Search

Ratoe Suraya, Motoko Tachihara, Tatsuya Nagano, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Kazuyuki Kobayashi Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, JapanCorrespondence: Motoko Tachihara, Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0017, Japan, Tel +81-78-382-5660, Fax +81-78-382-5661, Email mt0318@med.kobe-u.ac.jpAbstract: Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a major health burden, and novel therapeutic options are needed to help solve this problem. One such option is immunotherapy, which targets immune checkpoint molecules that inhibit cancer cells, decreasing immune system activation, for example, immunotherapies target PD-1, its ligand PD-L1, and CTLA-4. There have been major advances in the development of agents that inhibit these molecules, called immune checkpoint inhibitors, and several of them are already approved for usage in NSCLC patients, especially in advanced stages. In this review, the reasons why immune checkpoint inhibitors could be beneficial and the clinical results of studies using these drugs for advanced or recurrent NSCLC patients are discussed, as is the safety profile of the drugs.Keywords: non-small cell lung cancer, immune checkpoint inhibitors, PD-1, PD-L1, CTLA-4

Atsuyoshi Dota, Asuka Sakamoto, Takashi Nagano, Tadahiro Murakami, Takeshi Matsugi Nara Research & Development Center, Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Ikoma-shi, Nara, JapanCorrespondence: Atsuyoshi DotaNara Research & Development Center, Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., 8916-16 Ikoma-shi, Nara 630-0101, JapanTel +81 743 79 4525Fax +81 743 79 4591Email atsuyoshi.dota@santen.comPurpose: To examine the effect of 3% diquafosol ophthalmic solution (DQS) on ocular surface disorders in diabetic model rats maintained in a continuous airflow condition.Methods: Goto–Kakizaki (GK) rats, a spontaneous model of type 2 diabetes, were exposed to constant airflow for 8 weeks. After the establishment of the animal model in this environment, DQS or saline was instilled six times a day into GK rat eyes for 6 weeks. Schirmer’s test was performed before and after 6-week instillations. Corneal fluorescein staining was scored at 2-, 4-, and 6-week instillations. Touch thresholds for the cornea were also determined using a Cochet–Bonnet esthesiometer before and after 6-week instillations.Results: The mean Schirmer’s test score after instillation of DQS was twice higher than that recorded for saline alone. DQS significantly decreased corneal staining scores at 4- and 6-week instillations. No changes in touch thresholds were observed before and after 6-week instillations.Conclusion: These results suggest that DQS improves corneal epithelial damage by stimulating tear secretion without influencing corneal sensation in diabetic keratopathy. Thus, DQS may have potential for treatment of diabetic patients with dry eye.Keywords: diquafosol ophthalmic solution, corneal epithelial damage, tear volume, diabetic keratopathy, Goto–Kakizaki rat

Yuichiro Yasuda,1 Tatsuya Nagano,1 Motoko Tachihara,1 Norio Chihara,2 Kanoko Umezawa,1 Naoko Katsurada,1 Masatsugu Yamamoto,1 Kenji Sekiguchi,2 Kazuyuki Kobayashi,1 Yoshihiro Nishimura1 1Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0017, Japan; 2Division of Neurology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0017, JapanCorrespondence: Tatsuya NaganoDivision of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0017, JapanTel +81-783-82-5660Fax +81-783-82-5661Email tnagano@med.kobe-u.ac.jpAbstract: We herein report the case of a 39-year-old Japanese female with eosinophilic pneumonia associated with natalizumab. The patient with bronchial asthma had multiple sclerosis and was treated using natalizumab. The patient was referred to our department because of a persistent cough. A chest computed tomography (CT) scan revealed bilateral patchy consolidation surrounded by ground-glass opacity. A bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed. Eosinophil levels in the BAL fluid were increased and the patient was consequently diagnosed as eosinophilic pneumonia associated with natalizumab. Therefore, natalizumab treatment was discontinued. Subsequent chest CT findings showed a remarkable improvement without any treatment.Keywords: eosinophilic pneumonia, natalizumab, multiple sclerosis

