Association between polypharmacy and the risk of requiring long-term care among community-dwelling older residents: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Polypharmacy has been increasing attention as it is associated with a number of health problems, especially adverse outcomes in older adults. However, there is insufficient evidence regarding the risk of polypharmacy and long-term care.

Methods: We analyzed a community-based retrospective cohort of residents of Goto City by combining data from health checkups, prescription information, and long-term care needs certification database.

Computational modeling of visual salience alteration and its application to eye-movement data.

Computational saliency map models have facilitated quantitative investigations into how bottom-up visual salience influences attention. Two primary approaches to modeling salience computation exist: one focuses on functional approximation, while the other explores neurobiological implementation. The former provides sufficient performance for applying saliency map models to eye-movement data analysis, whereas the latter offers hypotheses on how neuronal abnormalities affect visual salience.

Identification of immune complex antigens that are detected prior to early rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and increase with disease progression: Comprehensive serum immune complexome analysis to identify candidate disease biomarkers in health checkup cohort study.

Although anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide is a biomarker, its contribution to rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis is unknown, and it has not been a therapeutic target to date. As inflammatory pathology is present from an early stage, and increased immune complexes have been suggested to contribute to pathogenesis, we investigated the presence of disease-related antigens that form immune complexes that increase in abundance with disease progression. Using immune complexome analysis, we analyzed immune complex antigen to disease progression for very-early rheumatoid arthritis (n = 52) and early rheumatoid arthritis (n = 19), in comparison with healthy controls (n = 28).

Human development, inequality, and their associations with brain structure across 29 countries.

Background: The macro-social and environmental conditions in which people live, such as the level of a country's development or inequality, are associated with brain-related disorders. However, the relationship between these systemic environmental factors and the brain remains unclear. We aimed to determine the association between the level of development and inequality of a country and the brain structure of healthy adults.

Enhancement of the left frontoparietal network through real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging functional connectivity-informed neurofeedback and its impact on working memory in schizophrenia: A pilot study.

Aim: Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia shows limited improvement with pharmacotherapy, indicating a need for effective treatment. The frontoparietal network supports working memory, and a biomarker has successfully predicted performance in patients, with the left frontoparietal network contributing the most to working memory. We hypothesized that enhancing functional connectivity in this network through real-time neurofeedback (NF) will improve working memory in patients with schizophrenia.

Impact of long COVID on the health-related quality of life of Japanese patients: A prospective nationwide cohort study.

Background: Various prolonged systemic symptoms, forming the long coronavirus disease (COVID), have been observed in patients who have recovered from the acute phase of COVID-19. Although previous studies have reported that COVID-19 impacts health-related quality of life (HRQoL), the associations of long COVID symptoms and clinical characteristics with HRQoL remain unclear. This study aimed to clarify these associations using nationwide Japanese epidemiological data.

Eosinophils and pleural macrophages counter regulate IL-33-elicited airway inflammation via the 12/15-lipoxygenase pathway.

Introduction: Fatty acid metabolism plays a crucial role in regulating airway inflammation through the synthesis of lipid mediators. We have previously demonstrated that a 12/15-lipoxygenase (12/15-LOX or Alox15)-derived mediator attenuates IL-33-induced eosinophilic airway inflammation in mice. However, the cellular sources of these mediators remain unclear.

Demonstration of autonomous fixed-wing drone delivery of prescribed medications in remote islands in Japan.

Background: In rural areas, physicians and dentists often dispense medications without pharmacists. Technology that can safely and promptly deliver medications is required so that pharmacists, even those at a distance, can dispense them in a timely manner.

Methods: We demonstrated a combination of online medication counseling and drone delivery of medications dispensed by pharmacists in two rural clinics located far from pharmacies on remote islands in Japan.

Longitudinal relationship between atherosclerosis and progression of periodontitis in community-dwelling people in Nagasaki Islands Study.

Few epidemiological studies have explored the longitudinal relationship between atherosclerosis and periodontitis. The aim of this study was to investigate the longitudinal relationship between atherosclerosis and the progression of periodontitis in community-dwelling individuals in Japan. Progression of periodontitis was defined as the presence of the teeth demonstrating a longitudinal loss of proximal attachment ≥ 3 mm during the study period.

