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The excretion of aluminium in urine was significantly increased after intake of analgesics containing aluminium, confirming increased absorption and hence exposure to aluminium with such medication. The effect of aluminium on the kidney was further investigated by study of gene expression in mice. After a single dose of aluminium, an up-regulation of renin gene was found by DNA sequencing of the products of differential display analysis. The up-regulation of renin was confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting experiments in the dose dependent treatments and the time course observation after aluminium citrate injection. The up-regulation of the renin expression by aluminium is a strong indication of the influence of aluminium on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system, resulting in possible induction of essential hypertension.

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Regarding aluminum contents in sea vegetables, dried hijiki (an edible brown algae),

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Flavins play important roles in brain function as cofactors of several flavo enzymes in the brain. Accordingly, their behavior in the brain of embryonic and early postnatal life seems to be essential in considering the development of the brain. KUZUYA and NAGATSU (1) reported that the level of flavins in the brain of newborn rat was markedly lower than the adult value and increased during maturation. SCHAUS and KIRK (2) also reported a smaller value of flavins in the human brain aged 7 days, than the adult value, even though they did not emphasize this point. In embryonic life, however, the occurrence of flavins in the brain has not yet been investigated. Therefore, this paper deals briefly with the change in the level of fl avins in chick brain during embryonic and early postnatal development.

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Medical records of 3,870 applicants living near the Shiranui sea coast who had been examined from August 1975 to April 1981 by the Committee on Certification of Minamata Disease were analyzed from the statistical point of view. The author analyzed the pattern of signs and reevaluated the applicants' records. Three hundred forty applicants (8.8%) were certified to have Minamata disease by the Committee on Certification of Minamata Disease. By application of the present criteria presented by the Japanese Environmental Agency in 1977 to the records, 947 inhabitants (27.9%) were judged likely to have Minamata disease.The author concluded that the certification of the patients of Minamata disease by the Committee was inconsistent with the results of applying the present criteria to the data and that the number of patients certified by the Committee to have Minamata disease was too low.