Treatments for alopecia areata: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Existing guidelines form no consensus for alopecia areata (AA) treatment due to the absence of a universal standard treatment and arbitrary selection of reference arms in randomized control trials (RCTs). The aim is to identify the best treatment and to rank treatments using systematic review and network meta-analysis. Data were extracted by the two investigators independently. Odds ratio (OR) of treatment success rate was pooled using the frequentist weighted least squares approach to random-model network meta-analysis. RCTs providing data of treatment success rate from PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and manual search were included. About 54 RCTs consisting of 49 treatments and 3149 patients were included. Pentoxifylline plus topical corticosteroids had the highest treatment success rate compared with "no treatment," followed by pentoxifylline alone, topical calcipotriol plus narrowband ultraviolet radiation B phototherapy, topical calcipotriol, intralesional corticosteroids, systemic corticosteroids, minoxidil plus topical corticosteroids, topical bimatoprost, psoralen ultraviolet radiation A phototherapy, and tofacitinib. Even with the network meta-analysis, the best treatment because of independent loops and wide confidence intervals could not be identified. Treatment options above may be reasonable strategies, but further comparison is required.

Effects of residual H2O2 on the growth of MSCs after decontamination.

INTRODUCTION: Regenerative therapy is a developing field in medicine. In the production of cell products for these therapies, hygienic management is even more critical than in the production of a chemical drug. At the same time, however, care is required with the use of decontamination agents, considering their effects on cell viability and characteristics. To date, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is most widely used for decontamination in pharmaceutical plants and cell processing facilities. METHODS: In this study, we examined the effects of residual H2O2 in the atmosphere of cell processing units after decontamination on the viability and proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells derived from human bone marrow. RESULTS: We detected residual H2O2 sufficient to affect cell proliferation and survival even more than 30 h after decontamination ended. Our results suggest a longer time period is required before starting operations after decontamination and that the operating time should be as short as possible. CONCLUSIONS: Here we show the effects of post-decontamination residual H2O2 on the viability and proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells derived from human bone marrow, which may provide us with important information about the hygienic management of cell processing facilities.

Novel and potent calcium-sensing receptor antagonists: discovery of (5R)-N-[1-ethyl-1-(4-ethylphenyl)propyl]-2,7,7-trimethyl-5-phenyl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydropyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-3-carboxamide monotosylate (TAK-075) as an orally active bone anabolic agent.

The calcium-sensing receptor antagonist (CaSR) has been recognized as a promising target of anabolic agents for treating osteoporosis. In the course of developing a new drug candidate for osteoporosis, we found tetrahydropyrazolopyrimidine derivative 1 to be an orally active CaSR antagonist that stimulated transient PTH secretion in rats. However, compound 1 showed poor physical and chemical stability. In order to work out this compound's chemical stability and further understand its in vivo efficacy, we focused on modifying the 2-position of the tetrahydropyrazolopyrimidine. As a result of chemical modification, we discovered (5R)-N-[1-ethyl-1-(4-ethylphenyl)propyl]-2,7,7-trimethyl-5-phenyl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydropyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-3-carboxamide monotosylate 10m (TAK-075), which showed improved solubility, chemical stability, and in vivo efficacy. Furthermore, we describe that evaluating the active metabolite is important during repeated treatment with short-acting CaSR antagonists.

Effective culture conditions for the induction of pluripotent stem cells.

BACKGROUND: Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are functionally comparable to embryonic stem (ES) cells, can be generated from mouse fibroblasts by expression of a defined set of transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc. Since iPS cells are generated from somatic cells, they provide an invaluable source of pluripotent stem cells for cell transplantation therapy that does not present ethical problems. However, the reprogramming efficiency is extremely low, and optimal culture conditions for iPS cell derivation have not been clearly defined. METHODS: To generate iPS cells efficiently, we tested 10 different culture conditions: DMEM supplemented with 15% fetal bovine serum (FBS), Knockout DMEM with 15% FBS from Invitrogen, Equitech, or HyClone, DMEM with 15% Knockout Serum Replacement (KSR), and Knockout DMEM with 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, or 35% KSR. These media all contain 2 mM L-glutamine, 100 µM nonessential amino acids, 100 µM beta-mercaptoethanol, 1000 units ml⁻¹ leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), 50 units ml⁻¹ penicillin, and 50 µg ml⁻¹ streptomycin. RESULTS: Medium containing Knockout DMEM with 20% KSR permits efficient induction of iPS cells from both mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and adult tail tip fibroblasts (TTFs). Mouse iPS cells generated in the condition express ES cell marker genes such as Oct4, Sox2, Rex1, and Nanog at levels comparable to those of ES cells. Furthermore, iPS cells derived form MEFs and adult TTFs can contribute to adult chimeras. CONCLUSION: Our iPS cell induction efficiency is greater than that described in other reports. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: These findings provide an important catalyst for examining different culture environments for the generation of iPS cells.