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Noriaki Nagai,1 Yoshie Iwai,1 Akane Sakamoto,1 Hiroko Otake,1 Yoshihiro Oaku,2 Akinari Abe,2 Tohru Nagahama2 1Faculty of Pharmacy, Kindai University, Osaka 577-8502, Japan; 2Research & Development Laboratories Self-Medication, Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Saitama 331-9530, JapanCorrespondence: Noriaki NagaiFaculty of Pharmacy, Kindai University, 3-4-1 Kowakae, Higashi-Osaka, Osaka 577-8502, JapanTel +81 6 4307 3640Fax +81 6 6730 1394Email nagai_n@phar.kindai.ac.jpPurpose: We designed formulations based on minoxidil (MXD) nanoparticles (N-MXD) and examined whether N-MXD can increase drug delivery into the follicles. In addition, we investigated the effect of N-MXD on hair growth in C57BL/6 mice.Methods: N-MXD (1%) was prepared as follows: methylcellulose, p-hydroxyalkylbenzoates, mannitol, and MXD were dispersed in purified water and milled using zirconia beads under refrigeration (5500 rpm, 30 s×15 times, intermittent milling). C57BL/6 mice were used to evaluate hair-growth effects. The expression levels of mRNA and protein for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) were determined by real-time PCR and ELISA methods, respectively.Results: The ratio of solid-MXD was approximately 60% in N-MXD, and the MXD nanoparticles (90–300 nm) were oblong in shape. For the design of nanomedicines, usability is important. Therefore, we measured the stability and toxicity after N-MXD treatment. No agglutination of MXD nanoparticles was detected for 2 weeks, and no redness or MXD powder residue was observed in the skin after repetitive applications of N-MXD. Next, we evaluated hair-growth effects by N-MXD treatment. MXD contents in the skin tissue from N-MXD were lower than for commercially available MXD formulations (CA-MXD). Conversely, MXD contents in the hair bulbs were higher for N-MXD than for CA-MXD, and the drug efficacy of N-MXD was also higher than that of CA-MXD. In addition, the mRNA and protein levels of IGF-1 and VEGF were enhanced by the repetitive application of N-MXD and CA-MXD, and the enhanced IGF-1 and VEGF levels were significantly higher for N-MXD than for CA-MXD.Conclusion: We designed a novel nanomedicine based on MXD nanoparticles and showed that N-MXD can deliver MXD into hair bulbs via hair follicles and that the therapeutic efficiency for hair growth is higher than for CA-MXD (solution type).Keywords: minoxidil, nanoparticle, androgenetic alopecia, hair follicle delivery, hair growth

Yasunari Yamaguchi, Sohei Kimoto, Takeshi Nagahama, Toshifumi Kishimoto Department of Psychiatry, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Japan Objective: Several studies have documented that treatment with various antidepressant agents can result in mood switching during major depressive episodes. Escitalopram, one of the newer selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), is considered preferable due to its relatively high efficacy and acceptability. Although a few cases of escitalopram treatment-emergent mania have been reported, it remains unknown whether this effect is dose-related.Method: In the present report, we discuss three cases of treatment-emergent mania/hypomania in patients receiving escitalopram for major depressive episodes. No patients had a family or personal history of bipolar disorder.Results: In all three cases, manic or hypomanic symptoms emerged within 1 month right after the dosage of escitalopram was increased to 20 mg/day. Moreover, manic episodes subsided as the dosage of escitalopram was reduced. Mood switching was not observed after the cessation of escitalopram treatment.Conclusion: Our case series indicates that escitalopram may induce treatment-emergent mania/hypomania in a dose-related manner. Treatment at lower doses and with careful upward titration might be favorable in certain patients with bipolar depression and major depressive disorder in order to minimize the risk of mood switching. Keywords: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, SSRI, escitalopram, antidepressant treatment-emergent mania/hypomania, dosage-related, bipolar depression

Magnetic nanowires (NWs) are promising as material for use in spintronics and as the precursor of permanent magnets because they have unique properties due to their high aspect ratio. The growth of magnetic Fe whiskers was reported in the 1960s, but the diameter was not on a nanoscale level and the growth mechanism was not fully elucidated. In the present paper, we report the almost vertical growth of Fe NWs on a single crystal yttrium-stabilized zirconia (Y0.15Zr0.85O2) by a thermal CVD method. The NWs show a characteristic taper part on the bottom growing from a trigonal pyramidal nucleus. The taper angle and length can be controlled by changing the growth condition in two steps, which will lead to obtaining uniformly distributed thin Fe NWs for applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microscopic structures of a single crystal Fe(001)/Mg(001)/Fe(001) magnetic tunneling junction showing a large tunnel magnetoresistance effect were studied using an in situ scanning tunneling microscopy technique. The step-and-terrace structures of an epitaxial MgO barrier layer were observed, which is very similar to the surfaces of a bottom Fe underlayer, indicating that the MgO terraces were grown flatly on each terrace of the Fe electrode.

Tunneling spectroscopy of magnetic tunneling junctions with an MgO barrier (CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB) that shows a very high large tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio at room temperature was performed. The results revealed that the electronic structure of the MgO barrier has significant influence on the tunneling process of electrons through magnetic tunnel junctions.

Fabricated NiFe wires partially covered by CoSm pinning pads are studied, and the resistance between the no-wall state and the wall-existing state at zero fields is compared. It was found that the resistance is smaller when magnetic domain walls exist, and the domain wall resistance is almost temperature independent.

In this study, we examine the possibility of electrode-barrier interactions in modifying the electrical characteristics and current switching behavior of a trilayer junction with silver sulfide as the barrier layer. A series of Al–Ag2S–Ag crossbar junction is fabricated by thermal evaporation technique varying the thickness (30–110 Å) of the sulfide layer. Current-voltage characteristics of the junctions are studied as a function of barrier layer thickness, which can suggest any role that electrode-barrier interaction may have in tuning their electrical behavior. To fully understand the performance of the barrier layer, structure and physical properties of Ag2S films are independently investigated. The microstructure of Ag2S films strongly depends on the deposition conditions that, in turn, affect their electrical and optical characteristics. The polarization of the lattice prevalent in Ag2S is shown to affect the charge carrier conduction in their films and dominates their electrical behavior and that of the junctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bias-voltage and temperature dependence of conductivity arising from the magnon contribution in MgO-based magnetic tunneling junctions (MTJs) with different ferromagnetic electrodes is examined. The abrupt increase in the second derivative conductance at very low biasing voltage in the antiparallel configuration has shown the major role of the surface magnon excitation.

The synthesis, characterization and the electrical properties of the Ag.sub.2]S films with varied microstructures are discussed. The films are shown to be widely used as an asymmetric barrier layer in the trilayer junctions with dissimilar electrodes.