Research on blood donation and supply of red blood cell products to medical institutions under the spread of COVID-19 disease in Japan.

Due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus infectious disease (COVID-19), blood donation events had to be cancelled, and there were concerns about a decrease in the number of blood donors from late February 2020 in Japan. The purpose of this study is to investigate the numbers of whole blood donation, manufacture and inventory adjustment of red blood cell (RBC) products at the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS), and to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on the donation of blood and the supply of RBC products to medical institutions for transfusion medicine in Japan. We focused on RBC products, which are the most frequently used blood products and are easily reflected under the spread of COVID-19.

Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 Regulates Dendritic Spine Formation and Maintenance of Cortical Neuron in the Mouse Brain.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) activity is dependent on its association with 1 of 2 neuron-specific activators, p35 or p39. Cdk5 and its activators play an important role in brain development as well as higher functions like synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory. Reduction in p35 was reported in postmortem schizophrenia brain, in which reduced dendritic spine density was observed.