DNA sequence and annotation of the entire human chromosome 7, encompassing nearly 158 million nucleotides of DNA and 1917 gene structures, are presented. To generate a higher order description, additional structural features such as imprinted genes, fragile sites, and segmental duplications were integrated at the level of the DNA sequence with medical genetic data, including 440 chromosome rearrangement breakpoints associated with disease. This approach enabled the discovery of candidate genes for developmental diseases including autism.

We examined the incidence rates of psychiatric disorders in end-stage renal failure patients on hemodialysis (HD) based on 4-year long-term follow-up. Among various psychiatric disorders, the frequency of three psychiatric disorders, dementia, delirium, and major depression, was relatively high. One-year incidence rate of whole psychiatric disorders was 10.6% (7.1% in non-aged and 13.7% in aged). One-year incidence rate of dementia in aged patients was 4.2% (dementia of the Alzheimer’s disease, 0.5%; multi-infarct dementia, 3.7%). One-year incidence rate of multi-infarct dementia in aged HD patients was 7.4 times as large as that in the elderly general populations, suggesting that aged HD patients tend to exhibit multi-infarct dementia. The high incidence rate may be closely related to advanced arteriosclerosis and other medical conditions. Psychiatric management is required for ESRD patients with three major psychiatric disorders, dementia, delirium, and major depression, in particular for aged patients with multi-infarct dementia who has received long-term HD therapy.

We determined a partial sequence of the Klebsiella pneumoniae parC gene, including the region analogous to the quinolone resistance-determining region of the Escherichia coli gyrA gene, and examined 26 clinical strains of K. pneumoniae for an association of alterations in GyrA and ParC with susceptibilities to quinolones. The study suggests that in K. pneumoniae DNA gyrase is a primary target of quinolones and that ParC alterations play a complementary role in the development of higher-level fluoroquinolone resistance.

The gyrA and parC genes of 31 clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecalis, including fluoroquinolone-resistant isolates, were partially sequenced and analyzed for target alterations. Topoisomerase IV may be a primary target in E. faecalis, but high-level fluoroquinolone resistance was associated with simultaneous alterations in both GyrA and ParC.