Questionnaire survey on sleep habits of 3-year-old children in Asahikawa City: Comparison between 2005 and 2020.

Background: Good sleep is essential for children's healthy growth. In 2005, we conducted a questionnaire survey on children's sleep habits and their background, targeting parents who attended health checkups for their 3-year-old children in Asahikawa City, Hokkaido. In 2020, we performed a secondary survey, including additional questions regarding media usage.

Fathers' Involvement in Rearing Children With Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities.

The aim of this study was to explore father's involvement in rearing a child with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven fathers in Japan, and the data were analyzed using a qualitative inductive method. The relationship between the parents, in the context of childrearing, influenced father's involvement with their child with PIMD.

Focal frontal epileptiform discharges in a patient with eyelid myoclonia and absence seizures.

Eyelid myoclonia with absences is classified as a unique type of generalized seizure. Its pathogenesis is proposed to involve the functional abnormalities in cortical-subcortical networks. Here, we describe the case of a 7-year-old boy who had eyelid myoclonia with absences, along with focal motor seizures.

Exploring the beliefs of Japanese mothers caring for a child with disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to describe the beliefs of Japanese mothers caring for a child with disabilities to advance knowledge about beliefs of Japanese families experiencing illness. A semistructured interview was conducted with eight mothers who had a child with disabilities (physical, intellectual, and/or developmental). The interview invited their reflections about "mutual thoughts of family members" and family relationships in the context of daily life of caring for a child with disabilities.

Electroclinical features of epileptic encephalopathy caused by SCN8A mutation.

Voltage-gated sodium channel Nav 1.6, encoded by the gene SCN8A, plays a crucial role in controlling neuronal excitability. SCN8A mutations that cause increased channel activity are associated with seizures.

Glycemic control and motor development in a patient with intermediate DEND.

The most common cause of neonatal diabetes, KCNJ11 gene mutation, can manifest as a neurological disorder. The most severe form consists of a constellation of developmental delay, epilepsy, and neonatal diabetes (DEND). Intermediate DEND (iDEND) refers to a milder presentation without epilepsy.

Benign infantile convulsion as a diagnostic clue of paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia: a case series.

Introduction: Paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia is characterized by sudden attacks of involuntary movements. It is often misdiagnosed clinically as psychogenic illness, which distresses the patients to a great extent. A correct diagnosis will improve the quality of life in patients with paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia because treatment with low doses of anticonvulsants is effective for eliminating the clinical manifestations.

Improved prefrontal activity in AD/HD children treated with atomoxetine: a NIRS study.

Background/aims: Atomoxetine (ATX), a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, is the first approved non-stimulant drug for treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). The present study examined the effects of long-term treatment with ATX on prefrontal hemodynamic activity in AD/HD children during a continuous performance task (CPT) using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).

Methods: Prefrontal hemodynamic activity was measured in 12 children with AD/HD during experimental sessions conducted before and 6 months or more after starting ATX treatment.

[Treatment with ramelteon for sleep disturbance in severely disabled children and young adults].

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of ramelteon for severely disabled children and young adults who had already been treated for sleep disturbance with melatonin at a dose of 3 mg.

Methods: Eleven patients, who were aged between 3-25 years and included 4 patients with cerebral palsy, -took 3-8 mg of ramelteon at bedtime, after a one-week of washout period. Sleep states were evaluated using sleep diaries recorded by caregivers or using actigraphs.

Epigenetic transcriptional activation of monocyte chemotactic protein 3 contributes to long-lasting neuropathic pain.

A multiplex analysis for profiling the expression of candidate genes along with epigenetic modification may lead to a better understanding of the complex machinery of neuropathic pain. In the present study, we found that partial sciatic nerve ligation most remarkably increased the expression of monocyte chemotactic protein 3 (MCP-3, known as CCL7) a total of 33 541 genes in the spinal cord, which lasted for 4 weeks. This increase in MCP-3 gene transcription was accompanied by the decreased trimethylation of histone H3 at Lys27 at the MCP-3 promoter.

Silent exonic mutation in the acid-alpha-glycosidase gene that causes glycogen storage disease type II by affecting mRNA splicing.

Glycogen-storage disease type II (GSDII) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by a deficiency of acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA). The residual GAA activity is largely related to the severity of the clinical course. Most patients with infantile-onset GSDII do not show any enzyme activity, whereas patients with the late-onset forms of GSDII show various degrees of GAA activity.

Effect of neonatal hypoxia on the development of intraspinal serotonergic fibers in relation to spinal motoneurons.

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT)-containing neurons trophically affect target neurons and modulate central nervous system neuronal activity. We studied effects of neonatal hypoxia on postnatal development of intraspinal 5-HT fibers in spinal motoneuron pools. Postnatal day (PND) 0 Sprague-Dawley rats received a hypoxic load and survivors were used for histological analyzes on PNDs 1, 7, and 14.

