Nucleic acid-based therapeutics including antisense and siRNA oligonucleotides has been expected as an innovative treatment for intractable diseases. Oral drug delivery is the most patient-friendly route of administration but developing an effective delivery system for oligonucleotides remains a major challenge. In this commentary, we discuss the potential benefits of the colorectal route as another platform for the development of oral oligonucleotide therapeutics. The importance of the targeting or the availability of oligonucleotides in targeted tissue is highlighted in contrast to systemic availability, while the liver-targeted enteral siRNA delivery technology that we recently developed is introduced.
A 69-year-old woman who had undergone renal transplantation and was receiving sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (ST) developed pulmonary nocardiosis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the identification of Nocardia elegans using nanopore sequencing, supported by 16S rDNA capillary sequencing findings. Chest computed tomography performed after ST initiation revealed significant improvement of the pulmonary shadows compared to previous findings. We herein report the value of nanopore sequencing for rapid identification of rare pathogens, such as Nocardia elegans. Furthermore, our findings suggest that Nocardia may infect even patients receiving ST, which is currently the most effective prophylactic drug.
Dasatinib-related chylothorax is a rare adverse event, and the mechanism underlying its occurrence is still not fully understood. We herein report the case of a 73-year-old woman with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who developed dasatinib-related chylothorax refractory to conventional treatments, except for steroids. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of dasatinib-related chylothorax which was successfully controlled by combining diuretics with the Japanese herbal medicine "Goreisan." "Goreisan" is known to inhibit aquaporin channels and regulate the water flow. Our findings showed that "Goreisan" is an effective treatment option for uncontrollable dasatinib-related chylothorax.