Labor adjustment in the Japanese health care industry: some empirical evidence.

This paper examines the labor adjustment costs in the health care industry. Using Japanese data, we find that the cost of hiring new health care workers is the largest component of labor adjustment costs in the health care industry. Hence, it is difficult for employers in this industry to immediately increase the number of workers since this employment adjustment is extremely expensive.

Anti-PDGF-B monoclonal antibody reduces liver fibrosis development.

AIM: To evaluate the usefulness of a platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-B specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) as a therapeutic agent to treat chronic liver fibrosis. METHODS: Liver fibrosis was induced in ICR mice by bile duct ligation (BDL) or BALB/c mice by weekly injection of concanavalin A (ConA) for 4 or 8 weeks. A mAb specific for mouse and human PDGF-B chain, AbyD3263, was generated, tested in vitro and administered twice a week throughout the experimental period. RESULTS: AbyD3263 showed neutralizing activity against mouse and human PDGF-B chain in cell-based assays, as measured in vitro by inhibition of phosphorylation of PDGF receptor ß and proliferation of hepatic stellate cells induced by PDGF-BB. The half life of AbyD3263 in mice exceeded 7 days and dosing of animals twice a week resulted in constant plasma levels of the mAb. Induction of liver fibrosis by BDL and ConA resulted in elevated levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in plasma and hydroxyproline in the liver. Treatment with AbyD3263 did not modify ALT levels, but significantly reduced hydroxyproline content in the liver with a maximum reduction of 39% and 54% in the BDL and ConA models, respectively, compared to controls. Conclusios: Consistent with the notion that PDGF-BB plays an important role in the progression of liver fibrosis, AbyD3263 exhibits efficacy in pre-clinical disease models suggesting that pharmacological inhibition of PDGF-B chain may be a therapeutic approach to treat liver fibrosis.