Nakao Iwata

AIM: This network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) aimed to investigate which hypnotics are associated with the most favorable sleep architecture and respiratory outcomes in adults with obstructive sleep apnea. METHODS: Primary outcomes included total sleep time (TST) and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) during TST. Other outcomes were rapid eye movement (REM) sleep time, latency to persistent sleep (LPS), wake after sleep onset (WASO), sleep efficiency (SE), AHI during non-REM or REM sleep, mean peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) during TST, mean SpO2 nadir during TST, arousal index (AI), all-cause discontinuation, adverse event-related discontinuation, and incidence of individual adverse events. Effect sizes with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. RESULTS: This systematic review included 32 RCTs (n = 1871, average age = 51.60 years, 62.52% male, mean AHI = 23.60). Our network meta-analysis evaluated brotizolam, daridorexant, eszopiclone, flurazepam, lemborexant, nitrazepam, ramelteon, temazepam, triazolam, zaleplon, zolpidem, zopiclone, and placebo. Compared with placebo, lemborexant increased TST, REM sleep time, and SE and decreased LPS and WASO, whereas both daridorexant and zolpidem increased TST and SE and decreased WASO. These three medications demonstrated respiratory safety and discontinuation profiles similar to those of placebo. Eszopiclone increased TST and SE and decreased LPS, WASO, AHI during TST, and AI, but its effects on LPS, WASO, AHI during TST, and AI disappeared in the sensitivity analysis, excluding continuous positive airway pressure titration studies. CONCLUSION: Our network meta-analysis identified different effects of various hypnotics on sleep architecture and respiratory parameters; however, the lack of data prevented a formal synthesis of subjective outcomes. Therefore, these results should be interpreted with caution in clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive dysfunction has a significant impact on social functioning, such as employment, in patients with schizophrenia. However, existing cognitive assessments are time-consuming, impose a significant burden on patients, and require specialized training for evaluators, making them impractical for routine clinical use. Therefore, the present study investigated whether a simple and novel assessment tool, called Psychomotor Function Tests (PFT), correlates with existing Neuropsychological Tests (NT) and assessments with the Life Assessment Scale for the Mentally Ill (LASMI), which evaluates social functioning, including employment. METHODS: Cognitive function was examined in 24 patients with schizophrenia using NT (the Japanese Adult Reading Test, Trail Making Test (TMT), and word fluency test) and tablet-based PFT, while social functioning was evaluated using LASMI. Twenty-four healthy controls (HCs) underwent the same cognitive assessments. RESULTS: Psychomotor function, as evaluated by the choice reaction time, compensatory tracking test, and rapid visual information processing, was significantly worse in patients with schizophrenia than in HCs (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the composite score of PFT correlated with the time required for TMT (r = -0.707, -0.637) and LASMI subscales related to work, endurance & stability, self-recognition, required skills, and retention skills (r = -0.640, -0.689, -0.634, -0.420, -0.548). CONCLUSION: PFT correlated with existing NT, which are widely used in cognitive function assessments. Cognitive function examined by PFT was closely associated with social functioning. These results suggest the potential of PFT for evaluating cognitive function in routine clinical settings for patients with schizophrenia.

Sensory issues are common in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and can significantly affect daily living. The phenomena of gating and habituation of event-related potentials (ERPs) to repetitive stimuli have been suggested as potential biomarkers reflecting atypical sensory processing in ASD. Sensory hypersensitivity and anxiety are closely related in ASD, and habituation to emotionally evocative stimuli may serve as a more sensitive biomarker for sensory hypersensitivity symptoms. However, previous studies have primarily used tonal stimuli, and there has been little investigation into whether habituation to emotionally evocative sounds is impaired in ASD patients. In this study, we compared the degree of habituation of the P1-N1 peak-to-peak amplitude in response to repeated tones and fearful vocalizations between control and ASD groups. Contrary to expectations, no significant difference was observed for fearful vocalizations between the groups, while ASD patients showed significantly reduced habituation to tonal sounds in the left parieto-occipital region. Furthermore, we found a significant correlation between the degree of habituation to tonal sounds in the left parieto-occipital region and sensory hypersensitivity symptoms in ASD patients, and similar abnormalities in BTBR mice, an animal model of ASD. These results suggest that habituation to tonal sounds, rather than emotionally evocative stimuli, may serve as a translational biomarker reflecting sensory hypersensitivity symptoms.

ABSTRACT Objective To examine the characteristics associated with happiness in Japanese individuals with schizophrenia. Methods A self‐reported online survey was conducted in 2022 among individuals aged 20–75 years, including 223 and 1776 individuals with and without schizophrenia, respectively. We used a modified Poisson regression to assess the factors associated with happiness by calculating the age‐ and sex‐adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs). We examined within‐schizophrenia group differences by age and sex strata, and compared these stratified PRs between groups with and without schizophrenia. Results Among participants with schizophrenia, happiness was significantly associated with self‐rated health status (PR = 1.75), Ikigai (PR = 5.02), depressive symptoms (PR = 0.43), perceived stress (PR = 0.52), cognitive social capital (PR = 2.07), structural social capital (PR = 1.70), social support (PR = 2.40), close friends (PR = 1.88), close relatives (PR = 2.34), and a cohabiting partner (PR = 1.57). Within the schizophrenia group, sex differences were significant for cognitive social capital (men: PR = 3.45; women: PR = 1.43) and cohabiting partners (men: PR = 2.26; women: PR = 1.25), whereas no significant age differences were found. Factors demonstrating a stronger association in participants with schizophrenia than in those without schizophrenia included: Ikigai (with, PR = 5.02; without, PR = 2.91), cognitive social capital (with, PR = 2.07; without, PR = 1.49), and structural social capital (with, PR = 1.70; without, PR = 1.24). Conclusion Happiness in individuals with schizophrenia is associated with physical, mental, and social factors, with social factors exhibiting sex‐related differences.