Periodontitis is a multifactorial disease in which bacterial, lifestyle, and genetic factors are involved. Although previous genetic association studies identified several susceptibility genes for periodontitis in European populations, there is little information for Asian populations. Here, we conducted a genome-wide association study and a replication study consisting of 2,760 Japanese periodontitis patients and 15,158 Japanese controls. Although single-nucleotide polymorphisms that surpassed a stringent genome-wide significance threshold (P < 5 × 10(-8)) were not identified, we found 2 suggestive loci for periodontitis: KCNQ5 on chromosome 6q13 (rs9446777, P = 4.83 × 10(-6), odds ratio = 0.82) and GPR141-NME8 at chromosome 7p14.1 (rs2392510, P = 4.17 × 10(-6), odds ratio = 0.87). A stratified analysis indicated that the GPR141-NME8 locus had a strong genetic effect on the susceptibility to generalized periodontitis in Japanese individuals with a history of smoking. In conclusion, this study identified 2 suggestive loci for periodontitis in a Japanese population. This study should contribute to a further understanding of genetic factors for enhanced susceptibility to periodontitis.

Amphiphilic sodium polysulfonates containing 0.5 mol % of the azobenzene (Abz) moiety and 49.5 mol % of lauryl (La), cyclododecyl (Cd), or adamantyl (Ad) groups in the side chains were prepared. As a reference polymer, a sodium polysulfonate with 0.5 mol % of the Abz moiety without the hydrophobic group was also prepared. In the former, the Abz residues are "compartmentalized" in hydrophobic domains of the La, Cd, or Ad groups, while in the latter, the Abz residues are exposed to water in aqueous solution. Photoisomerization (trans to cis) of the Abz residues was significantly impeded as a result of the compartmentalization owing to motional restrictions imposed on the trans Abz isomers in the hydrophobic domains. The initial rates of the thermal cis-to-trans back-isomerization, on the contrary, were accelerated in the compartmentalized systems, presumably owing to conformational strains in photogenerated cis isomers in the hydrophobic domains. Such steric effects of the compartmentalization on both the photochemical and thermal isomerizations were dependent on the hydrophobic groups surrounding the Abz residues, the steric constraint decreasing in the order Cd > Ad > La.

Tadalafil is a phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitor with a long half-life, high selectivity, and rapid onset of action. Because the safety of using PDE5 inhibitors as therapeutic agents for fetal growth restriction (FGR) has been a problem worldwide, this paper primarily focuses on the safety assessments performed in the Tadalafil Treatment for Fetuses with Early-Onset Growth Restriction (TADAFER) II population. Neonatal and maternal adverse events were analyzed, in addition to fetal, neonatal, and infant death cases, six months after stopping the trial. Eighty-nine pregnant women with FGR were studied between September 2016 and March 2018 (45 and 44 in the tadalafil and conventional treatment groups, respectively). Seven (16%) deaths (four fetal, one neonatal, and two infant) in the control group, whereas only one neonatal death occurred in the tadalafil group. Although headache, facial flushing, and nasal hemorrhage occurred more frequently in the tadalafil group, these symptoms were Grade 1 and transient. In conclusion, this trial showed that tadalafil decreased the fetal and infant deaths associated with FGR. This is thought to be primarily due to pregnancy prolongation. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the efficacy of tadalafil in treating early-onset FGR.

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