Healthcare resource utilisation and economic burden of patients with adequate and inadequate responses to biological and targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs for rheumatoid arthritis in Japan.

Objective: To compare healthcare resource utilisation (HCRU) and direct costs between responders versus non-responders to advanced therapies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Patients initiating ≥1 advanced therapy (October 2018 - September 2019) with ≥1 RA claim (6-month pre-index period), ≥2 RA claims (any period), and ≥12 months follow-up were identified from the Medical Data Vision claims database. HCRU and all-cause and RA-related costs [direct medical, emergency department (ED), laboratory, and pharmacy] were compared between responders and non-responders.

Effect of the third dose of BNT162b2 COVID-19 mRNA vaccine on anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels in healthcare workers.

Purpose: Administration of three doses of Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was completed in Japan in the spring of 2022. This study aimed to evaluate the antibody responses, and kinetics of three doses of vaccine in healthcare workers (HCWs).

Patients And Methods: We conducted a longitudinal cohort study with HCWs, who had no history of COVID-19 or serologic evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, from a single hospital.

Number needed to treat and cost per responder of Janus kinase inhibitors approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis in Japan.

Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of baricitinib, tofacitinib, and upadacitinib regimens, compared to conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (csDMARD) alone, among Japanese patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) inadequately responsive to csDMARD, measured in terms of number needed to treat (NNT) and cost per responder (CPR).

Methods: Efficacy data were derived from two recent network meta-analyses among global and Japanese population. The cost perspective was that of the Japanese Health Service.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Etanercept 25 mg Maintenance Therapy After Treatment With Etanercept 50 mg for Moderate Rheumatoid Arthritis in the PRESERVE Trial in Japan.

Objectives: To use Markov modeling to estimate the cost-effectiveness of treatment with etanercept 25 mg once weekly plus methotrexate (MTX) in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had achieved remission or low disease activity with etanercept 50 mg once weekly plus MTX.

Methods: Effectiveness data were estimated based on results from a clinical trial (PRESERVE) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had achieved remission or low disease activity and who were then randomized to receive etanercept 25 mg plus MTX or placebo plus MTX. A Markov model was established and included flare rates of 21% and 62% in the etanercept 25 mg and placebo groups, respectively.

Evaluating the burden of pruritus due to atopic dermatitis in Japan by patient-reported outcomes.

Aims: Although pruritus is a hallmark feature of atopic dermatitis, no study has investigated the associated impact of pruritus, due to atopic dermatitis in Japan. The study aimed to evaluate the real-life burden of atopic dermatitis by pruritus severity in adult Japanese patients. The primary objective was to assess the correlation between pruritus severity and work productivity and activity impairment.

An economic evaluation of risankizumab versus other biologic treatments of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in Japan.

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of risankizumab versus other biologic treatments (adalimumab, infliximab, ustekinumab, secukinumab, brodalumab, ixekizumab, and guselkumab) of moderate-to-severe psoriasis in Japan.

Methods: A Markov cohort-level model was constructed to estimate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and costs for each treatment over a lifetime horizon. The model simulated patients' transition through one line of active biologic therapy followed by best supportive care and death.

A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir Versus Existing Direct-Acting Antivirals to Treat Chronic Hepatitis C in Japan.

Introduction: The objective of the study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir versus other direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for treating chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in Japan.

Methods: We developed a health state transition model to capture the natural history of HCV. A cost-effectiveness analysis of DAAs from the perspective of a public healthcare payer in Japan with a lifetime horizon over annual cycles was performed.

Patient preference for biologic treatments of psoriasis in Japan.

Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting skin which may also manifest in nails and joints. Several biologic treatments have been approved in Japan for psoriasis. Each biologic has a different profile for efficacy and safety, including different dosing regimens and co-payment considerations which may complicate treatment decisions made by patients and physicians during short consultations.

Effects of chronic γ-irradiation on growth and sexual maturation of the Tohoku hynobiid salamander, Hynobius lichenatus.

There are still considerable gaps in knowledge regarding the biological effects of chronic ionising radiation exposure in amphibians. To fill these gaps, Tohoku hynobiid salamanders, Hynobius lichenatus (Amphibia, Caudata), were chronically irradiated with Cs γ-rays from embryonic to adult stages over 1954 days, and the effects on their growth and sexual maturation were examined under laboratory conditions. Irradiation at a dose rate of 33 μGy h had some stimulatory effects on growth (body weight increase) of H.

Corrigendum: Tofacitinib induction and maintenance therapy in East Asian patients with active ulcerative colitis: subgroup analyses from three phase 3 multinational studies.

[This corrects the article on p. 233 in vol. 16, PMID: 29743836.

Tofacitinib induction and maintenance therapy in East Asian patients with active ulcerative colitis: subgroup analyses from three phase 3 multinational studies.

Background/aims: Tofacitinib is an oral, small-molecule Janus kinase inhibitor being investigated for ulcerative colitis (UC). In OCTAVE Induction 1 and 2, patients with moderately to severely active UC received placebo or tofacitinib 10 mg twice daily (BID) for 8 weeks. Clinical responders in OCTAVE Induction were re-randomized to 52 weeks' therapy with placebo, tofacitinib 5 mg BID, or tofacitinib 10 mg BID.

Rebamipide protects against glaucoma eyedrop-induced ocular surface disorders in rabbits.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine if rebamipide eyedrops can improve ocular surface damage caused by the use of glaucoma eyedrops.

