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TaAs single crystals were grown by a standard chemical vapor transport method. The single-crystallinity and homogeneous distribution of elements were confirmed by transmission electron microscope and x-ray diffraction observations. Positron annihilation measurements revealed that the atomic vacancy concentration was kept below 10 − 5 at. %. However, inductively coupled plasma analysis showed an As-deficient (7–9 at. %) off-stoichiometry. First-principles calculations implied that the off-stoichiometry could be compensated for with excess Ta antisite defects, thereby inducing metallic states. Nevertheless, excellent semimetallic transport properties of a well-suppressed carrier density (≲ 10 18 cm − 3 ), ultrahigh carrier mobility (≳ 10 6 cm 2 /V/s), and large transverse magnetoresistance (> --> 200 000 % at 9 T) with the quantum oscillation were obtained at 1.7 K. This indicated the robustness of semimetallic transport properties against the off-stoichiometric disorder and the quenching of metallic conduction associated with excess Ta atoms. The negative longitudinal magnetoresistance, which is considered evidence of a Weyl semimetal (chiral anomaly), was not observed. These data were discussed with theoretical calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An investigation into Cu(II) adsorption from contaminated water utilizing a trickle tray column that has been upscaled from batch-scale adsorption was performed to understand the efficacy of the adsorbent when used in a continuous system-which is more common in actual use in an industry. The size of the functionalized fabric adsorbent selected in a pilot-scale is about four times larger than a batch-scale. The continuous Cu(II) adsorption was analyzed using three parameters: initial Cu(II) concentration in solution; inlet solution flow rate and number of adsorbent sheets in the column to estimate the adsorption process's breakthrough curve results. The breakthrough curve results were fitted with three mathematical models by Thomas, Yoon-Nelson and Adams-Bohart to comprehend the mechanisms of the adsorption process. All three mathematical models can be used to reliably describe the continuous adsorption process using diverse conditions applied in this study. Overall results showed that PBMEP-g-PE/PP adsorbent using the trickle tray column demonstrated as high as 97% efficiency of Cu(II) adsorption during the first 6 h. Three-cycle reutilization of the adsorbent through a process of adsorption-desorption revealed that Cu(II) removal efficiency surpassed 70% after 6 h of each cycle, confirming the suitability of this system for practical application., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In the fields of polymer and material chemistries, strong acid units have mainly included sulfonic acids, which has limited the extension of related material chemistries. Here, a unique carbon acid functionality, namely the bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]methyl group, was integrated with polymers via a simple postpolymerization modification with the outstandingly electrophilic 1,1-bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]ethylene. The proposed synthesis protocol was verified as an efficient process even for solid-state reactions. The synthesis afforded an organic material with a surface decorated with bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]methyl units. The fabricated membranes featuring surface bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]methyl units functioned as efficient organocatalysts with high catalytic activity for the Mukaiyama aldol reaction. This study provides a simple method for installing superacidic carbon acid moieties onto the surfaces of materials without tedious chemical treatments., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The demand for monitoring anthropogenic U isotopes, 236 U and 233 U, in seawater will continue to increase due to radioecological issues and the need for tools for environmental dynamics research. In response to this growing demand, herein, a novel and simple method was developed for the collection of U isotopes in seawater, both in the laboratory and field, using a fabric-like amidoxime adsorbent. The results from the adsorption studies showed that the optimum conditions for processing seawater in a glass beaker were as follows: seawater pH 4, amidoxime adsorbent 0.20 mmol per 500 g seawater and an adsorption time of 9 hours. Alternatively, when using a closed polyethylene container in experiments on-board a ship and using the same ratio of adsorbent to seawater as in the beaker experiment in the laboratory, the optimum conditions were as follows: seawater pH 8 and an adsorption time of 24 hours. Under the above-mentioned conditions, more than 95% of the U underwent adsorption in both the beaker and the polyethylene container experiments. In the case of analyte desorption, more than 80% of U in seawater was recovered using 2-3 mol dm -3 HCl or HNO 3 as the eluent. Thus, it was concluded that the amidoxime adsorbent can serve as a simple and effective pre-concentration method for the ultra-trace monitoring of U isotopes in seawater.

