[An inhibitor of intestinal cholesterol transporter].

Ezetimibe is a unique inhibitor of intestinal cholesterol absorption. Ezetimibe selectively inhibits intestinal cholesterol absorption by blocking Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 (NPCIL1). Ezetimibe accelerates VLDL and TG degradation. Therefore, ezetimibe ameliorates postprandial hyperlipidemia. Ezetimibe inhibited the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) by correcting insulin resistance and decreasing small dense LDL-C in human subjects. In clinical study, ezetimibe administration combined with statin failed to inhibit progression of IMT thickness in ENHANCE (Ezetimibe and Simvastatin in Hypercholesterolemia Enhances Atherosclerosis Regression) study. In this study baseline IMT thickness (0.7 mm) of patients was within normal range. Therefore only two years observation was too short to demonstrate anti-atherogenic effects of ezetimibe. SEAS(Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis) trial examined effects of combination therapy with ezetimibe and statin in patients with aortic stenosis. Combination therapy could not inhibit progression of aortic stenosis. However, events of ischemic heart disease, especially CABG were significantly decreased only in combination group. Statin was not reported to reduce CVD(cardiovascular disease) in moderate to severe CKD patients. In SHARP(Study of Heart and Renal Protection) study, patients with severe renal disease were allocated either for statin alone group or combination therapy group with statin and ezetimibe. Combination therapy significantly decreased non-hemorrhagic stroke by 25 % compared with statin alone group in severe CKD and HD(hemodialysis) patients. Ezetimibe has unique lipid lowering profile increasing HDL-C concomitant with decreasing LDL-C and TG. Ezetimibe should be initiated first in patients with insulin resistant metabolic syndrome. Ezetimibe should be combined with statin to reduce not only LDL-C but RLP-C(remnant like lipoprotein particle choletserol) in type IIb dyslipidemia.

Novel deletion mutations of OPTN in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Japanese.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by selective motor neuron death in the brain and spinal cord. Many disease genes for ALS have been identified; however, each disease gene is responsible for very small fractions of ALS. Recently, mutations of the gene encoding optineurin (OPTN) are reported in familial and sporadic ALS. OPTN is also responsible for a small number of ALS, 3.8% of familial and 0.29% of sporadic ALS in Japanese. The low prevalence may be an underestimation due to incomplete screening of the mutation. To examine OPTN mutations more extensively, we screened the OPTN deletions using a quantitative PCR system. We examined 710 Japanese ALS subjects who had previously been found to have no OPTN mutations by a screening using a PCR-direct sequence strategy. We identified 3 kinds of deletions in 5 patients; one was homozygous, and the remaining were heterozygous. All deletions occurred due to the Alu-mediated recombination and are expected to result in null alleles. Our results suggest that the OPTN deletion mutation in ALS is not infrequent and the prevalence of the OPTN mutation in Japanese sporadic ALS is considerably high.

Large-scale screening of TARDBP mutation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Japanese.

Mutations in TARDBP encoding TDP (TAR DNA binding protein)-43 have been reported in familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but mostly in Caucasians. In other ethnic groups, four types of mutations are found in familial ALS. In sporadic ALS, the TARDBP mutations frequency is low in Caucasians (0-5%) and no mutation has been found in other ethnic groups. To examine spectrum of TARDBP mutations and its frequency in Japanese, we screened the TARDBP mutation in 721 Japanese ALS by direct sequencing. We identified a novel mutation, c.1069G > A (p.Gly357Ser) and a known mutation in sporadic ALS. One patient was homozygous for p.Gly357Ser, which was the first for TARDBP mutation. Our study showed that TARDBP mutations also occur in non-Caucasian sporadic ALS. The estimated frequency of the TARDBP mutation in sporadic ALS is 0.29% in Japanese. The mutation frequency in familial ALS in Japanese is also similar to that in Caucasian, and is ∼10 times higher than that in Japanese sporadic ALS.

A functional variant in ZNF512B is associated with susceptibility to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Japanese.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the selective loss of motor neurons. Several susceptibility genes for ALS have been reported; however, ALS etiology and pathogenesis remain largely unknown. To identify further ALS-susceptibility genes, we conducted a large-scale case-control association study using gene-based tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A functional SNP (rs2275294) was found to be significantly associated with ALS through a stepwise screening approach (combined P= 9.3 × 10(-10), odds ratio = 1.32). The SNP was located in an enhancer region of ZNF512B, a transcription factor of unknown biological function, and the susceptibility allele showed decreased activity and decreased binding to nuclear proteins. ZNF512B over-expression increased transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) signaling, while knockdown had the opposite effect. ZNF512B expression was increased in the anterior horn motor neurons of the spinal cord of ALS patients when compared with controls.  Our results strongly suggest that ZNF512B is an important positive regulator of TGF-ß signaling and that decreased ZNF512B expression increases susceptibility to ALS.

