Media Generation and Pharmacy Regulatory Authority Awareness

Background: Professional regulatory authorities play a critical role in protecting public interest. Yet, there is a growing view that trust in regulatory authorities may be on the decline. Objective: Awareness has been identified as important for maintaining trust. However, research that examines public awareness and trust in pharmacy regulatory authorities (PRAs) is lacking. This research explores public awareness and trust of PRAs and presents recommendations to enhance PRA communication strategies. Methods: An online survey was conducted with the Nova Scotia (Canada) public in 2020. Adopting classifications from the Communications literature, 3 media generations were explored: newspaper, television, and the Internet. The χ² test of independence and Kruskal-Wallis H test were adopted to explore differences between the generations. Results: Six hundred sixty-two usable surveys were obtained. Over 80% of those surveyed were aware of the existence of the PRA. Those who had heard of the PRA were most aware of its operational responsibilities and less aware of its governance. The Internet Generation was more aware that the PRA includes members of the public in its decision making than expected and showed increased trust toward the PRA versus the other media generations. Conclusion: The findings should help inform PRA communication plans and set baselines to assess whether such plans enhance awareness. Future studies should explore additional aspects of PRA awareness and trust, perform comparisons across pharmacy jurisdictions, and develop and test models of the relationship between PRA awareness and various dimensions of institutional trust.     

Early Change in Albuminuria with Canagliflozin Predicts Kidney and Cardiovascular Outcomes: A Post Hoc Analysis from the CREDENCE Trial

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Insights from CREDENCE trial indicate an acute drop in estimated glomerular filtration rate during treatment with canagliflozin with implications for clinical practice

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Granuloma annulare in the hand

A review of our cases of granuloma annulare in the hand revealed that it presented as either an annular or subcutaneous lesion, most commonly on the dorsum of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the middle or ring fingers. Lesions were approximately 10 mm in diameter and the diagnosis was confirmed by surgical biopsy. The majority of cases resolved spontaneously within 1 year, and recurrence, though common, did not necessitate a further biopsy.     

Fierce: a new mouse deletion of Nr2e1; violent behaviour and ocular abnormalities are background-dependent

A new spontaneous mouse mutation named fierce (frc) is deleted for the nuclear receptor Nr2e1 gene (also known as Tlx, mouse homolog of Drosophila tailless). The fierce mutation is genetically and phenotypically similar to Nr2e1 targeted mutations previously studied on segregating genetic backgrounds. However, we have characterized the fierce brain, eye, and behavioural phenotypes on three defined genetic backgrounds (C57BL/6J, 129P3/JEms, and B6129F1). The data revealed many novel and background-dependent phenotypic characteristics. Whereas abnormalities in brain development, hypoplasia of cerebrum and olfactory lobes, were consistent on all three backgrounds, our novel finding of enlarged ventricles in 100% and overt hydrocephalus in up to 30% of fierce mice were unique to the C57BL/6J background. Developmental eye abnormalities were also background-dependent with B6129F1-frc mice having less severe thinning of optic layers and less affected electroretinogram responses. Impaired regression of hyaloid vessels was observed in all backgrounds. Furthermore, retinal vessels were deficient in size and number in 129P3/JEms-frc and B6129F1-frc mice but almost entirely absent in C57BL/6J-frc mice. We present the first standardized behavioural tests conducted on Nr2e1 mutant mice and show that C57BL/6J-frc and B6129F1-frc mice have deficits in sensorimotor assays and are hyperaggressive in both sexes and backgrounds. However, C57BL/6J-frc mice were significantly more aggressive than B6129F1-frc mice. Overall, this extensive characterization of the fierce mutation is essential to its application for the study of behavioural, and brain and eye developmental disorders. In addition, the background-dependent differences revealed will enable the identification of important genetic modifiers.