In this article, a deep insight into emulsion radiation-induced graft polymerization (RIGP) was obtained by computing explicit solvation free energies, conformational entropy, monomer radius and dipole moments with the state-of-the-art Conformer-Rotamer Ensemble Sampling Tool (CREST) package primarily at semiempirical GFN-xTB level. By leveraging the robustness of the CREST package, above parameters provided dynamic nature of methacrylate monomers with the consideration of realistic emulsion conditions. With the chemical and physical importance of the above results, CREST-determined explanatory variables sufficiently led to the building of the prediction models for the RIGP of methacrylate monomers. The machine learning model building resulted in effective reactivity predictions and unveiled important factors for the radiation-induced graft polymerization in a chemically interpretable fashion., (© 2023 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Objectives: The objective of the study was to report the efficacy and safety of canakinumab treatment in Japanese patients with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) over a 48-week study period., Methods: Patients were administered canakinumab 4 mg/kg (maximum dose 300 mg) every 4 weeks, with no dose adjustments. The key outcome measures included adapted American College of Rheumatology paediatric (aACR pedi) 30/50/70/90/100 response, proportion of patients with inactive disease, and corticosteroid (CS) tapering., Results: In total, 16/19 (84.2%) patients received canakinumab for ≥96 weeks reaching end-of-study (EOS) visit without premature discontinuation. Regardless of the level of joint involvement at baseline, high aACR pedi responses were observed throughout the study; at the EOS, aACR pedi 90/100 response rates were 84.2%/63.2%, respectively. The proportion of patients who successfully tapered CSs at EOS was 66.7% (12/18), of which 10 patients were steroid-free. The most common adverse events were infections (238.3 events/100 patient-years). Serious adverse events were observed in 52.6%. The event (n=1) adjudicated as possible macrophage activation syndrome was preceded by sJIA flare. No deaths were reported., Conclusions: Canakinumab treatment resulted in a sustained treatment response in sJIA patients over 48 weeks and was associated with CS tapering in majority of patients. No new safety findings were reported., (© Japan College of Rheumatology 2022. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Co 2 MnGa is a Weyl semimetal exhibiting giant anomalous Hall and Nernst effects. Using spin-polarized positron annihilation spectroscopy, we examined a Bridgman-grown Co 2 MnGa single crystal with a nearly perfect L 2 1 -ordered structure and a reference Co 2 MnAl polycrystal with a Mn-Al-disordered B 2 structure. We found that a large amount of magnetic vacancies (more than 100 ppm) were included in the Co 2 MnGa crystal but not the Co 2 MnAl crystal. We discuss possible reasons for the inclusion of vacancies, the role of vacancies in the development of the ordered structure, and the electronic states associated with the vacancies. Toward the development of Co 2 MnGa-based devices, the manners for reducing vacancies as well as the influence of vacancies on the electrical transport properties should be considered., (© 2021 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

A chelating fabric was prepared by graft polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) onto a nonwoven fabric, followed by attachment reaction of N-methyl-D-glucamine (NMDG) using an organic solvent-free process. The graft polymerization was performed by immersing the gamma-ray pre-irradiated fabric into the GMA emulsion, while the attachment reaction was carried out by immersing the grafted fabric in the NMDG aqueous solution. The chelating capacity of the chelating fabric prepared by reaction in the NMDG aqueous solution without any additives reached 1.74 mmol/g, which further increased to above 2.0 mmol/g when surfactant and acid catalyst were added in the solution. The boron chelation of the chelating fabric was evaluated in a batch mode. Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR) was used to characterize the fabrics. The chelating fabric can quickly chelate boron from water to form a boron ester, and a high boron chelating ability close to 18.3 mg/g was achieved in the concentrated boron solution. The chelated boron can be eluted completely by HCl solution. The regeneration and stability of the chelating fabric were tested by 10 cycles of the chelation-elution operations. Considering the organic solvent-free preparation process and the high boron chelating performance, the chelating fabric is promising for the boron removal from water.

Secukinumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody that selectively neutralizes interleukin-17A, has been available for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis since February 2015 in Japan. Because there was a time gap after the previous approval of biologics for psoriatic disease indication, it was suggested that patients to be treated with secukinumab at its launch might have refractory disease symptoms. In order to assess the safety and effectiveness of secukinumab in those patients, a 52-week, open-label, multicenter, observational cohort study was conducted. In total, 306 and 250 patients were included in the safety and effectiveness analysis sets, respectively. Over half of patients had previously received biologics (56.9%). Adverse events, serious adverse events and adverse reactions were reported in 41.2%, 7.2% and 24.2% of patients, respectively. The most commonly reported adverse reactions were oral candidiasis (2.9%), consistent with those reported in clinical studies. In addition, none of the patient characteristics assessed for the effect on safety of secukinumab increased the occurrence of adverse reactions. Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score (mean ± standard deviation) improved from baseline (14.7 ± 12.3) to week 12 (1.78 ± 3.3), which was maintained up to week 24 (1.59 ± 3.0). The proportion of patients with a Dermatology Life Quality Index score of 0/1 improved from baseline (2.2%) to week 12 (64.7%) and sustained up to week 24 (71.4%). In addition to the skin symptoms, improvement was observed in all psoriatic arthritis disease-related assessments. The current study reaffirmed the safety and effectiveness of secukinumab with broader patients than those in the clinical studies., (© 2020 The Authors. The Journal of Dermatology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Dermatological Association.)

Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of canakinumab in Japanese patients with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA)., Methods: This was an open-label, single-arm active treatment study. sJIA patients, aged ≥2 to <20 years, were administered canakinumab 4 mg/kg every 4 weeks for ≤48 weeks. The co-primary endpoints were the proportion of patients who achieved an adapted American College of Rheumatology pediatric (ACR pedi) 30 criteria at week 8, and the proportion of patients who successfully tapered corticosteroids at week 28. Herein, the efficacy and safety results up to 48 weeks are reported., Results: Of the 19 patients enrolled, 15 (78.9%) had previously used tocilizumab. All patients achieved ACR pedi 30 at week 8 and 73.7% (14/19) successfully tapered corticosteroids at week 28. At week 48, ACR pedi 50/70/90/100 responses were achieved by 100.0%/100.0%/87.5%/68.8% of patients. The most common adverse events (AEs) were infections (271.6 patient-years), 42.1% (8/19) patients had serious AEs. Two potential cases of macrophage activation syndrome were identified. No deaths were reported., Conclusion: Canakinumab was efficacious in Japanese patients with sJIA and was associated with substantial corticosteroid dose reduction in the majority of patients. The safety profile of canakinumab was consistent with that observed from previous studies., Clinicaltrials.gov (identifier: NCT02396212).

A nonwoven fabric adsorbent loaded with 2-ethylhexyl hydrogen-2-ethylhexylphosphonate (EHEP) was developed for the separation and recovery of dysprosium (Dy) and neodymium (Nd) from an aqueous solution. The adsorbent was prepared by the radiation-induced graft polymerization of a methacrylate monomer with a long alkyl chain onto a nonwoven fabric and the subsequent loading of EHEP by hydrophobic interaction and chain entanglement between the alkyl chains. The adsorbent was evaluated by batch and column tests with a Dy (III) and Nd (III) aqueous solution. In the batch tests, the adsorbent showed high Dy (III) adsorptivity close to 25.0 mg/g but low Nd (III) adsorptivity below 1.0 mg/g, indicating that the adsorbent had high selective adsorption. In particular, the octadecyl methacrylate (OMA)-adsorbent showed adsorption stability in repeated tests. In the column tests, the OMA-adsorbent was also stable and showed high Dy (III) adsorptivity and high selectivity in repeated adsorption-elution circle tests. This result suggested that the OMA-adsorbent may be a promising adsorbent for the separation and recovery of Dy (III) and Nd (III) ions.

Visualizing the dynamics of cesium (Cs) is desirable to understand the impact of radiocesium when accidentally ingested or inhaled by humans. However, visualization of radiocesium in vivo is currently limited to plants. Herein, we describe a method for the production and purification of 127 Cs and its use in visualizing Cs dynamics in a living animal. The positron-emitting nuclide 127 Cs was produced using the 127 I (α, 4n) 127 Cs reaction, which was induced by irradiation of sodium iodide with a 4 He 2+ beam from a cyclotron. We excluded sodium ions by using a material that specifically adsorbs Cs as a purification column and successfully eluted 127 Cs by flowing a solution of ammonium sulfate into the column. We injected the purified 127 Cs tracer solution into living rats and the dynamics of Cs were visualized using positron emission tomography; the distributional images showed the same tendency as the results of previous studies using disruptive methods. Thus, this method is useful for the non-invasive investigation of radiocesium in a living animal.

