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Proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)‐1β, are known to modulate effects of neurotoxic neurotransmitters discharged during excitation or inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS). They also regulate development of glial scars at sites of CNS injury. To elucidate a genetic predisposition of temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (TLE‐HS+), we studied polymorphisms in the IL‐1β, IL‐1α, and IL‐1 receptor antagonist (IL‐1RA) genes in 50 patients with TLE‐HS+ and in 112 controls. Fifty‐three patients who had TLE without HS were also examined (TLE‐HS−) as disease controls. The distribution of the biallelic polymorphism in the promoter region at position −511 of the IL‐1β gene (IL‐1B−511) was significantly different both between TLE‐HS+ patients and controls and between TLE‐HS+ and TLE‐HS− patients. The differences were due to overrepresentation of the homozygotes for IL‐1B−511∗︁2, which is suggested to be a high producer of IL‐1β, in TLE‐HS+ patients compared with both controls and TLE‐HS− patients. In contrast, there was no difference between TLE‐HS− patients and controls. Our data suggest that, in the homozygotes for IL‐1B−511∗︁2, minor events in development such as febrile convulsions could set up a cascade leading to HS. Ann Neurol 2000;47:571–574

The results in this study suggest that the long-term EZ therapy can lead to improvement in metabolic, biochemical, and histological abnormalities of NAFLD. Therefore, EZ may be a promising agent for treatment of NAFLD.

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Objectives: Human colostrum is known to be important for the protection of infants against infection by pathogenic microorganisms. This protection is thought to be due, partially, to various neutral and acidic oligosaccharides that are present in colostrum and milk. However, the concentrations of each of the oligosaccharide of human colostrum have not yet been determined. The aim of this present study was to determine the concentration of each of the major neutral oligosaccharide for three consecutive days from the start of lactation. Method: We analyzed the level of each neutral oligosaccharide in human colostrum, for three consecutive days from the start of lactation, obtained from 12 healthy Japanese women (ranging in age from 21 to 35 years; primipara 6 and multipara 6). The ABO blood groups of the donors were determined: A, three; B, three; O, five; AB, one. The determined human milk oligosaccharides were 2 0 -fucosyllactose (2 0 -FL), 3-fucosyllactose (3-FL), lactodifucotetraose (LDFT), lacto-N-tetraose (LNT), lacto-N-neotetraose (LNnT), three lacto-N-fucopentaose (LNFP I, II and III) and two lacto-N-difucohexaose (LNFDH I and II) using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with two derivatization techniques. Results: The concentrations of 2 0 -FL and LDFT in colostrum on day 1 were significantly higher than those on days 2 and 3 (Po0.05). An increase in LNT was observed on day 3 compared with day 1 (Po0.05). Conclusion: These changes in concentrations of 2'-FL, LDFT and LNT may reflect the requirements for prebiotics and antiinfection agents by human infants during early lactation.