👤 Wataru Satake

Stroke patients are prone to reduced daytime physical activity (PA) and poor nighttime sleep quality. Sleep may influence daytime PA; however, few studies have examined this relationship using objective assessments. This study aimed to investigate the association between PA and sleep among stroke patients in a convalescent rehabilitation ward. This was a cross-sectional study of stroke patients. PA and sleep were measured using a wearable device. PA was categorized into sedentary behavior (SB), light physical activity (LPA), and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Sleep was assessed using sleep efficiency (SE), defined as the percentage of time spent asleep while in bed. Associations between SE and each PA parameter were analyzed using correlation and multiple regression analyses. A total of 76 patients (mean age 70.0 ± 12.0 years, 41 males) were analyzed. Median SE was 85.3% (interquartile range [IQR]: 81.2-89.0). The mean duration of daytime PA was 195.2 ± 67.5 min/day for SB, 319.5 ± 46.9 min/day for LPA, and 79.8 (IQR: 50.7-103.1) min/day for MVPA. SE was significantly correlated with MVPA ( In stroke patients undergoing convalescent rehabilitation, SE was associated with SB and MVPA. These findings suggest that improving SE may reduce SB and increasing MVPA during inpatient rehabilitation. Show less

Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by obesity, mental impairment, rod-cone dystrophy, polydactyly, male hypogonadism, and renal abnormalities. This disorder is caused by mutations in BBS1-21. Alström syndrome (AS), caused solely by mutations in ALMS1, is another genetic obesity syndrome clinically similar to BBS. We previously conducted the first nationwide survey of BBS in Japan and found four patients with genetically definite BBS. In this study, exome analyses were performed on new patients whose symptoms fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for BBS. We identified one reported heterozygous mutation in BBS1 (p.R429*) in one patient, two novel mutations (p.L493R and p.H719Y) in BBS20 in a second patient, and one novel mutation (p.Q920*) and one reported mutation (p.R2928*) in ALMS1 in a third patient, who was subsequently diagnosed with AS. The first patient with BBS was previously considered to have digenic heterozygous mutations in BBS1 and BBS4. RT-PCR and long-range genomic PCR analyses identified a new heterozygous mutation in BBS1, the deletion of exons 10 and 11. Thus, this patient was compound heterozygous for mutations in BBS1. Many studies have described digenic heterozygous mutations in BBS. However, undetected mutations might have existed in either one of the mutated genes. Show less

Proteoglycans (PGs), a family of glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-protein glycoconjugates, contribute to animal physiology through interactions between their glycan chains and growth factors, chemokines and adhesion molecules. However, it remains unclear how GAG structures are changed during the aging process. Here, we found that polyamine levels are correlated with the expression level of heparan sulfate (HS) in human skin. In cultured cell lines, the EXT1 and EXT2 enzymes, initiating HS biosynthesis, were stimulated at the translational level by polyamines. Interestingly, the initiation codon recognition by 43S preinitiation complex during EXT2 translation is suppressed by let-7b, a member of the let-7 microRNA family, through binding at the N-terminal amino acid coding sequence in EXT2 mRNA. Let-7b-mediated suppression of initiation codon depends on the length of 5'-UTR of EXT2 mRNA and its suppression is inhibited in the presence of polyamines. These findings provide new insights into the HS biosynthesis related to miRNA and polyamines. Show less