A fibrous grafted metal adsorbent with a piperazinyl-dithiocarbamate (PZ-DTC) group was synthesized by radiation-induced emulsion grafting of glycidyl methacrylate onto a polyethylene-coated polypropylene nonwoven fabric (PE/PP-NF) and subsequent three-step chemical modifications consisting of amination with N -( tert -butoxycarbonyl)piperazine ( N -Boc-piperazine, NBPZ), deprotection of the Boc group with HCl, and dithiocarbamation with carbon disulfide (CS 2 ). By using the NBPZ reagent in the amination step, the self-cross-linking of piperazine (PZ) could be completely suppressed, unlike using the PZ reagent. Consequently, the PZ-DTC group density of the fibrous grafted metal adsorbent synthesized through NBPZ attained 2.122 mmol-PZ-DTC/g-adsorbent, which was approximately 6 times higher than that of the metal adsorbent synthesized through PZ. The fibrous grafted metal adsorbent with the PZ-DTC group selectively adsorbed heavy metal ions over light metal ions. Furthermore, it exhibited high adsorption capacity, particularly for Cu 2+ . The Cu 2+ adsorption capacity was determined to be 1.903 mmol-Cu 2+ /g-adsorbent by a batchwise adsorption test using a single-metal-ion aqueous solution at pH 6. The order of metal ion selectivity of the fibrous grafted metal adsorbent with the PZ-DTC group was Na + < Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , Co 2+ , Cd 2+ < Pb 2+ ≪ Cu 2+ , and Co 2+ ≈ Ni 2+ < Zn 2+ ≪ Cu 2+ . In addition, the fibrous grafted metal adsorbent with the PZ-DTC group did not lose its metal adsorption function even under highly alkaline conditions (pH 15). It could recover Cu 2+ efficiently and selectively from a high-concentration Na + aqueous solution at this pH. The Cu 2+ adsorption capacity of the fibrous grafted metal adsorbent with the PZ-DTC group was 0.754 mmol-Cu 2+ /g-adsorbent under a highly alkaline condition, a 10 M NaOH aqueous solution at pH 15. This value was approximately 2.4 times higher than that of the other grafted adsorbent with an amine-type functional group., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.)

This paper investigates the selectivity of GMA-based-non-woven fabrics adsorbent towards copper ion (Cu) functionalized with several aliphatic amines. The aliphatic amines used in this study were ethylenediamine (EDA), diethylenetriamine (DETA), triethylenetetramine (TETA), and tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA). The non-woven polyethylene/polypropylene fabrics (NWF) were grafted with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) via pre-radiation grafting technique, followed by chemical functionalization with the aliphatic amine. To prepare the ion recognition polymer (IRP), the functionalized amine GMA-grafted-NWF sample was subjected to radiation crosslinking process along with the crosslinking agent, divinylbenzene (DVB), in the presence of Cu ion as a template in the matrix of the adsorbent. Functionalization with different aliphatic amine was carried out at different amine concentrations, grafting yield, reaction temperature, and reaction time to study the effect of different aliphatic amine onto amine density yield. At a concentration of 50% of amine and 50% of isopropanol, EDA, DETA, TETA, and TEPA had attained amine density around 5.12, 4.06, 3.04, and 2.56 mmol/g-ad, respectively. The amine density yield decreases further as the aliphatic amine chain grows longer. The experimental condition for amine functionalization process was fixed at 70% amine, 30% isopropanol, 60 °C for grafting temperature, and 2 h of grafting time for attaining 100% of grafting yield (Dg). The prepared adsorbents were characterized comprehensively in terms of structural and morphology with multiple analytical tools. An adsorptive removal and selectivity of Cu ion by the prepared adsorbent was investigated in a binary metal ion system. The IRP samples with a functional precursor of EDA, the smallest aliphatic amine had given the higher adsorption capacity and selectivity towards Cu ion. The selectivity of IRP samples reduces as the aliphatic amine chain grows longer, EDA to TEPA. However, IRP samples still exhibited remarkably higher selectivity in comparison to the amine immobilized GMA- g -NWF at similar adsorption experimental conditions. This observation indicates that IRP samples possess higher selectivity after incorporation of the ion recognition imprint technique via the radiation crosslinking process., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