Methods: Female Kbl:Dutch rabbits were used to evaluate glaucoma eyedrop-induced ocular surface damage; one eye of each rabbit was untreated and the other was administered glaucoma eyedrops for 30 days. To evaluate the effects of rebamipide on ocular surface damage, one eye of each rabbit was administered vehicle-treated glaucoma eyedrops and the other was administered rebamipide-treated glaucoma eyedrops for 30 days.

Assessment of Instructions on Protection Against Food Contaminated with Radiocesium in Japan in 2011.

The Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has published instructions for radiological protection against food after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in 2011. Following the instructions, the export and consumption of food items identified as being contaminated were restricted for a certain period. We assessed the validity of the imposed restriction periods for two representative vegetables (spinach and cabbage) grown in Fukushima Prefecture from two perspectives: effectiveness for reducing dietary dose and economic efficiency.

Tofacitinib for the treatment of moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis in Japanese patients: Subgroup analyses from a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial.

Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor. These post-hoc analyses assessed tofacitinib efficacy and safety in Japanese patients with psoriasis enrolled in a 52-week global phase 3 study. Patients received tofacitinib 5 mg, tofacitinib 10 mg or placebo twice daily (b.

Chromosomal Aberrations in Large Japanese Field Mice (Apodemus speciosus) Captured near Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Since the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, radiation effects on nonhuman biota in the contaminated areas have been a major concern. Here, we analyzed the frequencies of chromosomal aberrations (translocations and dicentrics) in the splenic lymphocytes of large Japanese field mice (Apodemus speciosus) inhabiting Fukushima Prefecture. A.

Radiocaesium contamination and dose rate estimation of terrestrial and freshwater wildlife in the exclusion zone of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.

To characterise the radioactive contamination of terrestrial and freshwater wildlife caused by the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, biological samples, namely, fungi, mosses, plants, amphibians, reptiles, insects, molluscs, and earthworms, were collected mainly from the forests of the exclusion zone in the Fukushima Prefecture from 2011 to 2012. Caesium-134 and Cs were detected by gamma spectrometry in almost all the samples. Fungi, ferns, and mosses accumulated high amounts of radiocaesium, as they did in Chernobyl, with Cs + Cs activity concentrations of 10-10 Bq kg fresh mass (FM).

Biological measures to minimize the risk of radiotherapy-associated second cancer: A research perspective.

Purpose Second cancers are among the most serious sequelae for cancer survivors who receive radiotherapy. This article aims to review current knowledge regarding how the risk of radiotherapy-associated second cancer can be minimized by biological measures and to discuss relevant research needs. Results The risk of second cancer can be reduced not only by physical measures to decrease the radiation dose to normal tissues but also by biological means that interfere with the critical determinants of radiation-induced carcinogenesis.

The association between osteoporosis and patient outcomes in Japan.

Objective To quantify the burden of osteoporosis and examine the interplay between osteoporosis and various comorbidities as it relates to patient outcomes. Methods Data from the 2011 Japan National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS; n = 30 000), an internet health survey fielded to a nationally representative sample of the Japanese population were used. Only women between the ages of 50-90 years were included in the analyses (n = 6950).

Morphological defects in native Japanese fir trees around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

After the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (F1NPP) in March 2011, much attention has been paid to the biological consequences of the released radionuclides into the surrounding area. We investigated the morphological changes in Japanese fir, a Japanese endemic native conifer, at locations near the F1NPP. Japanese fir populations near the F1NPP showed a significantly increased number of morphological defects, involving deletions of leader shoots of the main axis, compared to a control population far from the F1NPP.

Chromosomal Aberrations in Wild Mice Captured in Areas Differentially Contaminated by the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident.

Following the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, radiation effects on nonhuman biota in the contaminated areas have been a great concern. The induction of chromosomal aberrations in splenic lymphocytes of small Japanese field mice (Apodemus argenteus) and house mice (Mus musculus) inhabiting Fukushima Prefecture was investigated. In mice inhabiting the slightly contaminated area, the average frequency of dicentric chromosomes was similar to that seen in mice inhabiting a noncontaminated control area.

Dose rate estimation of the Tohoku hynobiid salamander, Hynobius lichenatus, in Fukushima.

The radiological risks to the Tohoku hynobiid salamanders (class Amphibia), Hynobius lichenatus due to the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident were assessed in Fukushima Prefecture, including evacuation areas. Aquatic egg clutches (n = 1 for each sampling date and site; n = 4 in total), overwintering larvae (n = 1-5 for each sampling date and site; n = 17 in total), and terrestrial juveniles or adults (n = 1 or 3 for each sampling date and site; n = 12 in total) of H. lichenatus were collected from the end of April 2011 to April 2013.

Estimation of absorbed radiation dose rates in wild rodents inhabiting a site severely contaminated by the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident.

The dose rates of radiation absorbed by wild rodents inhabiting a site severely contaminated by the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident were estimated. The large Japanese field mouse (Apodemus speciosus), also called the wood mouse, was the major rodent species captured in the sampling area, although other species of rodents, such as small field mice (Apodemus argenteus) and Japanese grass voles (Microtus montebelli), were also collected. The external exposure of rodents calculated from the activity concentrations of radiocesium ((134)Cs and (137)Cs) in litter and soil samples using the ERICA (Environmental Risk from Ionizing Contaminants: Assessment and Management) tool under the assumption that radionuclides existed as the infinite plane isotropic source was almost the same as those measured directly with glass dosimeters embedded in rodent abdomens.