Longitudinal change in hip fracture incidence after starting risedronate or raloxifene: an observational study

This study examined patients' risk profiles and adherence to treatment in relation to the effect of risedronate and raloxifene on hip fracture incidence. Administrative billing data were used to follow two cohorts of women aged 65 and older after starting therapy with either risedronate (n=86,735) or raloxifene (n=37,726). The fracture risk profile was described using a 6-month history period before starting therapy. Effectiveness of each therapy was evaluated by comparing the incidence of hip fractures during the first 3months with the subsequent 12months among women adherent (medication possession ratio >80%) compared with those non-adherent to treatment. At the start of therapy, the raloxifene cohort was younger than the risedronate cohort (median age 73 vs. 76years) and had fewer prior fractures (p<0.01 for both). In the first 3months of therapy, hip fracture incidence was lower in the raloxifene group (0.51 per 100 person-years) compared with the risedronate group (0.94 per 100 person-years). In the subsequent 12months, the incidence of hip fractures decreased among patients adherent to the risedronate regimen [relative risk (RR) 0.70, 95% CI 0.59-0.84, p<0.01] and did not change significantly among patients adherent to the raloxifene regimen (RR 1.02, 95% CI 0.73-1.44). In poorly adherent patients, neither drug decreased hip fracture risk. Risedronate treatment in adherent patients rapidly decreased the risk of hip fractures, whereas raloxifene treatment did no

Treatment for Osteoporosis among Women in Japan: Associations with Patient Characteristics and Patient-Reported Outcomes in the 2008–2011 Japan National Health and Wellness Surveys

This study was conducted to identify characteristics associated with treatment for osteoporosis among women aged 50 years and older in Japan and to explore differences among patients according to treatment regimen. Data were provided by a large annual survey representative of Japanese aged 18 and older; all measures were by self-report. Women aged 50 and older who reported diagnosed osteoporosis (N=900) were compared based on current treatment status using bivariate statistics and logistic regression. Approximately 1 in 3 women in this study reporting diagnosed osteoporosis were currently untreated. Factors associated with current treatment for osteoporosis included having ≥1 physician visit in the prior 6 months (OR = 5.4, P<0.001), self-rated moderate or severe osteoporosis (OR = 2.8, P<0.001), completion of menopause (OR = 1.6, P<0.05), and family history of osteoporosis (OR = 1.5, P<0.05), while longer duration of osteoporosis diagnosis (OR = 0.9, P<0.05) and arthritis (OR = 0.7, P<0.05) were associated with lower odds of treatment. These findings suggest that diagnosed patients are not being actively managed in the longer term, and efforts need to be made to ensure that patients stay engaged with their healthcare providers

Reactivity of the Serum from A-Bomb Survivors with the Tissues of Stomach, Liver and Kidney of Normal Rats

In order to evaluate delayed effects of radiation on pathological immune response an attempt was made to detect antibodies in the serum of atomic bomb survivors against kidney, liver, and parietal cells from rats. The following results were observed. Analysis of changes in antibody detection frequencies by age and exposure dose without considering sex showed that the rates for those exposed to 100 + rad showed a trend to increase with age for all three organs (P<0.01). However, in the 0 rad group, a significant trend to increase with age was noted for anti-kidney and antiliver antibodies only (P<0.01 for both). Analysis of changes in antibody detection frequencies by sex, age, and exposure dose showed that the detection frequencies increased significantly with age for all three organs in males exposed to 100 + rad (P < 0.05), but only the anti-liver antibody frequency increased significantly with age in males in the O rad exposure group. Females failed to shown any statistical changes in any exposure group

Biomarkers of Radiosensitivity in A-Bomb Survivors Pregnant at the Time of Bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Purpose. There is evidence in the literature of increased maternal radiosensitivity during pregnancy. Materials and Methods. We tested this hypothesis using information from the atomic-bomb survivor cohort, that is, the Adult Health Study database at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, which contains data from a cohort of women who were pregnant at the time of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Previous evaluation has demonstrated long-term radiation dose-response effects. Results/Conclusions. Data on approximately 250 women were available to assess dose-response rates for serum cholesterol, white blood cell count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and serum hemoglobin, and on approximately 85 women for stable chromosome aberrations, glycophorin A locus mutations, and naïve CD4 T-cell counts. Although there is no statistically significant evidence of increased radiosensitivity in pregnant women, the increased slope of the linear trend line in the third trimester with respect to stable chromosome aberrations is suggestive of an increased radiosensitivity

