Objective  To describe and compare the tomographic features and macular abnormalities of multiple evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS) during the disease course.

Methods  In 5 patients (5 eyes) with characteristic MEWDS lesions (hypofluorescent in the late phase of indocyanine green angiography [IA]), results of microperimetric retinal sensitivity examination and IA were compared with findings from enhanced spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) at diagnosis and until clinical resolution.

Results  Enhanced SD-OCT revealed moderately reflective focal lesions within the outer photoreceptor layer, where the inner and outer segment junction was disrupted, that corresponded with hypofluorescent areas in the late phase of IA. Areas of decreased retinal sensitivity on microperimetric examination matched areas of disruption in the inner/outer segment junction on SD-OCT images. In the first month after diagnosis, microperimetric examination and enhanced SD-OCT showed a shift in areas of decreased retinal sensitivity and disruption in the inner/outer segment junction from around the optic disc to the temporal macula. Retinal sensitivity and the inner/outer segment junction returned to almost normal in all eyes about a month after diagnosis of MEWDS.

Conclusion  Enhanced SD-OCT revealed abnormalities in the photoreceptor layer that were specific to MEWDS and that, with retinal shape and function, seemed to change location during clinical recovery from MEWDS.

Objective  To test a 2-year community- and family-based obesity prevention program for low-income African American girls: Stanford GEMS (Girls' health Enrichment Multi-site Studies).

Design  Randomized controlled trial with follow-up measures scheduled at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months.

Setting  Low-income areas of Oakland, California.

Participants  African American girls aged 8 to 10 years (N=261) and their parents or guardians.

Interventions  Families were randomized to one of two 2-year, culturally tailored interventions: (1) after-school hip-hop, African, and step dance classes and a home/family-based intervention to reduce screen media use or (2) information-based health education.

Main Outcome Measure  Changes in body mass index (BMI).

Results  Changes in BMI did not differ between groups (adjusted mean difference [95% confidence interval] = 0.04 [–0.18 to 0.27] per year). Among secondary outcomes, fasting total cholesterol level (adjusted mean difference, –3.49 [95% confidence interval, –5.28 to –1.70] mg/dL per year), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (–3.02 [–4.74 to –1.31] mg/dL per year), incidence of hyperinsulinemia (relative risk, 0.35 [0.13 to 0.93]), and depressive symptoms (–0.21 [–0.42 to –0.001] per year) decreased more among girls in the dance and screen time reduction intervention. In exploratory moderator analysis, the dance and screen time reduction intervention slowed BMI gain more than health education among girls who watched more television at baseline (P = .02) and/or those whose parents or guardians were unmarried (P = .01).

Conclusions  A culturally tailored after-school dance and screen time reduction intervention for low-income, preadolescent African American girls did not significantly reduce BMI gain compared with health education but did produce potentially clinically important reductions in lipid levels, hyperinsulinemia, and depressive symptoms. There was also evidence for greater effectiveness in high-risk subgroups of girls.

Trial Registration  clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00000615

Previous human sensory evaluation studies have shown that glutathione (GSH) enhances deliciousness, accompanied by thickness, mouthfulness, and continuity feeling, which is known as "kokumi" in Japanese, in an umami solution containing monosodium glutamate and 5'-inosine monophosphate (IMP). We conducted behavioral and electrophysiological experiments to explore possible interactions of taste effectiveness between GSH and umami substances in mice. The 2-bottle preference test revealed that the mice preferred GSH at concentrations ranging from 1 to 10 mM. When GSH was added to IMP or a mixture of IMP and monopotassium glutamate (MPG), the mice showed increased preference for these solutions over the individual IMP or the binary mixture of IMP and MPG in both short-term and long-term tests. The addition of GSH to MPG, however, did not increase preference. Neural responses of the chorda tympani and glossopharyngeal nerves to the mixture of IMP and GSH showed synergism, whereas synergism was not observed in the mixture of MPG and GSH in either taste nerve. Another behavioral study with the use of the conditioned taste aversion paradigm showed that aversions to MPG generalized moderately to GSH, but aversions to GSH did not generalize to MPG. The present study suggests that GSH enhances preference for umami solutions containing 5'-ribonucleotide rather than glutamate. On the basis of these results, we discuss possible receptors involved for the action of GSH.

Therapeutic effects of green tea involve an inhibitory function of its constituent polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) on cell signaling. The specificity and mechanism(s) by which EGCG inhibits cell signaling have remained unclear. Here, we demonstrate that green tea and EGCG induce suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) gene expression, a negative regulator of specific cell signaling pathways. In mouse immune cells, EGCG induces SOCS1 expression via an oxidative (superoxide) pathway and activation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 transcription factor. EGCG inhibited SOCS1-regulated cell signaling, but this inhibitory effect was abrogated in cells deficient in SOCS1. These findings identify a mechanism by which EGCG inhibits cell signaling with specificity, mediated by induction of the negative regulator SOCS1.

Mitochondria utilize iron (Fe), but the proteins involved in mitochondrial Fe regulation are not characterized in plants. We cloned and characterized a mitochondrial iron-regulated (MIR) gene in rice involved in Fe homeostasis. MIR, when expressed in tobacco BY-2 cells, was localized to the mitochondria. MIR transcripts were greatly increased in response to Fe deficiency in roots and shoot tissue. MIR is not homologous to any known protein, as homologs were not found in the rice or Arabidopsis genome databases, or in the EST database for other organisms. Growth in the MIR T-DNA knockout rice mutant (mir) was significantly impaired compared to wild-type (WT) plants when grown under Fe-deficient or -sufficient conditions. Furthermore, mir plants accumulated more than twice the amount of Fe in shoot and root tissue compared to WT plants when grown under either Fe-sufficient or -deficient conditions. Despite the high accumulation of Fe in roots and shoots, mir plants triggered the expression of Fe-deficiency-inducible genes, indicating that mir may not be able to utilize Fe for physiological functions. These results clearly suggest that MIR is a rice-specific mitochondrial protein, recently evolved, and plays a significant role in Fe homeostasis.

Objective. To assess red blood cell velocity in finger nail-fold capillaries using video capillaroscopy in patients with SSc and other collagen diseases.

Methods. This study included 127 patients with SSc as well as patients with SLE (n = 33), DM/PM (n = 21), RA (n = 13) and APS (n = 12), and 20 healthy subjects. Red blood cell velocity was evaluated using frame-to-frame determination of the position of capillary plasma gaps.

Results. The mean red blood cell velocity was significantly decreased in patients with SSc compared to healthy controls (63.0% reduction) and patients with other conditions. Mean blood velocity was similar between patients with dcSSc and lcSSc. Importantly, even SSc patients with normal or non-specific nail-fold video capillaroscopic (NVC) patterns or a scleroderma early NVC pattern exhibited a significantly lower red blood cell velocity compared to healthy controls (51.7 and 61.4% reduction, respectively) or patients with other conditions, despite normal or mild capillary changes. Patients with the scleroderma active and late NVC pattern showed a more decreased blood velocity (65.5 and 66.2% reduction, respectively). This reduced blood velocity was significantly associated with NVC findings, including capillary ramification and capillary loss. Although remarkably reduced velocity was observed in SSc patients with intractable digital ulcers (72.1% reduction), it was significantly improved by lipo-prostaglandin E₁ (lipo-PGE₁) infusion.

Conclusion. Our results suggest that reduced blood velocity is a hallmark of SSc. Furthermore, measurement of red blood cell velocity may be useful in evaluating therapeutic effects on microcirculation.