Prevalence of childhood obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and its role in daytime sleepiness

ObjectivesTo investigate childhood obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and its role in daytime sleepiness among school-age children.MethodsA questionnaire survey was conducted with 25,211 children aged 6–15 (mean, 10.39) years attending 148 elementary and 71 middle schools in 10 prefectures across Japan and their parents. Questions concerned 4 sleep habit items (bedtime, sleep onset latency, wake time after sleep onset, wake-up time) and 4 sleep disorder items (loud snoring, snorts/gasps, breathing pauses, seems very sleepy in the daytime). Total sleep time (TST) was calculated with sleep habits. Severe possible OSAS (p-OSAS) was defined as having loud snoring, snorts and gasps, or breathing pauses “frequently” (≥ 5 times per week), and mild p-OSAS was rated as having any of these “sometimes” (2–4 times per week). Severe daytime sleepiness was defined as seeming very sleepy “frequently” and mild daytime sleepiness as seeming very sleepy “sometimes”.ResultsMean prevalence of mild to severe p-OSAS and severe p-OSAS in children across all grade levels was 9.5% and 1.6%, respectively. p-OSAS was particularly prevalent in children at lower elementary levels, decreasing with advancing grade levels. Prevalence of mild and severe daytime sleepiness was 6.1% and 0.9%, respectively, among all children (7.0%). Prevalence of daytime sleepiness increased with advancing grade levels, particularly in middle-school level. Average TST was 8.4 ± 2.2 h in both elementary and middle-school levels, and decreased as grades advanced, particularly in middle-school levels. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that middle-school level, TST < 8 h, and p-OSAS were independent factors for daytime sleepiness. Strong correlations were found between severe daytime sleepiness and severe p-OSAS or TST < 6 h, and between daytime sleepiness and loud snoring or breathing pauses.Conclusionp-OSAS may be an independent factor influencing daytime sleepiness in school-age children. Loud snoring and breathing pauses could be clinical markers for children with severe daytime sleepiness

Prevalence of childhood obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and its role in daytime sleepiness

Objectives To investigate childhood obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and its role in daytime sleepiness among school-age children. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted with 25,211 children aged 6-15 (mean, 10.39) years attending 148 elementary and 71 middle schools in 10 prefectures across Japan and their parents. Questions concerned 4 sleep habit items (bedtime, sleep onset latency, wake time after sleep onset, wake-up time) and 4 sleep disorder items (loud snoring, snorts/gasps, breathing pauses, seems very sleepy in the daytime). Total sleep time (TST) was calculated with sleep habits. Severe possible OSAS (p-OSAS) was defined as having loud snoring, snorts and gasps, or breathing pauses frequently (>= 5 times per week), and mild p-OSAS was rated as having any of these sometimes (2-4 times per week). Severe daytime sleepiness was defined as seeming very sleepy frequently and mild daytime sleepiness as seeming very sleepy sometimes. Results Mean prevalence of mild to severe p-OSAS and severe p-OSAS in children across all grade levels was 9.5% and 1.6%, respectively. p-OSAS was particularly prevalent in children at lower elementary levels, decreasing with advancing grade levels. Prevalence of mild and severe daytime sleepiness was 6.1% and 0.9%, respectively, among all children (7.0%). Prevalence of daytime sleepiness increased with advancing grade levels, particularly in middle-school level. Average TST was 8.4 +/- 2.2 h in both elementary and middle-school levels, and decreased as grades advanced, particularly in middle-school levels. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that middle-school level, TST < 8 h, and p-OSAS were independent factors for daytime sleepiness. Strong correlations were found between severe daytime sleepiness and severe p-OSAS or TST < 6 h, and between daytime sleepiness and loud snoring or breathing pauses. Conclusion p-OSAS may be an independent factor influencing daytime sleepiness in school-age children. Loud snoring and breathing pauses could be clinical markers for children with severe daytime sleepiness

