Clinical Trial to Utilize Expired Blood to Start in Japan
Nara Medical University will begin a clinical trial in spring 2025 of artificial red blood cells made from donated blood past its shelf life that is usually discarded.
Category: Health
After Fatal Accidents, Japan Consumer Agency Calls for Caution at Saunas
Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency is alerting sauna lovers to take precautions against accidents such as burns, stressing that some of them are fatal. Specifically, an older woman died from full-body burns she got in a home sauna and a man in his 70s died of acute circulatory failure in a sauna at a recreation facility. Another man also in his 70s fainted in a sauna at a public bath, resulting in amputation of five burned toes.
Kobayashi Pharma Fails to Report 11 More Suspected Deaths
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said Tuesday it has newly found 11 more fatalities that should have been reported to Japan’s health ministry over possible links to supplement products containing its “beni koji” red fermented rice.
Kobayashi Pharma to Withdraw from “Beni Koji” Biz
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said Thursday that it has decided to pull out of its business related to “beni koji” red fermented rice, following widespread health problems blamed on its supplement products containing the substance.
Ambulance Dispatches in Tokyo Hit Record High in Jan – July
The number of ambulance dispatches in Tokyo in January-July grew 4.4 pct from a year before to 542,256, highest for the seven-month period since the statistics began in 1936, according to the Tokyo Fire Department. The result is attributable mainly to an increase in people suffering from heatstroke.
Japan set to approve Lilly’s donanemab to treat Alzheimer’s disease
A Japanese health ministry panel gave the green light Thursday for the manufacture and sale of the Alzheimer’s drug donanemab-azbt, developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co.
After the soon-to-come formal approval by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the drug, under the brand name Kisunla, will become the second medicine available in Japan for treating early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. The drug works by removing accumulated amyloid beta proteins in the brain, slowing the progress of the disease.
Over 12,000 People in Japan Sent to Hospital in Week Ending Sunday 28th July due to Heatstroke
Over 12,000 people in Japan were sent to hospital due to heatstroke in the week that ended on Sunday, the largest weekly total since this year’s tally began on April 29, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday.
EU Negative on Approving Eisai’s Alzheimer’s Drug Lecanemab
The European Medicines Agency has said that its committee for assessing medicines recommended “not granting a marketing authorization” to Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab.
According to the announcement by the EMA, which is under the European Union, on Friday, the committee pointed out that the effect of lecanemab, developed jointly by Japan’s Eisai Co. and U.S. drugmaker Biogen Inc., in delaying cognitive decline “does not counterbalance” the risk of serious side events, such as bleeding in the brain.
Kobayashi Pharma Fails to Report Some “Beni Koji” Products
Japan’s Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said Friday that it has failed to report to the health ministry some products containing its “beni koji” red fermented rice that were supplied to five companies. According to the ministry, none of the five companies’ products are marketed any longer. The ministry asked Kobayashi Pharmaceutical to report by Wednesday whether there are any beni koji-containing products subject to the reporting other than those of the five companies.
Over Half of Japan School Students “Underhydrated”: Survey
More than half of Japanese elementary and junior high school students are “underhydrated,” a research team led by Niigata University has found.
Barrier Free Japan 