Until recently, it was thought that dementia prevention was not possible. However, a recent paper reported that 40% of the risk factors for developing dementia are modifiable. Large-scale clinical studies on dementia prevention and various initiatives to reduce the risk of developing dementia have been made worldwide. In addition to the introduction of a global initiative in dementia prevention, I also introduce the results of our research on the development of the Tottori method dementia prevention program and aromatherapy to approach olfactory impairment in Alzheimer’s disease.

A significant proportion of patients with infective endocarditis presents with acute renal failure related to infective endocarditis-associated glomerulonephritis (IEAGN). However, the clinical presentation of IEAGN differs from that of other infection-related glomerulonephritis (IRGN) with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) positivity occurring in almost one-third of cases; therefore, it may be difficult to establish a definitive diagnosis and provide appropriate treatment. This review article provides a comprehensive understanding of the clinical presentation, investigations, histopathology, and treatment/management of IEAGN so that clinicians can keep this differential in mind for patients with fever of unknown origin accompanied by signs and symptoms of acute renal failure.

Globally, the elderly population is growing rapidly. The number of elderly people requiring nursing care is expected to increase along with the elderly population. However, the high turnover rate of care workers has caused a labor shortage, which in turn has encouraged further turnover, creating a vicious cycle. Preventing turnover is an important issue not only for the physical and mental health of care workers but also for the quality of nursing care. In particular, Japan has emerged as the world’s first super-aged society, experiencing an increase in the number of elderly people requiring nursing care and a shortage of care workers. This review summarizes the research on factors influencing care worker turnover and intent to leave the profession in Japan. Additionally, workplace interpersonal problems have been shown to be consistently associated with care worker turnover or intention to leave in previous studies that were reviewed.

Invasive pancreatic ductal carcinoma is a representative refractory malignant tumor, and even with the development of early diagnosis and treatment techniques, the treatment outcome has been remarkably poor. Surgical resection is the curative treatment for resectable pancreatic cancer and borderline resectable pancreatic cancer. However, the survival rate in patients with pancreatic cancer treated by resection alone is low because of the high postoperative recurrence rate. In this review article, we report recent studies on perioperative treatment for pancreatic cancer. Perioperative therapy is the addition of chemotherapy or radiation therapy before or after surgery to improve resectability and curative effects. Because it is difficult to cure redsecttable pancreatic cancer by surgery alone, multidisciplinary treatment combined with perioperative adjuvant chemotherapy is the current standard of care. Although perioperative chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy have been investigated for borderline resectable pancreatic cancer, the effectiveness of preoperative treatment has not been sufficiently proven. Potentially curative pancreatic cancer is treated by surgery plus perioperative therapy; treatment cannot be either alone. We regard the successful completion of surgery and perioperative care as the key to improving treatment outcomes. Therefore, ongoing randomized controlled trials for the treatment of BR-pancreatic cancer are expected to induce further improvements survival outcomes of patients with BR-pancreatic cancer.

The increase in the incidence of hip fractures over time disappeared in Northern European and North American Caucasians after 2000, while an increase was observed in Asian countries including Japan until 2010. However, a decrease in the incidence was observed after 2010. The prevalence of vertebral fractures in Asians, Europeans, and American Caucasians is similar, and the incidences of clinical and morphometric vertebral fractures are higher in Asians compared with European Caucasians. The decrease in the incidence of vertebral fractures over time has been observed in Japan. Although the stabilization or decrease over time in the incidence of hip and vertebral fractures have been observed, the number of patients with these fractures is expected to increase rapidly with increases in the elderly population. Multidisciplinary measures to prevent fragility fractures are an urgent issue in Asia at this time. This narrative review outlines the recent trends in incidence and future burdens of hip fracture and vertebral fracture in Asia.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor with poor prognosis, and is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Recently, the development of therapeutic drugs via novel mechanisms of action, involving molecular-targeted drugs and immune checkpoint inhibitors, has progressed in the field of HCC. However, the recurrence rate remains high, and further improvement of the prognosis of patients with HCC is urgently needed. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a promising target for further development of novel anti-cancer drugs because they are reportedly involved in tumor initiation, maintenance, recurrence, and resistance to conventional therapies. Although several studies have already been conducted, the functions and roles of CSCs in the development and progression of tumors remain to be elucidated. In this review article, we will clarify the fundamental knowledge of CSCs necessary for the understanding of CSCs and will outline so-far identified markers specific to liver CSCs and the pathological and therapeutic implications of CSCs in HCC.