Long survival case of trisomy 13 mosaicism in a 7-year-old male

Trisomy 13 is a complication of various congenital abnormalities of the heart, brain, etc. Regarding the vitalprognosis, many die within a year from birth. We herein report on the case of a 7-year 1-month-old boywith mosaicism trisomy 13 with the two considerations mentioned below as the cause for long-term survivalin this case. The first is that there were no serious associated abnormalities to the heart, brain, or otherorgans, and the second is that a tracheotomy was carried out on a repeated respiratory infection with respiratoryfailure. Long-term in-home care was possible for the child and he was observed playing with toys bytouching them. Trisomy 13 has a poor vital prognosis, so some argue that active treatment should be restrained.However, for cases with no severe associated abnormalities, long-term survival may be possiblewith active treatment

A case of minimal change nephrotic syndrome with immunoglobulin A nephropathy transitioned to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

A 50-year-old woman with a 1-month history of lower extremity edema and a 5 kg weight increase was admitted to our hospital with suspected nephrotic syndrome in October 1999. Urine protein level was 3.5 g per day, 10-15 erythrocytes in urine per high-power field, and serum albumin level 2.5 g/dl. Furthermore, an accumulation of pleural effusion was confirmed by chest X-ray. The results of a renal biopsy indicated slight mesangial proliferation in the glomeruli by light microscopy, and an immunofluorescence study confirmed the deposition of immunoglobulin (Ig) A and C3 in the mesangial area. Diffuse attenuation of foot processes and dense deposits in the mesangial area were observed by electron microscopy. Treatment with 40 mg/day of prednisolone was effective, and proteinuria was negative 1 month later. Because of this course, we diagnosed minimal change nephrotic syndrome complicated by mild-proliferative IgA nephropathy. In November 2000, there was a relapse of nephrotic syndrome, which was believed to be induced by an influenza vaccination, but response to increased steroid treatment was favorable, and proteinuria disappeared on day 13 of steroid increase. A second relapse in May 2001, showed steroid resistance with renal insufficiency, and an increase in the selectivity index to 0.195. Light microscopy revealed focal sclerotic lesions of the glomeruli, and an immunofluorescence study revealed attenuation of mesangial IgA and C3 deposition. These findings led to the diagnosis that minimal change nephrotic syndrome had transitioned to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, whereby mesangial IgA deposition was reduced by immunosuppressive treatment. Subsequently, her renal function gradually worsened to the point of end-stage renal failure by 27 months after the second relapse of nephrotic syndrome

Modulating effects of zinc on the efficacy of tamoxifen in human breast cancer cells

Growth can be viewed as the net balance between cell proliferation and cell death. Zinc is essential to cell proliferation and functions as a regulator in apoptosis (genedirected cell death). Thus zinc status can critically influence overall growth. We hypothesized that modulating medium zinc concentration will alter the availability of metabolically active intracellular zinc, which in turn affects the overall growth of human cancer cells. The overall objective of my thesis project was to investigate the modulating effects of zinc on the efficacy of tamoxifen in human breast cancer cells. The cells were first cultured in DMEM (Dublecco's Modified Eagle Media; 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS)) until approximately 70% confluence. Then the cells were cultured in a low zinc medium supplemented with 0, 5, 50, or 150 μmol/L zinc for 72h. Upon zinc treatment, the cells were treated with a combination of zinc and tamoxifen (0, 1, 5, or 10 μmol /L) for 2, 24, or 48 h followed by a 24 h recovery period. At the end of the recovery period, cells were assessed for overall cell growth by counting cell numbers, cell viability by using the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and the profile of live cell and cell death (both necrotic and apoptotic cell death) using flow cytometry. To explore the possible mechanisms involved, the mRNA levels of targeted apoptotic regulatory proteins (p53, gadd45, Bax, and Bcl-2) were determined in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Either zinc supplementation (e.g. 150 μmol/L) or tamoxifen alone suppressed overall cell growth, but had little effect on cell survival and cell death. In contrast, a combination of zinc and tamoxifen suppressed overall cell growth, reduced cell viability and cell survival, and increased both necrotic and apoptotic cell death. In addition, a combination of zinc and tamoxifen also elevated Bax and gadd45 mRNA levels in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. Since Bax is a well-known pro-apoptotic protein and gadd45 is involved in both negative growth control and the induction of apoptosis, zinc and tamoxifen-induced apoptosis in the above cell line appeared to be Bax- and gadd45-dependent. Overall, these observations suggested that zinc increased the efficacy of tamoxifen as indicated by decreased overall cell growth in breast cancer cells.Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofGraduat