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Topic Review
Pathophysiology and Epidemiology of COVID-19
The WHO declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic in March 2020, which was caused by novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 made its first entry into the world in November 2019, and the first case was detected in Wuhan, China. Mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome distressed life in almost every discipline by the extended production of novel viral variants.
  • 1.2K
  • 17 May 2023
Topic Review
Dendrimers for Infectious Diseases
Functionalized and modified dendrimer platforms are capable of precise imaging and efficient treatment of tumors, providing solutions for combined monitoring and early treatment of cancers.
  • 1.2K
  • 05 Jul 2021
Topic Review
SARS-CoV-2 Interactions with the Host Cell Nucleus
SARS-CoV-2 components disturb the transport of certain proteins through the nuclear pores. Some SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins such as Spike (S) and Nucleocapsid (N), most non-structural proteins (remarkably, Nsp1 and Nsp3), as well as some accessory proteins (ORF3d, ORF6, ORF9a) can reach the nucleoplasm either due to their nuclear localization signals (NLS) or taking a shuttle with other proteins. A percentage of SARS-CoV-2 RNA can also reach the nucleoplasm. Remarkably, controversy has recently been raised by proving that-at least under certain conditions-, SARS-CoV-2 sequences can be retrotranscribed and inserted as DNA in the host genome, giving rise to chimeric genes. In turn, the expression of viral-host chimeric proteins could potentially create neo-antigens, activate autoimmunity and promote a chronic pro-inflammatory state.
  • 1.1K
  • 10 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Human Herpesviruses
Human herpesviruses (HHVs): herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV-2), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), HHV-6, HHV-7, and HHV-8, are known to be part of a family of DNA viruses that cause several diseases in humans. In clinical practice of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the complication of CMV enterocolitis, which is caused by CMV reactivation under disruption of intestinal barrier function, inflammation, or strong immunosuppressive therapy, is well known to affect the prognosis of disease. However, the relationship between other HHVs and IBD remains unclear.
  • 1.1K
  • 27 Sep 2021
Topic Review
SARS-CoV-2 Variants
The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants have significantly impact the course of COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. They have in common a higher transmissibility, becoming dominant within populations in a short time, and an accumulation of a high number of mutations in the spike (S) protein, especially within the amino terminal domain (NTD) and the receptor binding domain (RBD) which could affect the efficacy of the current licenced vaccines. 
  • 1.1K
  • 24 May 2021
Topic Review
Mechanisms of Immunothrombosis by SARS-CoV-2
During COVID-19 infection, SARS-Cov-2 interacts with Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2), NRP1, endothelial cells, platelets, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), thrombin, extracellular DNA (eDNA), and histones, inducing heterogeneous clinical manifestations characterized by endothelial damage, microthrombosis, and inflammation.
  • 1.1K
  • 22 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Renin-Angiotensin System and COVID-19
The renin–angiotensin system (RAS), an essential enzymatic cascade involved in maintaining blood pressure and electrolyte balance, is involved in the pathogenicity of COVID-19, since the angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) acts as the cellular receptor for SARS-CoV-2 in many human tissues and organs. In fact, the viral entrance promotes a downregulation of ACE2 followed by RAS balance dysregulation and an overactivation of the angiotensin II (Ang II)–angiotensin II type I receptor (AT1R) axis, which is characterized by a strong vasoconstriction and the induction of the profibrotic, proapoptotic and proinflammatory signalizations in the lungs and other organs. This mechanism features a massive cytokine storm, hypercoagulation, an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and subsequent multiple organ damage.
  • 1.1K
  • 25 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Phage Therapeutics: A Novel Therapeutic Approaches
Resistance to antimicrobials and particularly multidrug resistance is one of the greatest challenges in the health system nowadays. The continual increase in the rates of antimicrobial resistance worldwide boosted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic poses a major public health threat. Different approaches have been employed to minimize the effect of resistance and control this threat.
  • 1.1K
  • 27 Dec 2022
Topic Review
T Cell Epitopes from the Proteome of HBV
T cell epitopes functionally validated from HBV antigens during the past 33 years; the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) supertypes to present these epitopes, and the methods to screen and identify T cell epitopes. 
  • 1.1K
  • 19 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Novel HIV Antiretroviral Therapeutic Strategies
When the first cases of HIV infection appeared in the 1980s, AIDS was a deadly disease without any therapeutic alternatives. Currently, there is still no cure for most cases mainly due to the multiple tissues that act as a reservoir for this virus besides the high viral mutagenesis that leads to an antiretroviral drug resistance. Throughout the years, multiple drugs with specific mechanisms of action on distinct targets have been approved.
  • 1.1K
  • 17 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Nodding Syndrome
Nodding syndrome (NS) is a debilitating yet often neglected neurological disease affecting thousands of children in several sub-Saharan African countries. 
  • 1.1K
  • 15 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Machine Learning Used to Combat COVID-19
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had a significant impact on global health since the start of the pandemic in 2019. As of June 2022, over 539 million cases have been confirmed worldwide with over 6.3 million deaths as a result. Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions such as machine learning and deep learning have played a major part in this pandemic for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19.
