IMJ Award in 2025

The IMJ 2025 Gold Award

      The Gold Award is awarded to Asaduzzaman et al.
      "Safety and Efficacy of Proton Pump Inhibitors over IV Proton Pump Inhibitors in the Prevention of Bleeding Recurrence in Acute Peptic Ulcer Disease: A Systematic Review."
      International Medical Journal Volume 32, Number 3 pp. 110-115
      Reasons for selection:
      Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are used worldwide to manage acute peptic ulcer bleeding, significantly reducing rebleeding after endoscopic hemostasis and resulting in better outcomes. Although PPIs have been around for 40 years, the dosage and route of administration remain controversial. They conducted an appropriate review of the literature and demonstrated that PPIs are effective even in the presence of endoscopic hemostasis. Subsequent research into drugs whose effectiveness has already been established is often neglected, but this research is highly valued for being conducted from a clinical perspective and considering situations in which it may be applied to patients.

The IMJ 2025 Silver Award

      The Silver Award goes to Natalia et al.
       "Advances in Brain Imaging Techniques for Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease."
      International Medical Journal Volume 32, Number 2 pp. 91-94
      Reasons for selection:
      Alzheimer's disease is a major problem, and early diagnosis and intervention are key challenges. This paper is excellent in that it reviews early diagnosis from images and points out its limitations. It also touches on the fact that image analysis using AI technology is likely to progress in the future, and it seems feasible to use images from different methods and integrate and analyze them using AI technology in the future. As the authors point out, the problem is cost, and a cost-effectiveness analysis will be necessary in the future, so further research is anticipated.

The IMJ 2025 Bronze Award

      The Bronze Award goes to Ohn et al.
      "Chemotherapeutic Potential of Natural Compounds in Cancer via miRNA Modulation."
      International Medical Journal Volume 32, Number 1 pp. 4-9
      Reasons for selection:
      An excellent feature of this study is that it examines the anti-cancer effects of miRNA regulation by natural compounds. It is clear that not only synthetic compounds but also those found in nature can be applied to medicine, and this shows the importance of focusing on natural substances. The fact that the mechanism is summarized in terms of miRNAs provides a methodology for future research.

The IMJ 2025 Bronze Award

      Another Bronze Prize is awarded to Yamashita et al.
      "Employment and Health Perceptions of Older Adults in City A, Saitama Prefecture"
      International Medical Journal Volume 32, Number 3 pp. 148-152
      Reasons for selection:
      Employment is an important research topic in an aging society. Employment has both financial and social connections that give people a sense of purpose, and the study's consideration of the relationship between these factors and age is commendable. In the future, I hope that employment for older adults will be further analyzed from the perspective of labor force and purpose in life.