Lymphocyte subset characterization associated with persistent hepatitis C virus infection and subsequent progression of liver fibrosis

This study aims to deepen understanding of lymphocyte phenotypes related to the course of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and progression of liver fibrosis, in a cohort of atomic-bomb survivors. The study subjects comprise three groups: 162 HCV persistently infected, 145 spontaneously cleared, and 3511 uninfected individuals. We found increased percentages of peripheral blood TH1 and total CD8 T cells and decreased percentages of NK cells in the HCV persistence group, compared with the other two groups, after adjustment for age, gender, and radiation exposure dose. Subsequently, we found that increased TH1 cell percentages in the HCV persistence group were significantly associated with an accelerated time-course reduction in platelet counts―accelerated progression of liver fibrosis―while TC1 and NK cell percentages were inversely associated with the progression. This study suggests that TH1 immunity is enhanced by persistent HCV infection, and that percentages of peripheral TH1, TC1, and NK cells may help predict progression of liver fibrosis.This research was based on RERF Research Protocols 3-09, 4-02, 2-00, 9-92, and was supported in part by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID Contract HHSN272200900059C)

The current hybridization between the endemic Morus boninensis Koidz. and the invasive Morus australis Poir. in the Ogasawara Islands

Impacts of invasive alien plant species on its closely related endemic ones in oceanic islands are often problematic because hybridization may occur between them. This study focused on endemic Morus boninensis (tetraploid of 2n=56) and its related invasive species M. australis (diploid of 2n=28) in the Ogasawara Islands. Aim of this study is to estimate proportion of the hybrids between the two species in wild seedling of native habitats of M. boninensis and to evaluate the current genetic diversity of M. boninensis. Observations and collections of plant samples were conducted in two wild seedling populations, two mature tree populations of M. boninensis and 12 populations of M. australis in the Ogasawara Islands. The 14 microsatellite markers were used for population genetic analyses. Based on the results of UPGMA analysis, the Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA), and the Bayesian Clustering, clear genetic differentiation was detected between the two species in the Ogasawara Islands. Gene flows between them unlikely or rarely occur maybe due to the difference in ploidy level. Hybrids were not found in the seedling populations, either. Limited effects of M. australis to the endangered M. boninensis through hybridization were detected in this study. It was also shown that M. boninensis still maintains high genetic diversity (HE = 0.53; AR = 3.27) despite that it is endangered species. It may be able to survive if the number of the individuals of the endangered species could be increased.侵略的外来種が近縁な自生種に与える悪影響は、それらの間での交雑が起きる可能性があるため、特に固有種が多い海洋島で深刻である。本研究では、小笠原諸島の固有種であるオガサワラグワ（Morus boninensis, 4 倍体）と、それに近縁な侵略的外来種のシマグワ（M. australis,２倍体）に焦点を当てた。この研究の目的は、オガサワラグワの自生地の実生集団におけるシマグワとの雑種の割合を推定すること、ならびにオガサワラグワの種内の遺伝的多様性を評価することである。本研究では、小笠原諸島におけるクワ属植物の2 つの野生実生集団、オガサワラグワの2 つの成熟個体集団、および12 のシマグワの成熟個体集団で観察と植物サンプルの採集を行い、14 個のマイクロサテライト・マーカーを用いて集団遺伝学的解析を行った。UPGMA 解析、主座標分析（PCoA）、およびベイズ・クラスタリング解析の結果、小笠原諸島産のこれら2 種の間で明確な遺伝的分化が認められた。そして、おそらく倍数性レベルの違いによって、２種間の遺伝子流動はほとんど起きてはいなかった。雑種は、実生集団でも全くみられなかった。シマグワの交雑を通じての固有種オガサワラグワへの悪影響は、このように限定的であることが分かった。さらにオガサワラグワは、絶滅危惧種であるにもかかわらず、種内に高い遺伝的多様性（He = 0.53; AR = 3.27）を維持していることも明らかになった。オガサワラグワの個体数を増やすことができれば、この種を絶滅から救える可能性がある。departmental bulletin pape