  • 1.1K
  • 20 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Imported Malaria
Malaria is the most common vector-borne parasitic infection causing significant human morbidity and mortality in nearly 90 tropical/sub-tropical countries worldwide. Significant differences exist in the incidence of malaria cases, dominant Plasmodium species, drug-resistant strains and mortality rates in different countries. Six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, UAE) in the Middle East region with similar climates, population demographics and economic prosperity are aiming to achieve malaria elimination. In this narrative review, all studies indexed in PubMed describing epidemiological characteristics of indigenous and imported malaria cases, vector control status and how malaria infections can be controlled to achieve malaria elimination in GCC countries were reviewed and discussed. 
  • 1.1K
  • 05 Aug 2021
Topic Review
The Blessed Union of Glycobiology and Immunology
The fields of cancer glycobiology and glycobiology of infectious diseases provide crucial information concerning the cell surface glycoconjugates, as they play an important role in immunosurveillance during the development and establishment of certain pathologies. Furthermore, screening for atypical glycophenotypes culminates in the construction and modulation of an innate and adaptive immune response, mainly because glycans are biological structures that are very well conserved by evolution and are naturally heterogeneous, and end up acting as carriers of biological information that are decoded by families of proteins known as lectins. The effects of the structural recognition of glycans by these receptors, present mainly in cells of the immune system, are paramount in defining the immune responses. Therefore, those receptors are subjected to subversion of the host response against certain pathologies, being involved in the persistence of infections and tumors resistant to chemotherapy and increased metastatic potential.
  • 1.1K
  • 07 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Clinical Aspects of HIV Associated Neurocognitive Impairment
Neurocognitive impairment (NCI) associated with HIV infection of the brain impacts a large proportion of people with HIV (PWH) regardless of antiretroviral therapy (ART). While the number of people with HIV (PWH) and severe NCI has dropped considerably with the introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART), the sole use of ART is not sufficient to prevent or arrest NCI in many PWH. As the HIV field continues to investigate cure strategies, adjunctive therapies are greatly needed. HIV imaging, cerebrospinal fluid, and pathological studies point to the presence of continual inflammation, and the presence of HIV RNA, DNA, and proteins in the brain despite ART.
  • 1.1K
  • 01 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Treatment of Clostridioides difficile Infection
Clostridioides difficile is the most important cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea in the United States. The high incidence and recurrence rates of C. difficile infection (CDI), associated with high morbidity and mortality, pose a public health challenge. Although antibiotics targeting C. difficile bacteria are the first treatment choice, antibiotics also disrupt the indigenous gut flora and, therefore, create an environment that is favorable for recurrent CDI. The challenge of treating CDI is further exacerbated by the rise of antibiotic-resistant strains of C. difficile, placing it among the top five most urgent antibiotic resistance threats in the USA. The evolution of antibiotic resistance in C. difficile involves the acquisition of new resistance mechanisms, which can be shared among various bacterial species and different C. difficile strains within clinical and community settings.
  • 1.1K
  • 01 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Pathogenetic Analogies of Preeclampsia and COVID-19
Preeclampsia is an obstetric pathology that, surprisingly, resembles the pathology of COVID-19. Both diseases are characterized by significant alterations in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). RAS-mediated mechanisms may explain their primary clinical-pathological features, which are suggestive of an underlying microvascular dysfunction, with induction of vasculopathy, coagulopathy, and inflammation. 
  • 1.1K
  • 16 May 2022
Topic Review
Infectious Tattoo-Related Side Effects
Tattooing is the procedure of implanting permanent pigment granules and additives into the dermal layer of the skin, serving various purposes such as decoration, medical identification, or accidental markings. There has been a significant rise in the popularity of decorative tattooing as a form of body art among both teenagers and young adults. Thus, the incidence of tattoos is increasing, with expanding applications such as permanent makeup, scar camouflage, nipple–areola, lips, and eyebrows tattooing, and utilization in oncological radiotherapy such as colon marking. However, there have been reported a broad range of adverse reactions linked to tattooing, encompassing allergic reactions, superficial and deep cutaneous infections, autoimmune disorders induced by the Koebner phenomenon, cutaneous tumors, and others.
  • 1.1K
  • 07 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Types of COVID-19 Vaccines
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly contagious virus that emerged at the end of 2019 and has caused an upper respiratory disease pandemic, currently known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Vaccine clinical studies are developing promptly with the aim of obtaining vaccines that are effective in suppressing the spread of the virus; however, the development of viral mutations raises concerns about the decreasing effectiveness of the resulting vaccine, which also results in the need for more in-depth studies. There have been 330 vaccines developed, including 136 clinical developments and 194 pre-clinical developments. 
  • 1.1K
  • 12 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Microbiological Perspectives in COVID-19 Pandemics
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 remains a significant issue for global health, the economy, and society. When SARS-CoV-2 began to spread, the most recent serious infectious disease of this century around the world, with its high morbidity and mortality rates, it is understandable why such infections have generally been spread in the past, mainly from international travel movements. Microbiology is a branch of medicine and biology that studies the structure and functions of microorganisms (i.e., all those single-celled, multicellular or acellular living organisms not visible to the naked eye such as bacteria, Archaea, some types of fungi, algae, protozoa, viruses and prions).
  • 1.1K
  • 02 Sep 2022
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