Roles of lipocalin-type and hematopoietic prostaglandin D synthases in mouse retinal angiogenesis.

Normal angiogenesis is essential for retinal development and maintenance of visual function in the eye, and its abnormality can cause retinopathy and other eye diseases. Prostaglandin D is an anti-angiogenic lipid mediator produced by lipocalin-type PGD synthase (L-PGDS) or hematopoietic PGD synthase (H-PGDS). However, the exact role of these PGD synthases remains unclear.

Embryonic Pericytes Promote Microglial Homeostasis and Their Effects on Neural Progenitors in the Developing Cerebral Cortex.

Multifaceted microglial functions in the developing brain, such as promoting the differentiation of neural progenitors and contributing to the positioning and survival of neurons, have been progressively revealed. Although previous studies have noted the relationship between vascular endothelial cells and microglia in the developing brain, little attention has been given to the importance of pericytes, the mural cells surrounding endothelial cells. In this study, we attempted to dissect the role of pericytes in microglial distribution and function in developing mouse brains.

Proportion of Japanese outpatients filling prescriptions for long-term medication regimens.

Our study aimed to clarify how long outpatients with chronic diseases such as hypertension continuously fill prescriptions for the same medications as those prescribed initially and how many medications they take over the long term. Medication records from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017 with total days between initial and final dispensation date ≥330 days and total days of medication supplies ≥180 days were extracted from an electronic database in a Japanese community pharmacy chain. The continuity of refilling medications over 1 year (ie, medication fill adherence) was measured using the medication possession ratio (MPR).

Inhibition of stromal cell-derived factor-1α/CXCR4 signaling restores the blood-retina barrier in pericyte-deficient mouse retinas.

In diabetic retinopathy (DR), pericyte dropout from capillary walls is believed to cause the breakdown of the blood-retina barrier (BRB), which subsequently leads to vision-threatening retinal edema. While various proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines are upregulated in eyes with DR, their distinct contributions to disease progression remain elusive. Here, we evaluated roles of stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) and its receptor CXCR4 in the BRB breakdown initiated by pericyte deficiency.

Sustained inflammation after pericyte depletion induces irreversible blood-retina barrier breakdown.

In the central nervous system, endothelial cells (ECs) and pericytes (PCs) of blood vessel walls cooperatively form a physical and chemical barrier to maintain neural homeostasis. However, in diabetic retinopathy (DR), the loss of PCs from vessel walls is assumed to cause breakdown of the blood-retina barrier (BRB) and subsequent vision-threatening vascular dysfunctions. Nonetheless, the lack of adequate DR animal models has precluded disease understanding and drug discovery.

Assessment of Assistance in Smoking Cessation Therapy by Pharmacies in Collaboration with Medical Institutions- Implementation of a Collaborative Drug Therapy Management Protocol Based on a Written Agreement between Physicians and Pharmacists.

This study built a protocol for drug therapy management (hereinafter "the protocol") that would enable continuous support from the decision making of smoking cessation therapy to the completion of therapy through the collaboration of physicians and community pharmacists, after which we evaluated whether the use of this protocol would be helpful to smoking cessation therapy. This study utilized the "On the Promotion of Team-Based Medical Care", a Notification by the Health Policy Bureau as one of the resources for judgment, and referred to collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) in the United States. After the implementation of this protocol, the success rate of smoking cessation at the participating medical institutions rose to approximately 70%, approximately 28-point improvement compared to the rate before the implementation.

Analysis of spontaneous inquiries about suspected adverse drug reactions posted by the general public on the electronic Japanese bulletin board "Yahoo! Japan Chiebukuro".

Purpose: Spontaneous inquiries about the development of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to medicines can be extracted based on the questions posted by the general public on the electronic Japanese bulletin board "Yahoo! Japan Chiebukuro". Our aim was to clarify the characteristics related to people's descriptions of suspected ADRs and determine the reasons for submitting a spontaneous inquiry.

Methods: Fifty brand names of medicines used for inquiry extraction were chosen by selecting 35 pharmaceutical products, based on the generic names that had the highest sales in Japan.

