A survey was made of the sleep and lifestyle activity patterns of 3754 students from 14 different junior high schools on Okinawa Island. The survey showed that bedtimes became progressively and significantly later as students ascended to higher grades, resulting in adolescent sleep debt. The later adolescents retired to sleep, there appeared significantly greater numbers suffering from insufficient sleep, who found difficulty in waking up, who arose later in the mornings, and who failed to eat breakfast. The study indicated that along with later bedtimes, staying up late resulted in deterioration of sleep health, poor dietary habits and feeling ill, contributing to sleepiness during class.

These findings indicate that the retinal capillary changes are probably related to hypercholesterolemia.

The effects of an intravenous hydroxyproline load on endogenous oxalogenesis were compared in rats fed a standard diet or a vitamin B6-deficient diet. Twelve male Wistar rats were randomized to two groups and were fed either a standard diet (control group) or a vitamin B6-deficient diet for 3 weeks. Then the animals were intravenously administered 100 mg (762.6 micromol)/ml hydroxyproline. In the control group, infusion of hydroxyproline increased the 5-h urinary oxalate and glycolate excretion above baseline to 0.27% (2.02 +/- 1.11 micromol) and 0.32% (2.43 +/- 1.60 micromol) of the administered dose (mol/mol), while it was respectively 2.01% (15.24 +/- 2.13 micromol) and 0.00% (-0.02 +/- 0.19 micromol) of the dose in the vitamin B6-deficient group. Therefore, vitamin B6 deficiency augmented endogenous synthesis of oxalate from hydroxyproline by 7.56-fold (15.24/2.02) compared with that in the control group. Urinary citrate excretion was significantly lower at baseline and all other times in the vitamin B6-deficient group compared with the control group. In conclusions, L-hydroxyproline loading augmented endogenous oxalogenesis in the vitamin B6-deficient group without causing hyperglycolic aciduria, and also led to significant hypocitraturia. These findings suggest that hydroxyproline is not metabolized to oxalate via glycolate, but rather via the 4-hydroxyglutamate to glyoxylate pathway (usually requiring vitamin B6-dependent enzymes) even in the presence of vitamin B6 deficiency.

We studied the effects of an intravenous hydroxypyruvate load on endogenous oxalogenesis in rats receiving a standard diet or a vitamin-B6-deficient diet. Twelve male Wistar rats were randomized to two groups and were fed either a standard diet or a vitamin-B6-deficient diet for 3 weeks. Then the animals received an intravenous infusion of 100 mg/ml (960.6 micromol/ml) of hydroxypyruvate slowly over 10 min. Urine samples were collected just before hydroxypyruvate infusion and at hourly intervals until 5 h afterward. Urinary oxalate, glycolate, and citrate levels were measured by capillary electrophoresis. Hourly urinary oxalate excretion peaked within 2 h, while urinary glycolate excretion peaked at 1 h, after the hydroxypyruvate load in both control and vitamin-B6-deficient rats. Both urinary oxalate and glycolate excretion were higher in vitamin-B6-deficient rats than in control rats. Infusion of hydroxypyruvate increased the 5-h urinary oxalate and glycolate excretion to 0.68% (6.56 micromol) and 0.53% (5.10 micromol) of the administered dose (mol/mol), respectively, in the control rats, while oxalate and glycolate excretion, respectively, increased to 2.43% (23.36 micromol) and 0.79% (7.59 micromol) of the dose in the vitamin-B6-deficient rats. Urinary citrate excretion was significantly lower at baseline and all other times in the vitamin-B6-deficient rats than in the control rats. In conclusion, a hydroxypyruvate load increased endogenous oxalate synthesis in control rats, and its synthesis was even greater in vitamin-B6-deficient rats. Vitamin B6 deficiency also resulted in significant hypocitraturia.

Mutations in the hepatocyte nuclear factor-1alpha (HNF-1alpha) gene are the cause of maturity-onset diabetes of the young type 3 (MODY 3), which is characterized by a severe impairment of insulin secretion and early onset of the disease. Although the majority of patients with type 1 diabetes have type 1A, immune-mediated diabetes, there is a significant percentage of the patients who have no evidence of an autoimmune disorder at the onset of disease. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of MODY 3 in antiislet autoantibody negative patients with type 1 diabetes. From a large population-based sample of unrelated Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes, 28 patients who lacked autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase, islet cell antigen 512/insulinoma-associated antigen-2, phogrin (phosphate homolog of granules of insulinoma)/insulinoma-associated antigen-2beta, and insulin at the onset of type 1 diabetes were examined by PCR-based direct sequencing of the 10 exons, flanking introns, and the promoter region of the HNF-1alpha gene. Two (7.1%) of 28 autoantibody-negative patients with type 1 diabetes were identified as carrying mutations in the HNF-1alpha gene. One patient carried a frameshift mutation (Pro379fsdelCT) in exon 6, and another patient carried a novel 2-bp substitution at nucleotides +45 (G to A) and +46 (C to A) from the transcriptional site of the promoter region. These mutations were identified in heterozygous form and were not identified in 64 unrelated healthy control subjects or 54 unrelated islet autoantibody-positive patients with type 1 diabetes. Functional analysis of the mutant HNF-1alpha gene indicated that the Pro379fsdelCT mutation had no transcriptional trans-activation activity and acted in a dominant negative manner. The +45/46 GC to AA mutation in the promoter region showed reduced promoter activity by 10-20% compared to the wild-type sequence. In conclusion, about 7% of Japanese diabetic patients lacking antiislet autoantibodies initially classified as having type 1 diabetes could have diabetes caused by mutations in the HNF-1alpha gene.