Changing Models for Commercialization and Implementation of Biocontrol in the Developing and the Developed World

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a non-invasive, selective, and cost-effective cancer therapy. The development of readily accessible templates that allow rapid structural modification for further improvement of PDT remains important. We previously reported thiophene-based organic D-π-A sensitizers consisted of an electron-donating (D) moiety, a π-conjugated bridge (π) moiety, and an electron-accepting (A) moiety as valuable templates for a photosensitizer that can be used in PDT. Our preliminary structure-activity relationship study revealed that the structure of the A moiety significantly influences its phototoxicity. In this study, we evaluated the photoabsorptive, cellular uptake, and photo-oxidizing abilities of D-π-A sensitizers that contained different A moieties. The level of phototoxicity of the D-π-A sensitizers was rationalized by considering those three abilities. In addition, we observed the ability of amphiphilic sensitizers containing either a carboxylic acid or an amide in an A moiety to form aggregates that penetrate cells mainly via endocytosis

Correlative study of hippocampal atrophy assessed by MRI and clinical features in temporal lobe epilepsy.

側頭葉てんかん患者39例の海馬萎縮をMRIを用いて評価し,臨床像との関連を検討した｡MRIの冠状断short SE像で海馬の幅を計測し,萎縮側海馬の村側海馬に対する比(a)を求め,海馬萎縮(+)群;a<0.8,11例,境界群;0.8≦a<0.9,13例,海馬萎縮(-)群;a≧0.9,15例の3群に分けた｡海馬萎縮(+)群で罹病期間が長い傾向があった｡また,発作間歇期脳波の焦点側は海馬委縮(+)群の11例中9例で萎縮側と一致した。しかし,発病年齢,MRI撮影時年齢,発作頻度,全般化発作の有無,抗てんかん薬総服用量,知能障害,精神症状,生下時仮死の有無については3群間で差が認められなかった｡この結果から,側頭葉てんかんにおける海馬萎縮は,生下時や全身けいれん発作時の低酸素状態によるものではなく,脳局所の反復するてんかん性発射と関連する可能性が示唆され,海馬萎縮の機序を考えるうえで興味深く思われた。We studied hippocampal atrophy in 39 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy using MRI. The ratio (a) of the width of the hippocampus on the atrophic side to that on the contralateral side was measured in coronal sections of the short SE in MRI. According to this ratio, the patients were divided into three groups : 11 with hippocampal atrophy (a<0.8), 13 with borderline atrophy (0.8≦a≦0.9), and 15 with no hippocampal atrophy (a≧0.8). In the patients of the group with hippocampal atrophy, the clinical history of epilepsy tended to be long, and the site of hippocampal atrophy was consistent with that of interictal spike foci on the electroencephalogram in 9 out of 11 patients. However, there was no difference between the three groups, with regard to age at onset, age when MRI was conducted, frequency of seizures, generalized seizures, the types and doses of antiepileptic drugs used, history of neonatal asphyxia, intelligence and epilpetic psychosis. These results suggest that hippocampal atrophy in temporal lobe epilepsy may be related to repetition of epileptic dischargges in a localized part of the brain

Genetic Polymorphisms of IL-17F and TRAF3IP2 Could Be Predictive Factors of the Long-Term Effect of Infliximab against Crohn’s Disease

Background. We aimed to identify certain genes related to response to infliximab (IFX) and biomarkers to predict the IFX effect for Japanese Crohn\u27s disease (CD) patients by performing an association study of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in candidate genes in the interleukin-(IL-) 17 signaling pathway with response to IFX after 1 year of treatment. Methods. A total of 103 patients were divided into two groups, responders and nonresponders. Twenty-eight tag SNPs in 5 genes were genotyped. The frequencies of alleles and genotypes of each SNP were compared between responders and nonresponders in three different inheritance models. A genetic test was performed using a combination of the associated SNPs as biomarkers. Results. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the four variable factors, concomitant use of immunomodulators, penetrating disease, a G/G genotype of rs766748 in IL-17F, and a C/C or C/A genotype of rs1883136 in TRAF3IP2, independently contributed to response to IFX after 1 year of treatment. Genetic test using the polymorphisms of these genes perfectly predicted the responder and nonresponder CD patients with both concomitant use of immunomodulators and penetrating disease. Conclusion. IL17F and TRAF3IP2 are one of IFX-related genes, useful as biomarkers of IFX response, and may be target molecules for new therapeutic drugs