Hes1 expression in mature neurons in the adult mouse brain is required for normal behaviors.

Hes1 regulates the maintenance and proliferation of neural stem/progenitor cells as an essential effector of the Notch signaling pathway. Although Notch signaling is also involved in the functions of mature neurons in learning and memory and in the risk factors for mental disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, the in-vivo role of Hes1 in mature neurons remains unknown. Here, we found that Hes1 is expressed by subsets of both excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the adult mouse brain, and that Hes1 expression is induced by neuronal stimulation. Furthermore, inactivation of Hes1 in excitatory neurons resulted in abnormal fear and anxiety behaviors concomitantly with higher neuronal excitability in the amygdala, while inactivation of Hes1 in inhibitory neurons resulted in increased sociability and perseverative tendencies. These results indicated that Hes1 is functionally important for normal behaviors not only in excitatory neurons but also in inhibitory neurons in the adult brain.

Case of alcoholic ketoacidosis accompanied with severe hypoglycemia.

We report a 55 year old Japanese man with a history of alcohol abuse, who was in a near fasting state for the previous few days.He was admitted to our hospital with abrupt disturbance of consciousness. He presented disturbance of consciousness with extreme hypoglycemia and ketoacidosis with high ß-hydroxybutyric acid concentration. Taking into account his living history, we diagnosed with alcoholic ketoacidosis (AKA). Symptoms ameliorated with glucose injection and fluid loading. AKA patients show abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting, but they are usually alert and lucid despite the severe acidosis. This case, however, presented comatose status caused by hypoglycemia. Poor oral intake of this patient was assumed to be the cause of hypoglycemia. Alcoholism may cause hypoglycemia accompanying with AKA, due to a low carbohydrate intake, the inhibition of gluconeogenesis, and reduced hepaticglycogen storage as seen in this case. Here, we report a case of AKA that demonstrated hypoglycemia with the literature review.