Improved Formula for Predicting Hemodialyzability of Intravenous and Oral Drugs.

Background: The rate of drug removal by hemodialysis needs to be considered when designing drug dosage regimens for patients on hemodialysis. We previously developed a simplified equation to predict the removal rates of intravenously administered drugs by hemodialysis. Here, we addressed shortcomings of this equation and developed a more accurate equation that can also predict the removal rates of orally administered drugs.

Investigation of methods for more accurate estimation of kidney function in people with high muscle mass .

Serum creatinine (SCr) levels depend on muscle mass and are therefore elevated in people with high muscle mass, potentially leading to underestimation of kidney function in this population. Although recent therapeutic guidelines have shown measurement of serum cystatin C (ScysC) to be useful, this method has not been validated in people with high muscle mass. We conducted this study to investigate methods for more accurately estimating kidney function in people with high muscle mass.

Coefficient of Determination between Estimated and Measured Renal Function in Japanese Patients with Sarcopenia May Be Improved by Adjusting for Muscle Mass and Sex: A Prospective Study.

Creatinine (Cr) levels are strongly affected by muscle mass, and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), a measure based on serum creatinine (SCr), is often overestimated in patients with sarcopenia. To evaluate the coefficient of determination (R) between eGFR and the actual measured value, we performed a linear regression analysis of a modified GFR (mGFR: measured Cr clearance × 0.715) and various renal function estimates adjusted for muscle mass in 19 patients with sarcopenia.

Selection-by-function: efficient enrichment of cathepsin E inhibitors from a DNA library.

A method for efficient enrichment of protease inhibitors out of a DNA library was developed by introducing SF-link technology. A two-step selection strategy was designed consisting of the initial enrichment of aptamers based on binding function while the second enrichment step was based on the inhibitory activity to a protease, cathepsin E (CE). The latter was constructed by covalently linking of a biotinylated peptide substrate to each of the ssDNA molecule contained in the preliminarily selected DNA library, generating 'SF-link'.