Relationship between hematotoxicity and serum albumin level in the treatment of head and neck cancers with concurrent chemoradiotherapy using cisplatin.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer were treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy using three courses of cisplatin. However, many patients were unable to complete the scheduled cisplatin treatment due to adverse effects. The objective of this study was to retrospectively elucidate the source of the low completion rate of cisplatin courses. METHODS: Between November 2007 and 28 May 2010, patients with head and neck cancer were treated with curative intent according to the concurrent chemoradiotherapy protocol (66-70 Gy at 2 Gy/day with cisplatin 80 mg/m(2) on Days 1, 22 and 43). Treatment courses, hematological data and other parameters were investigated, and the treatment completion rates and reasons for treatment failure were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 28 patients, cisplatin was administered during the period of radiotherapy a total of 3 times in 9 (32%) patients, 2 times in 15 (54%) patients and only 1 time in 4 (14%) patients. Multiple regression analysis of the development of neutropenia at 3 weeks after the first cisplatin administration revealed that the serum albumin level was a significant explanatory variable (R(2)= 0.664, ß = 0.517, P< 0.01). Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient showed a strong correlation between the serum albumin level and the neutrophil count after 3 weeks (r = 0.605, P< 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The treatment completion rate by this protocol was low in head and neck cancer patients even when the cisplatin dose was reduced to 80 mg/m(2). This tendency was seen in patients with a low serum albumin level.

Replication analysis of SNPs on 9p21.2 and 19p13.3 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in East Asians.

We performed a replication study of the 2 genetic variants, rs2814707 on 9p21.2 and rs12608932 on 19p13.3 that are recently reported to be most significantly associated with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in Caucasians. Both rs12608932 and rs2814707 showed no evidence of association in Japanese and Chinese (rs12608932, combined p = 0.58, odds ratio [OR] = 1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.93-1.13; rs2814707, combined p = 0.88, OR = 1.10, 95% CI 0.93-1.30). The association of these loci with susceptibility to sporadic ALS is considered negative in East Asians.

Breathing intolerance index: a new indicator for ventilator use.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose was to study the efficacy of a proposed breathing intolerance index for justifying ventilator use by patients with pulmonary or chest wall diseases and to compare with values obtained from healthy controls. DESIGN: A total of 42 patients with lung/chest wall disease, including 11 ventilator users and 25 age-matched controls, were studied. The breathing intolerance index was defined as (Ti/Ttot) x (Vt/VC), where Ti = inspiratory time of one breath (in seconds), Ttot = total time of one breath (in seconds), Vt = tidal volume (in milliliters) at rest, and VC = vital capacity (in milliliters). A digital spirometer with custom computer software was used. RESULTS: The examinations were completed uneventfully. The mean breathing intolerance index values of the 25 healthy volunteers, the 31 nonventilator user patients, and the 11 users of nocturnal noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation were 0.050 +/- 0.009 (mean +/- standard deviation), 0.087 +/- 0.022, and 0.186 +/- 0.038, respectively. The breathing intolerance indices of the ventilator users were significantly greater (P < 0.0001) than those of the other nonventilator user groups, and there was no overlap in values. CONCLUSIONS: Ventilator users have a significantly higher breathing intolerance index than nonventilator users. The index may be useful for justifying ventilator use.

New acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (donepezil) treatment for Alzheimer's disease in a chronic dialysis patient.

The new-generation acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, donepezil, is useful in the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. A 72-year-old male chronic hemodialysis patient was diagnosed as having moderate Alzheimer's disease. We administered donepezil at 3 mg/day orally to the patient. After 1 month's treatment, the patient improved to a controllable psychiatric condition and was discharged from the hospital. The 24-hour plasma concentration profile of donepezil following the 3-mg once-daily dose varied from 11.1 to 18.2 ng/ml. The through level of donepezil was reduced from 12.4 to 10.9 ng/ml over a 3-month period. We did not experience any episodes of drug toxicity or adverse effects in this chronic dialysis patient. Donepezil treatment might have a beneficial impact on patients with severe renal dysfunction.