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Background: In Japan, there is a pressing need to improve community health care to cope with the rapid aging of the population. In this context, there have been private-sector-led approaches to enhance community dietary support by employing dietitians in pharmacies. Objectives: To evaluate the effects of collaboration between dietitians and pharmacists working in pharmacies to support patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: A single group pre- and post-comparative study was conducted on patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The intervention period was 6 months. During the intervention period, the dietitians provided dietary support to the patients after first providing them with medication guidance. The contents of these instructions were shared with the pharmacists. The contents of the instructions were recorded, and confirmed in monthly meetings with the principal investigator. The primary endpoint was the Hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c) level, and the secondary endpoints were high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c), Triglyceride (TG), degree of dietary self-management, degree of unbalanced diet and satisfaction with pharmacy services. Results: Eight patients completed the intervention period. The first patient’s intervention started in March 2021, and all patients’ interventions were completed by December 2021. The primary endpoint, the mean (SD) HbA1c, was 7.26 (0.96) at baseline and decreased to 6.63 (0.79) after 6 months (p=0.028, r=0.72). Also, the HDL-c increased from 55.00 (14.81) to 63.14 (10.11) (p=0.110, r=0.51) and the Diabetes Mellitus Dietary Self Efficacy Scale score increased from 51.67 (8.31) to 60.17 (8.45) (p=0.025, r=0.79) and the patient satisfaction score increased 24.0 (4.0) to 26.1 (3.3) (p=0.161, r=0.51). Moderate decreases were also observed in LDL-c (p=0.235, r=0.47) and TG (p=0.368, r=0.37). Conclusions: Collaboration between dietitians and pharmacists working in pharmacies may improve the dietar

Background: In Japan, there has been a private-sector initiative to register dietitians in pharmacies. There is not yet an adequate amount of data on the attitudes of dietitians in pharmacies regarding their work. Objectives: To assess the attitudes of pharmacists and dietitians working in community pharmacies in Japan about their work, and particularly about demonstrating expertise and overall job satisfaction. Methods: We administered a web-based questionnaire to pharmacists and dietitians working in pharmacy branches with registered dietitians at two pharmacy chains that agreed to cooperate. We used our own 7-item questionnaire and compared the scores for each item between pharmacists and dietitians. Results: A total of 61 persons (22 pharmacists and 39 dietitians) answered the questionnaire. The item with the highest mean score (standard deviation) for pharmacists was “I feel that I am helpful to patients,” at 3.50 (0.74), and for dietitians it was “I have colleagues at my workplace whom I can talk to when I have a problem,” at 3.51 (1.00). Conversely, the items with the lowest mean score (standard deviation) were “I am satisfied with my current job” for pharmacists, at 3.14 (0.83), and “I can grow sufficiently as a professional” for dietitians, at 2.41 (0.97). As a result of factor analysis, the seven-item question could be divided into two factors: “demonstrating expertise” and “overall job satisfaction.” The factor-score for “demonstrating expertise” was significantly lower for dietitians than for pharmacists (p<0.01), but there was no significant difference in overall job satisfaction between the two professions (p=0.36). Further research is needed to understand why dietitians find “demonstrating expertise” difficult in pharmacies. Conclusions: The attitudes of pharmacists and dietitians working in pharmacies in Japan toward their jobs were shown to consist of “demonstration of expertise” and “overall job satisfaction. Dietitians had significantly lower scor

Naoki Yuda,1 Miyuki Tanaka,1 Koji Yamauchi,1 Fumiaki Abe,1 Izumi Kakiuchi,2 Kyoko Kiyosawa,2 Mitsunaga Miyasaka,2 Naoki Sakane,3 Masahiko Nakamura4 1Food Ingredients and Technology Institute, Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd., Zama, Kanagawa, Japan; 2Department of Nursing, Matsumoto Junior College, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan; 3Division of Preventive Medicine, Clinical Research Institute, National Hospital Organization Kyoto Medical Center, Kyoto, Japan; 4Matsumoto City Hospital, Matsumoto, Nagano, JapanCorrespondence: Naoki YudaFood Ingredients and Technology Institute, Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd., 1-83, 5-Chome, Higashihara, Zama, Kanagawa, JapanTel +81 46 252 3051Fax +81 46 252 3017Email n-yuda@morinagamilk.co.jpBackground: Preventative measures have recently been taken to reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease worldwide. We previously showed that Met-Lys-Pro (MKP), a casein-derived angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory peptide with the potential to cross the blood–brain barrier, attenuated cognitive decline in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. However, the effect of MKP on cognitive function improvement in humans remains unknown. This exploratory study sought to investigate whether MKP intake could improve cognitive function in adults without dementia.Methods: A total of 268 community-dwelling adults without dementia participated in this 24-week randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomly allocated to the MKP (n = 134) or placebo (n = 134) group. The MKP group received four tablets daily, each containing 50 μg MKP, while the placebo group received four dextrin tablets containing no detectable MKP for 24 weeks. Scores on the Japanese version of the cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-cog) were used as the primary outcome to compare cognitive function between the MKP and placebo groups. The study products were also evaluated for safety.Results: The intention-to