地方自治体における働き方改革とアカウンタビリティ : 人事委員会の役割と権限強化

平成28年秋頃から、官民問わず「働き方改革」の実現が注目されている。従前から長時間労働を規制するルールは存在していたが、抜本的には是正されていない。働き方改革が進まない背景には、人事行政における統制機能、すなわちアカウンタビリティ機能の脆弱さが存在する。この役割を与えられているのは人事委員会である。「働き方改革」の実現のためには、人事委員会の役割を再認識するとともに、権限を強化することが必要である。論説(Article

Modeling Parkinson’s Disease and Atypical Parkinsonian Syndromes Using Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Parkinson’s disease (PD) and atypical parkinsonian syndromes are age-dependent multifactorial neurodegenerative diseases, which are clinically characterized by bradykinesia, tremor, muscle rigidity and postural instability. Although these diseases share several common clinical phenotypes, their pathophysiological aspects vary among the disease categories. Extensive animal-based approaches, as well as postmortem studies, have provided important insights into the disease mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets. However, the exact pathological mechanisms triggering such diseases still remain elusive. Furthermore, the effects of drugs observed in animal models are not always reproduced in human clinical trials. By using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology, it has become possible to establish patient-specific iPSCs from their somatic cells and to effectively differentiate these iPSCs into different types of neurons, reproducing some key aspects of the disease phenotypes in vitro. In this review, we summarize recent findings from iPSC-based modeling of PD and several atypical parkinsonian syndromes including multiple system atrophy, frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 and Perry syndrome. Furthermore, we discuss future challenges and prospects for modeling and understanding PD and atypical parkinsonian syndromes