Effect of Vericiguat on Left Ventricular Reverse Remodeling in Patients Who Have Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction - Special Focus on Patients Without Quadruple Medical Therapy.

Background: A novel cardioprotective drug, vericiguat, reduces the risk of cardiovascular mortality for patients already on guideline-directed medical therapy. However, the effect of vericiguat on left ventricular (LV) reverse remodeling in patients with reduced LV ejection fraction (LVEF) with or without guideline-directed medical therapy, known as quadruple medical therapy, remains undetermined.

Methods And Results: This study comprised 73 heart failure (HF) patients with reduced LVEF (<45%) from 5 institutions in Japan.

Synergistic effect of cyclodextrins and electrolytes at high concentrations on protein aggregation inhibition.

The stabilization of protein therapeutics against aggregation is crucial for maintaining their efficacy and safety. This study investigated the synergistic effects of cyclodextrins (CDs) and electrolytes at high concentrations on the stabilization of immunoglobulin G (IgG), insulin, and adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors. The effects of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) combined with various electrolytes were evaluated using human plasma-derived IgG as a model protein.

Prediction models incorporating second metacarpal cortical index for osteoporosis in rheumatoid arthritis: Externally validated machine learning models developed using data from the KURAMA cohort.

Objective: Osteoporosis and osteopenia are significant concerns in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), predisposing patients to fragility fractures. While dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the gold standard for bone mineral density (BMD) assessment, simpler screening tools are needed. This study aims to assess the correlation between the second metacarpal cortical index (2MCI) and BMD in RA patients, and to evaluate machine learning (ML) models utilizing 2MCI and clinical parameters for predicting osteoporosis/osteopenia presence and BMD.

Ruxolitinib for steroid-refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease: Japanese subgroup analysis of REACH3 study.

Ruxolitinib, a Janus kinase (JAK1-JAK2) inhibitor, has demonstrated safety and efficacy in patients with graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). This phase 3 randomized trial (REACH3) evaluated the efficacy and the safety of ruxolitinib 10 mg twice daily compared with investigator-selected best available therapy (BAT) in a subgroup of Japanese patients (n = 37) with steroid-refractory or dependent (SR/D) chronic GvHD. At data cut-off, treatment was ongoing in 17 patients and discontinued in 20.

Serum TNFα and IL-17A levels may predict increased depressive symptoms: findings from the Shika Study cohort project in Japan.

Background: Low-grade systemic inflammation may be a key player in the immune activation that has been reported for mental health deterioration. We hypothesised that elevated serum levels of inflammatory cytokines increase neuroinflammation and exacerbate depressive symptoms.

Methods: The participants were part of a cohort study for whom data was available for both 2015 and 2019.

Anti-interferon gamma-inducible protein 16 antibodies: Identification of a novel autoantigen in idiopathic interstitial pneumonia and its clinical characteristics based on a multicenter cohort study.

Autoantibodies are detected in idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) without a clear connective tissue disease diagnosis, and their clinical significance is unclear. This study aimed to identify a novel autoantibody in IIPs. We screened 295 IIP patients using a S-methionine labeled protein immunoprecipitation assay.

Alkoxy Exchange Strategy for the Synthesis of ,-Dimethylated (Alkoxy)triazinediones as Solid Reagents for Acid-Catalyzed -Alkylation.

,-Dimethylated (alkoxy)triazinediones (DMATs-R) with eight different -alkyl groups (R), such as benzyl, allyl, and -butyl groups, were synthesized in 61-94% yield through the alkoxy exchange reaction of DMAT-Me with the corresponding alcohol. Molecular sieves were added to the reaction mixture to shift the alkoxy exchange equilibrium toward the product via the absorptive removal of the methanol formed . All the DMATs-R were obtained as stable solids, in contrast to previously reported ,-diallyl analogs that included oil compounds.

Insulin-inspired hippocampal neuron-targeting technology for protein drug delivery.

Hippocampal neurons can be the first to be impaired with neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Most drug candidates for causal therapy of AD cannot either enter the brain or accumulate around hippocampal neurons. Here, we genetically engineered insulin-fusion proteins, called hippocampal neuron-targeting (Ht) proteins, for targeting protein drugs to hippocampal neurons because insulin tends to accumulate in the neuronal cell layers of the hippocampus.

Effect of acute kidney injury and overall survival in patients with postoperative head and neck cancer who received chemoradiotherapy with cisplatin: A supplementary analysis of the phase II/III trial of JCOG1008.

Background: In a randomized phase II/III trial (JCOG1008), weekly cisplatin (40 mg/m) was non-inferior to 3-weekly cisplatin (100 mg/m) for postoperative high-risk head and neck cancer. We investigated how acute kidney injury (AKI), a major dose-limiting toxicity effect of cisplatin, affects overall survival (OS).

Methods: We analyzed 251 patients from JCOG1008 receiving chemoradiotherapy.

Erectile Function and Sexual Activity Are Declining in the Younger Generation: Results from a National Survey in Japan.

Purpose: Twenty five years have passed since the first national survey on erectile dysfunction (ED) in Japan. The Japanese Society for Sexual Medicine conducted a nationwide survey on the actual status of sexual function targeting men over 20 years old in Japan using validated questionnaires commonly used in clinical practice.

Materials And Methods: Japanese men aged 20 to 79 years participated in our online epidemiological study on sexual dysfunction.

Association between renal function and fracture incidence during treatment with teriparatide or alendronate: an exploratory subgroup analysis of the Japanese Osteoporosis Intervention Trial-05.

Unlabelled: The association of renal function with fracture incidence during teriparatide or alendronate treatment in elderly Japanese women was examined. Fracture incidence differed by fracture type, renal function, and treatment protocol. The results provide important information on pharmacotherapy in clinical practice for osteoporosis.

Facilitating cholangiocarcinoma inhibition by targeting CD47.

Immune evasion is one of the mechanisms by which cancer cells acquire immunity during cancer development and progression. One of these is the increased expression of cluster of differentiation 47 (CD47), a transmembrane glycoprotein that protects cells from phagocytic elimination. The interaction between CD47 and signal regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα) on macrophages alleviates the phagocytic signal.

Clinical Utility of Synthesized 18-Lead Electrocardiography.

Eighteen-lead electrocardiography (18-ECG) includes, in addition to those in standard 12-lead ECG (12-ECG), six additional chest leads: V7-V9 and V3RV5R. Leads V7-V9 require the patient to be in a lateral decubitus position for the electrodes to be attached to the back. Synthesized 18-ECG (syn18-ECG) is a method that only records 12-ECG and uses computational logic to record the posterior wall (V7-V9) and right-sided (V3R-V5R) leads.

Practical Osmotic Agent for High-Degree Pharmaceutical Pre-Concentration by Organic Solvent Forward Osmosis.

Pre-concentration can reduce the total production costs in the pharmaceutical industry. Organic solvent forward osmosis (OSFO) is a suitable pre-concentration method because of its nonthermal nature, low capital cost, and potential for achieving high-degree concentrations. In a previous study, we first demonstrated a high-degree OSFO concentration.