Sirt1 expression is associated with CD31 expression in blood cells from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background: Cigarette smoke induced oxidative stress has been shown to reduce silent information regulator 1 (Sirt1) levels in lung tissue from smokers and patients with COPD patients. Sirt1 is known to inhibit endothelial senescence and may play a protective role in vascular cells. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are mobilized into circulation under various pathophysiological conditions, and are thought to play an important role in tissue repair in chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD). Therefore, Sirt1 and EPC-associated mRNAs were measured in blood samples from patients with COPD and from cultured CD34+ progenitor cells to examine whether these genes are associated with COPD development. Methods: This study included 358 patients with a smoking history of more than 10 pack-years. RNA was extracted from blood samples and from CD34+ progenitor cells treated with cigarette smoke extract (CSE), followed by assessment of CD31, CD34, Sirt1 mRNA, miR-34a, and miR-126-3p expression by real-time RT-PCR. Results: The expression of CD31, CD34, Sirt1 mRNAs, and miR-126-3p decreased and that of miR-34a increased in moderate COPD compared with that in control smokers. However, no significant differences in these genes were observed in blood cells from patients with severe COPD compared with those in control smokers. CSE significantly decreased Sirt1 and increased miR-34a expression in cultured progenitor cells. Conclusion: Sirt1 expression in blood cells from patients with COPD could be a biomarker for disease stability in patients with moderate COPD. MiR-34a may participate in apoptosis and/or senescence of EPCs in smokers. Decreased expression of CD31, CD34, and miR-126-3p potentially represents decreased numbers of EPCs in blood cell from patients with COPD

Factors Influencing Medicine Use Behavior in Adolescents in Japan Using a Bayesian Network Analysis

Background: Medicine education in Japan was introduced to junior high schools in 2012. However, the effectiveness of existing education programs is limited. In order to develop more effective programs for high school students, the present study investigated the variables that directly influence medicine use behavior and the magnitude of their influence, using a Bayesian network analysis.Methods: A national cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2017. Eighty-three public high schools across Japan were randomly selected, and questionnaires were administered to 15–16 years old 10th grade students. The number of valid responses was 17,437 (effective response rate was 98.46%). Responses were analyzed to measure students’ behavior toward, attitudes regarding, and knowledge of medicines, and awareness of their prior medicine education.Results: Students’ “attitude score” and “awareness of a class” directly influenced their “behavior score.” The “score on attitude,” which had a large influence on “score on behavior,” was directly influenced by “score on knowledge of proper use” and “awareness of class.”Conclusion: The present study argues that acquiring knowledge of appropriate medicine use leads to the acquisition of favorable attitudes, which may result in behavioral change. Therefore, for medicine education, it is expected that incorporating content related to knowledge acquisition for changing attitudes will be important for promoting behavioral change

Effectiveness of distributing pocket cards in improving the behavior, attitude, and knowledge regarding proper medication use among junior high school students in Japan

ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the effectiveness of distributing pocket cards with summaries of key information on appropriate medication usage after the implementation of a structured school-based medication education program for junior high school students in Japan.MethodsA total of 227 3rd-grade high school students participated in the intervention. Students who received the program without the provision of pocket cards in 2022 were included in the comparison group, and students who took the program with the provision of pocket cards in 2023 were included in the intervention group. After propensity score matching, the final sample of N = 116 comprised n = 58 comparison group participants and n = 58 intervention group participants. Questionnaires were administered at baseline, end-of-class, and 3-month follow-up to assess the changes in behavior, attitude, and knowledge scores.ResultsThe matched intervention group showed significantly lower scores at the 3-month follow-up than the matched comparison group. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis showed that for both groups, only the attitude scores were significantly correlated with the behavior scores. In addition, regardless of the baseline scores, the matched intervention group demonstrated smaller or negative changes in scores at the 3-month follow-up.ConclusionOverall, the results of this study did not support the effectiveness of distributing pocket cards after in-class intervention. However, the usefulness of medication education intervention was confirmed. These results emphasize the need to explore other supplemental teaching tools to further enhance the impact of structured medication education programs