Celecoxib prevents malignant progression of smoking-induced lung tumors via suppression of the COX-2/PGE signaling pathway in mice.

Introduction: Lung cancer is characterized by a poor prognosis and is a significant comorbidity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Therefore, effective chemopreventive agents are warranted. We evaluated the effects of the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor celecoxib on the prevention of lung-carcinoma development using an intermittent smoking-induced lung-carcinoma mouse model.

Antiviral roles of eosinophils in asthma and respiratory viral infection.

Eosinophils are immune cells that are crucial for the pathogenesis of allergic diseases, such as asthma. These cells play multifunctional roles in various situations, including infection. They are activated during viral infections and exert antiviral activity.

Proposal for a Novel Classification of Patients With Enlarged Ventricles and Cognitive Impairment Based on Data-Driven Analysis of Neuroimaging Results in Patients With Psychiatric Disorders.

One of the challenges in diagnosing psychiatric disorders is that the results of biological and neuroscience research are not reflected in the diagnostic criteria. Thus, data-driven analyses incorporating biological and cross-disease perspectives, regardless of the diagnostic category, have recently been proposed. A data-driven clustering study based on subcortical volumes in 5604 subjects classified into four brain biotypes associated with cognitive/social functioning.

Left posterior superior temporal gyrus and its structural connectivity in schizophrenia.

The left posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) is thought to be involved in the pathophysiology and core symptoms of schizophrenia, although its structural connectivity has not yet been systematically investigated. Here, we aimed to evaluate its white matter (WM) connectivity with Broca's area, the thalamus, and the right pSTG. Eighty-three patients with schizophrenia and 141 healthy controls underwent diffusion-weighted imaging and T1-weighted three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging.

The relationship between long COVID, labor productivity, and socioeconomic losses in Japan: A cohort study.

Objectives: We examined shifts in labor productivity and their economic ramifications among adult patients with long COVID in Japan.

Methods: A total of 396 patients were categorized into three groups based on symptom progression: non-long COVID, long COVID recovered, and long COVID persistent. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed at three time intervals: 3, 6, and 12 months after COVID-19 diagnosis.

Autism-spectrum quotient mediates the relationship between clinical symptoms and quality of life in schizophrenia.

Background: Social dysfunctions can affect the quality of life (QOL) of patients with schizophrenia. The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) is a widely used measure of innate autistic traits. However, in patients with schizophrenia, the score may represent the severity of autism-like social dysfunctions as a consequence of symptoms.

Electroconvulsive therapy-specific volume changes in nuclei of the amygdala and their relationship to long-term anxiety improvement in depression.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most effective treatments for depression. ECT induces volume changes in the amygdala, a key center of anxiety. However, the clinical relevance of ECT-induced changes in amygdala volume remains uncertain.

Impact of smoking on gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids in human and mice: Implications for COPD.

We aimed to elucidate the dynamic changes in short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) produced by the gut microbiota following smoking exposure and their role in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) pathogenesis. SCFA concentrations were measured in human plasma, comparing non-smokers (n = 6) and smokers (n = 12). Using a mouse COPD model induced by cigarette smoke exposure or elastase-induced emphysema, we modulated SCFA levels through dietary interventions and antibiotics to evaluate their effects on inflammation and alveolar destruction.

Effectiveness of benralizumab in the Tokyo Asthma Study (TOAST): A real-world prospective interventional trial.

Background: Biologics are integral in the management of severe asthma. As the effectiveness of the anti-IL-5 receptor antibody benralizumab in Japan remains elusive, this study aimed to assess its real-world effectiveness in Japanese patients with severe asthma.

Methods: This prospective, interventional, single-arm clinical trial was conducted across ten facilities in Japan between September 2020 and July 2022.

Frontal neurodegeneration associated with Frontal Assessment Battery in early Alzheimer's disease.

Background: The Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) is widely used to assess executive dysfunction in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairments due to Alzheimer's disease (aMCI-AD), but its neurobiological meaning is unclear. To elucidate this, we examined the relationship between the FAB score and three key imaging biomarkers: gray matter volume, amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition, and glucose metabolism.

Methods: Twenty Aβ- and tau-positive aMCI-AD patients and age-matched controls underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography with [C]PiB and [F]FDG.