Clinical presentations of acquired comitant esotropia in 5-35 years old Japanese and digital device usage: a multicenter registry data analysis study.

PURPOSE: To describe clinical presentations of acquired comitant esotropia and digital device use in children, adolescents, and young adults without neurological problems. STUDY DESIGN: Multicenter prospective observational study. METHODS: Patients with acquired comitant esotropia, without intracranial diseases aged 5-35 years at the time of visit, who were seen at pre-registered facilities within 1 year of onset were enrolled. The duration from the onset of symptoms and the time of digital device usage approximately 1 month before onset and their lifestyles were surveyed. Visual acuity, cycloplegic refraction, and strabismus angles were measured. Data were analyzed in three age groups (Child: 5-12 years, Adolescent: 13-18 years, and Young adult: 19-35 years). RESULTS: Between November 2019 and December 2021, 218 patients were enrolled from 55 facilities, and 194 patients (including 62 children, 69 adolescents, and 63 young adults) were analyzed. The child group spent the least amount of time using digital devices (children: 159; adolescents: 210; young adults: 267 min/work day, p < 0.05; (mean time in the same order below) 229, 338, 314 min/holiday, p < 0.05) and had the largest strabismus angle (mean strabismus angle at near: 30, 22, 18 PD, p < 0.01; at far: 28, 26, 21 PD, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The clinical features of acquired comitant esotropia and hand-held digital device usage differed between children aged ≤ 12 years and older patients. This report gives the current clinical characteristics of young patients with acquired esotropia and digital device usage.

Total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake is inversely associated with serum C-reactive protein in young Japanese women.

Little is known about the relation of dietary factors to circulating C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations in young adults and non-Western populations. We cross-sectionally examined associations between dietary intake and serum CRP concentrations in young Japanese women. The subjects were 443 female Japanese dietetic students aged 18 to 22 years. Dietary intake was assessed with a validated, self-administered, comprehensive, diet history questionnaire. Serum CRP concentrations were measured by highly sensitive nephelometry. The prevalence of elevated CRP (> or = 1 mg/L) was 5.6%. After adjustment for possible confounding factors including body mass index, a significant inverse association was seen between total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake and elevated CRP. The multivariate adjusted odds ratios of elevated CRP for women with intake below and above the median (1.1% of energy) were 1.00 and 0.33 (95% confidence interval, 0.13-0.82; P = .02), respectively. Intake of eicosapentaenoic acid + docosahexaenoic acid and alpha-linolenic acid was not associated with elevated CRP concentrations (P = .62 and P = .27, respectively). Vitamin C intake was independently inversely associated with elevated CRP, although the association was nonsignificant (P = .10). No clear associations were observed for other dietary factors examined including total fat, saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, total dietary fiber, soluble dietary fiber, insoluble dietary fiber, and magnesium; fruits, vegetables, and fish and shellfish; and dietary glycemic load (P = .27 to P = .99). In conclusion, total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake showed an independent inverse association with elevated serum CRP concentration in a group of young Japanese women.

Nutrient and food intake in relation to serum leptin concentration among young Japanese women.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the relation of modifiable dietary factors to circulating leptin concentrations, particularly in young adults and non-Western populations. We examined cross-sectional associations between nutrient and food intake and serum leptin concentration in young Japanese women. METHODS: Subjects were 424 female Japanese dietetic students 18-22 y of age. Intake of macronutrients (protein, total fat; saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids; and carbohydrate), dietary fiber, and 12 food groups was assessed with a validated, self-administered, comprehensive, diet history questionnaire. Fasting blood samples were collected, and serum leptin concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: For nutrients, only dietary fiber was a significant determinant of serum leptin concentration. Increasing dietary fiber intake was associated with lower serum leptin concentration independent of potential confounding factors, including body mass index (mean serum leptin concentrations in the lowest and highest quintiles of dietary fiber intake were 8.6 and 7.5 ng/mL, respectively; P for trend = 0.026). Vegetables and pulses were the only foods significantly associated with serum leptin concentration, with higher intakes independently associated with lower concentrations (mean serum leptin concentrations in the lowest and highest quintiles of intake were 8.1 and 7.0 ng/mL, P for trend = 0.007, for vegetables and 8.8 and 7.6 ng/mL, P for trend = 0.019, for pulses, respectively). CONCLUSION: Intake of dietary fiber, vegetables, and pulses showed an independent inverse association with serum leptin concentration in a group of young Japanese women.

Determination of absolute protein numbers in single synapses by a GFP-based calibration technique.

To build a quantitative model of molecular organization of neurons, it is essential to have information about the number of protein molecules at individual synapses. Here we developed a method to estimate absolute numbers of individual proteins at actual excitatory synapses by calibrating the fluorescence intensity of microspheres with single EGFP molecules. In cultured hippocampal neurons, we observed a monotonous increase of postsynaptic protein numbers per single synapse during neuronal differentiation and subsequent stabilization. At maturity we calculated that a single excitatory postsynaptic site contains 100-450 of individual postsynaptic proteins, such as PSD-95, GKAP, Shank and Homer. This narrow range of postsynaptic protein content suggests relatively simple stoichiometry of postsynaptic molecular organization. The EGFP-based calibration technique provides an unprecedented general method for estimating the amounts of proteins in macromolecular complexes.