Choline alfoscerate is a drug used to improve cerebrovascular diseases and brain metabolism. It is a drug with proven safety, which has no effect on the kidney and liver and with no severe side effect reported. When administered to a patient with muscle cramps, it can significantly reduce pain and the occurrence of muscle cramps. Accordingly, it may be used as an active ingredient in a pharmaceutical composition for treating or preventing muscle cramps and a health functional food composition for improving muscle cramps and may also be used for a method for treating muscle cramps by administering choline alfoscerate. In addition, choline alfoscerate may also be used to prepare a medication for treating muscle cramps.

Choline alfoscerate is a drug used to improve cerebrovascular diseases and brain metabolism. It is a drug with proven safety, which has no effect on the kidney and liver and with no severe side effect reported. When administered to a patient with muscle cramps, it can significantly reduce pain and the occurrence of muscle cramps. Accordingly, it may be used as an active ingredient in a pharmaceutical composition for treating or preventing muscle cramps and a health functional food composition for improving muscle cramps and may also be used for a method for treating muscle cramps by administering choline alfoscerate. In addition, choline alfoscerate may also be used to prepare a medication for treating muscle cramps.

The invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising PPAR agonists and Nrf2 activators and methods of using combinations of PPAR agonists and Nrf2 activators for treating diseases such as psoriasis, asthma, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and arthritis.

Provided are: a pyridazinone derivative and/or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, which is useful as a therapeutic agent and/or a prophylactic agent for diseases in which Nav1.1 is involved and various central nervous system diseases; and a medicine containing the pyridazinone derivative and/or the pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof as an active ingredient. A compound represented by formula (1) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

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[In the formula, M.sup.1 represents a saturated or partially unsaturated C.sub.4-12 carbocyclic group or the like; R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 independently represent a hydrogen atom or the like; M.sup.2 represents a group represented by formula (2a) or the like; X.sup.1a, X.sup.1b and X.sup.1c independently represent N or the like; X.sup.2, X.sup.3 and X.sup.4 independently represent CR.sup.3 or the like; A.sup.1 and A.sup.2 independently represent N or the like; and R.sup.3 represents a hydrogen atom or the like.]

The present invention relates to a compound of formula (1) wherein Q.sup.1 is halogen atom, Q.sup.2 is hydrogen atom, etc., X, Y, and Z are nitrogen atom or oxygen atom, and R.sup.1 has a given structure, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, and a medicament comprising the compound for treating and/or preventing a disease such as epilepsy.

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Compositions and methods for treating disorders affecting motor function, such as motor function affected by disease or injury to the brain and/or spinal cord, are disclosed.

This invention provides novel injectable compositions comprising botulinum toxin that may be administered to a subject for various therapeutic, aesthetic and/or cosmetic purposes. The injectable compositions contemplated by the invention exhibit one or more advantages over conventional botulinum toxin formulations, including reduced antigenicity, a reduced tendency to undergo unwanted localized diffusion following injection, increased duration of clinical efficacy or enhanced potency relative, faster onset of clinical efficacy, and/or improved stability.

The purpose of the present invention is to efficiently produce microglia from pluripotent stem cells. Provided is a method for producing microglia from pluripotent stem cells, comprising the following steps: (a) a step of co-culturing a pluripotent stem cell together with a feeder cell for 7 days or longer, and obtaining a blood progenitor cell; (b) a step of co-culturing the blood progenitor cell obtained in step (a) together with a feeder cell in the presence of IL-3 and/or GM-CSF, and obtaining an embryonic monocyte; and (c) a step of, in the presence of M-CSF, co-culturing the embryonic monocyte obtained in step (b) together with an astrocyte, or culturing the embryonic monocyte using an astrocyte supernatant.

The purpose of the present invention is to efficiently produce microglia from pluripotent stem cells. Provided is a method for producing microglia from pluripotent stem cells, comprising the following steps: (a) a step of co-culturing a pluripotent stem cell together with a feeder cell for 7 days or longer, and obtaining a blood progenitor cell; (b) a step of co-culturing the blood progenitor cell obtained in step (a) together with a feeder cell in the presence of IL-3 and/or GM-CSF, and obtaining an embryonic monocyte; and (c) a step of, in the presence of M-CSF, co-culturing the embryonic monocyte obtained in step (b) together with an astrocyte, or culturing the embryonic monocyte using an astrocyte supernatant.

The invention relates to the use of an animal-protein-free botulinum toxin composition to treat a disease, disorder or condition in a patient in need thereof whereby the animal-protein-free botulinum toxin composition exhibits a longer lasting effect in the patient compared to an animal-protein-containing botulinum toxin composition.