Motoko Tachihara,1 Tatsunori Kiriu,1 Akito Hata,2 Yukihisa Hatakeyama,3 Kyosuke Nakata,1 Tatsuya Nagano,1 Masatsugu Yamamoto,1 Kazuyuki Kobayashi,1 Hisashi Ohnishi,3 Nobuyuki Katakami,2 Yoshihiro Nishimura11Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0017, Japan; 2Department of Medical Oncology, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan; 3Department of Respiratory Medicine, Akashi Medical Center, Akashi, Hyogo 674-0063, JapanBackground: Nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-PTX) plus gemcitabine (GEM) significantly improved overall survival in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Anti-tumor synergy between GEM and nab-PTX was recently demonstrated in a mouse model. We planned to assess the efficacy and safety of the combination of nab-PTX + GEM in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy.Methods: Patients with advanced NSCLC with progressive disease after platinum-based chemotherapy, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) of 0 or 1, and adequate kidney, liver and bone marrow function were eligible. Treatment consisted of nab-PTX (100 mg/m2) + GEM (1000 mg/m2) on days 1 and 8 of each 3-week cycle until progression disease or unacceptable toxicity occurred. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS).Results: Of the 28 patients enrolled, all were evaluable for response and toxicity. The median age was 68 years (range 47–79), and 23 were male and 5 female. The histologic subtypes were: adenocarcinoma in 19 patients, and squamous cell carcinoma in 9 patients. Seventeen patients had ECOG PS 1 and 11 patients had PS 0. Twenty-four patients were second line and 4 patients were third line. The median number of cycles administered was 4 (range 1–10). The overall response rate was 17.9%. The disease control rate was 67.9%. The median progression-free survival was 3.1 months (95% confidence interval [CI] =1.6–4.1). Adverse events were generally tolerable except grade 3 interstitial pneumonia with in 4 patients (14.3%).Conclusion: The efficacy of nab-PTX in combination with GEM in advanced second or third-line NSCLC patients was limited and the frequent occurrence of interstitial pneumonia was unacceptable.Keywords: nab-paclitaxel, gemcitabine, non-small-cell lung cancer

Wiwin Is Effendi,1,2 Tatsuya Nagano,1 Motoko Tachihara,1 Kanoko Umezawa,1 Tatsunori Kiriu,1 Ryota Dokuni,1 Masahiro Katsurada,1 Masatsugu Yamamoto,1 Kazuyuki Kobayashi,1 Yoshihiro Nishimura11Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe 650-0017, Japan; 2Department of Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine, Airlangga University Medical Faculty, Surabaya 60131, IndonesiaBackground: The combination of gemcitabine (GEM) and paclitaxel (PTX) was appealing for clinical exploration due to different mechanisms of action and partially non-overlapping toxicities.Purpose: The aim of this study was to elucidate a potential effect of this combination on the proliferation of two non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines, A549 and H520.Materials and methods: Cell lines were treated with GEM and PTX for 48 hours to evaluate the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50). To determine the combination index (CI), cell lines were exposed to GEM and PTX, in a constant ratio of IC50, by various combination treatments. GEM`s effect on tubulin was assessed by western blotting and immunofluorescent staining. GEM was combined with nanoparticle albumin-bound-paclitaxel (NP) in evaluating tumor growth inhibition.Results: The IC50 of GEM and PTX in A549 and H520 were 6.6 nM and 46.1 nM, and 1.35 nM and 7.59 nM, respectively. Among the sequences explored (GEM→PTX, PTX→GEM, and GEM plus PTX simultaneously [GEM+PTX]), GEM→PTX produced a mean CI

Laminar-type spherical diffraction gratings overcoated with carbon-based materials were designed, fabricated, and evaluated for the purpose of enhancing the analytical sensitivity of the flat-field spectrograph in a vacuum ultraviolet region of 35–110 eV. As the design benchmark for numerical calculations, diffraction efficiency (DE) and spectral flux, which are defined by the product of the DE and numerical aperture and correlate with the analytical sensitivity of the spectrograph, were used. To simplify the feasibility study on the overcoating effects, we assumed a laminar-type grating having a grating constant of 1/1000 mm and coated with a Au layer of 30.0 nm thickness and an incidence angle of 84.0°. The optimized groove depth and duty ratio were 30.0 nm and 0.3, respectively. In addition, the optimum thicknesses of the overcoating layer were 44, 46, 24, and 30 nm for B4C, C, diamond-like-carbon, and SiC, respectively. Based on these results, we have fabricated a varied-line-spacing holographic grating overcoated with B4C with a thickness of 47 nm. For the experimental evaluation, we used the light source of Mg-L and Al-L emissions excited by the electron beam generated from an electron microscope, an objective flat-field spectrograph, and a CCD imaging detector. The experimental results showed that the spectrograph employing a new grating overcoated with the B4C layer indicated almost the same spectral resolution and 2.9–4.2 times higher analytical sensitivity compared with those obtained with a previously designed Au-coated grating having a grating constant of 1/1200 mm and used at an incidence of 86.0°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multilayer process for the HTS-SFQ circuit is described and discussed.