RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The current method for generating an animal model of spinal cord (SC) infarction is highly invasive and permits only short-term observation, typically limited to 28 days. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to establish a rat model characterised by long-term survival and enduring SC dysfunction by inducing selective ischaemic SC damage. METHODS: In 8-week-old male Wistar rats, a convection-enhanced delivery technique was applied to selectively deliver endothelin-1 (ET-1) to the anterior horn of the SC at the Th13 level, leading to SC infarction. The Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor score was assessed for 56 days. The SC was examined by a laser tissue blood flowmeter, MRI, immunohistochemistry, triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining, Western blots and TUNEL staining. RESULTS: The puncture method was used to bilaterally inject 0.7 µL ET-1 (2.5 mg/mL) from the lateral SC into the anterior horns (40° angle, 1.5 mm depth) near the posterior root origin. Animals survived until day 56 and the BBB score was stably maintained (5.5±1.0 at day 14 and 6.2±1.0 at day 56). Rats with BBB scores ≤1 on day 1 showed stable scores of 5-6 after day 14 until day 56 while rats with BBB scores >1 on day 1 exhibited only minor dysfunction with BBB scores >12 after day 14. TTC staining, immunostaining and TUNEL staining revealed selective ischaemia and neuronal cell death in the anterior horn. T2-weighted MR images showed increasing signal intensity at the SC infarction site over time. Western blots revealed apoptosis and subsequent inflammation in SC tissue after ET-1 administration. CONCLUSIONS: Selective delivery of ET-1 into the SC allows for more precise localisation of the infarcted area at the targeted site and generates a rat SC infarction model with stable neurological dysfunction lasting 56 days.
RESUMEN
Community pharmacists in Japan participate in many important clinical cases involving drug therapies. This involvement should be researched and widely publicized to promote evidence-based medicine (EBM). However, the awareness level about the establishment of clinical evidence among community pharmacists remains unknown. Therefore, this large-scale questionnaire survey was conducted among members of the Okayama Pharmaceutical Association to clarify the awareness about the establishment of clinical evidence among community pharmacists to determine the major factors affecting their awareness. Questionnaires requiring open-ended responses were developed in Google Forms. Finally, 366 valid answers were obtained and statistically analyzed based on three aspects: academic conference presentation, research article publication, and research conduct. More than 50% of the participants agreed that they must engage in the establishment of clinical evidence. However, they were unwilling to engage in it by themselves. Additionally, the awareness about the establishment of clinical evidence among participants aged <40 years, who underwent a 6-year course, and with presentation experience was greater than that among participants aged ≥40 years, who underwent a 4-year course and without presentation experience. Thus, age, course duration, and presentation experience are important factors influencing awareness about the establishment of clinical evidence. Further, >70% of the participants did not have enough time to engage in the establishment of clinical evidence, suggesting that reducing workload and ensuring adequate time are necessary for such engagements. Our novel findings may increase the establishment of clinical evidence by community pharmacists, improve community pharmacists' social standing, and promote EBM in Japan.