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Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) studies indicate that altered brain glutamatergic function may be associated with the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and the response to antipsychotic treatment. However, the association of altered glutamatergic function with clinical and demographic factors is unclear.OBJECTIVE To assess the associations of age, symptom severity, level of functioning, and antipsychotic treatment with brain glutamatergic metabolites. DATA SOURCESThe MEDLINE database was searched to identify journal articles published between January 1, 1980, and June 3, 2020, using the following search terms: MRS or magnetic resonance spectroscopy and (1) schizophrenia or (2) psychosis or (3) UHR or (4) ARMS or (5) ultra-high risk or (6) clinical high risk or (7) genetic high risk or (8) prodrome* or (9) schizoaffective. Authors of 114 1H-MRS studies measuring glutamate (Glu) levels in patients with schizophrenia were contacted between January 2014 and June 2020 and asked to provide individual participant data.STUDY SELECTION In total, 45 1H-MRS studies contributed data.DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Associations of Glu, Glu plus glutamine (Glx), or total creatine plus phosphocreatine levels with age, antipsychotic medication dose, symptom severity, and functioning were assessed using linear mixed models, with study as a random factor. Glu, Glx, and Cr values in the medial frontal cortex (MFC) and medial temporal lobe (MTL). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES RESULTSIn total, 42 studies were included, with data for 1251 patients with schizophrenia (mean [SD] age, 30.3 [10.4] years) and 1197 healthy volunteers (mean [SD] age, 27.5 [8.8] years). The MFC Glu (F 1,1211.9 = 4.311, P = .04) and Glx (F 1,1079.2 = 5.287, P = .02) levels were lower in patients than in healthy volunteers, and although creatine levels appeared lower in patients, the difference was not significant (F 1,1395.9 = 3.622, P = .06). In both patients and volunteers, the MFC Glu level was negatively associated with age (Glu to Cr ratio, F 1,1522.4 = 47.533, P < .001; cerebrospinal fluid-corrected Glu, F 1,1216.7 = 5.610, P = .02), showing a 0.2-unit reduction per decade. In patients, antipsychotic dose (in chlorpromazine equivalents) was negatively associated with MFC Glu (estimate, 0.10 reduction per 100 mg; SE, 0.03) and MFC Glx (estimate, −0.11; SE, 0.04) levels. The MFC Glu to Cr ratio was positively associated with total symptom severity (estimate, 0.01 per 10 points; SE, 0.005) and positive symptom severity (estimate, 0.04; SE, 0.02) and was negatively associated with level of global functioning (estimate, 0.04; SE, 0.01). In the MTL, the Glx to Cr ratio was positively associated with total symptom severity (estimate, 0.06; SE, 0.03), negative symptoms (estimate, 0.2; SE, 0.07), and worse Clinical Global Impression score (estimate, 0.2 per point; SE, 0.06). The MFC creatine level increased with age (estimate, 0.2; SE, 0.05) but was not associated with either symptom severity or antipsychotic medication dose.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE F...

We performed a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis to map QTLs controlling shank length, body weight, and carcass weight in a resource family of 245 F₂ birds developed from a cross of the large-sized, native, Japanese cockfighting breed, Oh-Shamo (Japanese Large Game), and the White Leghorn breed of chickens. Interval mapping revealed three significant QTLs for shank length on chromosomes 1, 4 and 24 at the experiment-wise 5% level, and a suggestive shank length QTL on chromosome 27 at the experiment-wise 10% level. For body weight two QTLs, one significant and the other suggestive, were identified on chromosomes 4 and 24, respectively. As expected, QTLs for carcass weight, which was highly correlated with body weight (r = 0.95), were detected at the same chromosomal locations as the detected body weight QTLs. Interestingly, the chromosomal locations containing these body weight and carcass weight QTLs coincided with those of two of the four shank length QTLs detected. No QTL with an epistatic interaction effect was discovered for any trait. The total contribution of all detected QTLs to genetic variance was 98.4%, 27.0% and 25.9% for shank length, body weight and carcass weight, respectively, indicating that most shank length QTLs have been identified but many body weight and carcass weight QTLs have been overlooked by the present analysis because of a low coverage rate of the 88 microsatellite markers used here (approximately 46% of the whole genome).

Background and Aim: The feasibility of TDM-621, the synthetic infectious agent-free peptides, was tested in hemostasis of the bleeding after endoscopic treatments of the gastric tumors. Methods:The patients who underwent endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) or endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) were enrolled in the present study. The subject of hemostasis was the oozing after the EMR or ESD. The hemostatic effect, the secondary hemorrhage from one postoperative day to the day before discharge and operability were studied. Results: The hemostatic effects were assessed in 12 patients. It was "remarkably effective" in 11 patients and "effective" in 1 patient. The operability was "very easy" in two patients, "easy" in eight patients and "acceptable" in two patients. No secondary hemorrhage was observed in all of 12 patients. No adverse effect considered to be related to TDM-621 was observed. Conclusion: It was shown that hemostasis using TDM-621 was feasible after endoscopic treatments of the gastric tumors without any technical trouble or adverse event.

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ObjectiveTo study the effects of treatment with atypical antipsychotic drugs on brain levels of glutamate plus glutamine in early-stage first-episode schizophrenia.ParticipantsSixteen patients (eight males, eight females; aged 30 ± 11 years) completed the study.MethodsWe used administered 6 months of atypical antipsychotic drugs and used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to evaluate the results.ResultsWe found that the administration of atypical antipsychotic drugs for 6 months decreased the glutamate plus glutamine/creatine ratio in the frontal lobe. These results suggest that the administration of atypical antipsychotic drugs for at least 6 months decreased glutamatergic neurotransmissions in the frontal lobe in early-stage first-episode schizophrenia, but there was no difference in frontal-lobe levels between patients and control subjects before administration.ConclusionTaking these findings into account, the glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons are implicated in early-stage first-episode schizophrenia, but in complex ways.

Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping of external egg traits in chickens was carried out with 143 microsatellite markers using 388 F 2 hens obtained from an intercross of a Japanese Large Game (Oh-Shamo) male and three White Leghorn females. External egg traits, such as the weight and length of eggs and the weight, thickness, strength, and color of eggshells were measured at three different stages of egg production, i.e. early, middle, and late stages. QTL analyses revealed 10 significant and three suggestive QTLs with main effects on external egg traits on chromosomes 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 17, and Z. The QTL alleles derived from Oh-Shamo, one of the indigenous Japanese breeds, uniquely increased most external egg traits, whereas some QTL alleles had opposite effects on phenotypic differences between Oh-Shamo and White Leghorn. The QTLs detected accounted for 3.09-15.39% of the phenotypic variances. Although the QTLs on chromosomes 5, 8, and Z were found throughout all three stages, the others were identified at only one or two stages. Epistatic QTLs for external egg traits were not detected in the present study. The age-related changes of our main-effect QTLs illustrate one aspect of the complex genetic basis of external egg traits.