Impact of The COVID-19 Pandemic on Neurology: Report from A General Hospital in Tokyo

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on neurology in Japan, by analyzing data on the number of neurological patients at our hospital in Tokyo. Material and Methods: We counted the number of inpatients and outpatients per month; from January 2018 to September 2020. We defined the data from April 2020 to May 2020, as the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that from July 2020 to September 2020, as the second wave. The data from each wave were compared to those in the same period within the previous 2 years. We also analyzed other data; including, inpatients with stroke, outpatients with Parkinson’s disease, and outpatients with epilepsy. Results: In the first wave, the overall number of inpatients and outpatients greatly decreased; however, the number of inpatients with stroke increased. The ratio of outpatients with Parkinson’s disease, or outpatients with epilepsy to total outpatients also increased. In the second wave, the overall number of inpatients markedly increased, while that of outpatients slightly decreased. Conclusion: All Japanese general hospitals were greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; especially in the first wave, even if the hospitals did not have in-hospital COVID-19 infection, or were not designated for COVID-19. Three factors; i.e. governmental, hospital, and patient factors, could affect the number of neurological patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The numerical data reflecting the patients’ behavior might provide suggestions for addressing issues during other pandemics in the future

Circadian characteristics of mice depleted with GPR7

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系GPR7, now known as a receptor of neuropeptide B and neuropeptide W, is expressed in neurons of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the mammalian circadian center. By the quantitative in situ hybridization, we demonstrated that GPR7 mRNA showed a significant circadian rhythm in the SCN showing a peak at early subjective night in both light-dark and constant dark. We characterized the circadian feature of GPR7-knockout mice, but the period length and the phase-dependent phase shift to light exposure were not disordered in GPR7-knockout mice. Moreover, the food-anticipatory behavior in restricted feeding schedule was observed in this gene-deleted mouse similar to wild-type. These results indicate that the role of GPR7 may be subtle or limited in relation to the circadian clock despite its robust expression in the SCN

Gpr176 is a Gz-linked orphan G-protein-coupled receptor that sets the pace of circadian behaviour.

体内時計を調節するオーファンGPCRの同定 －生体リズム調整薬の開発に期待－. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2016-02-18.G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) participate in a broad range of physiological functions. A priority for fundamental and clinical research, therefore, is to decipher the function of over 140 remaining orphan GPCRs. The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the brain's circadian pacemaker, governs daily rhythms in behaviour and physiology. Here we launch the SCN orphan GPCR project to (i) search for murine orphan GPCRs with enriched expression in the SCN, (ii) generate mutant animals deficient in candidate GPCRs, and (iii) analyse the impact on circadian rhythms. We thereby identify Gpr176 as an SCN-enriched orphan GPCR that sets the pace of circadian behaviour. Gpr176 is expressed in a circadian manner by SCN neurons, and molecular characterization reveals that it represses cAMP signalling in an agonist-independent manner. Gpr176 acts independently of, and in parallel to, the Vipr2 GPCR, not through the canonical Gi, but via the unique G-protein subclass Gz