Home oxygen therapy allows patients requiring long-term oxygen therapy to receive care at home and helps improve the prognosis of patients with chronic respiratory failure. The usage conditions of oxygen concentrators, which are used to supply gaseous oxygen, and the effects of oxygen inhaled at a prescribed flow rate have not been confirmed in adequate detail. As a result of advances in information and communications technology, internet communication functions can now be incorporated into medical devices installed in patients’ homes. This allows time-series data on oxygen concentrator usage and biological variables to be stored on a server and accessed remotely by health care providers, enabling them to check the validity of home oxygen therapy and intervene appropriately. In Japan, telemonitoring of home oxygen therapy is covered by social insurance systems and is recognized as a new medical technology. This article reviews the usefulness of telemonitoring of home oxygen therapy and describes the cloud-based analytical system we have developed.

Synaptosomal associated protein of 23 kDa (SNAP23), a plasma membrane-localized soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE), is a ubiquitously expressed protein that is generally involved in fusion of the plasma membrane and secretory or endosomal recycling vesicles during several types of exocytosis. SNAP23 is expressed in phagocytes, such as neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells, and functions in both exocytosis and phagocytosis. This review focuses on the function of SNAP23 in immunoglobulin G Fc receptor-mediated phagocytosis by macrophages. SNAP23 and its partner SNAREs mediate fusion of the plasma membrane with intracellular organelles or vesicles to form phagosomes as well as the fusion of phagosomes with endosomes or lysosomes to induce phagosome maturation, characterized by reactive oxygen species production and acidification. During these processes, SNAP23 function is regulated by phosphorylation. In addition, microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B light chain 3 (LC3)-associated phagocytosis, which tightly promotes or suppresses phagosome maturation depending on the foreign target, requires SNAP23 function. SNAP23 that is enriched on the phagosome membrane during LC3-associated phagocytosis may be phosphorylated or dephosphorylated, thereby enhancing or inhibiting subsequent phagosome maturation, respectively. These findings have increased our understanding of the SNAP23-associated membrane trafficking mechanism in phagocytes, which has important implications for microbial pathogenesis and innate and adaptive immune responses.

Although there are many reports on the regulation of ion channel expression in transcription and translation, few drugs have been studied to influence post-translational modification of ion channel proteins. The Kv1.5 channel is a potassium ion channel expressed in atrial muscle, belongs to the voltage-gated K⁺ channel superfamily, and forms an ultrarapid delayed rectifier potassium ion current. It is important to understand the fate of these channel proteins, as cardiac Kv1.5 mutations can cause arrhythmias. Disruption of quantitative and qualitative control mechanisms of channels leads to stagnation and degradation of intracellular channel proteins. As a result, ion channel proteins are not transported to the cell membrane and are involved in the development of atrial fibrillation. This review takes the Kv1.5 channel as an example and focuses on the degradation mechanism of ion channel proteins, and discusses its application to the treatment of arrhythmia by drugs that control the mechanism of ion channel protein degradation.

Exosomes are a subset of extracellular vesicles and their size is approximately 100 nm in diameter. They are surrounded by a lipid bilayer membrane and secreted from almost all of cells. Exosomes are generated within the endocytic system as ILV (intraluminal membrane vesicle) and secreted during the fusion of MVB (multivesicular body) with the cell membrane. Recently it has been reported that exosomes modulate cell-cell communication contributing to the maintenance of tissue homeostasis by molecules including exosomes. Moreover, exosomes released from cancer cells are involved in cancer progression. Thus, data regarding the role of the exosomes in malignant cancer will lead to development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic methods.

Intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder are neurodevelopmental disorders that emerge during the developmental period. A significant barrier that impedes the social adaptation of individuals with these disorders is the exhibition of problem behaviors, such as self-injurious, stereotyped, and aggressive/destructive behaviors. In recent years, these problem behaviors have been collectively referred to as “challenging behavior,” in accordance with the contention that they result from an interaction between the individual and his or her social environment. Evidence-based psychosocial interventions that adopt the functional approach to treating challenging behavior are increasing. However, in order to effectively implement such interventions in educational settings and welfare facilities, it is essential to develop staff training programs and usable psychometric assessments. Accordingly, a brief overview of research studies on challenging behavior that have been conducted in Japan, as well as the various support systems that are available to individuals who exhibit challenging behavior, are presented in this article. The discussion makes it apparent that, in order to improve treatment systems in Japan that are aimed at addressing challenging behavior, it is necessary to establish not only better staff training programs, but also reliable and valid assessments measuring challenging behavior that can be readily used by teachers and parents. On the basis of this discussion, it is proposed that technological advancements must be applied to psychosocial approaches in the study of problem behaviors, in order to develop assessment system using software applications and automatic measurement system of target behaviors using sensing technology.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an incurable type of B-cell lymphoma. It is typically composed of small-to-medium-sized cleaved lymphoid cells with cyclin D1 protein expression due to the chromosomal translocation t(11;14)(q13;q32). Even with the development of rituximab, an anti-CD20 antibody drug, the long-term outcome of patients with MCL has not improved. Recently, new agents have been used in clinical settings, and the outcome of patients with MCL is expected to improve. The treatment of MCL may be at a turning point from intensive chemotherapy to chemotherapy-free treatment. In this study, a recent progress in the diagnosis and treatment of MCL is reviewed.

Nursing competency includes core abilities that are required for fulfilling one’s role as a nurse. Therefore, it is important to clearly define nursing competency to establish a foundation for nursing education curriculum. However, while the concepts surrounding nursing competency are important for improving nursing quality, they are still not yet completely developed. Thus, challenges remain in establishing definitions and structures for nursing competency, competency levels necessary for nursing professionals, training methods and so on. In the present study, we reviewed the research on definitions and attributes of nursing competency in Japan as well as competency structure, its elements and evaluation. Furthermore, we investigated training methods to teach nursing competency.

Schizophrenia is a chronic, disabling disorder, which commonly emerges in adolescence and young adulthood. While pharmacological treatment with currently available second-generation antipsychotics exerts beneficial effects on the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, they have little effect on negative symptoms or cognitive deficits. Because these two types of symptoms are enduring, and negatively impact social functioning throughout the course of the illness, there is an urgent requirement to develop new effective therapeutic approaches to manage them. Negative symptoms have proven difficult to assess accurately because of their complexity, even with commonly used clinical rating scales such as the Scales for Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS). In this context, new “next-generation” assessment tools have recently been developed, which include items representing the five domains encompassed by the two established clusters of negative symptoms (diminished expression and avolition), and enable the detection of changes in severity. Despite various therapeutic approaches to alleviating negative symptoms, there are currently no established methods available for clinical practice. Cognitive deficits are also a core feature in the majority of people with schizophrenia, with impaired performance observed across many cognitive domains, including verbal memory, working memory, attention, and executive functions. Such cognitive deficits are likely associated with either reduced or inefficient function of related distributed neural networks. Psychosocial treatments for cognitive impairments in schizophrenia seem promising given the beneficial effects of cognitive remediation therapy on such impairments, as well as on social functioning, as substantiated in several meta-analytic studies with modest effect sizes. Furthermore, using functional neuroimaging techniques, the size of these therapy-induced beneficial changes in neurocognitive performance has been demonstrated to be correlated with the degree of the changes in brain activation during performing some cognitive tasks in the prefrontal and temporal cortices. This suggests neurobiological effects are exerted by psychosocial cognitive remediation treatments.

In congestive heart failure (CHF), sympathetic nervous system is hyperactive. This article reviews current understandings about central and peripheral neural mechanisms underlying sympathetic hyperactivation in this pathological condition. During the development of CHF, renin-angiotensin system (RAS) activities and angiotensin II–mediated oxidative stress become enhanced. Here, on the basis of findings obtained from animal studies, it is examined how RAS overactivation and oxidative stress in central and peripheral nervous systems of CHF mediate sympathetic hyperactivation. Mechanisms by which exercise training in CHF ameliorates RAS overactivation, oxidative stress and sympathetic hyperactivation are also investigated.