A prescription survey about combined use of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and anticholinergic medicines in the dementia outpatient using electronic medication history data from community pharmacies.

Purpose: We investigated prescriptions regarding the combined use of donepezil hydrochloride (DPZ) and anticholinergics for elderly outpatients in Japan to determine the impact that combination therapy has on decreasing their cognitive functions.

Methods: Using electronic medication records from 142 community pharmacies, outpatients older than 40 years of age taking DPZ, with or without other prescription medicines, were assessed over 6 years, beginning in 2007. We estimated the number of medicines administered along with DPZ, the number of anticholinergics administered along with DPZ, and the medicines' anticholinergic cognitive burden (ACB) scale cumulative score based on data from the top four pharmacies that filled the highest number of prescriptions for DPZ for outpatients with dementia in 2010.

[Effects of excess nicotinic acid on growth and the urinary excretion of B-group vitamins and the metabolism of tryptophan in weaning rats].

To determine the tolerable upper intake level of nicotinic acid in humans, we investigated the effects of excess nicotinic acid administration on body weight gain, food intake, and urinary excretion of water-soluble vitamins and the metabolism of tryptophan in weaning rats. The weaning rats were freely fed a niacin-free 20% casein diet (control diet) or the same diet with 0.1%, 0.

Enantiomer separation by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with novel hydrophobic phases composed of chiral cationic surfactants.

This paper describes enantiomer separation using four kinds of chiral stationary phases (CSPs) where quaternary ammonium surfactants containing L-valine diamide moieties into long alkyl chains were bound to silicagel supports by reversed phase liquid chromatography. Our aim was to examine hydrogen bonding association of the chiral moiety in hydrophobic phase brought about by aggregation of the micelle-forming surfactants on the surface. The following CSPs were thus derived from the vinyl-terminated chiral surfactants via hydrosilylation: CSP 1 from N-[3-(10-undecenoyl-L-valylamino)propyl]-N,N,N-trimethylammonium bromide, CSP 2 from N-[6-(10-undecenoyl-L-valylamino)hexyl]-N,N,N-trimethyl-ammonium bromide, CSP 3 from N-[3-(10-undecenoyl-L-valylamino)propyl]-N-octadecanyl-N,N-dimethyl-ammonium bromide and CSP 4 from N-[6-(10-undecenoyl-L-valylamino)hexyl]-N-octadecanyl-N,N-dimethylammonium bromide.

Chiral separation with novel (S)-biotin-bonded silica gel for liquid chromatography.

Liquid chromatographic separation of enantiomers was accomplished using a chiral stationary phase (CSP) derived from (S)-biotin on silica gel. In both nonaqueous and aqueous media, this CSP (1) permitted separation of racemic amino acid derivatives based on hydrogen bonding with a urea moiety of the biotin moiety.

Enantiomeric separation using temperature-responsive chiral polymers composed of L-valine diamide derivatives in aqueous liquid chromatography.

This paper describes enantiomer separation by aqueous liquid chromatography using chiral stationary phases (CSPs) in which temperature-responsive polymers derived from acryloyl-L-valine N-methylamide (1) and its N,N-dimethylamide analogue (2) were bound on silica gel supports. The linear polymers composed of monomer 1 and monomer 2 are temperature-responsive in solution and their aggregation and extension states related to water solubility are reversible at particular critical temperatures. During chromatography, enantioselectivity and retentivity for solute enantiomers were controlled by column temperature, which changes the aggregation and extension states of the chiral polymers depending upon their interior hydrophobic nature.

Chiral separation of enantiomeric 1,2-diamines using molecular imprinting method and selectivity enhancement by addition of achiral primary amines into eluents.

The imprinted polymers based on a transient complex formation between methacrylic acid and template molecules were prepared by using methacrylic acid and ethylene dimethacrylate as a cross-linking agent. The template molecules used were (R,R)-cyclohexanediamine (1), (S,S)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine (2) and (S)-1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diamine (3). Another group of templates were those in which the amino group of these templates had been substituted by the hydroxy group: (R,R)-1,2-cyclohexanediol (4) and (S,S)-hydrobenzoin (5).