A simplified radiation-induced emulsion graft polymerization (SREG) method is proposed. This method involves a convenient and easy degassing process of a monomer solution using a commercially available sealed glass jar. A loaded weight on the lid of the jar was used to control the jar's internal pressure as the degassing of the monomer solution took place using a vacuum pump. The degassing method was highly reproducible, resulting from no bumping of the monomer solution. The initial grafting velocity was proportional to the absorbed doses of pre-irradiation between 5 and 20 kGy. This result indicates that dissolved oxygen was sufficiently eliminated from the monomer solution at such a level where the remaining oxygen had little effect on the grafting reaction at a dose of 5 kGy. The method was then applied to the fabrication of a heavy metal adsorbent that possessed a sufficient adsorption capacity of Co(II) ions. The SREG method is applicable to the fabrication of a wide variety of functional graft polymers because high-dose-rate gamma-ray radiation and expensive experimental equipment are not necessary.

In this manuscript, we present the successful attachment of crown ether moieties onto fluoropolymer surfaces, via the combination of radiation-induced graft polymerization and a subsequent surface Kabachnik-Fields three-component reaction. The obtained crown ether-tethered fluoropolymer films exhibited an ammonium cation capturing ability, owing to the host-guest interactions (i.e., hydrogen bonding) between the surface-anchored crown ethers and the guest ammonium cations., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

To determine the molecular weight of graft chains in grafted films, the polystyrene graft chains of PVDF- g -St films synthesized by a pre-irradiation graft method are cleaved and separated by boiling xylene extraction. The analysis of the extracted material and the residual films by FTIR, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analyses indicates that most graft chains are removed from the PVDF- g -St films within 72 h of extraction time. Furthermore, the molecular weight of the residual films decreases quickly within 8 h of extraction and then remains virtually unchanged up to 72 h after extraction time. The degradation is due to the cleavage of graft bonds, which is mainly driven by the thermal degradation and the swelling of graft chains in solution. This allows determination of the molecular weight of graft chains by GPC analysis of the extracted material. The results indicate that the PVDF- g -St prepared in this study has the structure where one or two graft chains hang from each PVDF backbone., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

In an effort to elucidate the deposition pathway of Pd in river sediments, we analyzed the amount of Pd in the river water and sediments of the Yukawa and Yazawa rivers, as well as in the sediments of the Shinaki dam-lake of the Kusatsu hot-spring area, which is located northwest in Gunma Prefecture of Japan. The crystal structures and elemental compositions of the river sediment samples differed significantly before and after neutralization. This was attributed to the lime input, which also affected the Pd abundance ratio obtained by the sequential extraction procedure. Additionally, the low leachability of Pd in the sediment suggested possible difficulties in its recovery. Considering the analysis of the Pd variation in the environments, it was concluded that the Pd content in the sediment of the Shinaki dam-lake was mainly supplied by the Yukawa river water inflowing the surrounding tributary rivers and hot-spring waters before neutralization, rather than the lime input.

To remove chromium from wastewater effectively, two types of nitrogen-containing fabric adsorbents, having amidoxime ligand groups and quaternary ammonium anion exchange groups, respectively, were prepared by radiation grafting. In brief, the amidoxime adsorbent is obtained by grafting of acrylonitrile (AN)/methacrylic acid (MAA) onto a nonwoven fabric and subsequent amidoximation with hydroxylamine, while the ammonium adsorbent is obtained by grafting of chloromethylstyrene (CMS) followed by quaternization with trimethylamine. The AN/MAA-grafting reaches a high degree of grafting more than 100%, and the resulting amidoxime adsorbent reaches a high amidoxime density of 4.53 mmol/g. On the other hand, the CMS-grafting reaches a much higher degree of grafting above 200%, and the resulting ammonium adsorbent reaches a high ammonium density of 3.51 mmol/g. FTIR/ATR and TGA/DTA are used for the characterization of the grafted fabrics as well as the relevant fabric adsorbents. Furthermore, the chromium removal of the prepared fabric adsorbent is tested in both batch and column modes. It has been confirmed that the chromium removal was largely dependent on the pH of the solution. At pH 5.0, the amidoxime adsorbent shows a high Cr(III) adsorption capacity of 31.68 mg/g, while the ammonium adsorbent shows a much higher Cr(VI) adsorption capacity of 130.65 mg/g.

Reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) agent was added into a simultaneous radiation grafting system and its effects on graft polymerization and homopolymerization were investigated. Chloromethylstyrene (CMS) was graft polymerized onto ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer (ETFE) films under γ-ray sources via simultaneous irradiation. The non-grafted poly(CMS) in the grafted films were extracted by xylene at 120 °C. The poly(CMS) was characterized by NMR and GPC instruments. Addition of the RAFT agent suppressed both graft polymerization and homopolymerization. However, under a high concentration of RAFT agent, the homopolymerization in the monomer solution could occur through a typical RAFT polymerization while polymerization in the ETFE films proceeded via RAFT and conventional radical polymerization, resulting in poly(CMS) in the ETFE films with molecular weight dispersity higher than 1.0 but lower than that without RAFT agent. Furthermore, it was found that the molecular weight of the poly(CMS) in the ETFE films was several times higher than that of the poly(CMS) in the monomer solution., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Background: Omalizumab is effective and well-tolerated in children with moderate to severe allergic asthma. However, the effects of long-term treatment with omalizumab in this population haven't been well investigated. The objective of this study is to evaluate the long-term safety, efficacy, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of omalizumab in children with uncontrolled severe asthma., Methods: Thirty-eight Japanese children (aged 7-16 years) who completed the 24-week treatment core study were included in an uncontrolled extension study, in which treatment with omalizumab continued until the pediatric indication was approved in Japan (ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT01328886)., Results: Thirty-five patients (92.1%) completed the extension study. The median exposure throughout the core and extension studies was 116.6 weeks (range, 46.9-151.1 weeks). The most common adverse events were nasopharyngitis, influenza, upper respiratory tract infection, and asthma. Serious adverse events developed in 10 patients (26.3%), but resolved completely with additional treatments. Incidence of adverse events didn't increase with extended exposure with omalizumab. Twenty-nine patients (76.3%) achieved completely- or well-controlled asthma compared with 9 patients (23.7%) at the start of the extension study. QOL scores, the rates (per year) of hospitalizations and ER visits were significantly improved compared with the baseline of the core study [39.0 vs 48.0 (median), p < 0.001 for QOL, 1.33 vs 0.16, p < 0.001 for hospitalization, 0.68 vs 0.15, p = 0.002 for ER visits]. Remarkably, the mean total IgE level showed a decreasing trend while exposure to omalizumab remained at steady-state., Conclusions: Long-term treatment with omalizumab is well-tolerated and effective in children with uncontrolled severe allergic asthma. No new safety findings were identified., (Copyright © 2017 Japanese Society of Allergology. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is a severe inflammatory skin disease characterized by the presence of sterile pustules covering almost the entire body and systemic symptoms such as fever. Secukinumab, a fully human-recombinant anti-interleukin-17A monoclonal antibody was indicated for psoriasis vulgaris and psoriatic arthritis in Japan but is not yet investigated for GPP. In this phase III, open-label multicenter single arm study, the efficacy and safety of secukinumab as monotherapy or with co-medication was evaluated in 12 Japanese patients with GPP. All the patients received secukinumab 150 mg s.c. at baseline, week 1, 2, 3 and 4, and then every 4 weeks. Two non-responders were up-titrated to 300 mg. Change in GPP severity from baseline was evaluated by clinical global impression (CGI) categorized as "worsened", "no change", "minimally improved", "much improved" or "very much improved". Treatment success was achieved by 83.3% (n = 10) of patients at week 16 (primary end-point) with CGI evaluated as "very much improved" (n = 9) and "much improved" (n = 1). Moreover, the area of erythema with pustules improved as early as week 1 and resolved by week 16 in most of the patients. The improvements were sustained throughout 52 weeks. Over the 52-week treatment period, secukinumab was well tolerated with no unexpected safety signals. Nasopharyngitis, urticaria, diabetes mellitus and arthralgia were the frequent adverse events reported. The data from this study shows that secukinumab can become one of the potent treatment options for GPP., (© 2016 Japanese Dermatological Association.)