Changes in the career options of medical school graduates after enforcement of the new clinical training system / 医学教育

  We analyzed the career options of students who had graduated from Kyoto University School of Medicine from 2002 through 2009. The percentage of graduates who chose to train as junior residents in the Kyoto University Hospital group, including Kyoto University Hospital and its related hospitals, did not differ between before and after the new clinical training system was enforced; however, after the start of the new system, the percentage of graduates choosing to train at Kyoto University Hospital significantly decreased, and the career options of graduates at hospitals related to the Kyoto University Hospital became diversified. An analysis of physicians who had trained at the Kyoto University Hospital group as junior residents from 2004 through 2008 showed no significant difference in the percentage of senior residents at the Kyoto University Hospital or its related hospitals who had graduated from Kyoto University or any other universities.

Role of the CXC12-CXCR4 Axis and CXCL16 in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Numerous studies of colitis in IBD (inflammatory bowel diseases) patients and in animal models have demonstrated that both inflammatory cytokines and chemokines are up-regulated in settings of active inflammation. Blockade or absence of various cytokines and chemokines attenuates the disease in murine models of IBD. Therefore, identifying cytokines and chemokines involved in intestinal inflammation provide promising targets for the development of new drugs in the treatment of IBD. In general, chemokines have been implicated in many fundamental immune processes including lymphoid organogenesis, immune cell differentiation, development and positioning. Many chemokines are markedly increased in intestinal tissue from patients with IBD. In this study, we focused on the role of CXCL12-CXCR4 and CXCL16. CXCL12-CXCR4 axis plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of IBD, especially UC, while SR-PSOX/CXCL16 plays a significant role in the pathophysiology of CD. Our present data suggest new insights into the etiology of IBD and we hope that the manipulation of these chemokines may have therapeutic value.