[Questionnaire survey on sleep habit of 3-year-old children in Asahikawa City].

The present study surveyed the sleep habits of 3-year-old children in Asahikawa city using questionnaires completed by a parent during children's medical check-ups. Questionnaires were collected from the parents of 404 children (209 males, 195 females; mean age, 3.1 years) enrolled in this survey.

Transcriptomic analysis of nephrotoxicity induced by cephaloridine, a representative cephalosporin antibiotic.

Cephaloridine (CER) is a classical beta-lactam antibiotic that has long served as a model drug for the study of cephalosporin antibiotic-induced acute tubular necrosis. In the present study, we analyzed gene expression profiles in the kidney of rats given subtoxic and toxic doses of CER to identify gene expression alterations closely associated with CER-induced nephrotoxicity. Male Fischer 344 rats were intravenously injected with CER at three different dose levels (150, 300, and 600 mg/kg) and sacrificed after 24 h.

Molecular analysis and anticonvulsant therapy in two patients with glucose transporter 1 deficiency syndrome: a successful use of zonisamide for controlling the seizures.

Glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) deficiency syndrome is caused by a deficit in glucose transport to the brain during the pre- and postnatal periods. Here, we report two cases of GLUT1 deficiency syndrome diagnosed on the basis of clinical features, reduced GLUT1 activities, and mutations in the GLUT1 gene. Patient 1 had a novel heterozygous 1bp insertion in exon 7 that resulted in a shift of the reading frame and the introduction of a premature stop codon at amino acid position 380.

Actigraphic assessment of sleep disorders in children with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Unlabelled: Children with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) often suffer from sleep disorders, which cause many physiological and psychological problems. Understanding sleep characteristics in children with CFS is important for establishing a therapeutic strategy. We conducted an actigraphic study to clarify the problems in sleep/wake rhythm and physical activity in children with CFS.

Toxicogenomics of drug-induced hemolytic anemia by analyzing gene expression profiles in the spleen.

Hemolytic anemia is a serious adverse effect of therapeutic drugs that is caused by increased destruction of drug-damaged erythrocytes by macrophages in the spleen and liver. We previously applied a toxicogenomic approach to the toxicity by analyzing microarray data of the liver of rats dosed with two hemolytic agents: phenylhydrazine and phenacetin. In the present study, we analyzed gene expression profiles in the spleen, the primary organ for destruction of damaged erythrocytes, of the same models in order to identify splenic gene expression alterations that could be used to predict the hematotoxicity.

A toxicogenomic approach revealed hepatic gene expression changes mechanistically linked to drug-induced hemolytic anemia.

A variety of pharmaceutical compounds causes hemolytic anemia as a significant adverse effect and this toxicity restricts the clinical utility of these drugs. In this study, we applied microarray technology to investigate hepatic gene expression changes associated with drug-induced hemolytic anemia and to identify potential biomarker genes for this hematotoxicity. We treated female Sprague-Dawley rats with two hemolytic anemia-inducing compounds: phenylhydrazine and phenacetin.

Postnatal development of brainstem serotonin-containing neurons projecting to lumbar spinal cord in rats.

We quantified postnatal changes in brainstem serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT)-containing neurons projecting to lumbar spinal cord. The medulla-spinal cord descending neurons were identified by a retrograde neurotracer, choleratoxin B subunit (CTb), and 5-HT neurons were stained by immunohistochemistry. Double-labeled neurons were assumed to be 5-HT neurons projecting to the lumbar spinal cord, and were quantitatively analyzed in each raphe nucleus in the medulla.

[Combined use of melatonin and low-dose flunitrazepam for treatment of sleep disturbance in a child with spastic quadriplegia: evaluation using polysomnography].

A 14-year-old boy born at 39 gestational weeks with the birth weight of 3,250 g, had severe mental retardation and spastic quadriplegia of unknown etiology from early childhood. At 7 years of age, disturbance of night sleep appeared with several awakenings. Combined treatment with melatonin (MLT; 0.

High-throughput miniaturized immunoassay for human interleukin-13 secreted from NK3.3 cells using homogenous time-resolved fluorescence.

A miniaturized immunoassay for human interleukin-13 (IL-13) using homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence (HTRF) has been developed. In this assay, IL-13 which was secreted from NK3.3 cells stimulated with interleukin-2 (IL-2) was detected by measuring the time-resolved fluorescence after adding a mixture of three reagents, biotinylated anti-IL-13 monoclonal antibody, europium cryptate (fluorescence donor)-labeled different anti-IL-13 monoclonal antibody and crosslinked allophycocyanin (fluorescence acceptor)-conjugated with streptavidin in a 384-well assay plate.