1336 suicide completers and 814 unrelated healthy controls. All participants were Japanese. We obtained peripheral blood, extracted DNA, and genotyped the patients for SNP rs17004038 (C > A). Results No significant differences were observed between the two groups in either the allele or genotype analyses. Subgroup analyses by sex, age (<40 or ≥40), and suicide method (violent or nonviolent suicide) were performed with similar results. Conclusion No association was observed between SNP rs17004038 and suicide completion. Although it is challenging to collect a large number of samples from suicide completers, further MIF‐related genetic studies, including those of rs17004038, are necessary with larger sample sizes